CODY'S FIGHT

I've really struggled with writing this post. It's easier to ignore unpleasant things than face them, however, the cancer world seldom allows this thought process to sustain. We were extremely hopeful and slightly naive in thinking that Co's big belly surgery would be curative. Alas, cancer rarely plays by the rules.  After nine hours of operating, Dr. Smoot called me to give me an update. I could instantly tell by his tone that he wasn't happy about the news he had to deliver. I've heard it so many times throughout my career in both veterinary and human medicine; the tight, apologetic tone never bears good news. He went on to explain that Cody did great throughout the surgery and was in the recovery room, everything progressing well, however, that's not the part that concerned me. I was looking for those two magical, triumphant words: "clear margins".  I have faith that one day we will hear those words or something similar, but that day has yet t...

Cody underwent a left hepatectomy with bile duct reconstruction and roux en y. This is a fancy way of saying the left half of his liver was removed along with his common bile duct and his small intestine was used to rewire and reconstruct the removed portions. His surgery took over nine hours and he stayed in the recovery room for almost three hours. That day was the longest day of my life. As an OR nurse,  I'm more than familiar with the ins and outs of what was going on and I must say it was significantly harder being the one walking to the waiting room than it is to be the one pushing the stretched across the threshold of those double doors. Fortunately, we have a great support system and a handful of family members were there to help provide distractions and remind me to eat. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally brought Co up to his room. Apparently, he had been a little rowdy in the recovery room and took the liberty of removing his own NG tube and that's...