Consult One - Complete

Today was... interesting. Long. And Interesting.

Chad had his consult to get his hernia repaired. It didn't quite go as planned.


The surgeon who performed the consult (Dr Hayley) told us the hernia was worse than he anticipated for two reasons.

1. It was larger than they're used to repairing.
2. History of infection. When Chad had his Right Hemicolectomy, his wound got an infection. They had to open it up, to drain it and allow it to repair on its own.

The VA Surgeon said the mesh that they had available is not the desired kind and also that he would have to basically re-open almost his entire wound.

Long story short, he is recommending Chad for an out of VA-Consult for the hernia repair surgery. The 'normal' next step would have been to send us to St Louis for a consult but after our experience with that hospital with Chad's cancer, we were very much opposed to that idea. Dr Hayley basically agreed that for the complexity of the repair, Chad would be better off going outside the VA. It was quite interesting to hear a VA doctor basically say the care received at VA Hospitals is subpar.

So now - we wait for the decision on that.

In other news. Chad woke up with a pretty bad headache, borderline migraine. When they took his vitals, his blood pressure was high. After the consult, they basically made Chad go to the ER.

Gracious. It took ages to get into a room. Ages to see a doctor. Once the doctor arrived, he did a quick look-over and ordered blood work, an EKG a chest x-ray and a CT Scan on his brain. FOR A HEADACHE! Mind blown. It took about 4 hours in total. All the test came back fine, so they gave him a blood pressure machine to monitor it and if need be, I guess follow-up with his primary physician.

If nothing else, I am thankful for them being thorough and going above and beyond to make sure he was alright. It took way too long but at least there is peace of mind that everything appears to be A-Ok.

That's all for now! Thanks for your continued love and support!

Dr Sardi's Office Has Been In Touch

For those just tuning in. We have been trying since the beginning of December to get Dr. Sardi,  Chad's specialist in Baltimore, to review his latest scans. For peace of mind, more than anything.  It is always a good idea to have someone who is intimately familiar with a disease to be involved. Appendix cancer is tricky and if the doctors or radiologist are unfamiliar with it, they may not know what to look for.

Originally we were told that an in-person visit was required. Due to various circumstances, it just wasn't feasible to travel at this time. When I wrote to cancel our appointment, by the grace of God, Dr Sardi had passed along the great news that he would review the scans and let us know by Friday of last week.

Dr. Sardi is a super busy man so we were just waiting patiently to hear from them and the call came today! His assistant called Chad and told him that everything looked good! The hernia was visible in the scans and it may be the cause of Chad's cramping/pain. They had no answers to his bloating.

It's a tough situation sometimes. It just sucks so bad that Chad hurts and no one knows 'why' but I can't pretend I am not super relived to hear that Dr. Sardi sees no evidence of disease. It just fills my heart with gratitude for both Dr Sardi for taking the time to look - and for God, for watching over us.

We're blessed and just so so thankful! <3

Hello World!

I have been meaning to update for a few days but ran into a slew of computer problems.

Briefly: We did meet with Chad's primary physician and they have submitted another request for Chad to see the neurosurgeon and also to address his hernia. We also got them to draw blood for his tumor markers. Which reminds me, I should check online to see the results of those.

In another turn of events. I wrote Dr. Sardi's office earlier this week to confirm cancellation of the appointment. I received a response back and was told;

"I am working with Dr Sardi to review his images. We received your email. I will be reviewing this week he just returned from out of the country.

Have a good day I hope all is well. Please write me a summary of how Chad is doing and any questions you have for Dr Sardi."

I am not sure what changed but I am super happy to hear that they will hopefully be able to read the scans. I was told we would hear back by Friday but that date has come and gone. Hopefully next week! 

That's all for now! I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for the love and support! xo