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
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