Plumbing Update

It has been several weeks since we gave a public update on Ginny and her health. There is a lot going on.

Ginny continues to struggle with her bowels and the impact the tumor is having on her body. This has resulted in increased pain. She continues to adjust her medication regimen to cope with the increased pressure and discomfort. Two weeks ago, we met with experts in the gastro department and the teams (Gastro, Oncology, Pain and Palliative) have all agreed that the best hope they have for relieving some of the pain and discomfort is to bypass the system. This means the placement of a colostomy. This is a difficult procedure as Ginny's "innards" are highly compromised, but she is CLEAR that she wants to have the procedure in hopes of increasing her quality of life.  The colostomy will not eliminate all pain as the tumor will still be  there, but there is an expectation that Gin will see improvement.

The difficulty comes with the location that they will attempt to place the colostomy and Ginny's overall strength. Gin has two nephrostomy tubes/bags and a pain pump in place currently.  The surgeons do not have a choice as to where to place the colostomy as the other pieces are permanently placed.

As with any surgical procedure there are risks. All of which have been weighed and the hope and potential benefits have driven her decision.

Surgery is March 6th. We have pre-operative appointments Feb 22. I have taken the week of the surgery off to be able to be with her. We are expecting that she will be in the hospital 3 nights/4 days.

There are lots of unknowns as far as how she will respond to the surgery and the recovery process.  One day at a time.  I will post here during with updates during the week of surgery.

Kir