What a wild ride this past week!

We hope that everyone had a nice 4Th of July. We had a very quiet day. Daves sister Julie had the kids come out to her place for her daughter Aprils h.s. grad. party and picnic. His sister Roseann who was in town for the celebration picked them up and Grandma Rosemary brought them home. They spent the day swimming and eating and doing some more swimming. Many thanks to Daves family for helping them have a great time!

With that said, I will start at the beginning which started on Friday, June 26Th, 2009. Our day started out on the rough side with Dave not being able to breathe. I called the ambulance to take him to Akron City Hosp. e.r. I dropped the kids off with their grandparents and went to be with him, Julie came and stayed with us all day. While there a CT Scan was done and they found that the cartilage that makes up the adams apple surrounding the thyroid had collapsed and his throat was not healing properly causing a blockage. There was a risk of this we knew when Dave started radiation. They transferred Dave to University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio in late afternoon, early evening. Julie and I drove up behind the ambulance, while I made several phone calls to let family and friends know what was happening. They admitted Dave to the SICU (surgical intensive care) unit. Daves sister Laura and her husband Steve joined us there and stayed till we all had to leave. Julie booked a hotel room for the two of us and we stayed in Cleveland for the night. I stayed in the hotel on Saturday night and on Sunday my friend Shelley offered for me to stay with her, which I did. I came home on Monday evening to do some laundry and check on things. Shanna was off from work this week so she was able to be here for the kids. She was able to get the kids into camp for the week, they would leave in the morning and return home in late afternoon. I was exhausted from the past three days and did manage to get some sleep. Tuesday was hectic as I had to return to Akron City Hosp. to get copies of the CT Scan disks that the Dr. on Friday would not give us to take to University Hosp.

On Saturday morning Dave had surgery to put in a temporary trach (hole in the trachea to breath), feeding tube into the stomach, and the biopsies. Dave was on a ventilator for several hours Saturday to help him adjust to the trach and he slept for a great deal of the day. He was also very tired as he had not been sleeping very much in the days before this happening. He spent a total of 3 days in the SICU unit before they transferred him to a room on Monday morning. We spent 3 1/2 days there while they taught us how to care for the trach. Dave came home on Thursday. He was only released after medical supplies were delivered and here ready and waiting for his care. A home health care nurse had also been arranged and she met with us to show us how to operate the feeding tube pump and the suction pump.
Dave has adjusted pretty well to all of this and is coping with what is to come. The next step will happen on Thursday, July 9TH. He will be having a total laryengectomy to remove the damaged larynx (voice box). This surgery takes about 6 to 14 hours depending on what they do and how they do it. I will be a complete wreck by the time it is done. Dave will be in the hosp. for 10 days and then transferred to a rehab. facility in our area that can help him adjust and learn how to talk with his new voice box. We are both very scared about what can happen during this time.
We did receive some good news about the biopsies on Wed. evening, they were negative for cancer, but the damage that was done to the larynx (voice box) is to extensive, so it is best to remove it, as it will never operate the way it should.
There you have it, the roller coaster ride is almost over, we our on a path that has light at the end, we can see a sliver of it. Please keep Dave in prayer that he will have courage and strength on this ride to face his future with me by his side for always. Thank you for listening and God Bless you, we love you all.