Sunday May 6

I slept better last night that any previous night in the hospital.  It was still not a good night in absolute terms but relative to the previous nights here it was very good.

Doctor Visits

The senior resident, Dr Omar, was in again early today.  He is still quite positive about the long-term outcome but warns it won't be easy and is not a sure thing.

Dr Nanji was in a while later.  He is the surgeon that will do the actual work and he was a little more cautious than Dr Omar but still positive about the whole thing.

Both of them said they will have a case conference about me on Monday afternoon with several other medical people and try to agree on the best things to do.  They have two main options.


Option 1 - Cut first; ask questions later.

They will operate as soon as they can get operating room time and try to get all the tumour (and a bit more for good measure) in one go. Since it may take several days to get time in the OR, I may be sent home for a few days with some support measures in place so that I don't get so sick again.

Option 2 - Soften up the enemy first; then attack.

They will try to shrink the tumour first with some combination of chemotherapy and radiation.  Then, perhaps, the surgery will be a little easier with less risk of damaging the inner parts I will still need.  Again, I may be sent home, have the treatments as an outpatient and then be readmitted for surgery.

I expect they will tell me Tuesday which option they think is best.

One thing they will have to consider is that I have either a vein or an artery (I keep forgetting which) that is growing right through my pancreas instead of detouring around it.  He will have to rebuild this, with plastic tubing or some such thing, before cutting out the tumour.

So if you are planning to visit later next week, check the blog or email to be sure I am still here.

If you don't like details skip the next part.
My greatest accomplishment of the day has been to have my first bowel movement in 7 days.

My Skinny New Friend

For the first few days I was permanently attached to my IV pump.  I could unplug his power cord and he would run on battery power and go everywhere I did: for walks down the hall, to the nursing station just to see what's happening, to the bathroom, and even to the shower although he would stay on the dry side of the shower curtain.  Here we are together.

For some reason Stephen calls this picture Frankenron.  I have not shaved because there is no power to any outlet that is in range of a mirror.  Maybe they will fix this tomorrow.  Since Friday evening we have been disconnected from each other and while the freedom is nice I kinda miss him.  Note that I get to wear two gowns, one to cover the front and one to cover the back.

Today's Visitors


Anne and Stephen
Jonathan and Jacinta
Ted Thompson
Cheryl Stevenson


If you have read all the blogs and if you have paid attention, you know that Cheryl lived next door when we were at Ranney St in Campbellford.

I met Ted in Grade 13 and then last saw him when we graduated from University of Waterloo together in 1972.  It was good to meet again after all this time.

There, that was better than sending 37 individual emails.  Maybe there will be more news tomorrow, certainly by Tuesday.

Thanks again for all your best wishes.

Ron