My Miracle Man…Mr. Whipple

September will mark 3 years since Teddy’s Whipple. The first Whipple was aborted after 4 hours as his pancreas was “mush” from dye that leaked on it from his Endoscopy and the doctor could not cut in to it as he needed to, to get to the bile duct valve. 3 weeks later he went in with a double ecoli infection which almost did him in. After 9 days on antibiotics he had the “real” Whipple and it was highly successful and the cancer had not spread. Came back to Phoenix and a tiny hole appeared at the resection and he was put in rehab for a month on nothing but IV. He could not even put water to his mouth! The hole healed without more surgery. He has done extremely well and at 75 is still working and golfing. About March we noticed he was not his old Sicilian self. Got tired easily and just did not look well. In April he had an MRI and they found his right kidney swollen due to a mass pressing on the Ureter. The beginning of May they inserted a tube to drain the kidney (he is wearing a drainage bag) or he would have lost the kidney. This Monday he is going in for a biopsy to see what that mass is as no one can diagnosis it without the biopsy as they cannot get the dye through. We are hopeful even though his ONC feels the cancer has come back. There is nothing in life that can compare any of us for what we all go through. We have got to be the strongest people in the world. I wake up shaking inside but stay strong for him. If we get
bad news this week we have to be ever so grateful for this 2 1/2 year reprieve.
Teddy would tell you that the most important thing is for everyone to stay positive. Will keep you posted. Lainy