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07/31/07  ^top^

I noticed for the first time today that the hair in my beard is falling out.

07/30/07  ^top^

 Good news...  I passed my swallow test on Friday!  Thank you for your prayers.

This means that I can drink liquids and eat soft foods.  The first things I tried on Friday night had very little taste, and an unpleasant aftertaste like burnt grease.  Even the ice cream.  Saturday was much better.  The burnt taste had gone by Sunday.  Most things tasted close to normal.  I was even able to enjoy some cake at my niece's birthday party!

I still have to take food via my feeding tube in order to keep up my weight & strength.  This is crucial during the radiation, which has begun to make my throat sore when I swallow.  Also, because I have to chew everything on my front teeth, I take small bites.  This means that it takes longer to eat less.  A glass of water can wear me out.  I expect this to get better.

07/27/07  ^top^

 It's hard to believe that it has been over two weeks since my last update.  I have my third swallow test scheduled for today at 1:00pm.  Please pray that this one goes well and that I can begin eating and drinking again.

This also will mark the half-way point in my radiation.  The nausea and headaches have gotten a little better.  My throat has turned a bright, sunburned red.  I apply an ointment each day to keep it from drying out too much.

It will be at least 6 weeks after radiation ends (9 weeks from now) before we do the TEP and insert the prosthesis that will allow me to speak without the electrolarynx.  In the meantime, I am practicing pure esophageal speech.  The progress is slow.

It will also be 9 weeks before I can have dental work done to replace the rear molars which were removed for radiation.  Till then, I can't really chew anything... even if they do let me eat by mouth again.  Still, I long to try.

Thank you for your continued emails, cards, plants & prayers.  Patience and perseverance.

07/11/07  ^top^

 Short night.  My sister and I went to see the new Harry Potter film at midnight.  I got back home at 2;30am.

 I began radiation on Monday, 7/9.  They are bombarding the neck area to make sure that no cancer comes back.  I am scheduled for every afternoon (M-F) for the next 6 weeks.

I have to get there an hour early in order to take an injection which may help prevent my saliva glands from drying up due to the radiation.  An hour before that, I have to take medication to prevent a rash that the injection may cause.  At the same time, I take a medication to prevent nausea that the rash prevention medication may cause.

The radiation takes about 20 minutes.  I lie on a table and they buckle my face mask over me to keep me from moving.  Then they shoot the radiation.  I'm actually starting to look forward to it as a chance for a little rest in the afternoon.  In a perfect world, I leave my office at 12:30 and am back in it by 4:00 pm.  It has yet to work out that way yet, but we are early into the process.

Today I have a follow up with Speech Pathology.  I am not really sure what the purpose of the appointment is, but I intend to use it to learn when I can have another swallow test and when I can expect to have the prosthesis put in.

07/05/07  ^top^

 We heard back from the surgeon's nurse on the 4th of July.  She said that we needed to be reasonable in our expectations regarding their communication with us... and that 2 or 3 days was unreasonable.

Other than that, she did not tell us much except that the original leak had healed but that there was a new leak which could have been caused by something as simple as a sneeze.  She said that we would just have to wait for it to heal.  She also said that Dr. Holsinger has "handed us off" to the radiologist, Dr. Gardner, until radiation is complete.

I understand the concept, but I don't understand the impact.  The radiation is for 6 weeks.  Will I have to wait that long before I have another swallow test?  There is an additional 4 - 6 week healing period after radiation.  Will I have to wait another 3 months before we do the throat punch for the prosthesis and I begin to talk?   In the meantime, can I not contact the surgeon with questions about my recovery?

It's not that I am impatient as much as it is that I need to understand what the plan is, and what the time-table is.    Frustrating.

Good news.  The feeling in my ears continues to improve.  I would estimate it now at about 50%!  Thanks for your prayers.

07/02/07  ^top^

 Horrible news!  I failed my second swallow test.  They moved the appt forward to last Thursday.  I was very excited to start eating again.  Unfortunately, they say there is another leak.  I am not sure what they are talking about.  I am trying to get some feedback from the surgeon, but I have not heard back from an email that I sent to him last Thursday - not being able to talk makes it hard to get in touch with people quickly.

Right now, all that I now that this means is that I have to keep eating via the stomach tube.  It's extremely disappointing.  Please keep this matter in your prayers.

Otherwise, I feel well & plan to spend more time in the office this week.  I will also be working on rehab for my mouth, neck and shoulders.  There is a large loss of mobility resulting from the surgery.  It has slowly begun to come back.  The rehab should accelerate this.  I would like to regain as much as possible before we start radiation on next Monday, July, 9th.

By the way:  They think that the reason that Wanda had her insulin reaction was due to weight loss.  She had recently lost 15 pounds and that requires a change in her insulin dosage.  She has been much better this past week.

06/26/07  ^top^

 Bad news.  Well, it seems that we are having a hard time getting James, Wanda & myself together at home for any period of time.  Last night it was Wanda's turn to go to the hospital.

Around 8:45, I found her spread eagle on the floor of her bedroom, babbling incoherently and trying to get up.  We called 911 and they gave her an insulin shot for her diabetes.  She came back around well enough for them to take her to the hospital for observation. 

So, while James watched from his wheel chair, and I wrote out instructions for them about her medication, they took her away and we had to stay behind to care for each other.  My brother and sister, , Rick & Becky, met them at the ER... as did some friends from church.  They did alot of tests and decided that she must have had an insulin reaction.  Honestly, I don't think they could figure out what happened.  Wanda did not remember much of anything.

They released her shortly after midnight.  She spent a restful evening at home.  She is going to her doctor today to have him evaluate her insulin dosage.

All in all, it was quite a scare.  And we are very blessed that it was not more serious.  Please keep her in you prayers.

06/25/07  ^top^

 Good news!  My appointment with Dr. Holsinger went very well.  He thinks that the stoma is healing superbly and he scheduled a second swallow test for next Monday 7/2.  I have to stay on the formula via feeding tube until then, but if that goes well, he says I will be eating hot dogs on the 4th of July!  He also believes that the stoma will seal well for speech.

06/25/07  ^top^

 I see my surgeon this morning to evaluate how well my stoma wound is healing.  Hopefully everything will be well.

This past week at home has been nice.  I spent a couple of mornings in the office.  I also had appointments where we prepared for and scheduled my radiation.  More about that after this morning's appt.

06/18/07  ^top^

The doctors are happy with my progress.  They are planning to discharge me at mid-day!

I will follow up with my surgeon in a week.

06/16/07  ^top^

 I'm still in the hospital.  They plan to let me go home on Monday, the 18th.  Unfortunately, that means that I will miss being able to go to church with James on Father's Day.  I had been wanting to do that.

The doctors are happy with the way the my stoma has healed while I have been in here this week.  I am now using the feeding tube that they attached to my stomach for food (formula) & water.  My medicines are still being fed to me through the I.V.

I feel pretty good, considering.  I have been taking pain medicine every two hours since I got here on Monday.  They have started removing the IV line when I am not receiving fluids.  This allows me to move about without dragging the IV stand with me.  It also allows me to get out of the hospital gown and into some pajamas.  Both of these developments are welcome.

I was able to get a little bit of work done this week.  Linda, from my office, and my sister Becky both spent time up here going over business projects.  I have been able to communicate with other members of my staff through Instant Messaging (AIM).  My screen name is SharbroughC.  I have added this info to the Email info area above.

Hopefully, I will be back in the office Tuesday or Wednesday.  May staff will just have to learn how to understand my Electrolarynx for a few weeks!

06/13/07  ^top^

 The feeding tube insertion went by the book, except for the 5 hours that it took to do a 2 hour procedure.  There is alot of waiting around here.  I will start using it tomorrow.  This will enable me to take in food and medicine much quicker and more effectively than the I.V.

The surgeon feels that we can schedule another swallow test in a couple of weeks to see how things are healing.

I hope to be released Friday or Saturday.

06/13/07  ^top^

 Another Setback.

When I came in for my routine surgical follow-up on Monday, the 11th, I was expecting to get my staples out, have them remove the temporary tube (Lary Tube) that they have had down my air pipe and send me home to prepare for a successful swallow test the following day.  This would have had me talking and eating by Tuesday, June 12th.

I got my staples out, and my Lary Tube removed.  I did not go back home.  Instead, I was admitted back into the hospital.  They decided that the skin around the stoma had died and that it needed to be removed, the TEP hole needed to be allowed to close and heal over, a feeding tube needed to be inserted through my stomach wall and that a plastic surgeon needed to be consulted on whether, or not, to do a skin graft for the neck.

The plastic surgeon, Dr. Yew, inspected me Tuesday and believes that the stoma can heal fully without further surgery.  He believes that this may take 4-6 weeks.  He will see me in his clinic to follow up in 3 weeks.  He also had them re-insert the Lary Tube.

They are supposed to put my new feeding tube in today.  It has to stay in for 6 weeks regardless of whether I begin eating by mouth before that time.  They will begin using it to feed me on Thursday morning, and I may be released on Friday.  Since Monday, everything has been through I.V.

All of this works to push my recovery back 4-6 weeks.  I will keep you posted.

Thank you all for you emails, cards, flowers, plants, good wishes & prayers.  They mean so much.

06/06/07  ^top^

 We had a scare last night.

James came home from the hospital yesterday and my brother, Rick, came over to help get him settled.  About 10pm, I looked down & noticed that my feeding tube had come out.  The problem with it coming out is that the TEP will heal over and close quickly.  We were told that we would have 20 min to 2 hrs to get it re-inserted.

The feeding tube is inserted into the new stoma (hole in my throat) that I use to breath and then through the "TEP" ( a puncture between the air & food pipes for the speech prosthesis after the feeding tube is no longer needed ) at the back of my wind pipe.  It is made at the time of the laryngectomy so that a separate procedure is not required later.

Rick ran me down to the ER at Christus St. Catherine, here in Katy (where I had my original biopsy).  They had no idea what needed to be done, so we decided to take my sister Becky's advice and head the 40 miles downtown to the ER in MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC).  Becky, who had met us at the first ER, rode with us to MDACC.

We got there around 11:15pm. and told them about the urgency of the situation.  Then we cooled our heals until 1:00 am before the Head & Neck doctor on call showed up to attend to me.  Fortunately, we were able to show her where the original puncture was and she re-inserted it successfully.

We got back home about 2:30 am, much relieved and very grateful for the Lord's providence.

06/01/07  ^top^

Today, we had a setback with the swallow test.  The radiologist believed that he saw a small leak in my food tube.  It's not very big, but if I started eating solid food, there is a chance that it could become a problem and create an infection.

As a result, the are keeping me on Nothing-by-mouth (NPM) until my regular follow-up visit to the surgeon on June, 11.  That means that I will remain on the feeding tube and that I will continue to depend upon the electro-larynx for speech.  This was a disappointment.

Also, it looks as if one of the interior stitches may have come loose on the edge of the stoma (the new hole in my throat).  Apparently, it's not that uncommon.  The down side is that it could effect how round the stoma is as it shrinks and heals.  Without a nice, round stoma it is hard to get a good seal for the apparatus used in "Hands Free" speech.

Hands free speech is one of my biggest goals for recovery.  Please pray with me that this complication will not keep me from being able to achieve that goal.

05/31/07  ^top^

They took both lymph nodes, as well as several other samples for biopsy during the surgery.  We got news from the doctor today that all of the pathology they did came back negative.  So they feel confident that they got all of the cancer.

Tomorrow, I have a modified barium swallow test scheduled. If that goes well, they should remove the feeding tube and replace it with the prosthesis which I will begin using to talk. If that happens, I should be eating and talking (to some extent) by tomorrow night.

05/30/07  ^top^

 They released me from the hospital yesterday about 3pm.  My brother, Rick and my sister, Becky picked me up and took me by to see James briefly on the way home (more about that soon).  We also stopped by my office for a minute to see the staff.  I was able to walk into both places on my own power.  I was, however, worn out by the time I got home.

My family (mom, brother & his wife, sister & her husband and their children) reworked a couple of rooms in the house where I will spending the most time.  They even repainted my bedroom!  I spent last night in my easy chair.  It was far more comfortable than the hospital bed.

05/29/07  ^top^

 It is just before 7am and the doctor has already been in to take out blood drain from the surgery so that I can go home today.  They will have to do some other things first, like replace the temp tube in my stoma with a "Larry tube" (also temporary).

  Feeding:  I will continue to take forced foods until we have a barium swallow test within the next week.  This is relatively easy, however, via a food tube with has been inserted through the TEP at the back of my wind pipe.  Ultimately, this hole will allow me to speak more naturally.  For now, it doubles as access to my food pipe.

  Radiation:  I knew I was going to be assigned it when I realized that they had removed  the two bottom molars from the rear of each side of my jaw.  This is standard procedure.  The radiation would kill the roots in the teeth, creating a very painful situation.  After the radiation is over, I can have my regular dentist construct bridgework of some kind.

  Speech:  At the moment, I am using 4 forms of communication: 1.)  True Tone Electrolarynx TTE.  It takes a lot of effort from both parties, but with patience, the message gets across 2.)  Hand & facial gestures.  This can often get you by in a pinch. 3.)  Write on/wipe off board.  When the TTE doesn't do the job, you can jot down a couple of quick words and be understood. 4.)  Laptop keyboard.  When  you've got a lot to say.  Well, that's what I am doing here, isn't it!

05/28/07  ^top^

I actually have been trying to post this update since Saturday.   However, I have been so loopy that I couldn't stay awake long enough to get it done.  I feel much better today.

First, I want to thank all of you who have emailed me with prayers and encouragement.  There is no way to tell you how much it means to have you good wishes.

The doctor's were pleased with the results of the surgery.  They say that they had a full centimeter of area around the tumor that was negative.  This gives them strong hope that they were able to remove all of the cancer.

We had a lot of answered prayer during the surgery... some yes, some no.

On the "No" side: 

NO - to "Overnight Miracle Healing".  The cancer was still there and had to be removed.  Then again, any doctor worth his salt will admit that a certain part of all healing is miraculous.  Three months of healing will be just as amazing.

NO - to "Radiation & Chemo not necessary".  There will be six to seven weeks of Radio with chemo overlapping.  Though the radio will be 5 days/week, it will only last about 20 minutes each day.   Still, I can expect to lose substantial use of the saliva glands on the bottom of my mouth.  This will accelerate tooth decay and make oral hygiene paramount.  It will also make swallowing during meals more difficult.

On the "Yes" side:

YES - to "Successful Surgery".  The surgery was successful... meaning that 1.)  I woke up 2.) my head is still attached to my body and 3.) the doctors feel that they got all of the cancer.

YES - to "Neck skin is re-usable."  There was a possibility that the skin on the front of my neck was cancerous and that they would have to graft skin from my chest to replace it.  However, the doctor was able to re-use my existing neck skin.

YES - to "Cancer is fully contained in the voice box area".  We believed this would be true, but we could not be certain until we got "in there".  They removed all of the lymph nodes in the neck area.  This may be a problem in the future, because these nodes relieve swelling.  There are many in the body, and our hope is that others will compensate.

There are many adjustments

They are so happy with my progress that they expect to release me tomorrow.  Though I can swallow, it is very painful and I am still on tubed food and liquids.  I will find out more tomorrow morning.  That's about all that I can handle for now.