I'm back.........Again!

Thank you for your prayers. Monday was a dark day for me. The thought of another thoracotamy looming was terrible. God got me through moment by moment that day. It was a day of dependence on God. Thankfully, Gods grace carried me through, His strength is made perfect in my weakness. I was at my weakest and I claimed that verse, and received comfort from God.

Good news is I have a diagnosis. I have/had Castlemans Disease. It is a very rare medical condition. Lawrence googled it and found that there have been only 200 cases on record. The tumor was a lymph node that got very BIG. This is difficult to diagnose via biopsy, and needs to be removed to be diagnosed. So that’s where we are. There are 2 types of Castlemans, the more common one is the one I had, 1 tumor, you remove it and should be ok. Some doctors follow it up with radiation, but my doctor doesn’t think that is necessary. She will be taking my case before the tumor board. They meet on Fridays, so don’t know which Friday she will be able to meet with them. The other, more rare form of Castlemans disease, is multiple, systemic tumors along the lymphatic system. I don’t have any other tumors, had a pet-scan to verify this a month ago.

So back to why I was re-admitted. I was leaking lymphatic fluid profusely from one of the closed chest tube sites. I filled several towels, including a full size bath towel. The lymphatic system carries triglicerides from your stomach to your liver. Because the lymph node was removed, not all of the channels were clamped(they are translucent and not easily seen), and the doc didn’t know she was removing a lymph node. So this led to an internal leak. I didn’t feel like eating in the hospital, so I ate very little, which means the lymph system wasn’t carrying much. When I came home I began to eat more, and after a week build up, I sprung a leak. I was having a difficult time getting a breath on Saturday for about a 5 hour period, then it went away.

What this means now: I am on a severly low fat diet. The only fat I'm allowed is 5oz of meat a day, which can be interchanged with an egg for 1oz of meat. This includes all animal meats, even fish. I will be on this diet for 2 weeks and then a more normal low fat diet. So, absolutely no Oreo therapy allowed! I'm doing ok. Ihave pain in my insision and chest tube areas still, but it is managable. I'm off the medication that gave me amnesia, so I just may remember conversations now:)

Thank you for your prayers, please do not tire of doing good, and continue your prayers for healing and harmony, peace in our family.