The Tough Gets Tougher

This week, on Friday, November 1st, Justin will be having surgery at 11:00 am.  We knew that this was a probability from day one.  At this point in his treatment plan, after six rounds of chemotherapy, the plan was to re-assess and decide whether or not they would go in and try to remove the tumour.  So this past week, Justin had an MRI, bone scan, CT scan and consultation with the surgeon.  After reviewing all of the scan results, the surgeon has decided that she is going ahead with it.  The surgery will be a lot more involved than we initially thought it would be.  She will remove the tumour and some surrounding tissue, remove the rib that the tumour started in and possibly one rib on either side of it and may also remove a section of his lung.  Because the tumour had tendrils extending into his spinal canal, there will be a neurosurgeon in the OR as well to remove any residual tumour surrounding his spinal cord.  There will also be a plastic surgeon on stand-by in the event that there needs to be any reconstruction. 

As we were sitting in the surgeon's office listening to her list the things that she will be doing to our son, I was terrified.  Justin was in the room hearing it too, so I could only imagine what he was feeling.  She explained that he would be waking up with a chest tube, a catheter and possibly a tube down his esophagus.  He was visibly upset by this information as he had a chest tube inserted at the beginning of all of this and it was extremely painful. She also spoke of the possibility of weakened muscles around his shoulder blade area, nerve disruption that could cause loss of sensation and since he is still growing, removing the ribs could cause scoliosis.  My heart broke to hear this and I could see that Justin was distraught.  Playing goalie in neighbourhood street hockey games is very important to Justin.  He lives for it.  And in his mind, he would never play again. 

We went home from that appointment with a lot to think about.  Justin went to his room and when I went to check on him, he said that he didn't want to talk about it and wanted to be alone.  I knew how I felt...my insides were in turmoil and I was sick with worry.  Knowing that Justin was hurting and trying to deal with it on his own was almost more than I could bear.  All I could do was reassure him that he did not need to go through this alone.

The days following were better as he was distracted with school and friends.  We have several more appointments this week before the surgery.  We meet with the anaesthetist and the radiation oncologist tomorrow, the neurosurgeon on Wednesday and he has another echo cardiogram scheduled for Thursday.  Thrown into the mix to add to the distraction is a Jets game to watch on TV (which Justin plans his schedule around and never misses) and Halloween.  Justin has said that this will be his last year to go trick-or-treating, as he is heading off to high school next year.  We also need to find time to celebrate big brother Brennan's birthday as he turns 18 on the day of Justin's surgery.

The next few weeks will be tough...physically and emotionally exhausting for all of us.  We will, as always, have an amazing support system to help us through.  Our family will be with us at the hospital during Justin's surgery to sit with us, pray with us, hold a hand or give a hug when needed.  They will help us with getting Ryan to hockey while we are at the hospital with Justin, which should be about five days if everything goes well.  We also have our church family gathering together on Friday at 11:00 to pray through the entirety of Justin's surgery. 

So, if you are a praying person, I ask that you please also pray for Justin.  He has a challenging road ahead.  He will need strength to recover from the pain of the surgery and also the emotional piece that will come from his physical limitations as he is recovering.  He will get through this, of that I am sure.  He is an amazingly strong young man.  But as strong as he is, he is still a 13 year old boy who is going to endure more than he should have to.