Monday, January 11, 2010

SURGERY UPDATE

After a challenging day, Melissa looks great!

Melissa, Todd and their respective families truly appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. They have served as a source of strength.

Thank you all!

Before filling you in on the details of the day's events, you all should know that Melissa is recovering very well! In fact, she is sleeping soundly as I write this update from her room.

January 11, 2010
6:00 AM ET

Melissa was admitted to Clarian North Hospital in Carmel, Indiana.

January 11, 2010
8:33 AM to 11:00 AM ET

Melissa entered the operating room for initial surgery to remove her right breast and the adjacent lymph nodes.

January 11, 2010
4:13 PM ET

After becoming light headed, inter alia, Melissa was reexamined by her doctor. Upon the doctor's review, Melissa headed back to the operating room due to some light post-surgery bleeding. She was patched and cleaned up without any further problems.

Post-surgery bleeding is common and should not be viewed as a cause for concern. In fact, the treating surgeon, Dr. Kennedy, characterized it as a "hiccup."

Overall, Melissa has received excellent care under Dr. Kennedy as well as the entire staff at Clarian North.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

While there was loss, Melissa surpassed a significant milestone today as she woks to become cancer-free.

That said, Melissa's battle is not yet over. We hope that you will continue to keep Melissa in your thoughts and prayers.

From my own experience, I can tell you that losing a part of you is difficult. So, please do not be afraid to call Melissa and/or to discuss this loss with her. I strongly encourage you to call Melissa and check in with her periodically. Talking about the loss with and listening to her WILL help her during this period of transition. In addition, you will likely learn something from her and about yourself. So, I urge you to stay in touch with Melissa.

Justin M. Hall

PS: While Melissa is in the hospital, please feel free to post your comments at this blog. You can also contact Melissa or Todd by email or send them a text message. Thank you.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the updates. Melissa and Todd - your strength is incredible.

So glad to hear the surgery went well.

I hope you are all able to breathe a little more easily today - it represents a new beginning, certainly with a new set of challenges, but filled with love and promise.

Thank you God!

Jamie said...

Melissa and family: We are so happy to hear that you can through surgery with only a bit of a hiccup. I think you all have been incredibly strong through this whole journey. We will continue to pray for you as you continue to heal.