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James has Wilms' Tumors (Update 4)

James’s surgery on September 8th was a big success and went as well as we could have hoped for! Today, James and David came home from the hospital after a 12-day hospital stay. 

Before the surgery James was given some medicine to relax him. David was holding him and a few seconds after he just started laughing, smiling, and waving at everyone. After David said goodbye, the doctors took him to the operating room; we were told that he smiled and waved at every person he passed, charming the whole floor.

The surgeons removed the large tumor and kidney on the right side and 11 small tumors in the left kidney, as well as some lymph nodes around the abdomen to test if any of the cancer spread. We are still waiting on the results from pathology to know the exact weights of the tumors, their full composition, and the lymph node results.  David called me on FaceTime after the surgery for his conversation with the surgeon and it was really special seeing her describe the results of the surgery and how her and her team worked together for nearly 8 hours to perform the work on James. The surgeon described James’s right kidney and kidney tumor as “heavy as a cantaloupe”.  

After the surgery James and David stayed at the hospital for recovery. David celebrated his birthday with James at the hospital a few days after the surgery. Both me and his sister got to visit him and wish him a happy birthday. Danielle brought dinner and cake and I surprised him with my visit. At the hospital there are strict visitor rules of only 3 caregivers total per stay.  

I got to visit David several times during his stay to bring him lunch and to see James. James watched a lot of iPad after surgery, but the last couple days he got to walk again and do a little bit more movement. 

Today I went to Isaac’s 4-month pediatrician appointment and my pediatrician commented that the notes for James’s treatment have been very good and how much she enjoys reading about how happy and smiley James is. David got a little emotional today just telling me how loved he feels by the doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital and team working together to save James’s life. Our next step is to do targeted radiation on James’s lungs. This will be radiation treatments for 8 straight days sometime in early October.

Some other life updates from our family are that Neil started kindergarten and has been playing soccer. Little Isaac is sleeping pretty okay for a four-month-old and is very smiley. We’ve been taking advantage of our support system too-- Trevin took Neil to the fair and a movie. We are blessed to have my parents, my brother and his wife so close as they help so often with playing with the kids, helping with bedtimes, and tending so that we can have some breaks. Our au pair Juliana has been so wonderful, since Neil has started kindergarten she has been very helpful watching Isaac which made it easier for me to do things like visit David and James in the hospital. 

Since James's diagnosis, the surgery has seemed like the big moment we have been working towards. It is a relief to have it completed. Thank you everyone for keeping him in your prayers. 
















Comments

  1. Tushar JainSeptember 28, 2022 at 4:53 PM

    Praying for James speedy recovery and all the strength to the family. Please take care.

    ReplyDelete

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