Jeremy was put into his own room yesterday afternoon. His heart rate is quite elevated due to the HIPEC treatment. They are providing meds to help but just a wait and see thing. He is trying to stay comfortable in his hospital bed. The catheter was removed this morning and he is getting up and walking down the halls...even made it up and down a few steps. Still in some pain but is trying to stay ahead of it with the meds. Unfortunately he has not been able to eat any food yet due to his bowels not cooperating. Doctor said he is doing well...everything seems normal. Also that he may be discharged tomorrow or Sunday. Just depends on how things l
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Here he is! Less than 24 hours after surgery and he is up walking around. An eight hour difference from the top left picture to the bottom right picture. Looking forward to moving out of ICU and getting some real food.
Jeremy's surgery went very well today. Dr. Loggie said that he got as much of the disease that he could see. Unfortunately there may still be some disease above the liver near the heart but he chose not to bother with that area and due to the type of cancer it should remain dormant if any is there. Jeremy did have his spleen, gall bladder, and the offending appendix removed. In the process of removing his appendix, the doctor had to remove a small portion of his colon. According to the doctor he had plenty colon to stitch back together. He is having his HIPEC chemo treatment as I type this and then will be sewn up and shipped off to ICU where he will remain probably until Thursday. We will talk with the Doctor again after everyone has had some rest to discuss everything again. Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers during his surgery.
Jeremy has checked into the hospital and is in the process of preparing for his surgery tomorrow. Sharette and Jeremy's mom are here in Omaha with him and Sharette's mom is flying in this evening. He also got a visit from his long time friends Mike and Sherry Bierl. He found out this morning that the procedure has to be done open. His incision will be from his pelvis to his xyphoid process. He is not overly worried but it will be very invasive. Open procedure is the norm so it is nothing that is specific to his situation. It is the only way to get to most or hopefully all of the tumors. The procedure will last most of the day and Jeremy probably won't be able to remember anything that is occurring until Wednesday morning.
Jeremy and Sharette went to Omaha for his final assessment prior to surgery. They flew out Sunday, the assessment was Monday, and they flew back Monday evening. They used a metal based dye to see the tumors and injected it into Jeremy during an MRI. There were more tumors present shown with the MRI than the CT scan showed from a few weeks ago.
The only logical option is surgery to debulk the Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP) tumors and mucinous byproduct that spread throughout his abdomen. It completely surrounds his bladder and rectum, the upper abdomen masses will also be difficult to extract because of their location, the abdomen masses will be extracted, and they will remove his appendix, gallbladder, and spleen. There is also a possibility of a colon repair as well. After that, an application of heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) will follow immediately. Jeremy and Sharette will return to Omaha on the 9th of March and his surgery is scheduled for the 11th. The surgery will take all day and could last late into the evening. He will be moved to the ICU for 1 to 3 days, and then to his room for about another 4-6 days. He then has to be released locally for 1 day and at that point, they will decide if he can return to Boise. The prognosis with this surgery is that Jeremy has about a 50/50 chance of living 12 more years. The prognosis could change depending on the surgery. That puts him at only 55 and is about 30 years shorter than he was hoping to spend with Sharette and his children. During the majority of the next 10 years, Jeremy should be able to return to a quality of life similar to what he was doing prior to the cancer restricting him to what it has now, which is just walking. Jeremy's plan is to beat the odds but for now, it's just to get through the surgery and get back on his feet. He will have to return to Omaha frequently. 90 days after surgery, 6 months, 1 year, 18 months, 2 years, followed by annual MRI's and other treatments. It's going to be a tough road but the only road. Thank again for the prayers, well wishes, and donations. Everything helps. Despite all this, Jeremy says he is blessed because he has a wonderful family, friends, and loves the people God has blesses him with. I went to the emergency room yesterday for what I thought was a mild heart attack. The first trip, my heart was fine and the doctor thought I may have had a pinched nerve in my neck that was causing my arms to be numb and I was released. About seven hours later I was back in the ER with full body numbness and hyperventilating to the point where I couldn’t walk and I almost blacked out. After the second trip, the blood work showed my issue was excessive anxiety and I was released. I have been doing well the last 30 hours and just received some good news progressing towards surgery.
I have been scheduled to see the specialist in Omaha on the 24th of February. This is for an evaluation, MRI, and Lab work. I will be flying out this weekend and returning home Monday night. Once they look over everything, they will schedule me to undergo cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. I am told the surgery date could be anywhere from one to three more weeks out. Thank you all for the cards, notes, prayers, and donations. Once I know when the surgery is, I will let you all know. Thank you, Jeremy |
Jeremy & SharetteThey will be providing updates on Jeremy's treatment and prognosis whenever there is news to report. PArchivesy
January 2021
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