Leading Up to the Spine Surgery #2

Thank you for all the well wishes and recent support.  Like any other episode I've experienced with this disease, I have entered the hospital with one set of complaints and then been admitted to the hospital for a completely different set of symptoms I hardly knew about.

Last Thursday we entered the hospital complaining about bloating in the abdomen, an increasing numbness from my sternum down to my toes and a sciatica-like pain radiating down the backside of both my legs.  Additionally Thursday was a planned day to recheck blood work to continue the oral Temodar chemotherapy... So things sort of worked out time wise.

At Thursday's appointment we decided a CT Scan of the abdomen / pelvis would be prudent to evaluate these new bloating symptoms, numbness and sciatica pains.  Immediately following the CT Scan I was consented for spinal surgery T4-T7.

To bring this back to a laymen's perspective brought lots of shock and confusion.  I was complaining of stomach / buttocks pains and was persuaded to have surgery in my upper back (between my shoulder blades).  The final CT Scan reading not only confirm my being FOS (full of s#*t) which we already knew :), but it also showed tumor progression throughout my abdomen, peritoneum, etc.  Surgery was not an option but a necessity to preserve motor function of my legs and bowel control.

I was given 20 minutes to consult with my family while they prepped the OR and rolled me upstairs.