Unexpected Update

We had another crazy day yesterday. Eric was having some issues with his stomach and was up all night Wednesday with the stomach pain getting worse as the night continued. We decided that since he hadn't been able to eat much the past weeks and was probably dehydrated that we should go to the emergency room at Fulton County. They immediately hooked him up with IV fluid, did some blood work, did a CT scan and discovered that the stint put in at the end of February was blocked and causing these symptons. So, at 3:30, Mobile Life transported Eric to UTMC and he was added to the end of the surgery schedule. The same doctor did the surgery and determined that indeed it was blocked. He replaced the stint and Eric was in recovery at 10:00 last night. The wonderful part of this time was that he didn't have the back pain like he did in February. He was so relieved because of the experience last time when this procedure was done. The kids and I went home last night and I will be taking him home today.

We don't know the exact report from the CT scan but we do know that the cancer drug has reduced the size of the lymph nodes. The surgeon was glad to see Eric in much better shape then when he saw him in February. Since he started taking the drug, the swelling has been majorly reduced. We feel like we got good news yesterday and we are hopeful that this procedure will give Eric relief from the symptons that have kept him in the chair lately. We are hopeful that he will regain some strength and enjoy the upcoming warm weather. We still plan on making a trip to Cleveland on May 10th to review the results of the scan done yesterday.

We pray for strength each day. We never know what the next day may bring. Eric has lost a lot of weight and hopes to add some pounds back soon. With all the pain meds and the cancer treatment drug, he doesn't have much of an appetite. It sounds so easy to just eat but that isn't the case. It's just so complicated and frustrating.

I'll post again after our Cleveland appointment. For now, we praise God for leading us through another battle on this journey. He always provides!!! Thanks be to God... Eric and Gwen