GBS Update 4/17/07

Hello all,

As many of you know, Mom has finished her 6 weeks of radiation and sailed through like a champ. Aside from being tired, she had few side effects and we are ready to move on with the next stage of her treatment.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 18th), we will be traveling back to MD Anderson for the surgery to repair her bone and allow her to bear weight on her leg again. We will have a full day on Thursday with pre-operative preparations, and the surgery will be on Friday (the time is not yet firm).

The surgery will involve placing a rod down the length of her right femur and screwing it into the bone near her hip socket and her knee joint. It should leave only a minor scar and they promise that she will be up and walking the next day! The length of time we need to spend in the hospital will depend on her rate of healing and when the doctors feel that she will be able to leave safely. After she is discharged, I will be spending a few days with her in Baton Rouge to make sure that she is okay and help her get to and from physical therapy.

I will send another email out on Friday evening to let everyone know how the surgery went and how she is doing and I will send out periodic updates over the next week or so to update everyone on her progress and the time frame for us to return to Baton Rouge. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and I look forward to passing along good news from surgery soon!

Best,
Meghan