RPLND at IU

Well some of you have been following facebook and have a general idea of where Jarod stands today but for those of you who don't have facebook or would like to know more about what has happened since Wednesday here it is.



Wednesday we met with Dr. Beck at his office he is very young and seemed very knowledgeable about Jarod's case. He drew a diagram of he was planning on doing during surgery for Jarod, Marcy and me. He explained that the 2 masses were located on the upper Venacava and the lower part of the vena cava. They would need to move his small intestine out and lay it on his chest and then very carefully cut out the 2 masses, fell through all the organs and remove all nodes on there retro peritoneal cavity.



Although this is still a huge surgery there was some good news to this - originally they told us that they might have to remove all the nodes on both sides which is harder recovery, more time, and more risky for long term side effects. He also told us that there was 90% chance that the masses would come back as something other than active cancer. There is a 45% chance it would be dead tissue and a 45% chance it is a local growing abnormality that is not spreading but still needs to be removed and only 10% chance that it is active cancer.



If any of the pathology shows active cancer then Jarod will need to under go 2 additional 3 week treatments of the same type of chemotherapy that he just finished.



So we finished up our appointment with all of questions answered and with that we went out for a light dinner before heading to bed early.



Thursday Marcy and I were both up well before dawn and all three of us arrived at the hospital at 6:45am. We had pre-checked in on Wednesday so there wasn't a lot of paper work. They took him back to prep him before we allowed to come sit with pre surgery. The doctors came back and went over all the procedures and everyone was really nice we were able to stay with up right up to the operating room door.



Marcy and I were shown where the surgical waiting room was and they gave us a pager so we could walk around or go get something to eat and every hour and half the nurses came to give us an update. My Mom arrived around 11:30am.



Jarod finished surgery around 12:45pm and Dr. Beck came out to tell us how it went, why he was still in the operating room being woken up before moving to recovery. He said that the lower mass on the vena cava was so tightly wrapped around the nerve endings going to testicle that there was no way he could save the nerves on the right side because he couldn't risk leaving any of the mass. When he cut the mass away, he damaged all the nerves on the right side and also made a small hole in the vena cava which he had sewn up. Dr. Beck said that the good news was the mass was dead tissue and that there is still a 70% chance he will not have permeate damage but they will just have to see how he does during recovery. Dr. Beck said he was able to move the left nerves out of the way and hopefully save those from any damage but will again have to wait and see as Jarod starts to recover. There was no bleeding during surgery and he felt around all the organs and everything else was fine so that's great.



The smaller mass at the top of the vena cava was easily clipped off but was too small to tell what it is so we will have to wait on the pathology report to come back on that one, which will take several days.



2 hours after that around 4:00 pm Marcy and I were able to go back to see him in recovery for just 5 mins he had good color and seemed comfortable, although he doesn't remember anything about us being there.



Finally around 6:00pm he was put into a room. We had requested a private room but they hospital was so full that none were available, it actually worked out well when we found out who the room mate was.



Jarod was a little upset when he came to and he realized he didn't have a private room and that there was some nerve damage but once he realized that it was a better situation he was OK.



Our room mate was a 24 year old man named Josh who had 2 days prior to Jarod under gone the same RPLND surgery and was up walking with no tubes, or anything other than oral pain meds. He and his wife Amy (who was an oncology nurse) were there with his Mom. They had been diagnosed 1 month prior to Jarod in early February but his was stage 3. His was also on his right side and had undergone the exact same course of treatment as Jarod - orchiectomy, 9 weeks chemo and RPLND. He had been seeing Dr. Einhorn the entire time and was talking about what a great guy he was. Both his wife and Mom nurses and know a lot about what Josh had underwent and all 3 were so positive about how we have the best of the best.



It was so nice to meet someone so young who had experienced the same thing at the same time. We got his contact info and plan on staying in touch with him.



Yesterday as you can imagine was an extremely emotional day for me. I think I am a good planner, and caregiver and for the emotional hardships I feel compassionate and strong, however hospitals and medical problems are things I lack experience and understanding and I have a lot of anxiety. More than anything I hate to see Jarod in pain, or upset or scared and he had been very scared prior to surgery. Marcy on the other hand has a lot of experience personally and professionally in hospitals and feels comfortable and capable in these environments. This was such a blessing for me because I was exhausted, drained, scared, overwhelmed and couldn't do what Jarod needed during the night. Marcy offered to stay with Jarod and let me go to the hotel with my Mom and get some rest.



We came back here and a really nice bellhop named Mike saw us walk in and could tell I was under stress, he asked what was wrong and if anything could help us and we said well if there is a larger room for when my husband's get out of the hospital it would be great. He immediately moved us the a handicap suite which is HUGE and has 3 beds, several chairs, a handicap shower, desk and small kitchenette which is amazing.



I went straight to sleep and then first thing this morning went back to the hospital to be with Jarod. Marcy had been up all night and Jarod had gotten sick which put him in a lot of pain. My Mom took Marcy to the hotel and I stayed with Jarod.



Jarod did really well in less than 24 hours after surgery he was in a chair sitting up, and then 24 hours after surgery walked the entire hallway and 2 more times got out of bed and sat in a chair again, which is great!



Josh his roommate was released from the hospital today around 1:00 pm which is really encouraging to us because he is 2 days away from Jarod so gives us a good guideline to go by. The doctor came by around 2 and said he was doing great. They moved us to a private room at 3 and then Jarod slept most of the rest of the afternoon.



My Mom has been transporting Marcy and I back and forth back and forth back and forth from the hotel to the hospital. She drove 12 hours to get here and it has been really helpful!! Marcy is again staying the night with Jarod so that I can get some sleep for when he is released. I am so grateful that Marcy is good with hospital and medical things and is so willing to stay with him during the nights.



I couldn't do this without either of my Mama's :) and as Jarod said earlier, "I really think it's going to be get better from here."



Thank you all for all the thoughts, prayers, calls, emails, facebooked and comments. We appreciate it! Also Jarod wants people to call him as well even if it is only so he can see who is calling.