Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A Strange Sort of Christmas Miracle

Mr. Fixit went into the hospital to have his kidney stone taken care of yesterday morning. Instead of removing it, they inserted a stent which is supposed to relieve most of his discomfort. They decided on this sort of temporary solution because in a few weeks the kidney will be removed.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the stone has proved to be blessing even with the attendant pain and his continuing discomfort after the surgery. Without the stone, the doctors might not have found the large tumor in the kidney. We were told that 90% of all tumors in kidneys are malignant, therefore, the doctors recommended the complete removal of the kidney. His age is a factor, also.

After the first of the year, he is scheduled for scans of his whole torso to see if there is a spread. After a review, they will schedule the major surgery.

Mr. Fixit was shocked. He had no symptoms whatever. He is scared as any of us would be. I try not to let him see how scared I am because that would upset him even more.

Our sons were great. They spent a major portion of the day with us yesterday, and they kept his mind occupied. It helped me more that anyone can imagine. I didn't tell Mr. Fixit about the mass at first, and I was dealing with that, too. I didn't know if I made the right decision about not telling him. I think I was right not to tell him something that would be greatly upsetting to him. I knew he would know the whole story in a couple of days.

So as it stands, he is still uncomfortable, but I can't help but feel immensely grateful for that stone. It may have saved his life.


3 comments:

Betty said...

I hope the surgery is successful and there is no more malignancy anywhere else. Good luck to you both.

Meryl Baer said...

Wishing you only good luck and good health very soon.
Merry Christmas. Glad you enjoyed the holiday time.

Hughes ap Williams said...


When my sweetheart had a heart attack five years ago they put in three stents immediately. The cardiologist told me that a fourth one would be needed later...I did not tell him as he had enough to deal with at the time. Good decision! The fourth stent was done months later when he was stronger and could deal with the stress. Each patient is different, but spouses are most likely to know them the best. Know that you are doing the best you can. Try not to second-guess the decisions that you make.