...back to reality.

I've been nonstop for the past two days. Here are a couple of exerts from emails to doctors and close friends and family to fill everyone in...

Email to doctor:

"The reoccurring tumor appears to be at least 2 cm in size now and Dr M feels I should be more aggressive with the surgery, with a wide re-excision of the entire operative field. Dr. A thought if the median nerve were close to the tumor or touching it, it should be a mandatory treatment, but didn't rule it out as a very reasonable option regardless. This surgery will result most likely in major loss of hand function, strength, and sensation of touch.

This would involve removing the majority of my forearm and the skin, replacing the muscles with some from the lat area of my back and nerves from my calf. There could be an artery graft needed as well. A major surgery that I had discussed with you and Dr. L if the median nerve were involved initially. Most likely the skin graft would be taken from my back, but the leg could still be an option."


To family/friend:

"i'm not that down in the dumps about this really, just trying to make the decision that's best for me

who can operate quicker?
who's a better surgeon to remove the area?
who can reconstruct my arm better?

blah blah blah....

i'm meeting again with my doctor in durham and all the others doing the preop appointments. we'll figure out a decision over the weekend. i'm scheduled for surgery on monday at duke, which is a bit of a crunch to make the call. i haven't heard when this specialist is available to operate in NY

it looks like the ny and nc surgeons are going to be able to talk at a tumor conference in saint louis this weekend, which is pretty amazing.

y'all don't worry about me"

To everyone reading the blog:

It seems like alot to swallow but it's really down to the three questions I asked earlier. I'm doing fine, planning to be aggressive and feel good about my outlook. I'll know more tomorrow and even more by the beginning of next week.

CP