Wednesday, September 21, 2011

More Surgery

Praise the Lord, all the results from August's scans have been really good reports. No cancer cells are showing up anywhere in his body! Thank you, Jesus! We are really thankful for those good reports, but the other reports we've gotten this month haven't been as positive. When the doctors initially removed the pineapple-sized tumor, they also had to remove 4 of his back ribs because of residual cancer cells on those bones. Later on, they had to go in and remove another rib simply because it had become so fragile and brittle that Drew was breaking that rib every month. With a total of 5 ribs removed, there has been no stability for his frame. We began tracking the Scoliosis (curving) of his spine the first part of 2010. Since March of this year, his curvature has quickly climbed to 67%. The doctor was alarmed at the rate and explained that the spine surgery cannot wait. He ordered an MRI to be done as quickly as possible, and barring nothing showing up on the spinal MRI, Drew's spine will be operated within the next couple of weeks. They will place two titanium rods secured by 25-30 screws. The extensive surgery will require months of recovery, but it should correct the problem completely. We are also seeing a nephrologist (kidney specialist). For the past 6 months Drew's creatine has been consistently high indicating definite kidney damage. One of Drew's chemo drugs is known to cause damage, but the puzzling part of the equation is that Drew's high levels did not happen until months after chemo was finished. The damage could be a side-effect of one of the anesthesia medications from past surgeries or it could be simply a totally unrelated condition that is just now showing up.

So, for now we await the scheduling of Drew's spine surgery in prayerful anticipation that the surgery will be a help to Drew and will allow him to live with a little less pain. Thank you for your continued prayers for him.