Change in plans

We got up at 5 AM today to go to UCSF for mom’s bladder surgery. After a bit of a delay, we met with the surgeon. He told us that he saw the pathology report from Friday’s biopsy and feels that it was not wise to move forward with the planned surgery. He felt it is more urgent to begin chemotherapy, which could also address the tumors in the bladder. “The inherent risks of anesthesia and possibility of complications will just delay chemotherapy and I think it’s more important we focus our energy there,” he told us.

So by 9:30 AM we were heading home. I immediately called her oncologist in Napa to see if we can see him earlier than Friday and immediately start chemotherapy. He was not in but his nurse pulled mom’s chart and has it for him to review tomorrow morning.

So we came back to Napa to see if he can squeeze her in tomorrow. Perhaps two days will make no difference but at least I feel proactive. In some ways it’s a relief that she doesn’t have to go through another procedure. It seems over the last few years she has been in a constant state of recovery — from two hip replacements to two knee replacements, to a botched bladder procedure in Napa, to the removal of her kidney, etc., etc.

The drive home was really hard on her, and when we got home to a 50-degree house we discovered the heater is not working. So now we wait for the HVAC repair guy to come.

This is a lesson in flexibility and fluidity. Later I will address the idea of “sitting with uncertainty,” which is the key theme these days.

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