| [Friday, July 27, 2007] Hi Everyone, Our Shel is still maintaining her bright spirit and positive attitude. (At least she makes me believe that when I'm talking to her on the phone;-) I haven't seen her since I left there the end of June, and boy am I having withdrawals! I really miss seeing her smiling face and rubbing my hand across the peach fuzz on her head. After today she has 2 more radiation treatments and then she's done! She's mentioned having intermittent dizziness for a week or so, so they've done some more blood work to see if it reveals anything, but hasn't got the results back yet. She's also had a little bit of discomfort when she eats because of the affects of radiation on her esophagus. On a rather funny note, a few days ago Dr. Lill's nurse faxed me the reports from her last CT and Pet scans. As you can imagine they were pretty Greek to me, but I did decipher enough to come up with some valid questions, which I sent Dr. Lill in an email. I told him if he preferred, he could call me back to discuss. I'd been waiting on pins and needles for him to call. While at work yesterday I was in a meeting in my office, and my phone rang. The voice on the other end in a very strong accent said, "May I speak with Mrs. Hancock please?" I thought it was a friend of mine who often fakes a pretty good British accent, so I replied, (since I was in a meeting), "sorry, she's not available right now." He said, "Okay I'll call back." Later I discovered it was NOT my friend who had called, so I immediately knew it had to have been Dr. Lill (although he's Australian, not British.) Fortunately he did call back and he laughed when I told him why I hadn't taken his call earlier. Then he spent a good deal of time explaining the results to me as best he could. This is basically what he said: Since the last study in May the mass has shrunk some, but not a lot. There are signs of increased metabolic activity within the mass, which could be the inflammatory process from treatment. There are no signs of anything new anywhere else in her body, and the clot that is in one of her main veins, the Superior Vena Cava, which transports blood from the upper body to the heart and lungs, has shrunk significantly which is good. She will most likely be on Coumadin for the next 6 months to a year untill all the clots reslove. The mass is still impinging on the vein, however, so the vein is still constricted. He hopes that the remaining radiation treatments will take care of any residual lymphoma that still may be active in the mass. Once she's done with radiation they will do another CT scan, and then 3 months later another Pet scan. At that time he will have a clearer picture as to the next steps of treatment, if any are necessary. She is handling everything so well it makes me wonder what is sustaining her. But then I already know. It's the deep spiritual connection she has to her Father in Heaven and her faith and trust in Him. Added to that is the love and compassion of her husband Eric, the love and support of family and friends world-wide, and the trust she has in her doctor's to provide the best medical care possible. I know that being cushioned in the arms of angels, both physical and non-physical, gives one hope and strength to go on. There's something about the soothing comfort of pure love that lifts us to heights unimagined. My Prayer is that I may allow grace into my life, at least to the extent Shelsi has, should I ever be asked to endure such a trial myself. With Love and Gratitude Sheri
Shelsi |
