A Friend in the Hospital

Update 4-11-09 About a week ago, Kecia was in for some pre-op work and she met a young lady in the waiting room who had the tell-tale signs of someone fighting cancer. They struck up a conversation and found out that they had alot of things in common. Sally is a 33 year old woman fighting breast cancer and also scheduled for a double mastectomy. Her heritage is Iranian just like Kecia's and when checking their family trees for any history of breast cancer, both found none. They have the same doctor, the same surgeon and would be in the hospital during the same week. They exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch. After Kecia was assigned to her room they found out that Sally had had her surgery on Wednesday (two days earlier than Kecia) and was in the room three doors down. She visited Kecia's room 3 times yesterday and has been a very positive encouragment for her. It's amazing all of the ways that God sends us what we need in just the way we need it. Kendall and I left the younger kiddos at home with Grandad and went to visit today after church. The girls had made her an Easter basket with homeade cards and goodies. They also made one for Sally and once we got there, Kecia walked Sally's basket down to her which marked her first venture outside of her room. Against the doctors orders, Kecia had looked at her chest earlier in the day, and was horrified by what she described as "frankenstien scars". It was a very difficult thing for her to face and emotionally she struggled with accepting the changes that had occured to her body. While in Sally's room, they compared scars, talked about fears and worked through alot of the emotions they were struggling with. She seemed to feel more comfortable with herself and finds alot of comfort in being able to share this with someone who understands first hand. Physically, she looks really good. Her color is healthy, her face looks full and "bright" again, and she is gaining her strength and stability back slowly but surely. She is still having alot of pain but it is managable most of the time. She needs help doing almost everything, but that is to be expected. Please continue to pray for her speedy recovery and for her emotional strength as she gets used to her "new body".

Update 4-11-09 Kecia is doing well. She had a really rough night after coming out of surgery because her pain meds weren't working for her. They took care of that once the Dr. came in this morning so she got some relief and a little rest. She was up several times to go back and forth from the bathroom to bed and tried to venture out on a little walk around the hall but thought better of it before she got to the door. She is at Medical City Dallas Building A, Room #951 (North Tower) She has her cell phone with her and only turns it on when she is awake and taking calls. I will see her tomorrow after church and will update you again in the evening. I hope everyone has a wonder Easter! Ours couldn't be better, knowing that Kecia is doing well and getting better every day.

Surgery Update: 4-10-09 8:00 Praise God! Kecia is out of surgery. She is resting peacefully in the recovery room and should be brought into the room with family soon. Around 3:30, the surgeon came out to say that she was finished with her part and that it had gone beautifully. They found nothing unexpected or worrisome and said that they were able to remove all cancerous tissues with no problem. She also said that Kecia's bleeding was better controlled that her patients with normal blood levels and they were all very pleased with the results. Around 6:00, the plastic surgeon came out to inform the family that his portion was equally successful and uneventful. He was forced to remove Kecia's port as it was infected and had alot of damaged tissue. He is not the one who can put another port in, so that will have to be done later in the month, but it is a relatively easy surgery compared to this one. It needed to come out so it is actually good news that they were able to get it now. He was able to put in the breast shields which will keep the skin from tightening up and make it easier on her when it comes time to do the implants. Kecia did GREAT! I am so proud of her and thank God for once again coming through for her. I will let you all know tomorrow which room she is in so you can visit or send goodies. She should be there for about 5-7 days. Please join me tonight as I thank God for yet another miracle in our girls recovery story!

Surgery Update-4-10-09 Kecia was taken back to surgery at 10:40 am. She was in good spirits and as peaceful as one can be before a surgery such as this. She knows she is in good hands and wanted me to thank everyone for lifting her up in prayer throughout this whole ordeal. They will be doing a constant blood transfusion through the entire operation. It is expected to last about 8 hours, so I probably won't have much to update before 7 or 8 this evening. I know your day is busy but if you think of Kec off and on please continue to pray for her good health, the surgeons steady and knowlegable hand, and a non eventful surgery. We are so thankful for each of you and the role ya'll are playing in Kecia's recovery.

4-8-09 In Need of Prayer: Kecia spent 7 long hours at the hospital yesterday getting everything ready for Friday's surgery. While not looking forward to it, she has made up her mind that it is necessary and she just wants to get it done. You will imagine then, how disappointed she was to get a call this morning telling her that her blood levels are way too low to proceed as planned. She wanted to go ahead and check into the hospital so they could give her two days worth of infusions but they don't want to do that. The doctors have discussed it and they want her to go ahead and come in tomorrow for the scheduled appointment. (they will give her 4 shots in each breast of radioactive material which will adhere to the cancerous tissue and light it up to make it clearly visible for the surgeon.) They said to come in early Friday for a "pre-surgery infusion" in hopes that it will bring her levels up enough to proceed and then they will have someone infusing her throughout the entire 9 hour surgery. If, however, after beginning the surgery, they see that she is not able to clot, they will have to do nothing but remove the one cancerous breast and then close her up and reschedule everything else. The thought of going through all of this for nothing is very frusterating for Kecia. Even as planned this is going to be a 3 operation process. She can't bear to think it might now turn out to be a 4 or 5 operation thing. She is asking that we all pray that God's hand will be visible in her doctor's decisions. She would like for God to miraculously bring her levels up to a "better than just safe" level. But if that is not His will, she would like for Him to make it very clear as to whether or not they should proceed or postpone so that she doesn't have to do this all over again. Please pray fervently on this subject as Kecia is feeling afraid and unsure and needs our prayerful support. I will let you know if anything else is decided at her appointment tomorrow.

Surgery Update 4-6-09

Kecia is pleased to announce that her port is feeling and looking much better. If it continues healing at this pace she will be able to have surgery as planned. Thank you all for your prayers on this matter. That being said, as the minutes tick closer to the scheduled time of operation, Kecia's anxiety on the subject grows. She knows she needs to have the operation since her breasts are the origin of cancer growth, but the realization that a part of her body will be amputated is very disturbing for her. Emotionally, these last few days have been very difficult for her. I try to prepare her for the grieving process that will begin the moment she wakes up from surgery but one can only prepare so much. Please continue to pray for her spiritual and emotional peace as she begins this not-so-pleasant journey. She meets with her doctor and the surgeon on Tuesday morning for a pre-op evaluation. We are praying that all will be well and they will be able to move forward as planned. Kecia knows the sooner it's done, the sooner she can move on to the next stage in her recovery. Oh how I look forward to the day that she just gets to go in to work or hang out with friends like she used to. I can't wait until she's healthy and "whole" again.

More News 3-31-09
As requested, Kecia's surgery has been scheduled for "sooner than later". She recieved a call on Friday telling her that even though her surgeon doesn't usually do operations on Fridays, they had scheduled her with their first available spot. It just happens to be on Friday, April 10th. Not a bad day to go under the knife....Good Friday! She will probably be there for 5-7 days. Since her cultures came back negitive for infection she will be allowed to proceed with the surgery and they will treat the bacteria in her bladder after she is all healed. They did say that her symptoms are most likely caused from damage to her bladder as a result of the radiation done so close to it back in July. It could heal up on it's own with time but they aren't sure. She is very happy that they were able to schedule the surgery so quickly and looks forward to getting it over with. She is however very concerned about her port again. You will remember all the trouble she had with it a few months ago. It was infected and got very sore. She is experiencing some of the same problems with it and fears that it may be infected again. If it is, they will not do her mastectomy until it is cleared up. She is asking that we all pray for her body to stay healthy enough to get the surgery and that the port will clear up quickly without hospitalization. I'll give you the updated schedule of events as they unfold. Your prayers are very powerful. Thank you for every minute that you spend in prayer for Kecia.