Back home in Charleston

We made it back to Charleston and I have been recovering very well!  My Mom and Billy both have spring break this week so they are in town taking care of me!  It so good to be out of that hospital and back at home.  I have been getting out a little bit each day and even working from home some.  Once the doctor gives me clearance I am ready to get back to work and get things back to "normal."  Thanks so much for following the blog during all of this.  All of your support has meant so much to me! 

We go back up to Dook on May 9th to meet with the oncologist.  She will schedule my next round of scans to make sure everything is gone.  Dr. Salama is also working on finding me an oncologist in Charleston so that I do not have to keep traveling up to Dook for visits.  On May 10th we meet with the surgeon, Dr. Clarey, to check out my incision and make sure everything is healing according to schedule.

Packing it up!

We have had the doctors come by this morning at 5:30 and confirm that we are getting out of here around 11 AM!!  The doctors are writing the orders as we speak of what Kenan should and shouldn't be doing over the next 2-3 months.  We have had a couple nurses say they are sad to see us go.  Unfortunately I cannot agree with any of them.  We are ready to get out ASAP!! 

They will be writing a couple scripts for pain medicine and maybe other medications.  We have our post op appointment set up for May 10th to meet with the surgeon to see how her progress is going.  We will also set up an appointment with the medical oncologist for May 9th to knock out two appointments in one trip. 

The plan for the next couple days is to drive to Charlotte after being discharged to go shopping :).  Kenan is ready to find her tankini!!  She is ready to get back out in the "real world" instead of getting a play by play of what I do when I'm not in the hospital.  We are planning on heading back to Charleston on Saturday but we don't want to rush anything.  We'll see how the road trip goes today and play it by ear.  Thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts through this past week.  It has really helped make the past week go by as fast as possible. 

We can't wait to see our baby (Thanks Uncle Bill)!

Day 7 - almost free!!

Hey Everybody!  Today is Day 7 and we are all starting to go stir crazy in this little hospital room!  I have read all of my magazines, watched all of the bad TBS sitcoms I can stand, and taken as many naps as humanly possible.  Mom and Billy have been taking turns getting out for a while each day, and have also both developed an Angry Birds addiction.  Billy went to meet Drutar for dinner at Mellow Mushroom in Durham last night and I made him recreate the entire dinner for me.  I felt so silly but it seems like it has been forever since I have been out and interacting with people in a non-hospital situation.  I can't wait to bust out of this place!

The doctors came with good news this morning!  Hopefully I will get released tomorrow!  Mom and Billy are packing all of the bags and loading them in the car as I write this so we can jump on the road to Charlotte as soon as they let us.  They gave me SOLID foods for the first time this morning and took me off of my IV!  I am taking my pain meds orally now and, as long as everything goes well, we will be on schedule to get out tomorrow.  It feels so amazing not to be connected to that IV machine 24/7.

Now, off for one of my daily walks around the hospital!

Day 6 - DOCTOR'S HUMOR

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to check in on Kenan and Billy.  Kenan, Billy, and I have lost all concept of the days of the week.  We are measuring our days by the nurse/doctor visits, delivery of the food trays, and shift changes.

A the moment, Billy has gone to the MALL.  I know, shouldn't I have written Kenan has gone to the Mall?  Billy has gone to the Mall to pick up some items for Kenan at her request and no, he hasn't gone to pick up a tankini.

Kenan is napping at the moment.  She has had a busy morning.  The usual, she showered, drank more clear liquids, and walked.

Last night around 9:00 pm we were surprised by a visit from Dr. Clary, her chief surgeon.  We had not talked with him since last Thursday.  It was a good conversation.  He came in, sat down beside Billy (all other doctors and nurses stand) and visited for a while.  He told Kenan that she is progressing fine.  All tests look good and her recovery is on track.  He discussed her next goals toward recovery and said just a few more hurdles and then she should be able to go home.  She will come back for a follow up visit approximately 2 weeks from her release date.

Too my surprise, Dr Clary said oh, I received a picture of the happenings in your room over the weekend.  He pulled out his blackberry and started searching for "a picture"?  I was very surprised and asked him how he had a picture?  He replied, "Oh I have my sources".  We waited in anticipation, while Dr. Clary searched.  Soon, he showed us a picture of Catherine and Brian dressed in their "Team Kenan" T-shirts.  Brian showing the front of the shirt, Team Kenan and Catherine, showing the back of the t-shirt, half a liver is still a whole lot of fun.  Dr. Clary was happy to report to Kenan that she would soon need to have her friends make new shirts.  He reminded her that she will soon have more than half a liver again.  You all should have been here, oh my gosh, what a long way Kenan has come from her first visit with Dr. Clary.

Not sure which of Kenan’s friends gets the credit for bringing the Justin Bieber door poster, but it is quite the conversation piece.  Everyone and I mean everyone, comments about the poster.

We are anxiously awaiting a release date from the hospital, but nothing to report at this time.  We anticipate Kenan being able to eat solid foods for dinner.  Not sure what she will request, but solid food is a huge step forward!

Thanks to Dottie (my sister's best friend) and her husband, David, for their visit Sunday.  Dottie and David have watched Kenan grow up and they are part of our extended family.  Loved the visit from Bonita (Kenan's second cousin) and her husband David.  Billy and I have enjoyed the gift basket contents from both couples.  Kenan is still waiting. 

Kenan says thanks to Granny Burke, Aunt Jane, Uncle Dean, cousins Michelle, Jill and Aaron, Granddaddy, and Grandmama, and Aunt Karen for their every other day visits.  It is a great comfort to be so close to family and Kenan really appreciates your visits and love. 

Posted Kenan’s Mom

     

Day 5 - Online Shopping & Facebook

I have been trying to get Kenan to write her own blog.  I haven't been able to pull the computer away from Kenan (thatis why the postings have been slacking off).  Kenan has been up since 4am (I couldn't stay up anymore) shopping for tankini's and catching up on facebook.  She is ready to "break out"! 

We have been going to the cafeteria on a daily basis to get unsweet tea and grapes (can't keep the grapes down).  She has tried yogurt and coffee this morning to get something in her stomach.  Nurse Nancy gave us a little attitude after hearing that she had grapes, reminding us that she is on a liquid diet.  Of course we threw our prior nurse under the bus for telling us to "just try it". 

We have a new favorite nurse "Jenn" (must be the name) and she has only been here an hour!  Funny how it doesn't take much to beat the other nurses.  We are going for a walk and then Kenan wants to paint her fingernails (thanks Liz and Emily)!  Keep posted for painted fingernails.

RECOVERY DAY FOUR AND COUNTING...



Thank you to Billy's Dad, Bill for taking such good care of Jetty!

Good Sunday morning and day four of Kenan’s road to recovery.  Her night last night was not as calm as some previous nights.  Around 1:00 am she started feeling bad, hurting, shortness of breath and pain.  We called for Nurse Nancy and she came in to check her vital signs.  All the vital signs were good.  Nurse Nancy called the Dr. on call to check on Kenan.  The doctor determined it may be a lack of pain medicine because Kenan had been asleep and not pushing her pain button or the fact that the incision is healing.  As the incision is healing the give and take of her skin is getting tighter, thus causing her more discomfort. 

The doctor gave her some extra pain medication and that seemed to quickly get Kenan comfortable again.  Her night continued with the hourly check from the nurse.  Blood was drawn at the usual 5:00 am and Kenan is hoping they will not come back later today for more blood.    

Kenan is expecting many special visitors again today, but the doctor has limited those visits to 10 minutes per visit.  So, please come and visit, but we will rotate in and out.

Kenan has orders from the doctor for today to:  walk, drink, and eat solid liquids if she can tolerate them.

Kenan asked the doctor about a discharge date.  He said it looked liked 2 or 3 more days.  Kenan’s bottom lip immediately came out and stayed in the pouting position for a good 30 seconds.  As expected, Kenan is anxious to break out of this joint!

Oh, the doctor asked Kenan if she would like a cup of coffee.  Kenan thinks she would like coffee.  She and her Dad are going to take another road trip/walk downstairs to the Starbucks Café.

posted by Kenan's Mom

THE SERENADE





This is a picture of the two DOOK students who were volunteering on their Saturday morning to cheer the patients.

Please take note of Drew wearing his “DOOK GIRLS ARE UGLY” t-shirt.  After the serenade, we starting talking to the performers.  That is when we learned they were DOOK students!  Drew covered up his T-shirt, while Kenan and I tried not to laugh!

posted by Kenan's Mom

Sleeping on the Job!

For those of you who are fans of the Andy Griffith Show, do you remember the episode of Asa sleeping while on guard duty in the bank?  Well we have a similar situation here in Kenan's room, but Barney hasn't come in to wake him up. (Aunt Karen, stop laughing). 

One of our favorite nurses, Savitri, came in to Kenan’s room to change some of her IV’s tonight.  She was stretching to reach the IV stand and looked over at me and commented, “My assistant is sleeping on the job”.  She said, “He usually helps me”. 

Now that I have had some practice with my technology skills in the last few days, I couldn’t resist sharing the minute by minute happenings here in “our Kenan’s” room. 

The pictures, tell it all.

While Billy is getting some much needed rest before the 3^rd shift night duty, Kenan had to help me get logged on to send this out.  She looked at the picture and said, “Oh, poor Billy”.  Bless their little hearts!  You can just feel the love and this room is filling up!

So, Kenan and Billy are both resting.  Additionally, Kenan has eaten applesauce!  This is a huge milestone in her road to recovery.  We are very excited about her success with a more solid liquid food.  Each bite gets her closer to her recovery.

Gomer says Hey!

Posted by Kenan’s Mom

     

Day 3 - Half a Liver still a Whole lot of Fun

Kenan had a whole bunch of visitors today!  It started with Drew showing up and was followed by a couple playing a guitar and singing "The Climb".  This was sung by a two DOOK senior medical students.  This took everything that Kenan had not to laugh during the song.  Soon after the couple left she had Anna, Joanna, Catherine and Brian (Anna's Boyfriend) enter the room singing "I heard it through the grapevine".  This is because the girls were the California Raisins for Halloween in college.  The girls had t-shirts made that had "team kenan" on the front and "Half a Liver is Still a Whole Lot of Fun" (see picture).  They also got her a personalized t-shirt that has "Kenan 2 Cancer 0".  This brought a tear to Sue's eye.

After giving everyone a hug, her bridesmaid Ashley surprised her by flying in from Alberquerque, NM.  They all brought her their own presents.  She received a Justin Beiber life size VIP party poster that we put on the outside of the door to make the nurses/other patients jealous of the party.  Other thoughtful gifts included a New Mexico oven mitt, NM koozies, UNC fleece blanket, Garden & Gun magazines, chocolates, home made cookies, turquoise ring and Hard Work by Roy Williams (sorry if I missed one or two).  All of these things should be able to keep us occupied for hopefully only a couple of more days!  One unique present was a joke a day from children that Joanna works with on a daily basis.  One example:  "Why did the students eat their homewerk?" "because the teter (teacher) said it was karake (cake)". 

Thanks y'all for the great and thoughtful gifts.  It has made everyone jealous on our floor of all of the fun we are having in our room.

APRIL SHOWERS!

Kenan's Mom here,

We know that April Showers bring May flowers, but today at Duke University Hospital, April brought "our Kenan" a "SHOWER"!  The flowers are also arriving (thanks to all for your thoughtfulness).  Do you know... if April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?  PILGRIMS!  Sorry Kenan, some things never change with your parents! 

Kenan feels great after another day of washing her hair and taking her first shower.  Clean bed linens and more sips of water and now, a short nap, before the arrival of her dear friend Drew!

Kenan had a good night and is making progress.  We need to move up the liquids from water to juice and/or chicken broth, but she turns up that cute little nose at the moment (a family trait).  She has asked for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but the doctors and nurses all GASP when she asks for that food.  The nurse compromised with cranberry juice and a flavored Gatorade.  Still only sipping water at the moment.

We are looking forward to more liquids, more walks, and rest today. 

Thanks for your continued thoughts, prayers, and reading of her blog!

Kenan's mom, Sue  

Day 2 - Walk It Out



Kenan has been up and walking all around the second floor of the hospital.  Her curiosity hasn't been phased by the surgery.  She wanted to look in all of the rooms that the doors were open and see who is in there.  We have gone for three walks today and all wipe out her energy.  But I told her she needs to get a good night sleep tonight so she can see all of her visitors coming tomorrow.


Uncle Dean, Michelle (cousin) and Granny Burke made it by this morning to bring a UNC balloon and wish her the best.  She was on a walk down the hallway and met them halfway.  We all took a walk around the floor and made it back to her room.  She tried some Sprite Zero but it made her feel a little nauseous.  She received a little medicine to make her feel better. 

Soon after that, we had our own nurse/friend from Charleston (Emily) show up to hang out with Kenan.  She brought some good gossip magazines and other goodies to lift her spirits.  Unfortunately every time we go for a walk, it takes all of her energy, so she slept most of the time Emily was here.  No worries, Emily will be our home nurse when we get discharged and make it back to Charleston.  Just before visiting hours were up, my sister Jen and Kristy showed up from Charleston. 

It has been an exhausting day and our Kenan is breathing very heavily (snoring).  I will be joining her shortly to get ready for a full day of visitors and maybe a SHOWER tomorrow.  She cannot wait. 

Looking Beautiful

The Other Door

One of Kenan's "friends" gave her a DOOK bear as a gag gift.  She gagged!  It is now hanging by a Carolina Blue noose. 

One of the interns stopped by this morning to check on Kenan at 5:30 am.  Which was good because he came with good news that she will be able to get to walk around the hall some today.  With that news Kenan wanted to get up and use the bathroom (first time since surgery that she has had the urge for #1).  This is a great sign that her body is processing the IV fluids.  With using the bathroom comes having liquids other than water and apple juice (oh the small things).  They will give her some jello today to eat but she isn't hungry yet. 

After the intern left, we had Luigi come in an hour later to check on Kenan's incision.  He removed the outer bandage and exposed the steri strips that are helping the sutures stay together.  All she wants to do is take a shower.  Unfortunately he won't let her shower until tomorrow and after the last ordeal with the nurse telling her to "wash up"...we didn't wait for the nurse. 

She had me go to the car and get her bookbag that has her hairdryer and straightener.  Since she couldn't have a shower, we gave her the next best thing.  We pulled a chair up to the sink and Sue helped her wash her hair (which still had a little bit of blood in it).   I went down the hall and started opening closets to find new sheets and blankets for her bed.  By the time I got back in the room, it looked like we were back home and she was in front of the vanity with the hairdryer getting ready for work.  After "washing up" she put on a new gown and got back in bed.  She has been getting her beauty sleep ever since.

We Left Pete in Charge!

 Hi all,

               

This is Kenan's Mom and I am trying my hand at updating the blog.  Billy has taken a much deserved few hours off with Kenan's Dad, Kenny, her "Little Brother", Pete, and our long time family friend Howard.  Kenny and I have known Howard since their days at UNC.  Let's see was that 1973?  "Boys Night" out I guess.  However, don't feel bad for Kenan and me because we are having our own pajama party and I love this opportunity to spend time with my "little girl".  By the way, she is the most positive, brave, strong, joyful and adorable young woman I know.

Billy and I both left Kenan at the hospital for a few hours this afternoon, so we could both go freshen up.  We left Kenan with Pete, her Dad, another family friend Tyler, and her first cousin Jill.  In good hands, right?  When I returned at 5:00, I saw Dr. Luigi at Kenan's hospital door with another doctor looking very serious.  When I walked up, I overheard them saying she is not in the room.  What, where is she, I asked?  Dr Luigi stated he believed her brother had taken her for a ride?  What?  Yes, Pete felt Kenan should get up and out.  I found out later, he did go out to the nurse's station and asked if he could take Kenan out of her room and the nurse checked with the doctor (Whew) and they said yes.  Pete found a wheelchair and they helped Kenan in and off the five of them rolled to the atrium downstairs.  Kenan had the opportunity to sit out on this beautiful spring day and feel the sunshine, enjoy the fresh air, laugh, and catch up with her friends and family.

As you can imagine, "our Kenan" is now fast asleep, although she had the intent to read a little of the People Magazine sitting beside her on the bed.  The nurse's have checked on her for the night.  They have removed some of her IV's and her oxygen apparatus.  We did hear Cousin Jill saved the day when one of the nurses was going to cut Kenan's hair in order to remove one of the IV patches.  We all know Kenan would not have wanted her hair cut away.  Jill intervened and helped free and save the hair.  Good Job, Jill.  Thanks for looking after the cousin!

Kenan is sleeping now, working on her beauty sleep. 

Tomorrow when you go through your day, don’t let the small stuff ruin your day.  Kenan is looking forward to being able to drink water tomorrow!

Posted by Kenan's Mom

Staking Her Claim


We had Dr. Clary come by and talk with us about Kenan's progress.  He is very happy with her recovery progress so far.  Her lab tests came back and both blood count and liver function look good.  He doesn't want to push her too hard, so she might be walking around the hall tonight but most likely tomorrow. 

We were able to move her out of the bed to my bed from last night (recliner).  Just with that move involved some pain and energy.  She had one of the IV areas removed out of the back side of her hand.  She is able to drink small sips of liquids now every half hour.  We got her a glass of apple juice that we are trying to keep her from chugging. 

She did want me to say that the day nurses do not seem to be on top of the ball as much as the night time nurses.  The IV machines keep beeping and it takes the nurses anywhere from 5-7 minutes to stop the beeping (very frustrating).  Of course this is our first time recovering in a hospital from a major surgery, but it isn't a relaxing environment that we were hoping for. 

Beautiful flowers have been arriving (Thank You!) but we are running out of room with everyone stopping by.  Might be time to get a hotel room to keep everything and a place to shower.

Pete Arrived

Luigi came by this morning around 6:30 AM this morning to check in on Kenan.  He said that Kenan will be getting up and walking around the hall today.  We have been doing her breathing exercises throughout the morning. 

Around 8:30 we had a new nurse come in and try to help Kenan wash herself down.  She had a little attitude but no worries...Kenan straightened her out.  The nurse had a much better attitude. :)  We were sad to see the night nurse leave.

We are waiting for PT to come by and help Kenan get out of bed and walk around the hallway.  Hopefully soon.  Pete and Kenny showed up around 10 AM.  That put a big smile on Kenan's face.  A couple minutes ago Aaron Wright (Kenan's first cousin) showed up to check in on Kenan.  It is great to have all of the support show up and lift Kenan's spirits.  Hope to see the PT soon...Kristy...are you available? ;)

Late Night

Just wanted to update everyone that Kenan is down for the night.  She has to use a breathing device (Emily could tell me the name) that makes her suck in air to expand her lungs to prevent pneumonia.  We will help her do this exercise everytime she wakes up throughout the night.  Other than that she is sleeping like a baby, holding her rabbit.  Unfortunately Pete's flight has been delayed until tomorrow morning, but Kenan can't wait to see her little brother.  Good Night.

Check in was at 4:15 on the second floor

As you can see they moved Kenan into her own room (2116) on the second floor of the main hospital here at Dook.  The room has its own bathroom, TV and recliner (our bed), with a view of a park.  She is still in quite a bit of pain but is awake and talking to people.  She said she feels like Granddaddy because she can't stay awake.  All she wants is a big Sprite Zero!  The resident doctor came in and said that unfortunately she won't be able to have liquids until maybe Friday.  Kenan gave us a pouty face when she heard that. 

Luigi (Resident doctor) came in and spoke with us about her patient administered pain medicine (10x stronger than morphine button).  We can't push the button for her but sometimes wish I could.  Kenan and Rabbit are laying in bed recovering.  It will be a slow recovery but she is already talking about going shopping for tankini's. 

It has been a long day here and this could be the last update until the morning.  We will be here all night, waking up Kenan periodically to make her push her pain button to keep her pain under control.

I am sorry that the auto e-mail thing isn't working (you would think the geeks at Google could make it a little easier).  I am going to make a list serve the old fashioned way to help everyone stay updated.

She's Out!!!

We just met with Dr. Clary.  Everything went according to plan in the surgery room.  She is coming out of anesthesia right now and we will be able to see her in about 30 to 45 minutes.  They removed exactly what they were expecting to remove.  It is funny to see everyone on their phone (me on the computer) sending out the great news.  Grandmamma joked that everyone will know the news almost before she did, and she was in the waiting room.  We are grateful for all of the prayers that have been sent our way. 

Sorry no picture this time.

Two Hour Update



They just buzzed us once again for the two hour update.  She is doing fine and the surgery is going as scheduled.  We have now pulled out the picnic basket in the middle of the waiting room.  We are getting looks...mostly jealousy.

We had a close family friend stop by, Rev. Dr. DuPre Sanders, to send a special prayer to Kenan and the surgeons.  He has been part of Kenan's life since she was a little girl.  We appreciated this visit as well as the visit when she had her first surgery. 

The surgery is scheduled to be 4 hours long, so this is Half Time and we are in the lead.  It is all downhill from here.

Packing up the waiting room

Here is a snapshot of the family in the waiting room.  Our buzzer went off at 9:48 and they told us that they just started the operation (little nerve racking).  They will be calling us about every two hours to keep us updated on the progress.  I am trying to figure out a way to get the blog to e-mail everyone that is a follower everytime there is a new posting (thanks Maddie).  Please send me an e-mail at wkoll1027@gmail.com and I will add you to a group email that will email you.  Thank you again for the continued support.  

Time to Get It Over With!

As you can tell from the picture, Kenan is in high spirits and ready to get this over with.  We did find out this morning that while they are removing the right side of the liver, removing the gallbladder comes with it.  After speaking with the doctor, he told us that this is routine and will make her a little sensitive to greasy foods (not a big problem for Kenan anyway).  We have a seven people in the waiting room despite being told that only two people can be here.  It is comforting to have everyone here although we are periodically interrupted by a old guy snoring in the corner.  We are debating on what to try to throw in his mouth.  Other than that, Tom Petty said it best...."Waiting is the hardest part".

Top of Da Merning to Ya

We have been up and going since 4:30 EST this morning.  Kenan had to take a shower last night and this morning with "special" soap which she said "doesn't make me feel that clean".  We left Grandmamma and Granddaddy's at 5:30 to show up at Dook at 6:15.  As soon as we checked her in on the 3rd floor, they were ready for her.  I have rabbit...attached is the picture of her waiting with me.  I have a restaurant buzzer to let me know when they are ready for me.  Time for the hardest part....waiting.  Thank you everybody for your support, e-mails, phone calls and text messages!

Morris Clinic

We met with Nancy (Dr. Clary's nurse) to help us fill out our FMLA paperwork and go over any last minute questions.  We are waiting to meet with the anesthesiologist and finish up the Pre-Op appointment.  We have confirmed Kenan's surgery for 8:45AM tomorrow.  We will have to be back at the main hospital at 6:30AM!!  We have been here since 2:15PM and can't wait for dinner at Grandmamma's and Grandaddy's (or the Doritos that are in the car)!  Can't wait to get out of here!

On the road again

Billy and I are on the road headed to Dook for my pre op appointment at 3:30. We just hit South of the Border! If you have ever made this drive up I95 you know SOTB is the half way point and the highlight of the drive (next to the Fayetteville raceway we have never noticed before)! We are staying entertained by the grateful dead staion on Sirius and the plethora of "Pedro says..." billboards!

After surgery #1 my mom-in-law sent me a life size Jetty (our Boston Terrier) to cheer me up.  Billy got this one for me and (with the help of some very crafty friends) got all of my Charleston friends/family/coworkers to sign it!  I loved reading everybody's uplifting notes!

Surgery!

April 6, 2011!


Surgery is scheduled! Dr. Clary was booked up through the month of April so they had to squeeze us in whenever they could get some OR time available. We are very glad that they got me in and we can get this show on the road!

In the words of our good friend Reilley "the doctors are going to fix this right up with a left handed monkey wrench and you will have a whopper of a story to tell your children someday."  Can't wait!

The appointment we were waiting for!

March 29, 2011 - We met with Dr. Brian Clary, Chief of Hepatopancreatobiliary and Oncologic Surgery, at Duke. He looked at my scans and told us that the melanoma in my liver is about 2 inches big. There are three main blood vessels that travel to the liver and the melanoma is located in between two of them. The best way to go about getting it all is to remove half of the liver. No worries, the liver is a regenerative organ and will grow back. Dr. Clary said it could grow back to normal size in as little as 3 week...thats right THREE WEEKS!


Picture 1: Picture of my liver. The dark spot is the melanoma that is appx 2 inches big.
Picture 2: Another picture of my liver. You can see the doctors drawing which shows the part that will be removed.
Picture 3: This is my PET Scan. Melanoma's show up in bright colors on a PET scan. The brain, bladder and kidney's always show up in bright colors but the liver melanoma is the bright spot on the left side of my body in the picture.

Meeting with the oncologists

3/21/11 - Met with oncologist Dr. Salama to go over treatment options. She reviewed several options with us but thought that surgery to remove the melanoma from my liver was the best, and most aggressive, option.


3/28/11 - Met with Dr. Asim Amin at Blumental Cancer Center to review my situation and get a second opinion about treatment options. Let me just say that Blumenthal Cancer Center is an awesome facility with a fantastic staff - I cannot praise them enough! Dr. Amin spent over an hour with us reviewing my scans and discussing the options out there. He agreed with Dr. Salama, and also recommended surgery to remove the melanoma.


One thing we have found out through all of this is that ocular melanoma is very rare. It is even more rare for it to spread. There have been very few studies done on how to treat ocular melanoma that spreads; therefore, they often opt for surgery to remove the melanoma when it is possible.

February 22, 2011 - 6 month check up with Dr. Jablon (my wonderful retina doctor here in Charleston that originally found the tumor in my eye and schedules all of my CT scans)
March 8, 2011 - CT Scan
March 9, 2011 - Dr. Jablon called to tell me they found a spot on my liver they had not seen before. I went to Charleston Imaging for a MRI and an ultrasound so the radiologist could get a closer look. They were suspicious the spot may be melanoma so they sent me to MUSC to have a biopsy to confirm.
March 14, 2011 - Fine needle aspiration liver biopsy at MUSC
March 15, 2011 - PET Scan


Based on all of the scans and the biopsy the doctors determined that the cancer in my eye spread to my liver. Dr. Jablon and Dr. Mruthyunjaya (Dook) decided it would be best for me to travel back up to Dook to meet with Dr. April Salama, an oncologist specializing in melanoma, and Dr. Brian Clary, an oncologic surgeon.


*side note - all Tar Heels refer to Duke as "Dook." Don't get me wrong, I am SO SO thankful for Duke Hospital and their top notch doctors BUT I loathe the fact that they won the 2010 NCAA Championship and that the hospital staff decorates the hospital walls with all their Dookie championship paraphernalia. Like I said in an earlier facebook post..."i'll support Duke Hospitals but i'll never support Coach K!"

Just a little background...

February 2009  - Diagnosed with Chorodial Melanoma in my left eye

February 17, 2009 - -Saw Dr. Mruthyunjaya at Duke University to work out a treatment plan

February 25, 2009 - surgery to remove the cancer!

Since February 2009 I have gotten a CT scan every 6 months to monitor my body for any cancer cells that may have traveled from my eye to another part of my body. All of them were clear until the most recent one on March 8, 2011.