Justin had his first post-op appointment with the surgeon today, resident and med student in tow. It was probably the first visit ever, where it was all good news!
Starting with weight… Although Justin has lost nearly ten pounds since surgery (ten pounds he didn’t have to lose), most of which being water, he is eating really well and tolerating all types of foods. It’ll be no time before he’s back to where he was or better. He is for once taking the doctor’s advice, “if it sounds good, eat it.”
The final drain tube and staples came out today, as well. 37 staples to be exact.
The doc reiterated how well surgery went and reveled over how much less disease was present than he expected. (That’s your prayers at work, folks!) This guy always seems surprised by Justin, at how well he is doing and his positive attitude. Doesn’t surprise any of us, does it? 😎
Pathology came back with some good news, too. But let me back up for a second… Last surgery, although we didn’t share this publicly, pathology indicated a high grade (more aggressive) cancer cell which was not present before. This was devastating news, but Justin, with his unbelievable grace, chose to stay the course. And over the past two years, the presence of this other cancer cell hasn’t seemed to change the growth trend since being diagnosed nearly five years ago. So back to this most recent report… nothing sent to pathology during this past surgery found anything but low/mid grade cancer cells. Hallelujah! Of course I can’t conclude that the high grade cells are no longer present, but if they are, they’re behaving.
After the appointment, Justin walked all the way to the parking garage. Woot Woot! And we enjoyed lunch with mom and dad.
Next steps. IVC filter is scheduled to come out on March 3rd, which will hopefully be a quick and easy little outpatient procedure. And another follow up with the surgeon in about four weeks. In the meantime, you’ll find the Yarbroughs counting all our blessings over and over! Which includes each and every one of you!
I’m officially back to work tomorrow, but will keep everyone posted on Justin’s recovery. He’s doing so incredibly well, I gush!
xoxo
Christina
this Justin 