John's misadventure of experiencing a salivary duct stone for more than the last year is concluded! These are quite rare, affecting something like only 0.45% of the population, which means that surgeons don't get a whole lot of experience removing them.
Last February, a local surgeon tried to remove it endoscopically but was not successful because the stone was already too big. Therefore, we took John (13) to someone who is possibly the national expert, having done this surgery about 80 times. Unfortunately, that surgeon is located in Memphis, TN, nine hours away, so juggling that trip in coordination with Thomas's chemotherapy schedule took discussion among all the doctors involved.
Chris took along Mary (11) because she's really hardly left the house since March due to the coronavirus lockdown. After losing all our regular outings and activities, at least John still had twice weekly hockey, but Mary had nothing, and that's become increasingly hard for a young lady her age. I'm so glad she could go, even if it meant my losing my Right Hand Girl all week.
The gang arrived in Memphis last Monday, a day early, both for John meeting the surgeon and for a visit to Graceland. It's a little bit humorous because we're quite conservative Catholics, so our family does not listen to popular music, rock and roll, or Elvis Presley--it's possible our children have never heard one song by Elvis. But how can you go to Memphis and not see what Graceland is all about? The big attraction for John was getting to see Elvis's car museum!
John's surgery on Tuesday was very successful: Best of all, the surgeon was able to take a direct approach requiring only a one-centimeter incision instead of the planned three-inch-long incision! This made John's recovery much easier and he did not need any pain medication after the first (difficult) day. He will be able to serve Mass this weekend and get back to hockey ten days post-op.
Our family is so glad to have this chapter closed and one more "thing" off our list!
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| Not many crowds during Coronavirus 2020 |
Graceland looks like a neat place to visit. I’m glad to hear John’s surgery went well.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know that Mass was said at my parish for Thomas today. I hope you all are hanging in there and doing ok.