Surgery Scheduled

Early last Tuesday morning we drove back up to Orlando Health for Todd’s consultation with the plastic surgeon for what we thought was the lymph node transfer procedure to be done at the same time as the dissection. The appointment was for 7:30 and we were smooth sailing down the highway until about 7:00 when we entered Orlando traffic and the construction not only had us backed up but turned around. So needless to say we were late, I hate being late for appointments mostly because I know how it can screw up a doctor’s schedule. We were then aggravated from being in traffic.

When we walked into the office we were pleasantly greeted and they even had a diffuser going at the front desk, which immediately cheered me up and that the staff was so understanding and happy we made it safely. Shortly after we were brought back to the room the office manager came in and introduced herself and expressed how sorry she was for us to be in this situation, gave us some contact information as well as her own number in case we needed to get in touch with someone. She then went on to tell us that they believe in many holistic approaches and offer free classes and counseling. I was very impressed by her thoughtfulness and felt it was genuine, more offices need to make their patients feel welcomed like this.

Next, I’m not exactly sure what her title was, but if I had to guess she was an assistant to the surgeon. She gathered Todd’s past medical history and started by explaining the lymphatic system, which no one has ever really done, we have had to research pretty much everything we know about it ourselves. She then went into detail about the procedure, how they inject dye into Todd’s arm in three different sections the hand, forearm, and upper arm, and as I’m listening trying not to interrupt, thinking to myself this sounds like the lymphovenous bypass procedure! She continued on and sure enough, that’s exactly what it is! I was so freaking happy at that moment, feel-good tears in my eyes and all.

If you haven’t read back on the blog I wrote “Mayo Clinic” when we traveled to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville back in June to have a consultation with the surgical oncologist there about possibly doing this bypass procedure and they stated that a patient needed to have a lymphedema diagnosis in order to have that procedure done. That it would not be an option to do at the same time as the lymph node dissection. That left us feeling very discouraged, not sure what to do and led us to desire going to CHIPSA.

The plastic surgeon walked in as she was finishing up and we totally judged him on his appearance. He had scrubs on, a slouchy maroon-colored scarf, a buddha necklace, some sort of mala bead wrapped bracelet, and funky cool socks. I knew Todd and I were both thinking the same thing, we liked this guy! It wasn’t just his physical appearance but he just had really good vibes. He sat down very relaxed, not rushed and let the young woman continue to talk and fill him in on Todd’s situation.

After the assistant left the room, he seemed very concerned that no one has located the primary site of Todd’s melanoma. He examined the left arm more than any of the other doctors have. He asked about Todd’s diet, lifestyle and even recommended a couple of meditation apps. He asked about the surgical oncologist and melanoma specialist recommendations. Once we let him know that more immunotherapy and radiation were not options Todd wanted to pursue, he did suggest that radiation could be a good thing but did not push him at all and respected his decision stating that the damage caused by radiation could be irreversible. He then proceeded to tell us what was involved with the surgery and that his part did not take too long only about an hour. The dye is injected into the three areas in Todd’s arm, then after the nodes are completely removed by the surgical oncologist, the plastic surgeon uses a special microscope to track where to re-route the lymph vessels into the blood vessels. Thus bypassing the lymph nodes that will no longer be there. The whole procedure is outpatient and Todd would return home the same day…another yay moment!

Something unrelated to the surgery, he mentioned called Kambo, which we heard of about six months ago, is an amazon frog poisoning cleanse that they perform there and would be something to look into in the future. How ironic that he brought this up…how crazy that we went through all of this the last several months and now we meet this plastic surgeon that I really had no expectations on, other than gaining some information on a possible option of the lymph node transfer (by the way the transfers are something that could be done if Todd does develop lymphedema in the future). Anyway, I believe in fate that we were meant to meet this doctor now at this point in time and for this chance for the lymphovenous bypass to be done by him. This was one of the best experiences at a physician’s office we have ever had.

We finally got the call today (I have been holding this post) from the scheduler and surgery is set for Friday, October 18th, no time yet.

Please continue sharing our story! With Todd’s surgery we are asking for all the prayers and positive thoughts we can get! We will be continuing as many treatments as soon as we are able, this includes the IV vitamin C, ozone and hyperbaric chambers that are not covered by our insurance. Thank you all ❤️🙏

https://www.gofundme.com/f/todds-stage-4-cancer-journey?rcid=r01-156899247727-a3ecdf52f6a2444c&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w