Duke Trip Day 1
Yesterday, the Duke oncology department called and asked Mike to get to the hospital as soon as possible for an admission through the ER so that he can get a much-needed MRI of his full spine under full anesthesia sedation. Read on below for more info.
Last Week’s MRI
You’re probably wondering why we had to go all the way to North Carolina for such a routine scan, especially since he just went to Duke last week for one. Well, last week’s procedure wasn’t able to be completed due to Mike’s extreme back pain, coupled with severe claustrophobia. We thought he was receiving anesthesia at last week’s scan, but instead, he was receiving what they describe as IV sedation, which is a level down from full anesthesia. As a result, Mike’s back pain was too extreme to allow the full scan to complete.
However, the part that they did get shows some abnormal activity within the spinal chamber. Due to the fact that it wasn’t complete, they aren’t sure if it’s lesions from cancer metastasis or something less serious. As a result, they need more clear scans. Because of his pain levels and claustrophobia, the quickest way to get that done is by admitting him and scheduling it as an inpatient procedure. Thus, this current trip.
The Inpatient Plan
We arrived mid-afternoon today, and Mike was in an ER room/bed within 2 hours! That’s an answer to many prayers! Duke has everything running like a well-oiled machine. They were ready for us and expecting his arrival. Upon arriving, all the ER staff we encountered had thorough knowledge of his medical history and knew why we were there. In addition, the oncology PA was in his ER room before he was even paged for a consultation!
What a difference from our last experience with that other hospital (you know the one—it starts with a C!) earlier this year! As I type this, he is getting settled into his real room on the floor in the hospital.
The plan is to try and get him scanned tomorrow morning if they can coordinate the anesthesia and radiology schedules to work out right. If not, it will likely be done on Friday. Meanwhile, they will help to manage his pain and keep him supported with fluids and electrolytes and anything else they see that he needs.
I’m {Still} Tired
Once again, I’m asking you for prayers for rest and supernatural strength from the Lord when I am physically unable to rest. We stopped along the way and took a nap about halfway down today because I just couldn’t drive safely anymore. Please pray for wisdom to know when to rest. So far, my body has stopped me from doing too much simply because I don’t function without proper sleep. I will fall asleep in the middle of my own sentences if I don’t intentionally rest when I’m tired.
Please also pray for renewed faith for me. I’ll just be honest with the whole world reading this right now . . . I’m struggling in my faith HARD. I’m finding it difficult to trust God is good. I’m finding it discouraging to even go to church or read my Bible. I’m still doing those things, but it hurts me to do it more often than it encourages me. But, like Peter said to Jesus “Lord, who else would I go to? You have the words of life!” (my own paraphrase, but you can read the whole story in John 6:60-68.) I go to church and I read my Bible because if God’s not real, then where else would I turn? I’ll share more about my faith struggles in a separate post, but for now, just pray that my faith is encouraged during this trip. Because I have nowhere else to turn and no stores left in my tank. Thanks faithful friends! We’ll keep you updated when we know more!
