Release

Well, after six years and almost three months the release has come. Yesterday I was released and Bishop Allen was put in.
He will be great. I look forward to watching and working with him. As far as me, I'm not quite certain how to describe how I feel. Things are different now. When the mantle is lifted you feel kind of smaller and lighter, maybe a bit more insignificant.
I am grateful for all the people I was able to get to know and I love them dearly and will miss working with them in that capacity.
There is always more to do, learn, and grow, something I am looking forward to.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support, and all of your prayers in my behalf. Thanks to my whole bishopric, you are wonderful. I love you dearly.

Going Great

Things are going great for me, I am still healing and feel quite a bit better. I'm back at work and doing good. No more surgery's in sight. Thanks everyone for your prayers and faith.

Dr. Visit

Yesterday I went to the lung doctor. He said that my lung is "sweating" I guess that is what they call it when the lung is creating more fluid than it should. It is due to the healing process, My lung is still swollen and healing, although he said that it sounds good. I also received a flu shot. I talked to him about the pain and tenderness in my chest but that is all part of the healing process as well. I am starting to feel better it just isn't happening fast enough for me. (Part of learning more patience.)

Thanks for all the prayers and concern in my behalf.

Getting back to "Normal"

Tuesday I started back to work. I have yet to put in a full day but things seem to be getting better. I have noticed some swelling, but I guess that is to be expected. It's been a bit more painful as well. Hopefully I will start feeling a lot better soon. I am very grateful for everyones help and prayers through all of this, It's been a long year for me and my family.

Thanks to everyone!!!

Pain

It is hard to believe that only three and a half weeks ago I had major surgery. I must be getting impatient to heal, but have to realize it was major surgery and it takes time to get better. For the past three or four days the region above my incision has been very painful. It used to be very numb due to the trauma to the nerves from the surgery. Now as the numbness goes away it has become very painful. I get a pins and needles type of pain that is very hard to control. It makes it difficult to sleep. The incision itself is healing nicely, although I will have a pretty big scar. I want to get back to work but think I will have to wait a couple more days to be sure that I don't strain the muscles in my chest and cause more damage. At least the "Leaking" has stopped.

I'm very grateful to all who have kept me in their prayers.
Thanks

Leaking...

Well, I went to both my lung specialist as well as my surgeon on Tuesday and the surgeon told me that all the "leaking" is probably an old large blood clot that is finally breaking up and coming out. I don't like all the drainage but I guess I can deal with it until it is finished. I didn't get any sleep on Monday night because I literally had to change my dressing every twenty to thirty minutes. I got to bed around 4:00 am. (long night) Also on the 18th I was up from one-thirty to four as well trying to contain it. Needless to say I am pretty tired.

I am doing much better with the pain, and my incisions seem to be healing well. I'm hoping that the drainage will ease up and then I can possibly get on with life...

Gross...

Well, since yesterday morning I have been bleeding, off an on, out of the chest tube drain incision. This morning when it started I went to the doctors. They told me that I probably have a pocket of blood and fluid in my chest cavity that has to come out. It has been quite a bit of drainage, I can fill a paper towel in just a couple of minutes. It's really kind of gross.

Hopefully three rolls of paper towels will do it.

Better Day

For the past few days I have been feeling tremendous pain, I asked Brother Vance for a blessing last night. He brought over the rest of the bishopric and I received a blessing. Today has been a much better day. I'm not getting that break-through pain I had been feeling for days. I really appreciate everyones prayers and faith in my behalf, Thank you. Also thanks to those whom have provided meals for me and my family.

The procedures that were done were:
Chest wall hernia repair; Bronchoscopy; Mediastinoscopy. I didn't know what this was so I googled it: Mediastinoscopy is a surgical procedure that allows physicians to view areas of the mediastinum, the cavity behind the sternum (breastbone) that lies between the lungs. The organs in the mediastinum include the heart and its vessels, the lymph nodes, trachea, esophagus, and thymus.


I will add a picture of my side. ouch!!

Recovering

Dad is doing his best to get better. He is getting up and walking farther and farther each day. He is resting when he needs to, and taking the right medicines that are helping him recover. He is back to teasing us kids, and brightening up our home! I am glad that he is giving his best efforts to make a full recovery, and get back on his feet as soon as he can.

Home!

My dad was able to come home yesterday night! Now he just needs to manage all the pain he is in, and start recovering. Thanks for the dinners again, and thanks for all the prayers in his behalf. Please continue to keep praying for him.

Out of ICU!

My daddy is doing a little bit better today, they got to take him out of ICU. We are all glad that he was able to get moved out of ICU. The medicine he is taking for the pain makes him very sick, and he is not able to keep food down yet. He is feeling very dizzy. He will at least be in the hospital for another day, maybe more. It all depends on when he starts feeling a little better, and when he is able to gain strength and eat. Thanks for your prayers in his behalf! We really appreciate it!

Out of Surgery

My dad's surgery went well, and he is now in the ICU. They were able to do everything they needed to, to fix him up. Thanks for all the prayers in my dads behalf for the surgery to go well! I know that played a big part. PLease continue to keep him in your prayers, for a speedy recovery.

Upcoming surgery

The surgery to fix the lung hernia will be on August 4th. I go in on the 3rd for pre-op testing and then return in the morning of the 4th for the surgery. I still feel that the memory of the last surgery is still a bit close so I'm just a bit nervous about the pain. I have a peaceful feeling about it, so I'm not too concerned, but the memory of the pain still lingers. I feel that I have been blessed through all this, things could have been a lot worse, I appreciate all of the prayers in my behalf and know that they have been answered. We go through trials to strengthen us, and those around us, and I am very grateful for that. I really like this quote: "Each of us will face trials and tests, and... it is how we react to those difficulties that will determine our success and happiness. Each of us will face adversity no matter where we are. We are taught in the scriptures that there 'must needs be . . . an opposition in all things' (2 Nephi 2:11). We will each face times of difficulty, and the question is not when we will face them but how we face them."
James B. Martino
Thanks to everyone for your support.

More Surgery.....

I didn't think that I would be able to sleep last night with all of the leads and mask on me... Boy was I mistaken!! When the pressure was finally turned up high enough, I slept better than I have for years. It was great, I look forward to getting the machine to help me get a good night sleep.

That being said, the bad news is that I talked to the Doctor today and he said that we will do the Lung Hernia repair the first part of August. I still remember too clearly the pain of my last surgery and haven't had enough time go by to help me forget, so I'm not looking forward to the next one. It will be done through the same incisions as the last one, so recovery will be about the same as well.

Why oh why do we have to get old???

Sleep Test

I received a phone call from the sleep center, wanting to schedule another sleep test. Apparently the results of the first test showed that I stop breathing many times during the night. They want me to try a BiPAP machine to see if I can sleep better. So I will go in for the test tomorrow night (6/22/10). Hopefully it will help me to sleep better at night.
I will also talk to the surgeon today about when I can get the Lung Hernia fixed. It seems to be getting bigger and more bothersome. I don't look forward to more surgery but it will help me to get back to 100% sooner. I will keep everyone posted the best I can.

Catch up

Let me see if I can catch up on everything that has been happening, although there isn't too much going on. I went to Doctor Karwande's office for a follow up visit, He is the surgeon who preformed the operation. I apparently tore some stitches in the chest muscle because I now have a lung hernia, the doctor said that the only way to fix it is to have more surgery, he would go in the same upper incision and repair the muscle. I will probably wait awhile I'm not going through all of that again, not right now.

I went to church last week and enjoyed it very much, I'm still weak and get really tired fast. I've been back to work since Tuesday, it's been hard, after a few hours I kind of run out of gas. Hopefully I will be able to build up my stamina quickly.

Thanks again to everyone who have blessed our family through service and prayers. We love you very much.

PS I didn't know that I couldn't receive comments, I think I have fixed it.

Church

I decided to try and attend church yesterday, It took a lot of effort to get up and get ready, I just don't have the energy yet. When I got to church I was dizzy but I really wanted to partake of the sacrament.
I am so very thankful for everyone who has helped in any way since I've been down.
The doctor said it could be up to six weeks before I am back on my feet again, I don't want it to be that long, but I will do what I need to to get back on my feet.

Pain... ugh!

My daddy is still in tons of pain. Around his incision, he is numb, but when the numbness goes away, he feels even more pain. Will the pain ever end? I am greatful that when they gave him his surgery, there was no cancer, I only wish that the pain of recovery wouldn't have to happen. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Catching up...

We had a great time celebrating my dad's birthday on Saturday. All of us got to watch a movie as a family. Also we had a wonderful family dinner. We just got to spend the whole day together! All of us were happy that we were able to celebrate his birthday! He even got some birthday presents to open. The healing process is continuing and my dad is making great process. If only he wasn't in so much pain! Thank you to everyone who has brought us meals. We are very greatful!

My little unfriend...

Just had a visit at Doctor Farruhk's office and he thinks he figured out how my little unfriend entered my lungs. I will be going in for a sleep test in about a week to verify if I have sleep apnea. What the doctor thinks is that with my acid reflex I am aspirating stomach content into my lungs when I sleep at night. The infection built up around it which created the mass that was removed. If I get on a C-pap machine hopefully this will not happen again. We are so very greatful to everyone who has brought us meals which have been very tasty. We love you and thank you to those who have helped with the yardwork. Hopefully I will be back on my feet soon!

Taking it easy...

We are all happy to have my daddy back home. He is doing all that he can to recover as fast as he can. He gets to have the easy life!! He has people waiting on him hand and foot!! He also has a ton of time to catch up on Star Trek Voyager! Just kidding though, he has to excercise, do his breathing excercises, and do everything else he can to get back on his feet. We are all there to help him with anything he needs. He is still joking around with us and making us all laugh, just when we need it! My dad is the bravest man I know!!

He's HOME!!!!

To catch up, we went to the hospital yesterday to visit my dad. He was, and still is in intentse pain yet he still cracked jokes with us. One of the things he was joking about was he had to get an epideral for his surgery. He said that he had his first baby but my mom wouldn't let him take it home in a bottle!!! That made us all laugh and smile!! He is home now!!! We are all happy and excited to have our dad back home!! We hope that he will be able to heal and feel better soon!!! Thanks again to everyone who has checked up on us and taken us dinners!! We really appreciate it!

YAY!! He is out of ICU!

Good news!! My dad was finally moved out of the ICU. His nausea has finally lessened so they were able to move him to a normal room. With luck, he will be able to come home tomorrow morning.
Thank you all again for helping our family out. We appreciate it so much!

The process begins...

Now the process of getting better begins! My dad is resting now but he is in the ICU. The anesthesia has made him very sick. He might be in there all day. Hopefully he can still come home in the 2 days the doctor was talking about.
Please continue to keep him in your prayers. Thank you all so very much for what you have done for our family. We are very grateful to all of you who have been there with us, and the help you have given us.

No Cancer!!!

Good News! My dad doesn't have cancer!! He went into surgery at 2:25. My mom called at 5:00 and told us that the results came in. His surgery went well!! That wasn't an easy surgery. The doctor said it would be very painful! Anyways, they figured out that the mass they removed wasn't a tumor. It was just a massive infection from his pneumonia. They got it all out. He will probably be in the hospital for 2 days. Then it will take 2-4 weeks to recover from his surgery.
We thank you all for the prayers in his behalf. I am sure they all played a big part in my dad's surgery going well!

AAARRRGG!!! Surgery

Today I received a call from Dr. Karwande's office. They had just received the test results from Dr. Farrukh. The nurse said that the Doctor wanted to see me right away... I said right now? She said yes. So I left work and headed straight to his office. When I got there he told me that the tumor next to my heart wasn't a tumor at all?! It is an inflamed lymph node and he is not concerned about that one. (What a difference a day makes) The one that he is worried about is the one that I was told was OK. He said they could only get a few cells to biopsy, and he is worried about all the other cells. Especially since the PET scan lit it up the way it did. So he wants to remove the mass and send it to pathology to have it tested while I stay under in surgery. If it is non-cancerous they will button me up, if it is cancerous they will do a lobectomy and remove the upper lobe of my lung as well as all the lymph nodes in my chest.
I'm hoping for the first option.
The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow (14 May 2010) at 2:00 PM.
I'm am so very grateful for every ones support through this difficult time!! Thanks for the meals that have been brought in, we have enjoyed them very much. I'm very grateful for the prayers and fasting and faith that has kept me and my family strong. I Love all of you.

Another Doctor

I just received a call from Dr. Farrukh's office. They are referring me to a cardiologist. I need to meet with him to find out all the details. From what I was told over the phone The tumor in the middle of my right lung in not malignant... yea!!! The tumor by my heart, according to the PET Scan, is concerning the doctor. that is why he is referring me to a thoracic cardiologist.

I am so very grateful for everyones prayers and faith in my behalf, you don't know how much that means to me.

...Radioactive

Today I had a PET Scan done, As President Jones says... "The good news is you will have medical evidence that you DO have both a brain and a heart!"
They told me that I will be radioactive until about dinner time so if it is anything like the Hulk my kids better not make me mad!!

They told me that the results will take a couple of days, so I will keep everyone posted.

...So it begins...

Well let me see if I can catch up on all that has happened in the past 3 months.

If I remember correctly, I came down with what I thought was a cold on Monday February 9th 2010. I remember because I was glad that I wasn't sick on a Sunday since they are so busy for me. I finally went to the Doctor for the first time on March 3rd 2010. they told me that I had pneumonia and started me on some oral antibiotics. I still felt quite ill and rundown about 3 to 4 weeks later with a very bad cough so on March 26th I went back to the doctor and he gave me an inhaler and more oral antibiotics (2nd Round). It seems that I would feel a little better while on the medicine, but as soon as I was off of them for a couple days, I would feel terrible again. I went back to the doctor for the 3rd time on April 7th for my (3rd round) of oral antibiotics. during all this time I had a very bad cough that wouldn't seem to go away. It was at this time that the doctor ordered the first chest x-ray. It showed fluidic masses in my right lung, which confirmed pneumonia. about 3 weeks later, after still not feeling better, I went back to the doctor on April 27th 2010. After getting a shot of antibiotics in the "end" (4th Round) the doctor ordered another chest x-ray to see if the lungs were getting better. that's when they found a large solid mass in the middle of the right lung. The doctor ordered a CT Scan on April 29th the results were that they found 2 masses in my right lung. One in the middle, that the x-ray showed, and another sitting in my right lung next to my aorta. Although they didn't tell me about it until I went in for the next test. On May 4th I had a Bronchoscopy Brush biopsy of the mass in the middle of my lung and Dr. Farrukh has ordered a PET Scan for tomorrow, May 11th 2010.

So that hopefully brings everyone up to date with what is happening in my life. I hope that this is accurate, It is according to my memory, and we all know how bad that is!

Yes, I am still Bishop (selfishly, I need the blessings). I hope that everyone knows how much I appreciate your prayers in my behalf. I don't yet know of the results of the biopsy, but, after calling the nurse at Dr. Farrukh's office and bugging her everyday since Thursday, they told me that I would get the results after the PET Scan results come in. It is hard to wait. I guess I get to learn a whole new level of patience?! I will try to keep this blog up to date the best I can.