Wednesday...Post-Op Day 5

Another big day for us. Today was  much better than yesterday. Thank goodness.  Aus had a very productive day and it seems his ileus is improving and his bowels are beginning to wake up. (FYI...this is all super common after surgery, especially a major surgery like Austin's.) 


Dr. Clary came in today and talked to us for a long time. He told everything was looking good and anticipated Aus could go home on Friday. He will eat regular food tomorrow (Thursday) and if all goes well with that then he should go home Friday. We are both SO ready to be home and in our bed...with our sweet puppy and kitty!!  

How good does he look today?

He walked today without any lines or tubes connected and used a regular walker! wahoo! He is getting stronger by the day. 

He is so dang cute!

I left the hospital for a bit today and had lunch with my family. How stylish is my Grandmother?? Love my Gammo! 

A little part of his room. Lots of sweetness on that wall! (This is my view every night as I type this blog. I have my recliner chair butted up to Aus' bed. We put the bed railing down and it's allllmost like we're sleeping together. I can cuddle on his arm. :) )

He is on a full liquid diet now and had some "real" food today, broccoli and cheese soup from Panera Bread and two kinds of ice cream! Hopefully tomorrow he will eat a regular diet. Here he is eating a snickers ice cream bar. :) 

Dr. Clary also came in with the results of the pathology today. We have been awaiting this news all week. He confirmed that Austin's tumor was in fact malignant liver cancer. Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FHCC) to be exact. This type of liver cancer is extremely rare...less than 200 cases reported each year. Can you imagine... to be 1 in 200 in this entire world? It's hard to wrap our heads around it. This type of cancer typically effects young people with normal healthy livers. Because this cancer is so rare there isn't a lot of research and data on how to treat it. BUT. BUT we got some really good news. The pathology report also revealed that the tumor had clean, negative margins. Meaning that there was no microscopic evidence of cancer left in Austin. The edges of the tumor had normal liver tissue around it, which would imply only normal liver tissue was left in Aus' body. This was the news we were hoping for and God answered our prayers yet again! Dr. Clary said we would meet with a medical oncologist to discuss the need for Chemo or not. To my understanding, it sounds like all the cancer is out of Austin's body but a round or two of Chemo might be done just to make sure all the cancerous cells were killed/removed. We will discuss this in about 2 weeks during an outpatient appointment. I'm obviously hoping he doesn't have to go through that, but if it's an extra preventative measure to make sure all the cells are killed then bring it on!

Austin is so brave and he is a fighter. He is going to fight this cancer and he is going to be a part of the 40% cure rate. I just feel so blessed that this cancer has not spread and that we are in the situation we are in right now. It could be so much worse. This cancer is OUT of his body. God is being so faithful to us. 

I just love him so much. I am so glad God chose me to be his wife. In sickness and in health. We will walk this long road together. I love you, Aus.