All Done!

The last of the Red Devil to ever enter her body!

Well, the last week has definitely not been boring. Crescence got to ride in an ambulance to Providence Hood River, and then she got to spend the night in one of their excellent guest suites only to get poked and prodded trying to figure out why she was having chest pain. That put her final chemo treatment off for a week. This morning, before doing her final chemo treatment, she had to do a cardio stress test to make sure her heart is healthy enough for the treatment. She passed that with flying colors, so her heart is healthy. I think it was just a heart fart that caused the chest pain, but what would I know. A tradition among chemo patients is to ring a bell when leaving their last treatment - she rang them all! While this treatment is complete, Cescence is exhausted and now has several years of CT scans to endure. We will continue to pray for NERDs (No Evidence of Residual Disease). Her first post-treatment scan will be in three weeks and then once every three months for the first year. During the second year, scans are once every four months, then once every six months during year three. When she is cancer-free for five years, she is technically "cured".  After that point, scans will be done once a year for the next 50 years or so.

We can't thank everyone enough for all the prayers and support through all this. We got so much strength from you all!



I am not a doctor, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I have learned a lot about Uterine Leiomyosarcoma (uLMS) through all of this. So I want to give a little advice to the ladies out there. If you are diagnosed with a uterine fibroid and have any of the symptoms listed below, please tell your gynecologist to treat your fibroid as a possible uterine leiomyosarcoma tumor. This means your fibroid should be removed in one piece, not cut up or morcellated as Crescence's was. Your doctor might believe the risk of uLMS is very low, but the latest research has found the odds of uLMS for women who have a fibroid with the below symptoms is 1 in 350. The survival rate is over 80% when initial treatment is carried out correctly.  Had we known this, we would never have agreed to save a few days in the hospital by doing the Laparoscopic Hysterectomy.

Symptoms of uLMS vary from woman to woman and can include:
• Heavy periods
• A rapidly growing fibroid
• Abnormal vaginal bleeding
• Abnormal or mucousy vaginal discharge
• Pelvic pain or pressure
• Pain or discomfort during sexual intercourse.
• Abdominal pain or pressure
• Abdominal bloating and distention
• Change in bladder or bowel habits
• Blockage of urinary flow
**Crescence had all but one of these symptoms.

Better Late Than Never

People have been asking how Crescence is doing, and I have been derelict in my blogging duties. I apologize. My lovely wife is now halfway through the six chemo treatments and is back to work. A lot has happened since my last post; some great and some not so great. 

Starting with the great - we were given an opportunity to rent a studio apartment for 13 days on Maui for less than a weekend in Seattle. Thank you, Sue and Neil. So, with the blessing of her nurses and doctors, we jetted off to Maui. It was an amazing trip for just the two of us. The water was warm, the beaches were spectacular, the sunsets were beautiful and the weather was perfect. Overall, it was the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken. To top it all off, we avoided setting foot in a hospital the entire month of July! 

Now for the not so great - August did not have a good start as Crescence ended up having minor surgery on the first, which has delayed her chemo treatments. As you may know, chemo weakens a person's ability to fight infection, and if you get an infection the chemo has to stop until it clears up. Turns out, she had an abscess that turned into a fistula. The surgery was a temporary fix to clear the infection, but she will need another surgery down the road to permanently repair the fistula. We received news today that there is no sign of infection, so she is cleared to resume chemo this Thursday. If all goes well, she will be able to finish her last chemo treatment in the first week of October. Then in early 2020, she can get the other surgery done. 
Thanks again for everyone's support.

Crescence and Brian

Round Two of Six

So I have been derelict in my blogging duties but we just kept swimming along. Today, as I write this, we are in the treatment room at Compass Oncology in Vancouver. Round one was completed three weeks ago. As I have said before, everyone responds differently but Crescence did have the typical side effects of nausea, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, mouth sores, and the dreaded hair falling out. She felt much better this last week just in time to start the next cycle. The doc says some of the side effects are cumulative so we can expect some things to get more difficult with each added treatment. Crescence had a minor surgical procedure on Monday to get her port put in. This will make the chemo procedure go much easier and safer and, for once, there were no complications.

As a side note, Jasper, our 10-year-old nephew is staying with us for a month. Crescence just loves being a mother so he has been a delight to have around.

People have been so kind to us bringing food, mowing the lawn, bringing flowers, visiting, and offering encouragement. There have been so many cancer survivors who have offered support, advice, and encouragement and we are very grateful for all the support.

In this picture, Crescence is sporting a peach-colored prayer shawl made by Rose Goeres, a peach bracelet made by Dee Anderson, a keep swimming bracelet provided by my sister, Catrina, and a "Just Keep Swimming T-shirt provided by Amazon (t-shirt not free but free two-day shipping w/prime). Interesting side note about the "Just Keep Swimming" theme - we see it everywhere we go now and it pops up in the most random places. Or is it random? It might seem cheezy but having a theme or motto is very comforting and fun at the same time.

We will be going to go camping at the Oregon coast for 10 days starting July 5th which we are both looking forward too. Oh, I almost forgot the results of her first CT scan post surgery. The report says "No Evidence of Residual Disease) or NERD for short. We hope for more NERDs along the way. Pray for NERDs! NERDs are good! GO NERDs! Next scan in three months.

Thank you all and remember when you have one of those days that sucks, JUST KEEP SWIMMING!

Love ya all,

Brian and Crescence

Finding Chemo! Hopefully not coming to a theater near you.

I am sorry but I couldn't resist the Finding Nemo rhyme but today's short post is all about our first chemo meeting with Dr. Rushing. He is overseeing Crescence's chemo treatment at Compass Oncology in Vancouver. He was also the doc who treated, my dear friend and colleague, Kim Meche. While Kim lost her battle with ovarian cancer, her positive attitude and relentless courage was, and still is, inspiring to Crescence and I. Kim's catch phrase was "Carry On" and that is just what she did until the end. Certainly we will have ups and downs along the way but we will carry on by leaving a positive impact on our world. My wife is confident, strong, and stubborn just like Kim so it couldn't be any other way.

Dr. Rushing looked at all the options with us from doing nothing to a cocktail of chemo treatments. In the end we all decided that sticking to the plan as drawn up by the UW team is our best option. Crescence will begin treatment on May 30th and continue every three weeks for six treatments. She will lose her hair along with numerous other side effects. Unfortunately, everyone reacts differently to chemo, so we will have no idea how it will impact her until she goes through it.  After the first treatment she will have a chemo port surgically placed to make the treatments easier to to administer.

Now here is where you come in. Everyone is asking what they can do to help, and I have said when we need help we will ask. Libby Childers (Cox) has been voluntold to organize a meal train while Crescence is in treatment. I am not putting her contact information on the Internet for every Nigerian scammer to latch on to, so if you don't know how to contact her text or email me and I will get you her information. Crescence and Chase are easy to cook for. She just can't have bell peppers. I, on the other hand, am the worlds pickiest eater so don't worry about me. I will just throw a couple corn dogs in the air fryer.

I leave you with a short video; demonstrating what we will be doing all summer and into the fall.

Could've! Would've! Should've!

We don't want these three words to haunt us but they just might.  We just got back from a soggy Seattle and a visit with our fabulous Dr. Heidi Gray. As she suspected, the pathology from Crescence's 2015 hysterectomy was positive for ULMS. While we can't blame the gynecologist for missing this, we are bothered that the pathologist didn't make the right call back in 2015 so we could've, would've, and should've done something different. However, he didn't and there is nothing we can do to change the past - we just keep swimming. And if you haven't seen, or maybe forgotten, here is the scene from Finding Nemo that explains the "Just Keep Swimming" reference.

So here is the plan of attack. Crescence will begin 18 weeks of doxorubicin hydrochloride chemotherapy. They hope to start in the next week or two which will happen in six cycles that are three weeks apart. The side effects for this chemo are a mile long so if you really need to know there is this really cool tool on the Internet called Google. There is also a much lesser cool tool called Bing. Either way you get the point. However, there is one side effect that everyone wants to know about - Yes she will lose all her hair. Seriously, all of it so please don't anyone say to her, "Oh honey, you never know, you might be the lucky one." If you tell my wife this lie I will... I will.... I can't say what I will do because this is a family friendly blog.

This is just the short term plan . The long term plan is a complete cure. For this kind of cancer doctors don't like to give a prognosis as it is too unpredictable. Statistic are just numbers while Crescence is a person - a beautiful and strong person. We won't get caught up in survivor statistics because, right now, she is the only ONE that matters and we are going for 100% survivor rate for her. To ensure the ULMS is gone and doesn't come back she will undergo CAT scans of her torso midway through chemo, at the end of chemo, and then once every three months for two years. After that they go down to once every four months, once every six months until she has five years being cancer free. At that point she is technically cured. However, with sarcomas there's always a chance of them coming back, so she will get scans every year for the rest of her long and happy life just to be sure.

Again, we thank everyone for their support and prayers. The lawn is getting mowed, Craig is doing double duty at school, Rhonda is overseeing state testing and countless people have our backs in many other ways. My mother and brother were laid to rest this last weekend and dad is now in a retirement home so that phase is almost behind us. I leave you all with this picture of a special pair of bracelets my sister, Catrina, gave to Crescence and I this weekend.

Just Keep Swimmin!

Crescence and Brian

Subscribe to the blog and other enhancements

This is just a picture the real button is over there---->

I really thought this blog would be something that only lasted a couple weeks so I didn't really get under the hood to see what it can do. Apparently it can do a lot more than I knew. For example, you can now subscribe to get updates (look to the right side of the screen). Don't worry I won't spam you or sell your contact information, or willll I??? All the tools I am using are Google services so if you don't trust Google then, well, tough it is what it is.Can you tell I used to be a techie?

Another enhancement is the ability for anyone to leave comments. Previously it would only let users with a Google account to leave comments. If you do not have a Google account it will let you leave an anonymous comment so please remember to put your name in the body of the comment or we won't know who you are.

I also changed to title of the blog to "CCB - Crescence's Cancer Battle" to reflect the reality that we are in a battle for her life and will not give up until it is won!

We are going to the Dry-Shitties, I mean Tri-Cities today to help move my father into an assisted living facility and for my mother's and brother's funeral on Saturday. Then on Monday we go back to Seattle for a Tuesday appointment with the care team to discuss the treatment.

Thanks again to everyone for the prayers, food, and fellowship. Next blog update should be expected on Tuesday night. Don't forget to subscribe!!!

Just keep swimin, just keep swimmin!

Brian and Crescence

Uterine Leiomyosarcomas ( LIE O MYO) ULMS

ULMS Awareness Peach

Layomyo, Leomyo, no matter how you say it, it sucks. I am not sure if I mentioned, previously, that our doctor in Seattle is Dr. Gray; the real Dr. Gray from Seattle. Anywhoo, she called us yesterday so I could hear the diagnosis and ask questions. As I said in the roller coaster post the other day, the news was pretty unexpected but we do vaguely remember her mentioning the possibility of a Leimyosarcoma. She didn't think it was likely as uterine leiomyosarcoma (ULMS for short) is an extremely rare form of cancer, estimated to occur in 6 out of every 1,000,000 women in the United States each year. However, the odds of winning the lottery are much worse.

If you want to learn more about the specifics you can visit this website What is ULMS? If you go to this page it defaults to Bone and Soft Tissue. The information for ULMS is the link above that as shown in this picture. If you are not technical enough to understand what I am telling you then get one of your kids, grand kids, niece, nephew or other young person who understands the INTERNET to help.

Don't worry, there will not be a test next week on everything you have learned about ULMS. I'll give you at least a month before the first test.

So what is next for us you ask? Well, we get to travel to sunny Seattle on Tuesday May 14 to visit with our cheery Dr. Gray and her team to discuss the chemo therapy treatment. The goal of the treatment is to destroy any cancer cells that have escaped the tumor site. This type of cancer can spread easily and rapidly and therefore needs and aggressive treatment. 

One question we get from people is what stage is the cancer. As with everything else with Crescence this is not a cut and dry answer. Dr. Gray believes this is actually her second round with this cancer as she most likely had ULMS when she underwent a hysterectomy five years ago. I know you are wondering how could they have missed this when she had a grapefruit sized tumor at that time. I will explain that in a moment - be patient. Since this is a recurrent cancer they no longer use staging to describe it. But since everyone expects to hear the stage, the doc says it would be considered a stage II or borderline III. Staging is like golf in that you want a low score. Unfortunately I can't relate to a low golf score because I have a horrible slice. 

So how did they miss this? They miss it because it presents itself like most common fibroid tumors that women get. They look the same under imaging and don't look all that different during surgery. They can only tell during pathology. In Crescence's case they probably only sent samples to the pathologist and it is very possible that 90% of the fibroid was benign. It is also possible that the whole thing was benign. Either way we are moving forward with the aggressive treatment in order to have the best chance for a cure.

In closing I want to say to all the husbands out there  - tell your wife how much you love her. Hold her tight in your arms and appreciate every second she is standing by your side. When she asks you to go on a walk with her, get off you butt and take her on a walk. Stop taking her for granted because you never know what tomorrow will bring. 

Just Keep Swimming!

Crescence and Brian  

What a Roller Coaster Ride!

During spring break we went to Orlando to visit Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens. We rode a lot of different roller coasters; each with their own twists and turns,  ups and downs.  They were all really fun.  If you haven't figured it out yet,  I am setting the story up for the ole roller coaster analogy. This coaster ride started with a scary plunge into darkness with a high probability of doom but it came back into the light with that feeling of free floating out of our seat. We thought that was the end of the ride, but just as we are starting to relax and unhook the seat belt, we go shooting through an unending helix.

In health terms, the pathology report came back on Friday. We were anticipating this but not worried at all as doc had said nothing looked very suspicious and it was being sent in as a precaution and pretty standard just to make sure. The phone call was supposed to confirm this so Crescence could continue on with her recovery from surgery.  Instead,  the phone call was like a gut punch. Apparently there were some cancer cells found that appear to be the fast growing type, and now Crescence needs to undergo some type of chemotherapy. We don't have a lot of details and won't until we meet with the oncologist in Seattle, hopefully in a few days. Meanwhile,  I am in Kennewick helping my family with funeral arrangements, getting dad moved into assisted living, and preparing the family home to be put on the market.

We are grateful for all the support from family,  friends, and especially our work family at White Salmon Valley School District.  With every one's support and the grace of God we just keep swimming.

Brian and Crescence Morris

Heading Home

Going Home!!!

Not So Fast

Docs just came in and are holding up the discharge because she has been nauseated and her belly is slightly distended.  We might still get out of here today pending a re-evaluation after lunch.

She is up and walking around and the rash is almost gone so most things are looking up. For you medical types out there, yes she is having bowel movements which is a major achievement. Don't anyone tell her I said that. On the lighter side, first one (besides Ari) to comment on why I took this picture wins a prize. It has nothing to do with anything. Ari and I came upon this on our way back from the Avengers movie. Spoiler alert, there is no post credit scene so save 10 minutes of your precious time and leave after the main characters sign off. 😃

Hint - Click on the photo for a full size

And here is the lovely view from our 4 star hotel room.

Down the Home Stretch

So everything is looking up for a discharge on Sunday. They were actually considering letting her go home today but left it up to her. The rash is clearing up and pain is being controlled so only one more hoop to clear.

If anyone will be traveling from the Tri-Cities to the Gorge on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday please contact me. We are looking for a ride to get Chase to White Salmon. He is staying with Crescence's mom and dad in Kennewick. However, I don't want anyone to make a special trip as we have other options.

Swimming with a Rash

Sorry about the delayed posts. We both feel like we have been given a second chance at life by God and we are still processing everything from the death of my brother and mother to this roller coaster health scare.

While the immediate worry of ovarian cancer is over, we can't say she is cancer free until the pathology report comes back next week. There was some tissue that looked suspect for leiomyosarcoma. Even if it turns out to be that, the surgeon feels confident that she got it all and there will be no need for radiation treatment.

Right now she is fighting an allergic reaction to every narcotic until they tried tramadol. The rash is still widespread but not getting worse. Everything else is looking good for a Sunday or Monday discharge followed by a long recovery at home.

On the lighter side of life, I really feel like we have a second life so I found the biggest diamond to download to my phone so I could re-propose to her.

Sometime this summer we are going to throw a big party to renew our vows and hope to have our many friends and family celebrate with us.

While are we ever grateful to all our friends and family for their prayers and support, a special thanks to the special people who braved the Seattle traffic to be with us: Libby, Craig, Brindee, Ari, Christian, Katelynn, Uncle Doug and Aunt Bonnie.

Waiting for the miracle!

Praise be to God

Despite all preliminary evidence pointing to ovarian cancer, the surgeon came out with a huge smile and says looks mostly benign.  There is one small section that needs further testing but worse case on that is a type of very treatable sarcoma. We won't get results of that for a week.  The tumors were not attached to her colon or any other organ other than the ovaries and she had no problem with bleeding. 

I am so grateful for all the prayers and good wishes from dozens of people from all over the country.  Social media does have a positive side. 

In OR

OR was a little backed up but they just took her in. They should update us in about two hours. The surgeon had a good breakfast and lots of sleep.  She also had already performed a successful surgery earlier this morning so she's warmed up and ready to go.

Starting the Swim

Checking in to #1 hospital in Washington state and #7 nationally for cancer treatment.

Short Version - A Series of Very Unfortunate Events

Friday

1. Brian's brother, Jimmie Morris Jr. dies of massive heart attack
2. Brian, Crescence and Chase drive to Kennewick to be with family

Saturday

1. Crescence goes to Kadlec ER thinking appendicitis
2. Brian's mom suffers heart attack and is transported to TRIOS ER
3. Crescence doesn't have appendicitis but three grapefruit sized tumors attached to ovaries

Sunday - Jesus awakens from the tomb

Monday 

1. Brian's mom removed from life support
2. Crescence and Brian travel to University of Washington Medical Center for surgery
3. Brian's mom passes around 11:30pm

Tuesday

1. Brian and Crescence meet with the Gynecological Oncologist team
2. Blood Work, CT Scan yada, yada, yada.

Wednesday - Surgery is scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 am.

Funeral services for mom and Jimme

Saturday May 11
Viewing of mom 10:00-11:00
Graveside service for mom 11:00-12:00
Memorial at Lord of life Lutheran church for mom and Jimmie 1:00 pm
Viewing and graveside are at Einans in Richland

Long Version - A Series of Very Unfortunate Events

I don't even know where to start, so I guess I will start with the back story to give you all some context. If you want the short story, too bad, you are getting it all. After all, they say writing about a bad experience can be cathartic. Special note: I think this is the first time have ever used that word in a sentence. On Friday afternoon, April 19th, just before school was out, I received a phone call from my sister, Candice. Ironically, that was also Good Friday. Candice said two words that took me a while to fully understand, "Jimmie died". Jimmie is my older brother by 14 months but with both my parents in ill health his death was the last thing I was expecting.

Earlier that morning Crescence was having some minor abdominal pain. I say minor but she is so tough that her minor pain would have me bed ridden for days. So, of course she goes to work and when I tell her we need to leave for the Tri-Cities to be with my family she doesn't hesitate to go with me. This choice, as I will explain later, may have saved her life. (BTW - I apologize to all of my previous English teachers ahead of time for my grammar and punctuation errors.)

We get to my sister's house and are visiting with mom, dad, Candice, and Catrina. Crescence is still in pain but thought it was probably just an ovarian cyst. However, she does not sleep well that night. On Saturday she goes shopping with her mother and I spend the day at my mother's helping around the house. Mom was very engaged with us, talking up a storm; including talking about our annual summer camping trip to the coast. We spend time looking at old family photos, you know, the kind that are from something called film that you have to take to a specialized business to have them processed. At one point mom was sitting in her chair and screamed, "HELP ME, HELP ME". She thought she was falling through space. She quickly came out of it but then started feeling dizzy. My sister, Catrina, is a nurse and since mom is diabetic checked her blood sugar. She was normal and seemed to be feeling ok. We ate pizza, talked some more, and finished with a little house cleaning.

While all this is going on, Crescence was hurting more so she decided to make an appointment with urgent care at 5:40 PM. I ended of taking her and at urgent care they ruled out a UTI but felt it could be appendicitis and sent us to the emergency room. We chose to go to Kadlec in Richland because Catrina is a nurse there. The ER doc, after a quick exam, suspected appendicitis as well and ordered a CT scan to determine how far along so they could determine how soon to do surgery. Oh, and keep in mind the Easter is the next day and we were planning a big family dinner since so many of us were in town for my brother. Now we are bummed out because  Crescence wouldn't be able to make her famous company potatoes.

Then life takes a wicked turn. As we are waiting for the CT scan, Catrina calls me in a panic telling me the paramedics are performing CPR on mom and she doesn't think she is going to make it. However, they worked their magic and after over 10 minutes of CPR they transport her to the closest hospital, which I am sure you can imagine, is not Kadlec. It is TRIOS which is a 20 minute drive from Kadlec.

So there I am with my wife who as imminent surgery coming up and I need to go to a different hospital. Thankfully, Art, Crescence's, father comes to be with her while I break a few traffic laws, ok - several traffic laws, to be with mom. As the family is just stunned at what is going with us in the last 28 hours we wait and pray for a miracle. The CT scan was supposed to be done within about 30 minutes of the order with a diagnosis within another 30 minutes, so I am thinking I have at least an hour before anything would be done with Crescence. Furthermore, the ER doc is feeling like surgery would probably not happen until the next day.

I call Crescence every 30 minutes waiting for the results. An hour and a half goes by after the CT scan with no results yet. By now they are letting us go see mom, so my sisters, dad, and I go into see her. She is intubated but her heart is beating on its own. The big concern now is her brain since she was without oxygen for so long. The church deacon comes in to pray with us and as she is doing this all I can think is I need to get back to my wife. Some how my gut is telling me the appendicitis is further along than they thought otherwise we would have heard something by know. When I get back into the room I can tell that Art has been crying. Crescence tells me to sit down. While I was gone she made the doctor tell her what was wrong.

Turns out her appendix is just fine but her ovaries are sporting a new set of 3 tumors that are each the size of a grapefruit. Hell, if he had said the size of grapes I don't think it would have mattered - this is not good. Furthermore, he believes they have signs that they might be malignant and refers us to the OB GYN - Dr. Tuck. I will start by saying she is an amazingly compassionate doctor.

The next step is to get a full blood work up and ultra sound to get a better picture of the fruit that is now growing in my wife's abdomen. Those who know me know how I feel about fruit and vegetables. Crescence is also admitted to the hospital for pain management because, as tough as she is, it is starting to get to her. At this same time, in the other hospital my mom is stable enough to move into ICU and my sisters, two of the best sisters one could ever have, maintain a 24 x 7 vigil over my mother while I do the same for Crescence. Chase, meanwhile, is in the caring hands of Crescence's mother, Camille. While Chase has an understanding of death we are not sure he understands the finality of it. For example, he doesn't really accept that Keiko is dead. After all, he sees Keiko every time he watches Free Willy. I can't imagine he can comprehend what Crescence is going through when I certainly can't.

Early Sunday morning we meet with Dr. Tuck who gives us the bad news with the details about the tumors and how they are attached to part of the colon. She shares that she has been in touch with Dr. Swisher, Gynecological Oncologist at the University of Washington Medical Center. Dr. Swisher has seen the images and blood work and wants her team to schedule a surgery to remove the tumors as soon as possible. Side Story - Dr. Swisher is the oncologist that worked directly on, my dear friend, Kim Meche's ovarian cancer over six years ago. Had we been at home when this happened we would not have even thought about UWMC and Dr. Swisher's team. God's hand lead us here. Dr. Swisher is now the department head and is not doing as many surgeries these days but we have number 2, Dr. Gray and no, I haven't used the Gray's Anatomy joke with her.

By Monday we are making arrangements to travel directly to Seattle to get treatment started. Dr. Tuck comes in to see us off giving Crescence a hug while shedding a tear before giving me a hug as well. By the way, it seems the entire staff at both hospitals know about the weekend of the Morris' series of very unfortunate events and everyone was very accommodating to us.

Meanwhile, we are praying for a miracle for my mom. Her heart was actually improving and close to normal, so it was time to warm her up and remove the sedation to see if she would wake up. To make a long story short, she was not waking up and the EEG showed very little brain activity; even after playing several different versions of "Amazing Grace". Dad had to make the difficult decision to remove life support and let her go see Jesus. It was good timing too because Jesus just awoke from the dead the day before. Crescence and I were able to say our goodbye to one of the most loving and faithful mothers on the planet. She had to be to live with my father.

The drive to Seattle was a little surreal. When I was in the Navy and dating Crescence I made that drive countless times to be with her on the weekends. To be making this trip all these years later for this particular reason was and is very difficult to comprehend. My love for her has grown stronger every year and I truly believe there is no person on the planet more compatible for me. She is strong, loving, caring, and all those other adjectives used to describe the world's best wife. We shared tears along the way, some laughs, and some quiet reflection time preparing for our meeting with Dr. Gray.

Before we met with Dr. Gray we assumed there were only two possible outcomes - benign tumors or malignant tumors. Apparently there is a third option called "Borderline Tumors". I was a little stunned and listened as carefully as my ADHD brain would allow and even took copious notes the Mr. Olin would be proud of. She felt there is very little chance the tumor were completely benign because of their physical characteristics.  However, she wasn't convinced that they were fully malignant either because of Crescence's blood work. Chances it they are borderline. If they are borderline tumors and she can remove them in one piece then we should be done. No further treatment would be necessary. The tumors are mainly attached to the ovaries but they are also attached to her colon so this complicates things a little. I say "a little" because there is a much more troublesome complication. By the way, we are not even talking about the "what if's" of the malignant tumors because that doesn't matter at this point. The damn things must come out either way.

Major Complication: Turns out the Crescence has a genetic mutation called Trothrombin G20210A Heterozygous, thanks Camille, that makes her susceptible to blood clots. Sure enough, during her hysterectomy she had a blood clot that became a pulmonary embolism. But that is not the worse of it. To make matters worse she is also allergic to two of the three drugs used to prevent blood clots during surgery. The one she is not allergic to is not used any longer because once it is in the blood stream to thin the blood there is no way to reverse it quickly in case of severe bleeding. The doctors are coming up with a plan to deal with that, at least we hope. Crescence had a CT scan of the lungs to look for blood clots and that came back clean. Today we go back for a more thorough scan of her veins to see if there are any sneaking around.

So here are the latest details. Surgery is scheduled for 10:00 am on Thursday. During the surgery they will send tissue to pathology to determine malignancy. If it is benign they close her up and send her home. OK, not home right away, the surgery takes 3-3 1/2 hours with a three to four day inpatient stay. Then six weeks of home rest. Now, if its deemed to be borderline then they will look deeply through her abdomen for any other signs of growths and they will take lymph nodes for evaluation. Then the seal her up and send her home. For the worse case scenario of malignancy they do the deep cavity search, lymph nodes, and put in a port for chemo. The doctor won't even talk to us about that process and we are not asking.

Well, this has been cathartic. WOW, I used that word twice in one day. I think everyone is caught up. I will try to post updates to this blog as they happen so that I am not sending out a million text messages. Please feel free to pass this on to other friends of ours but please be mindful of others.

Everyone wants to know what they can do to help. Right now we ask for your prayers. We will even take them from hopeful agnostics. We are so blessed to have so many friends who want to help and believe me we will ask for help when needed. When Kim Meche was fighting ovarian cancer she had a motto "Carry On" and she did just that up until the end. Our motto is going to be "Just Keep Swimming" from Finding Nemo. We are going against a strong current but with everyone's loving support and the grace of God we are going to keep swimming.

Feel free to leave messages to Crescence and I below.

Thanks,

Brian and Crescence