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Contrasting Opinions

I’ve had conversations within the last 24 hours with Drs. Stapleton, Alappan and Vahjen. Dr. S gave her approval of my having the MRI done down here at The Medical Center with Dr. V officiating. I have communicated with Dr. V today via email and he is most concerned about exposing me to a heightened risk of developing nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. If you want to see a horror film, trot on over to Google and look that one up. Needless to say, I’ll welcome his wise counsel as well as the advice we receive from Dr. A to make very sure that we get the images Dr. S needs and still be cautious.
Here is our plan: I’ll go to the lab at TMC on Thursday morning with a nice, paper Louis Jones grocery bag containing a 24-hour “water” collection in a jug. They’ll take a few vials of my lifeblood and we’ll get an analysis of my creatinine clearance, GFR (glomerular filtration rate) and other pertinent data. Once we know what those numbers look like, a decision will be made regarding how much, if any gadolinium can be injected into me during the scan. If it is determined that I can have the MRI with contrast, I could be hospitalized and dialyzed for up to three days to safely flush the gadolinium from my system. This is serious stuff.
So we’ve got some quick decisions to make. I hope we’ll be able to get lab results by the end of this week and then make the MRI contrast decision early next week. Once we know about the MRI, I’m sure we’ll get it scheduled quickly and get it done. Dr. Stapleford is standing by waiting for us to decide what will be done about the MRI. The radiosurgery will be scheduled as soon as possible after the MRI.
Occasionally, I have doubts about my decision to be so open about my cancer journey. This morning I got an email from Cher Pitts that makes me glad I chose to be transparent and blog my way through this. Cher is on mend from back surgery. She has lived with unimaginable back pain for quite some time and if this month-long taste of chronic back pain I’ve had is what her life is like, I do not see how she’s stood it.
I just hung up on a phone conversation with her to ask her permission to quote here from her sweet email. She was kind enough to take some time during her painful recovery to send me an email that validates for me the reason I’m writing so candidly about my journey. She said:
“I was feeling pretty yucky last week, but when I received your blog it reminded me to be thankful and to be steadfast. So, thank you, Mike! Thank you for helping to heal me during your struggles to heal yourself. I will continue to keep you and Jill in my prayers and hope that you will remain steadfast in your belief that you to will be healed. Much Love, Cher”
I have read her note five times today. Thank you, Cher!
Another reason I’m blogging is that I am a subscriber to the ACOR kidney cancer forum that you’ve heard me mention in my blog many times. As of today, there are almost 2,000 people all around the world who are in the thick of their battle with this disease. Every single shred of information that gets posted by any of these frightened people is put to use by another frightened patient or caregiver.
You’ll notice that I liberally post tags at the end of every one of my posts. If someone anywhere is looking for information about renal cell carcinoma, these tags help them find it. And, if you are desperate for information, the random musings of a magazine publisher kidney cancer patient who lives in Seale, Ala. might be just what you need to hear. Just like John, the angel I wrote about in my carepages blog, who came into my life electronically, out of the blue, right after I was diagnosed and whose words were like a cold, mountain stream flowing right through the middle of the scorched desert in which I was standing.
My blog is being read by people all over the USA. I have regular readers in Canada, Spain, Estonia and in Hong Kong. Some of these readers are walking along beside me on the cancer road. I’m here for all of them — and you.

November 2, 2010 | Tagged With: ACOR kidney cancer forum, back pain, Cher Pitts, creatinine clearance, dialysis, Dr. Glen Vahjen, Dr. Liza Stapleford, Dr. Raj Alappan, gadolinium, glomerular filtration rate, Google, Louis Jones, MRI, nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, The Medical Center| Filed Under: kidney cancer | 7 Comments

Comments

  1. Angela White says

    November 2, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    Great post, Mike. God is using you as a tool for great things. You help many people navigate through the hard “stuff.” From Tennessee to “BAMA” – I’m still praying.

    Reply
  2. Wanda Farish says

    November 2, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    Mike, I pray that I nor any person I love ever needs the information you are putting in these pages. However, I am thankful that you are willing to put it out there in a way that we can understand because that prayer may be answered differently than I want. My prayers are with you and Jill daily.

    Reply
  3. Rusty Scoven says

    November 3, 2010 at 9:54 am

    Mike, keep fighting, keep blogging!!! These days it is hard to find someone to admire as an example of strength. I am someone who considers himself more spiritual than religious, so the word faith is often defined by positive outcomes from those who ‘fight the fight’. So know that we have faith in you, and your ability to fight this. Keep fighting, keep blogging, so that we can stand beside you and Jill during this battle.

    Reply
  4. ginny pierson says

    November 3, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    Thanks for keeping us so well informed! Can you imagine how BIG the road would have to be if all of us could ~ in person ~ “walk” this journey with you!?!?!? Globally loved and supported…and globally loving and supporting in return! That’s awesome!

    Reply
  5. Eddie & Nancy says

    November 4, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    We will be traveling next week to Arkansas, but you can be sure that we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers as we are on our trip. You are in good hands with your drs.and you are in even better hands through your faith. You will get through all this and be healed.
    Angela White’s post says it very well, keep writing you are helping people more than you could ever imagine.

    Reply
  6. Chris Bowers says

    November 4, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    Mike, We will be praying for you. God does not give us more that we can take but we do not always understand. He does give us angels to get through. You sound very strong on your blog, Keep it going.

    I don know if you heard about our tradegy this summer. On June 29th two Tampa police officers were shot and killed at the same traffic stop. Dave Curtis, my son and law, was shot along with his partner Jeff Cocabb. Dave later died that night. He was able to donate his heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. to help someone. I should of thought of you but my mind was not there. I gave his euology at the funeral. You may find it on U-tube(Chris Bowers euologizes Dave Curtis). God does throw you curve balls and my life has certainly changed help raise my grandchilden, all boys ages, 9,8,6 and 1. I don’t remember if you and Eric meet my daughter Kelly and the boys on your visit.

    I look forward to seeing you at our high school reunion. Always remember to keep smiling.

    Reply
    • admin says

      November 4, 2010 at 4:11 pm

      Chris, thanks so much for checking on me and for following my blog. I watched Dave’s funeral service on the internet as it happened. Your eulogy was incredible. I didn’t realize you were such an eloquent speaker. Wow! Yes, we did see Kelly and met Dave and the boys when we were there. My man, you have a wonderful family. I know you know that. Also, I’m sorry I have returned your call from yesterday. I’ll be calling you soon and we’ll catch up. I know Terry Thomas has been in touch with you. I’d love to come down to your place when he’s there. It would be fun to do some fishing and catch up on old times. Please give May May my love and hug those boys for me. I appreciate your encouragement and your love. Some aren’t as lucky as we are to be 57 years old and have friends that you’ve known almost that long. It is a blessing that I don’t take for granted.

      Reply

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