Big Medical Day!

Today was a big day of meeting with medical folks and finalizing the next steps treatment plan for Val.  As my brother-in-law would say, it was kind of a “super combo platter special” type of medical day.  We not only ordered a #1 extra large but about 4 more of those!

Our first appointment was with Val’s surgeon for the “official” post operation review.  Val’s surgeon is very happy with the healing process and also spent lots of time with us letting us ask many questions and discussing the next steps we would be outlining with Val’s Oncology Doctor later in the day.  Just to give you an example of the wonderful medical team we have, Val’s surgeon moved her schedule around so she could be the one to install the port that Val is going to need for chemo.  Just an amazing doc who we are very grateful to have on our team.

The second appointment was our first meeting with Val’s oncology doctor.  We had never met her before and were a little apprehensive about if she would be a good fit for us (more like if she could handle all my questions with out kicking me out).  She is a great fit for us and worked closely with my mom when she worked at Cancer and Hematology Center (CHC).

This meeting was a great big fire hose download of the chemo program that Val is going to be doing.  It was lots of information and a little overwhelming but we did good getting a handle on our next steps.  Just to give you an idea of all we downloaded at today’s appointment, Val has some sort of medical appointment or procedure every day next week!  If all those Monday thru Thursday appointments go as planned Val will officially be starting chemo next Friday, May 6th.

Chemo will be for a total of five months split up into a first phase that is for 2 months and a second phase which is for 3 months.  That will then be followed up by radiation treatment.

We are happy to have a game plan for the next steps and are ready to get going.  Both Val and I know that we are going to have some tough times ahead but we are ready to face it because we are not facing it alone.  We continue to have a great medical team, friends and family who are supporting us and most important, the God of the universe running the show.

We continue to lean hard on our Heavenly Father for guidance and strength.  As we get farther into this journey it becomes more and more evident this is not just about us.  There is much to learn, much to take away and much to use for God’s glory.  One of our prayers is that we do not waste this experience.

Thank you again and we will continue to keep you all updated as we know more.

Marc