Another Mountain to Climb…

Today is Day 5 of Hutton’s last 5-day Chemo treatment…for now. This week was a bit different. I started a new job, so Steph and Hutton had to go to the hospital alone and were there on their own for most of this session. I was able to be there on the weekend, but I was not there for most of it. This is going to be our new normal and is going to take some getting used to. I really hated not being there, and even though I knew Steph could handle it, I wish I could be there every moment of every day. 

This 5-day chemo session is her last chemo session before her surgery, which should be happening either at the end of this month or early February. It will depend on how long it takes for her numbers to get back to levels where her body can handle the surgery, as it is a major one. 

The surgery is called a Hemipelvectomy, which is a pelvic resection. It is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of part of her pelvis and her hip socket on one side. It is a minimum 5-hour surgery to remove the tumor and all the dead cancer cells. Her doctor told us that if Hutton were his child, he would only want 1 of 2 surgeons in the world doing this difficult and complex surgery on her. By the Grace of God, we are able to have the surgeon who he believes is the best in the world to do it. This surgery will allow her to keep her leg, though it could be a little shorter than her other leg once she is all healed.  She will be spending a few weeks recovering in the hospital before returning home for a little break before she heads back to the hospital for more chemo and physical therapy. She will also be required to do some physical therapy while recovering at home. 

This is one of the last big mountains Hutton is going to have to climb in her fight against cancer. Without going into all the details of her recovery, I will simply say that it is going to be both mentally and physically challenging for her. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.