Successful Surgery

We've had a busy few days since surgery, but I'm glad to report it went well! Levi is recovering as well as one might expect from major abdominal surgery, and we were able to leave the hospital today.

Glad Levi's parents and brother have been here with us

Surgery Results

I'll be the first to admit that my jokes about Levi having a c-section were woefully inadequate in describing his procedure. It turns out that surgery to remove a baby that is meant to come out is much easier than removing an organ intended to stay inside your body for life.

In addition to the tumor, the surgeon removed Levi's left adrenal gland, left kidney and some nearby lymph nodes in only three hours. While more was removed than we had hoped for, we were very pleased to hear that the doctor thinks he got all of the cancer in that area and there should be no major long-term effects.

The removed mass was sent off for testing, and the pathology report should return anywhere from 1-5 weeks from now. It will confirm whether or not all the cancer was removed, which will help doctors decided if additional treatment is required.

The incision turned out much larger than we expected

Clothed and walking laps just 2 days after surgery

What's Next

The surgical team opted not to remove the tumor on Levi's left lung due to the complicated nature of such a surgery, so the plan is to do radiation on it when we return to Houston for follow-up appointments six weeks from now. The doctor explained that the high doses of radiation given over the course of three days will be just as successful as surgical removal with only a 10% chance of recurrence. Plus, there are virtually no side effects! 

Levi will also resume his chemo pills in a few weeks after his body has time to heal from surgery. The doctor said they like to continue them for 1-2 years after surgery to make sure any remaining cancer cells are killed and to prevent recurrence. This news is pretty devastating, since the pills have made Levi feel like he has the flu all the time. We are hopeful that the side effects won't be as bad now that the tumor is gone, but only time will tell. 

OKC-turned-HOU friends Catherine & Ryan came to visit in the hospital

Continued Prayer Requests

• A good pathology report that indicates all the cancer around the tumor was removed
• Successful radiation of the lung tumor (to be scheduled first week of March)
• Resolved inflammation of the lymph node near Levi's shoulder, indicating it is indeed benign, as doctors suspect
• Better tolerance of the chemo pills

These sweet church friends came all the way from OK to be with us during and after surgery. So grateful for them!