We've been waiting for today's surgery for a long time. The surgeon got a really good look inside Jack, and in addition to removing the tumor, everything looked clean, which is very encouraging.
Neuroblastoma related rumors often start around the adrenal gland, and his looked clean. There were no infected or out of place lymph nodes either.
Jack has three very small incisions on his navel line, and then a bit longer one just below his "bikini line". (An inch, inch and a half maybe.)
If he pees tonight and today, the surgeon felt comfortable with maybe even releasing him tomorrow which would be great.
And, here is a photo of the tumor being extracted:
The black stuff is from cauterization. The tool they use has a saw to cut and uses ultrasonic vibration to cauterize.
Jack is napping now, which should help with his pain. Here's hoping he comes home tomorrow, though as far as hospital stays, one won't find a much better place than Children's.
Next steps:
- Finishing up the chemo protocol with one more cycle of chemo. (He had the same chemicals in cycle 3, and they were hard, but we'll get through it, and know what to expect.)
- starting the autologous stem cell transplant, during which he'll be hospitalized for at least a month, at UNMC.
I have a lot to be grateful today, but here are the two I'm most grateful for:
- a successful surgery,
- Jack's insides looking clean.
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