tear drops falling on my *imaginary* guitar :(

The update:

Mom had surgery today and although it seemed good that they were done in two hours, not four, we were wrong. The original plan was that if things looked good, it would be done in two hours, but at two hours, the doctor came out and told my dad there were three possible scenarios: 1) everything looked good and is taken care of; 2) things are a little complicated; or 3) things are difficult. My mom is in scenario three.

Apparently, they took out the omentum (a covering around part of the stomach), both ovaries, and her appendix (it looked funny, he said). They checked out her intestines and discovered that they are surrounded in cancer cells and are therefore, untouchable, as opposed to needing some reconstructing. My dad didn't like the idea of taking out her intestines completely, so now the plan is that she'll do three months of chemo, starting in about three days, and then they'll do another surgery and check out her intestines then and see if they can be saved.

Due to today's findings they realized that the cancer infecting my mom is not ovarian (as the blood tests last week seemed to lead to) and they have no idea where the cancer originated. Apparently, all the cancer cells they found on every organ are metastasized cells, so, we wait on the pathology lab findings to explain where the cancer started. The doctor who did her surgery, a GYN specialist, is now referring Mom to a different specialist since her problem isn't "female" anymore, and once they find the source, she starts that cancer's chemo* by week's end.

*I've learned that every type of cancer has its own treatment schedule and chemical cocktail so it really is vital they discover the source so they treat the right thing.


Oh, they also removed two liters of water from her abdominal cavity before "beginning" all the removals. Can you even imagine having that much fluid just sitting in you? No wonder she hasn't kept anything down since Friday and hasn't been able to sleep for days. She's super dehydrated and so now she's on IVs to give her fluids so she can start eating so they can start chemo. She's also on an epidural for the next two days that targets only her abdomen.

Since Dad's phone call, I have to keep reminding myself that last week I felt like everything would turn out ok and that Heavenly Father is watching our her and all the prayers being offered in her behalf have to work. I had to stop myself from crying when I walked into the Huntsman because even though the place is amazingly beautiful and high-tech, it's also a place extreme suffering for everyone who's a patient or their visitor. On my way out, I didn't even bother to stop myself from crying; I had to leave my mom in the hands of God and the people doing their jobs.