Doctor's Visit Results

We had our appointment on Monday with Steve's oncologist, Dr. Grist. Overall, it was a good report that we received. They removed all of Steve's stitches and staples. He does not have to have the bandage on his leg anymore. Dr. Grist told him to start using his leg more by walking around. Steve is able to put his weight on it now without pain, so he is not using the crutches in the house. Dr. Grist cleaned out the stitches and other surgery "leftovers" from Steve's mouth. (Last night Steve said his mouth felt so much better!)  He told Steve to start brushing his teeth and keeping his mouth clean. Steve was given permission to try to swallow when he is ready. The doctor said he really doesn't know if Steve will be able to swallow at all. He also mentioned that he might only be able to swallow liquids. 

I saw the twinkle in Steve's eyes. I know that now he feels he has permission to start pushing himself more. He seemed pleased and upbeat again. Dr. Grist told us that we should not think about this cancer as having reoccurred from September to December. Instead, he feels that it was the same cancer and that the surgery in September just was not complete enough (they had not discovered the cancer in the jaw at that point). That gives us some piece of mind. We are praying that the jaw bone had the cancer all this time and was feeding it to the mouth. This way, the source is gone. Dr. Grist feels that this could be the case. 

God answers prayers each and every day - little and big. Steve was up and about more today. He was a little bit talkative. He talked about business, our plans for the week and the weekend! While we still have a long way to go with the healing, feeding issues, teeth implants, pain control, etc, it sure is nice to have one good step of progress. Steve has lost about 35 pounds through all of this. Today he told me he has gained back 2 pounds in the past couple of days! Small steps forward. Thank you Lord!