The Next Operation

Curt has surgery scheduled for his eye and mouth with Dr. Downs at OHSU on Monday, January 26. We are going to OHSU next Tuesday, January 20, for his "pre-op" and to see Dr. Downs and Dr. Gross. He already had an appointment with Dr. Gross that was scheduled last November. Curt wants to have this done as soon as possible because his eye continues to bother him. He is now taping it shut at night to see if that will help. He substituted in my ladies tennis group yesterday. Because of his hernia surgery, he is supposed to wait 3 weeks before tennis (that would be next Monday), but I guess he is getting desperate and my tennis is not like his tennis.

January 6

Curt saw Dr. Hudson this morning to check on the hernia surgery. He gave us some interesting pictures of Curt's intestines. There was only about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of skin covering them (there should be some muscle and fat between the intestines and skin). Now there is some mesh to help keep them in place. Curt no longer takes pain medicine for that, but needs to take it easy for a couple more weeks. He will see Dr. Hudson in a month.
Late this afternoon Curt saw Dr. Downs at OHSU. When he came in, he said, so here is the famous Mr. Cook. (He had talked to Dr. Gross.) After looking at Curt, he said he can raise Curt's left eyebrow and put in a heavier weight in his eyelid to help his eye to shut and not get so dry. This could help with the pain he has been having in and around that eye. He is also going to put a screw in his cheekbone and make a sling with Goretex to pull up his lip. This might help with eating and talking. This will be outpatient surgery at OHSU that could take about 4 hours. It will be in about a month. We are spending the night at Angie's tonight since it is dark and raining (lightly).

Appointments on the 6th

This is the reply we got from Dr. Gross:
Curt,
I would start with Dr. Downs. If you eye is getting dry, then you have a reason for the eye pain. There is a worrisome area on your scan at the base of the skull where the cancer was first discovered. If this is recurrent cancer, then it could cause headaches and face pain as it gets bigger. I suggest that if your eye is ok after you see Dr. Downs and you still have the pain, then it may be worth seeing Dr. Chui or Dr. Holland again to discuss options.
Dr. Gross
So on Tuesday, January 6, Curt is going to see Dr. Hudson for his followup on the hernia operation at 11:15 in Corvallis, and then we will drive to OHSU for an appointment with Dr. Downs at 4:30.

Hernia Surgery

We went to Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis this morning at 7AM. Curt went in for surgery before 10 and I talked to Dr. Hudson about 11:20 afterwards. He said everything went well. There was a hole about 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and they covered it with mesh through 4 small incisions. He also looked around inside and didn't see anything. We were home about 1:30. I went to get some pain medicine for him, and he has been resting. He can take off the bandages and take a shower on the last day of the year. He is not supposed to drive for about a week and gradually go back to a normal diet and activities. He has a followup appointment next Tuesday with Dr. Hudson. We are writing an e-mail to Dr. Gross about what to do for his eye.

Cancelled Appointment

We got a call Monday night about 6:15 to cancel Curt's appointment today (Tuesday, Dec. 23). The person was calling from home because OHSU was not open due to the snow storm. She had an e-mail that Dr. Downs was stranded somewhere. They will call to reschedule when they are back in their office. Dr. Downs only sees patients on Tuesday and Thursdays. Curt's eye is still bothering him. He did get a call this morning from the Corvallis Hospital about his hernia operation on Monday. He needs to be there at 6 AM for the 7:30 AM surgery.
We decided to drive to Lake Oswego today because today was supposed to a break between snow storms. We left Corvallis about 1:20 and stopped for gas at Costco in Albany. We did not get to the Bakers until about 5:15 tonight (it usually takes about 1 hr. 20 min.). The traffic was stop and go in Salem and Woodburn because some people were stopping to put on chains. There were tracks to follow on the road. After Woodburn some were really bumpy. We did not put on chains and made it to Maddie's school parking lot. Jef met us there with his 4 wheel drive and chains. We transferred everything and then drove to their house During the night and morning, there is supposed to be about 3 or 4 more inches of snow and then freezing rain. On Christmas day the warm temperatures (upper 30's & 40's - our usual temperatures for this time of year) are supposed to return to start melting all this snow. We have very little snow in Corvallis now. What a difference! We plan on returning to Corvallis on Friday, weather permitting.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Appointment Change for Eye

Yesterday Curt went to see his eye doctor to make sure there is no infection in his eye. The eye doctor said his eye is very dry and to continue with the eye drops. He did not know about the prescription eye drops Curt is also using. This morning Curt called Dr. Downs office and changed his appointment from January 20 to next Tuesday, December 23, at 3 PM. So we will go to Lake Oswego a day earlier for Christmas.

Curt's Eye

Dr. Downs office called from OHSU yesterday after Curt called Stepanie again about his eye. Dr. Downs is a plastic surgeon specializing in the face. His office said they got an e-mail from Dr. Gross' office about Curt. Dr. Downs' office is by the river. Curt is going to see him for consultation about surgery on the same day he sees Dr. Gross on January 20 (unless Curt's eye bothers him too much before that). He is using both the prescription eye drops from Dr. Gross and the over the counter eye drops. His eye bothers him more after reading or watching TV. He likes to lie down for awhile after putting in the drops. So far Curt is still on for the hernia operation on December 29.