Mayo Clinic
This week we had another 2 day trip to the Mayo Clinic for
follow up on Dave’s cancer treatment. This was his 6th appointment
after treatment and his surgeries. The first 8 follow up appointments are the
most important because the best chance for Dave’s cancer to return is during
the first two years after treatment so it is always a nervous time for us. Dave
was doing fine until we walked into the Mayo Clinic. Being there
is hard. Brings back so many emotions. The waiting room was really crowded
this time. The most people we have ever seen in there. The
receptionist checked us in and said how much she loved our last name. We hear
that all the time. Funny...People always comment about our last name. Dave said he
hears it a lot at work too but the people he deals with call him other names.
Once we got into the office we waited a little longer before the exam started.
Praise
God he was all clear again!
The doctors said everything looks great. Dave had
no signs of any problems in his head or neck and everything looks OK. All of
his exams and tests came back normal. His weight is back up and muscles are
getting stronger too. We’re now making some adjustments to Dave’s diet and
increasing his workouts to help continue his recovery. I got to watch his
throat probe. Most of the time the camera picture isn't working for me to see or it isn't the best picture. They stick a camera on a long tube up his nose and down his
throat. It is really amazing. Dave has had this done so many times. He told the
doctor he thought it was over 40 times and they said that was about right. Poor
guy sits there as they shove this tube up his nose. We
could see the inside of his nose and mouth and throat on a TV. Everything
looked good. They even showed us his voice box and had Dave sing out the vowels
so we could watch it move. It was really amazing to see how it all works. The
only major problem he has right now is with some nerve damage in his neck from
the radiation that causes him some pain and discomfort. His jaw still hurts too. They
reminded Dave about how severe his neck surgery was and told him that it could
take many years for his nerves to fully heal. He has to make sure he keeps
doing his daily stretching exercises. They are really painful for Dave to do
but he knows how important they are so he keeps doing them. Everything else is
going fine and they are very happy with how well he is doing in recovery. So we
are now over 3/4 done through the most important time of his recovery and so
far everything is going wonderfully. Our next visit to Mayo is in October.
We also had a really cool God moment while we were in MN. I'll share more on that later.
We can't thank you enough for your prayers and for those of you who blessed us with gas money and dinner money. We are truly grateful and so thankful you are part of this journey with us.
We love you all!
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