Well, today did not go quite as planned. We’re on our way back to Chicago with two drains still in tow, and having not restarted chemo.
Liver inflammation and infection are the likely cause of the ongoing drain output, and as such her surgeon isn’t going to remove the drains until they’ve dried up.
One way or another, they’ll take the drains out after Thanksgiving. If there’s still stuff coming out of them at that time, they’ll install a fresh drain. 😭
All that said, Gina was very brave and took the news—that she’s stuck with these stupid tubes and her stupid husband having to do stupid, painful dressing changes for at least another couple more weeks—way better than I would have.
When we got back out to the waiting room, we heard that her cancer buddy’s surgery today had gone incredibly well, which made her burst into tears of joy.
Perspective is always a good reminder of what we’ve got going for us—as are all of your well wishes, kind thoughts, and stars. (A highly-caloric milkshake doesn’t hurt either.)
Gina already seems recalibrated and ready to hope for a better visit next time.
Thank you all.
❤️🙏🏼⭐️
