Good bye granulation!!

Some weeks it seems like the whole week is arranging around appointments. Other weeks there is almost nothing happening.  This week was one of the busy ones and I am glad it is over.  It is tiring arranging it all sometimes but we are glad to have good results this week.


In my last blog I told you about some extra tissue that was in Rob's mouth called granulation.  I had asked specifically for you to pray that it would go away on it's own and that they would not have to burn it off.  Praise the Lord it went away on it's own!  Dr Nason still wanted to have a look at it so we went in on Wednesday morning for the appointment.  He looked at the area for a moment and said it looked good and he wouldn't need to do the procedure!!!  Dr Nason is pleased with how Rob is doing and once again reminded us that it is a long process.  There is a good chance that his mouth will look quite different for almost a year.  There is still a lot of swelling from the flap that needs to go down but that often takes over 6 months.  We also asked about teeth and found out that possibly after the next appointment Rob will be referred to a dentist that works with cancer care.  The whole dental part of this is a little unknown for now but we are praying that it all works out and that it is covered under Manitoba Health.  Rob is managing quite well without many teeth on the bottom but likely getting new teeth will help his speech as well as eating.   Rob will see Dr Nason again at the end of August.


Rob has been spending a lot of time working on his physio exercises.  On July 9th he saw his hand physiotherapist Greig and he was so pleased that he basically discharged him.  He said that a lot of Rob's strength and muscle mass will come back as he gets back into his regular routine.  Greig said Rob can stop by anytime to see him but he will not have to go back regularly.  One more item to check off the list!!  He has also been seeing Samanthi, who is helping with his neck and shoulders.  She has given him tons of exercises to do at home and she is pleased with his progress.  Only a few more visits and he will be done with her as well. 


On July 9th we also saw Dr. Hayakawa, who was once again very pleased with how well Rob is doing.  In fact he said Rob is doing so well that he doesn't need to see him for 3 months.  One thing that we were able to talk about with him was the hair in Rob's mouth.  When they took the skin from his arm to put in his mouth they also took the hair follicles.  Rob will now not have hair on his arm but instead will have it in his mouth.  As you can imagine this is not the nicest feeling.  Dr Hayakawa is going to refer Rob to get laser hair removal done and will also write a letter to have it covered.  We are not sure when all of this will happen but it is good to know they are going to help him out. 


Rob's speech is remarkably good when you consider what he has gone through.  He had an assessment done with the Speech Language Pathologist Candace, who identified what letters are the biggest problem.  There was no surprises for us but she gave him words to practice...and by practice I mean repeat them over and over again until he can say them correctly.  Think about all the words you say that the tip of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth and those are the tough ones for Rob. 


Just a few other prayers and praises to update you about.
-Pray that they make a decision soon about EI and that we get a fair payment.  They seem to be very busy and have not even processed Rob's application.
-Praise God that my wisdom tooth came out in one piece and everything went well.  I didn't have a lot of pain and it is healing up nicely. 
-Praise God for time away as a family and that we were able to spend some time in the Whiteshell relaxing and spending time together after a tough few months.  We are thankful for generous friends who shared their lovely cabin.


Next week Rob and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary.  In some ways 8 years have flown by but in other ways it is hard to think about life before I met Rob.  I have always told him that I want to grow old together and be that elderly couple still holding hands.  I am thankful to God for such an amazing man and that we can celebrate 8 years together.  I look forward to many more together serving God and am so thankful we can share the ups and downs of life.
Thank you once again for all the love and prayers.  We have felt each one and know that God is listening.
Love Karen 

8 weeks later.

It is hard to believe I have not sat down and written a post in over 2 weeks.  The time has just flown by.  It has now been 8 weeks since Rob's surgery and that is hard to believe too.  Last night Rob was reading me a few of the entries he wrote in his journal right after his surgery.  It was a very therapeutic thing for him to write out his thoughts and feelings and spend time reading his bible.  Plus now it is great to be able to look back at where he was and see how far he has come.  On May 20th he talks about me reading him 1 Peter 4 right after he had his trach removed and his NG tube changed.  That was a very tough afternoon because it all happened so quickly.  1 Peter 4:13 says "But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."  It seems weird to talk about rejoicing while suffering but that is exactly what we are supposed to do.  This did not mean that we loved where we were or the situation we were in but it meant that we would take everything set before us and trust God.  Rob made a comment last night about wanting to be in the place with God that he was while he was in hospital.  When you are faced with pain and suffering it is easier to look to God for help because everything else feels hopeless.  When things are going a little smoother it is easier to forget about God and rely on our own strength.  Our desire is that we would rely on God everyday, trusting him when things are tough and praising him always. 


Yesterday Rob had another follow up with Dr Nason.  He took a look at Rob's mouth and let us ask some questions.  One of the main items we wanted to ask about was a little sore Rob has in his mouth.  After being diagnosed with tongue cancer you are much more aware of everything happening in your mouth.  On the right side by the flap Rob has a little bump of skin that has developed a little sore.  Apparently this is something called granulation and Dr Nason does not think it is a tumor.  Granulation is sort of like a little extra skin and it is sticking out and getting irritated when he eats which is why there is a sore.  We were thankful to hear that Dr Nason isn't too concerned about it.  In 2 weeks Rob will go back to see him and he will burn it off with silver nitrate.  He said it is just done in the office and doesn't hurt.  As you can imagine Rob is not looking forward to this so we are praying that it heals and goes away before then! 


One of the other main things we wanted to discuss was work.  Although Rob is doing very well he wouldn't be able to handle 8 hour days quite yet.  The goal is to be back at work after Labour day.  This gives him 2 more months to heal and get his stamina back.  He is still working with 2 physiotherapists and is making improvements but is still quite a ways from being back to normal. His work at church cleaning requires a lot of physical work which he cannot handle yet.  As we speak he just vacuumed the living room and hallway at home and when he turned off the vacuum he said he needed a nap!  His job at the school requires him to talk all day to teenagers.  Although he is speaking quite well he still has trouble with certain letters.  This week he is meeting his Speech Language Pathologist to do a speaking assessment and then he will be able to work very specifically on the letters he has trouble with.  


Over the last 2 months Rob has been receiving sick pay from the school and he has not had to go on Unemployment Insurance (EI).  Last Friday was his last day of pay so we have applied for him to receive EI through the government.  This always seems to be a complicated process and we have already been given contradicting advice from Service Canada.  Please pray that this would go through smoothly and that Rob will be able to receive some payments over the next 2 months.  God has been faithful and has been providing for us so far so we confidently trust that He will continue to do so.


This week I will be getting a wisdom tooth pulled which is something I have been avoiding for probably 3 years.  My tooth had a filling that fell out and since it is a wisdom tooth the solution now is to pull it.  I will just be going into the regular office and have local freezing.  Please pray that the tooth comes out in one piece, that there are no complications and that the recovery is not painful.  This seems like such a small thing compared to what Rob has gone through but it is still no fun and I look forward to having it over. 


Thank you for caring for our family and for praying for us.
Love Karen