Today was the big day for us--meeting with the pancreatic surgeon and setting up a date for surgery.  I must say what he had to say was much different from what we expected to hear.  John and I always had the impression that the tumor was on the outside of the pancreas tail and would simply be removed with little effort through outpatient laparoscopic surgery.  Well, we had the laparoscopic part correct but nothing else.

Dr. Zuberi was in complete agreement that the tumor should be removed.  These tumors secrete things (I don't understand what) that can affect the liver and cause more problems or other illnesses.  He also said to be on the safe side, he would remove the spleen because it is so inter connected to the pancreas. That was a shock to hear.  Because his spleen is going to be removed, John has to have three vaccinations to build up his immune system before surgery.  He also has to have another pre-op physical.  All of this will be taken care of on Monday morning. These injections have to be no less than two weeks prior to surgery. The doctor told us John would be in the hospital 2-3 days for observation following surgery and then restricted to no lifting of anything heavy for 4 weeks. So, that is where everything stands at the moment.  We are both comfortable with what we were told today and have confidence we are headed in a good direction.

Our weather was beautiful today with blue skies and high temps reaching 55 degrees.  The snow piles are going down quickly and we are seeing more and more grass.  Tomorrow is back to Bemidji for me to get an injection at the Center for Pain Management.  Now that we know when John's surgery is scheduled, I need to get my back in shape to take over some of his daily jobs.