There's a map on the wall in his clinic showing where all of his patients live. Some of them have come to see him from as far away as Asia and Australia.
I appreciate very much all the time he spent with us. However, some of his language was rather crude, he tried to make us feel stupid after some of the questions we asked, and he called Utah a big hole which REALLY bugged me! (He may have a stereotypical view of OUR beautiful state, but holy cow! He's working in LOUISIANA, a state that doesn't exactly come across with an outstanding image in my book.) The medical facilities at Huntsman Cancer Institute and IMC seem far superior to the one we saw in New Orleans. I'd say the hospital there is a small step up from the Plantation Rest Home. The grounds were a mess, and it just seemed really old and smelled kind of bad. Hopefully, it's better than it appears, since we may be spending a lot of time there. If only we had some good carcinoid specialists HERE!
Dr. Woltering's plans for Merlynn's medical care have put a big pit in my stomach. I need to have faith that Heavenly Father will guide us and won't take Merlynn before his time, but it scares me that Dr. Woltering and surgeon, Dr. Boudreaux, in New Orleans feel strongly that Merlynn's primary (original) tumor must be removed. It's the one sending out most of the bad stuff. The problem is, no one's been able to find it. If it's in the tail of his pancreas, it might not be too horrible to remove, but most likely, it's in his bowel. They will have to open Mer up and go through all of his intestines inch by inch with their hands, feeling for tumor(s) with their fingers. If tumors are found, they'll have to cut out those parts of his bowel.
Also, Dr. Boudreaux said he thinks he can remove up to 70% of the tumors in Mer's liver surgically. That would be great if all goes well, but I have so much fear about them cutting him up! What if he bleeds too much or there's a blood clot? What if he gets an infection? What if his bowel doesn't heal and he suffers the effects for the rest of his life? What if he ends up in constant pain? We were told we should "get on top of it" now while the tumors are stable because it might be too late later on. It all seems so extreme! It's so hard to have him go through these procedures when he feels so good right now!
It's somewhat shocking to have gotten such a different opinion while we were in Louisiana than what we've received from the doctors here in Salt Lake. The Utah doctors just want him to keep taking the shots for as long as they work, which could be up to 10 years. The New Orleans docs feel they could give him 20 years by doing it their way, and he'll probably die of something else before the cancer takes him out. It just seems so risky to me. Of course I'd love to have 20 years here in mortality with my Merlynn, but I don't want to lose my chance at 10 years either. We'll see...We'll fast, pray and spend some time in the temple and then decide.
Love you Laurie! Thank you for keeping us updated. Even after talking to you guys about Merlynn's progress, We still feel like we learn a little more after reading your blog. We always wish that you two didn't have to go through this trial :( We love you guys and are always praying for you.
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