Just wrote an update and then lost it!

Here’s the summary:

• Met with hospice doctor this morning to talk about CT scan results
• No clots on lung; kidneys, liver and bowel look normal
• No infection
• Coughing could be a result of either…
  • increased fluid on the lung
  • cancer in the lung
• Course of action for the former: insert a drain and then attempt to fill the cleared pleural cavity with a powder to prevent the cavity from filling up again. This is not the same procedure as the injection into the back – it’s (hopefully) something more substantial.
• Course of action for cancer in the lung: to palliatively treat the symptoms in an attempt to make them more manageable for Annie
• The consultants believe it is due to an observable increase in fluid – but haven’t ruled out possible presence of cancer in the lungs.
• Tomorrow Annie will undergo the drain and talc procedure which hopefully will get her breathing back to normal.
• The talc procedure is 50-50 – sometimes the cavity doesn’t bond. No side effects if it doesn’t work; it just means that the fluid would (over time) eventually build up again – there’s no telling how quickly or how slowly though.
• We’ve been waiting since 5pm for the ward transfer where the procedure will take place tomorrow morning. It’s currently 10:45pm. Really hoping and praying it happens soon. Meanwhile, Annie sleeps.

Blessings,

R&A