After a summer of play and family time, my ileostomy reversal surgery is coming up on the calendar. I'd appreciate prayers for September 9th when my surgery is scheduled for 10am. 

Dr. M did a scope this summer to confirm that my previous surgery had healed successfully and that I was a good candidate for an ostomy reversal. He explained that they would take the two ends of my small intestine--currently sticking through my abdominal wall--and re-fasten them together, tucking them back into my body and closing the hole in my abdomen.

This will allow me to use the bathroom regularly and eliminates the need for an ostomy bag. Hooray! It's truly incredible to me that this surgery is even possible.

However it will take at least a year to learn how to use my post-cancer internal plumbing. Without a rectum, I should expect lots of urgency without much control or ability to hold it. Frankly, it sounds overwhelming and like a huge adjustment, but it's one I want to try.

I'll need to figure what I can eat and when. Once food enters the digestive system (eating), it activates the entire digestive tract. This might mean I'll need to fast all day if I want to eat out at a restaurant that evening--without needing to use the facilities immediately. It will be a learning curve, but so was the ostomy.

Right now I am considered NED (No Evidence of Disease). Praise God! I had a blood draw the other day which showed that all my levels had returned to normal--my white blood cells, red blood cells, etc. The CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) test looks for a blood protein that is often a marker of cancer if the number is high. My CEA was below 1, which is great news and normal. However, my CEA level was below 1 back when the tumor was still inside me, so the CEA is unreliable. We'll be able to say with more confidence that I'm NED after my CT scan in November. 

This surveillance phase of treatment will last for the next 5 years. I still have my IV port in my chest, which they will use for blood draws every 3 months for the first 2 years (and then it switches to every 6 months). I need yearly CT scans and colonoscopies to monitor my colon. It's all good news right now, and I am very thankful to be where I am. The neuropathy continues to hang on, but I'm learning to manage it and very happy to be getting back to my ordinary life.

Thank you for the continued support as I'll spend one night in the hospital and then have a two week recovery time. It was so good to see so many of you at our Appreciation Open House this July. We love our community!