News! At Last Some News

As previously related, Bettie has been having right side abdominal pain, pretty much from mid-July when they discovered an issue with her gall bladder. In the last couple of weeks it has gotten much worse...to the point where she is only up to move to the bath or down stairs from our bedroom to the wheelchair, where she can be taken to the couch in the family room. Her appetite has deteriorated and she has lost at least four pounds...down now to 98!

Needless to say, this has been a great concern to the family and to her professional treatment staff. Both doctors Schumer (our primary-care guy) and Heide (her "stroke doctor"...actually a neurologist) have provided input. One of their suggestions was a new ultra-sound exam of the gall bladder, which was performed last Friday morning.

Today, Dr. Schumer got the results of that scan and called us with the news: "I'm referring Bettie to Dr. Pettie on Friday...she needs to have her gall bladder removed." I was out when the call came so I didn't speak with Dr. Schumer, but the bottom line is she will have the surgery within the next couple of weeks.

Now it will seem kind of odd to you, for us to be celebrating the need for surgery. This is not the kind of thing one usually looks forward to...kind of in the category of rejoicing over an upcoming root canal...like, who does that? However, if you were here with us, watching her decline these last couple of weeks, you would understand. When Rick told me the news from Dr. Schumer, my heart leaped in relief...almost joy. At last, they have found something. Yes!

Though it is often hard to read Bettie's responses, I think I detected some relief on her part too, when I told her about it.

Being a person of faith, I do not consider the gall bladder a vestigial (look it up) remain from a previous branch of the human tree. Nevertheless, its designed role can be omitted with little effect on one's lifestyle. It this case, I readily accept (for her, as I have durable power of attorney) a life free of both gall bladder and related pain, as opposed to continuing with both.

Modern surgical practice allows this type of surgery to be minimally invasive, which is fortunate, given how weak and frail she is right now. (On that note, I think we have arrested the weight loss and she is eating somewhat better the last couple of days.)

But there is a good thing that will come from this extra trial of pain, coming, as it has, on top of stroke. When Bettie is free of pain, the stroke will seem to me like a relatively minor nuisance in our life together. I predict that she'll walk with little impairment, get better and better at talking, and regain some useful functionality with her right hand. She might even feel like...well who knows. But she'll be back and that is news, at last some news.