Still on Schediule!

My recovery time is working well. I've gained about 5 lbs back which is just about enough. I'm getting lots of exercise and fresh air. Surgery is still scheduled for May 23. My job, in the meantime, is to build muscle tone and stay healthy.

My good friend, Wayne Lewin, from HP sent me a note regarding a new book called "Bill and Dave:How Hewlett and Packard Built the World's Greatest Company" by ABC's Michael Malone. Wayne said that the book is great. He also gave me a 'heads up' that about three pages near the end of the book describe an encounter I had with David Packard. I picked up a copy at Border's on Sunday. It is a great book and Mike Malone did a great job describing my encounter with David Packard. I highly recommend the book to those of you interested in business.

Surgery Scheduled!

Surgery is scheduled for May 23rd. That date is a week or two later than I hoped, but it's the only time we could schedule the two surgery teams on the same day. May 22nd will be a preop day. So, I have several more weeks to recover from chemo and radiation and build up my strength. I feel great, but my muscle tone still needs work.

The dye contrast scan that I did yesterday was negative as expected. The scan is a precaution that is necessary because about 2% of patients have aggressive cancer growth in spite of chemo and radiation. That didn't happen in my case.

The surgeon was very impressed with the speed of my recovery from chemo and radiation and was encouraging about recovering from surgery relatively quickly as well. He said that a team led by Dr Norton will perform the first stage of the surgery to remove the cancerous tissue and then turn the surgery over to Dr Whyte's team who will handle the second stage which involves critical and careful stitching the esophagus and stomach back together in their new positions.

I will be in Stanford Hospital for 7-10 days including the first day or two in the critical care unit. The long stay is required because I won't be allowed to eat for the first 5 days. At the end of 5 days, I will take a barium scan to make sure that the stitches in my stomach and esophagus are not allowing any leakage. If the stitches are good, I'll start drinking and then eating over a few days. If the stitches are not good, I will need more surgery to fix the problem.

Following the hospital stay, it will take a month or two at home to get my strength back and to learn how to eat the right amounts and the right number of meals per day.

This is complicated surgery and I wouldn't want it done by someone who does it twice a year. These people do the procedure every week and teach it to medical students. I'm very confident about the surgeons and their experience. That helps a lot! The prognosis is excellent.

Our daughter, Jordan, and son, Josh, will take turns supporting us through the first few weeks. Sharon's sister, Joyce, and her husband, Ed, live nearby and will continue to play a critical support role as well. We will stay in San Carlos during recovery time until I don't need to see doctors on a weekly basis. Then, we plan to complete the move to our Pacific Grove residence. If all goes well, we will complete our move by the end of August.

We are back in Pacific Grove today and will stay here most of the time until surgery.

Continued Improvement

It's now almost three full weeks since my last radiation treatment. I needed to gain a few pounds and get my strength back in time for surgery in May. The last week has been great. Each day I think I have arrived back to normal only to find out that the next day is even better.

I have no symptoms of chemo or radiation at this point. I am eating normally. My radiation burn redness is almost gone on my back. I'm able to walk a couple of hours and I can feel my muscles again. I'm sleeping a full eight hours a day and I don't need any naps.

So, I feel like I'm ready for a CT Scan and meeting with the surgeon that is scheduled for Thursday. I should have my surgery schedule cleared within a day or so of that meeting. Surgery will probably be scheduled in May. It's hard to face surgery and a long recovery after just recovering. I want to just keep going without being brought down again. On the other hand, we have this cloud hanging over us that we want to get rid of and I'm happy to be doing well enough to get on with the process.

In many ways, I feel healthier than I have in years. I am 25 pounds lighter. That brought my blood pressure down to normal levels. I was living with untreated Atrial Fibrillation and some good diagnosis and medication has rid me of that. My heart rate is slower. I feel rested. I've had little stress of any sort for weeks. I've never felt more support and love from friends and family.

I feel blessed!

Spring and Recovery March into April

We are in Pacific Grove for some recovery time and Spring is in full blossom. Everything here is just gorgeous. I'm beginning to eat well as my esophagus irritation subsides. I'm getting a lot of exercise. I still have to sleep an hour in the afternoon, but generally feeling better every day. This is a good place for recovery. Every look at the ocean brings a renewed sense of well being.

We are doing some remodeling on our home, so we've done considerable moving and prep so that the contractors could get going this morning.

The next meeting with the surgeon is on April 19th. I'll also have a CT Scan that morning. After that, we should know the surgery date. I'm confident that I'll be physically ready. Again, thank you all for your messages of support. They have meant to world to me.