We returned from Minneapolis on Monday. Dad is stable and in the capable hands of my Mom and brother. Now we are anxiously counting the days until our next trip to Baltimore. This time we have three days of doctor's appointments:
Monday is the critical day. This is the day Ernie's PET/CT scan is scheduled. This is a type of nuclear imaging test that sees EVERYTHING in your body (ie-plaque in your veins, inflamed sinuses, and, yes, cancer). The scan is at noon and we see the surgeon for the results at 3:30. In between, we see the swallowing/speech expert. We are most nervous about the scan as it will tell us how successful the chemo and radiation treatments were.
Tuesday we have appointments with the medical oncologist and the radiation oncologist. We suspect that this is the last visit with these two doctors. After this the surgeon becomes responsible for Ernie's check-ups--every 3 months the first year and then less frequently for four more years.
Wednesday we are going to the infectious disease clinic to try to get some closure on the latest infection. The half dose of medicine does not seem to be doing the trick. Ernie has also generously agreed to give more blood for scleroderma research as we will be close by that clinic.
Hopefully, we will no longer need the benefit of all of those prayer lists after Monday but, until then, please wish us well.
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