Greetings to all our loved ones!
Incredible things have occurred and I am excited to share with you what is going on regarding my mother. If you have been following this closely, you are aware of the ups and downs of this journey. Mom had been given a terrible prognosis regarding the complications of an thoracoabdominal aneurysm surgery and decided not to have it. We all came to the realization that she was going to die soon and began the grieving/getting affairs in order/saying goodbye process. The doctors gave mom up to two months to live., (which, by the way, past five days ago).
My uncle Bob (a retired general and vascular surgeon) encouraged us to get a second opinion. We did that, and received the same information. However, we came to realize that it was not a true second opinion because these doctors all collaborated and consulted each other the first time and are within the same network.
My uncle encouraged us to see a doctor at Stanford. He is one of the best regarding this surgery. Mom really struggled agreeing to do this. We had all gone through so much and mom had made peace with the reality of dying. The idea of pursuing treatment and a glimmer of hope was hard to grasp.
Regardless, my aunt Annie and uncle Art flew with my mom to Stanford. We met them there on Sunday and got ready for a day of testing on Monday.
Monday morning, first thing, she went in for a CT Scan. She could not eat prior and was hungry after. The next test was at a different location, so se found a restaurant between the two and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast. Everyone especially loved the bacon (a place called
Stacks)
We still had about 2.5 hours to kill. We wanted to make sure we knew where the other place was and went to find it.
Lo and behold, the hospital is right next to a large shopping mall! (I am sure you know where this is headed…)
I borrowed a wheelchair from the Nordstrom customer service and we shopped Nordie’s for a couple of hours. Mom exercised her Visa like the seasoned shopper she is. It was a fun diversion.
The next test was the pulmonary function lab. Mom had never had this test before. The tech gave us some encouraging feedback before we left. This is atypical of technicians to give any feedback, and it lifted our spirits.
Then, she has an echo cardiogram. Immediately after that, we met with Dr. Miller’s nurse. She questioned mom on what her understanding is of the procedure, and also prepped us to meet the doctor. She said he was a “redneck” ( meaning he was a “call it like he sees it, no nonsense guy”, who always wore cowboy boots and sometimes a cowboy hat. She encouraged us to just sit and really listen to what he has to say. She then left the room to get the doctor.
Dr. Miller introduced himself, then invited mom to go for a walk with him. Annie, Art and I waited in his office. After about ten minutes they returned and here is what he shared with us:
- He likes mom’s will and spirit. He said it’s the ornery, feisty ones that survive a surgery like this.
- Prior to seeing the test results, he was expecting to give similar odds as the Seattle team, but the test results were much stronger than he anticipated.
- There is obvious lung disease, but not as bad as he was expecting.
- Her aneurysm is about 9-10cm, and is now larger than her heart.
- The pain she gets is due to the aneurysm eroding the spinal bones.
- The leaking of the blood stopped at some point and the blood that was in her body cavity in the Seattle CT scan has been reabsorbed by her body. Her cavity is clear of blood at this time. The doctor said this is luck, but we know otherwise.
- Whereas the Seattle doctors said that there was a 100% of some sort of complication (paralysis, lifetime respirator, lifetime kidney dialysis), Dr. Miller said that his odds were a total of 15-20% that there would be a complication, and that the lifetime respirator and dialysis is not really even a consideration.
- Dr. Miller said that the biggest risk and most serious is the possible paralysis from the waist down. There are 34 arteries that stem from the aorta. These arteries feed the other organs, etc. There is one artery that feeds the spinal chord. The challenge the doctors have is that they don’t know which artery it is until they get in there and look around. This is where the risk comes in. However…the scan showed that most of the other arteries have been either destroyed or absorbed by the aneurysm, and there is one beautiful, healthy looking artery sitting there practically gift-wrapped for us. The doctor knows exactly the location of the artery and the risk factor has been minimalized as a result. The doctor says this is luck, but we know otherwise.
- Dr. Miller does 25-30 of these procedures a year.
- Mom decided to have the surgery and it is scheduled for December 26th. She will check in on Christmas Day for the pre-op workup.
- Post-op, mom will be on a ventilator for a few days maybe, and will be in the hospital for about 10 days. Then, she will have a few months of recovery. She will stay with me during recovery.
- Dr. Miller said she will have a rough Spring season, but at least she will have a Spring season.
There was no ego or arrogance to Dr. Miller, just the humble assurance and confidence that comes from someone who knows what he is doing.
We recognize that the Seattle doctors were speaking truth based on their experience and skill set. What is unfortunate is that they did not let us know that there are other doctors out there that have more experience with this procedure. We had to find this out from my uncle Bob advocating for us. Can you imagine all the families out there that don’t have an Uncle Bob?
We all went out for a celebratory dinner that evening after our meeting with the doctor. Two separate people suggested
Sundance Steakhouse. Great steak and prime rib!
The next day, (yesterday), Annie and Art left for home, and mom came home with us. She will stay with us until the 12th,will go back to Issaquah, then return on the 23rd with my brother, Devin.
Last night, we decided to go out for dinner. Before that, we drove through a nearby neighborhood where all the houses decorate for Christmas. Most of the houses have their lights up already and it was a lovely drive. Mom was overflowing with joy.
We went to a Mexican restaurant called
Zocalo’s. There was a 45 minute wait, but the hostess decided to sit us in the back room reserved for private parties. We sat at a huge square table that seats about 12. We were separate from the rest of the restaurant and felt spoiled and privileged.
Shortly thereafter, one of the staff members of our church (a mega- church) came over and said ‘hi’. He saw us being seated and recognized David. He was having dinner with one of our main pastors, Curt Harlow, and two other Bayside staff members. David then went over to extend greetings at their table. THEN, Pastor Curt came over and extended greetings to us and let my mom know that they were praying for her. This to me was yet another sign that God is all over this.
As if it could not get any better, we found out that someone at that table (or Bayside) covered our check! My eyes were full of tears of gratitude. Not only over the kindness of others, but of the providence of God. Please, may we never forget or take for granted!
