My dad went in for surgery on Tuesday Feb 7th to rumor the lymnodes and the tumor from the base of his tongue. The surgery went well as expected and there were no surprises. I went to go see him and expected to see the worst and he didnt look all that bad. He has no swelling and no bruising (my dad is a good healer). The doctors are amazed on how well he is doing and how well he is healing (good news again, nice to have some since the summer) I talked to the nurse and she said that when the trach is covered he can speak very well. They want to move him out of ICU after just a day but they need to wait on a bed at Brigham and Womens (boston usa). They did have to take a lymnode from his arm that was attahced to the one in his neck he can lift his arm vertical but not horizontally but with therapy he will get that back so tennis should not be a problem. The scarring will not be that bad as the plastic surgeron cut where the lines on his chin and neck were so whent he staples come out and the scar heals it wont be noticeable at all. Now its on the road to recovery which I hope we dont hit any bumps along the way..

Just thought I would share this story

Hello eyecandy007 (no photograph?)

Thanks for keeping us informed. Best to take things one at a time. Worry about the tennis later!

Best wishes for your dad's speedy recovery,
Vinod

Sorry dont like posting my pic on the net..

The flap in the back of dads throat is doing very well.. The doctors call my Dad their prize patient!! Went to go see him today still in ICU, waiting for a bed.. Took a tube out of his arm and I thought he was giong to cry it was very painful.. He is in still alot of pain hopefully with a room he can try and relax and get a good nights sleep.. My dad has not lost his sense of humor as he keeps the nurses and doctors laughing.. It kills me to see him in pain though.. Although I was quite shocked when I heard him talk!! Sounds a bit raspy but still normal no slurring.. Hopefully this will get better with therapy.

Just letting everyone know that even though its a tough process some of us out there can heal quickly..

Went to go see dad today but he was out like a light so I didnt want to disturb him.. They took out the trach and put in a smaller one from what I was told that hurt like HELL.. The doctors gave him pain meds but had to increase from once every 4 hours to once every 3 hours.. The doctors say he is doing very well and should be home by the end of the week.. The stitches on his chin and neck look really good and you cant even really see the ones on his chin..

Hi, pleased your dad's surgery went well. like him i am a quick healer and most of my chin and neck scaring is hardly noticeable. best wishes for your dad's speedy recovery. i will let you know the results of my future acupuncture treatment.

regards, bill

Thanks Bill.. how hard was it for you to learn how to eat again? Im hoping that my dad doesnt go thru it too badly..

When are you going?

Hi, I still cannot eat solids after radiotherapy, however, as i had my surgery before radiotherapy i did manage to eat solids about 5 weeks after surgery. The radiotherapy put me back to square one. I now live on soup and custard, not at the same time!!!! If your dad was eating okay after his radiotherapy i would think he has a very good chance of full recovery, eating wise, that is. Once again i wish him all the best for the future.

regards, Bill

Hi eyecandy, just heard today that my accupuncture treatment starts tomorrow!!! i will have 4 treatments over 4 week period. i have very high hopes that this will be successful. I will let you know how it goes over the next 4 weeks. Hope your dad is well.

regards, bill

thanks again! and good luck I hope it works out !!! and keep me posted

Went to go see my dad yesterday he had a bad night so he didnt sleep so well adn he was very irritable giving the circumstances I totally understand. They put a smaller cap on the trach and he can talk much better but he will need speech therapy.. Hopefully within a month or so with therapy he will be talkin back to normal

Went to see my dad today they took out the staples.. what a painful process.. they took out about 30 staples from my dads reaction it was PAINFUL..My Mom ended up passing out due to stress and had to be admitted to the emergency room...

went to see dad today they took out the rest of the stitches in his jaw.. awful pain but they are out.. all that is left are some in his arm.. Speech is a bit better.. He is going to go to rehab for about a week to get his speech going and was all for it.. good sign.. He was in better spirits today well as much as he could be .. The trach comes out tomorrow and I know he isnt looking forward to that since the last one they replaced hurt like hell..

He had the test to see what he could swallow and how much according to the doctor he did very very well.. good sign.. Only thing is now he will have to have some chemo done after this is all said and done

Went to see dad today.. they took out the trach and my dad can speak a little bit better but he is going to rehab.. up and walking ..long walks at that aroudn the hospital.. Hopefully he will get a good rehab spot to go to

Dad has been moved to rehab yesterday.. he seemed alot better at the hospital. They gave him 2 big shots of fluid to feed him but it reacted all wrong.. he is throwing up now and other stuff too.. he feels like he shojldnt of had the surgery and is highly depressed and crying.. Im lost

So sorry to hear your dad is having such a rough time, i feel sure he will come through, the sickness will pass and this will all become a bad memory to him. I know when i was going through my radiotherapy treatment, there were days i wished i had never started it and i thought the sickness would never end. Please be assured, it does end and life becomes sweet again.