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| How do you like this new look?? Much easier to read!! Sorry to keep you waiting for information. We are back to work!! I am back to my regular hours and Charlie is working part time. His first week back he was riding in with Carrie at 7:30am and then going home with me at 11am. Last week he started driving himself in but he was still getting out between 11 and 12. Now this week he thinks he is going to try to work until 1 or 2. He still has to get his afternoon nap in but he is getting stronger and he is still getting sick out of the blue periodically. He is not eating yet but according to the ENT specialist in Mt Pleasant that is to be expected. He thinks 6-8 weeks from the end of treatment and we are just starting the 4th week. We are trying to get atleast a 1 mile walk in a day and can't wait for the weather to warm up! Besides we want to get the boat out and get camping too. When we visited the ENT last week he looked in Charlie's throat and said he couldn't see anything that looked cancerous (with the naked eye - I'm sure the testing will be more extensive in Ann Arbor) and he was surprised that the lump on his neck was gone. He said maybe we would get to Ann Arbor and they would tell us they didn't have to do surgery. Charlie thinks he would rather have the surgery just for the peace of mind that everything is gone. We are looking forward to our trip to Ann Arbor on May 3rd - can't wait for the good news!!! (Hows that for wishful thinking??!!) That is it in a nutshell - things are looking good!! Thank God!!!! and thank you for the thoughts and prayers!!! |
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4/18/06
Hi to everyone who veiws this web page this is Charlie/Chuck himself. I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for and thinking of me. It has been a long 4 months but things seems to be turning for the better. You talk about getting your world turned upside down, mine surely was, but I found out how powerful prayers, family and friends are in a time of need. There is no way I would have made it though this without my family from my brothers taking me to treatment or calling me everyday on the phone, Greg, Bill and Mark making sure everything was working around the house (garage door, water pump, sub pump, leaking faucet) Renee keeping the the house in order, Kelly and Margo always there with a hug and a I love you, my sisters always calling or stopping by when in the area, Bland and AJ keeping us up on the medical stuff, my moms (Barb and Carol) doing what moms have always done, knowing how to make you feel better. Molly and Ashley stepping up and helping out as needed and their words of encouragement and love. Last but not least my wife Dana, what this woman has done for me makes her a saint in my book. Not one time has she bitched or complained about taking care of me and believe me my needs were many, from getting up at all hours of the night to hugs and encouragement when I didn't think I could make it. She will not only be my wife the rest of my life but also my best friend. Once again thanks to everyone!!!
Love Charlie |
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May 18, 2006 - Surgery is scheduled for May 23rd!!!! Yeah!!! Almost done!! When we went to Ann Arbor on May 3rd they told us Charlie is in remission! There is a 25% chance that there is microscopic cancer cells still in the soft tissue of his neck and he had the option of a Neck Disection (surgery) or having a PET scan (he would drink a sugary liquid and then have a scan and any cancer cells would show up). The PET scan does not show microscopic cells so if there is something left there he would not know until they grew big enough to be picked up on scan then he would be right back where he started so Charlie opted for surgery. It is pretty involved - they will be taking out the big muscle, maybe the nerve that goes to the shoulder, maybe the jugular vein, all the soft tissue, lymph nodes, and anything else non essential. I thought that the big muscle and the nerve were something needed but there are more muscles and nerves that would take over. His neck will be a little flat on the left side when they are done but in the grand sceme of things - so what!! They will also be taking a biopsy of the primary cancer site (left tonsil) just to be sure there is nothing there. He also cannot not eat yet and what the doctor thinks is that his esphogus has narrowed from the radiation so they will be stretching that back out while they have him on the table - if that is what the problem is then he could be eating soft food before they release him (he is even excited about the soft food - he has not eaten a meal since February 2nd) If that is not what is making it so he can't swallow he will have to go to therapy to learn to swallow again. That is all I have for now. Once again thanks for the thoughts, prayers, phone calls, and visits!!! |
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May 24, 2006 - Hello everyone,, we had a little set back yesterday. Charlie did not have the neck dysection surgery. When they biopsyed the primary site there was still cancer there (something they couldn't see with the examination we had in the office) Now he will have to have a more extensivel surgery . They will be dysecting both sides of his neck and they will also be taking out the tonsils, some of his palate, and some of the back of his tongue. This surgery will take 10-12 hours so we had to reschedule because they didn't find this out until about 4:00pm yesterday. We are hoping this will happen the week of June 5th. The surgeon knew that his schedule was full for the rest of this week and next week but would have to check beyond that. Charlie will be in the hospital longer and have a longer recovery time. There will be skin grafting involved plus the loss of muscle and nerves on both sides of the neck. Good news though they did stretch his esophagus and we are hoping he will be taking in clear liquids today (he has actually been swallowing some water already) and then moving up from there. Charlie is keeping his chin up and looking at all the positives - like the stretching and being able to eat real food soon and being glad that we opted for surgery and not just a PET scan because who knows if the cancer would have shown up on the scan yet. Now we know and can do something about it now instead of later. Keep all those positive thoughts and prayers coming!!! |
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