Karen's Latest Trials

Hi all, this is Ed. It didn't take K too long to recover enough to give me hell for not maintaining this blog.
She went into surgery on the 1st. Since they were not able to extract a sample cell to determine that it was actually cancer (the petscan has a tiny chance of being wrong) the plan was to remove a small section of her lung and the suspect lymph node, biopsy them on the spot and procede from there. We of course were hoping , first, that it was not cancer. Next if it was, it would be small cell and not very invasive, at lastly if it was non-small-cell, it would be the type most responsive to treatment. Well, so far since this all started, every time we have been given hope that something could be the lesser of the bad possibilities, it has always been the worst. This was not much different. There are 3 types of cells possible in Karen's case, one responds well to Chemo, another responds well to Radiation and another doesn't respond well to either. You might have guessed by now , it is the latter that our girl has.
The Doctors removed the major portion of her left lung the enlarged lymphnode and some fatty tissue around her heart. The lymp node though, was wrapped around the nerve that controls her diaphram so they were not able to be certain that all the cancer was removed because of the danger of damaging the nerve and leaving her unable to breathe on her own. Also other lymph nodes were removed for microscopic analysis. We will get a full oncology report soon and a course of treatment will be established. But wait!!
Even before she got out of ICU, it was determined she has congestive heart failure, but an immediate heart cath wasn't possible because her blood pressure was unsafely low and her heart rate was in the 130 to 150 range.
Her blood pressure is finally under control and the heart cath is scheduled for this evening, 4/8 , at 5pm.
Normal recovery from her operation is tough enough, but with all they extra challenges stacked on top, this little girl had a pretty tough time. I don't know if anyone less honery could handle it.
Her progress lately has been better. Yesterday we got her up and walking a little way down the hall 3 times.
Karen still has one chest tube which will be removed this morning , and as I said earlier the cath is scheduled for this evening.
Karen wanted to make absolutely sure that everyone knows how much she loves the thoughts,prayers and good wishes she has from you. And those of you that know us well, know that I follow orders from the boss. So consider yourselves thanked and loved back,,,please.
This is one tough little girl who is clearly aware of the challenges to come. She is not kidding herself at all. We ,she and I,have our times to be tough and laugh but have allowed ourselves to crumble and hug. God loves that gal and made her stronger than anyone I know. Her attitude continues to be positive and her expectations of what the future will bring are realistic. As long as there is a battle left , you can bet she will be fighting.
Love ya all