update 11/4/15

Good evening all,
Thought I'd update you all after our visits to the doctors.

Monday was a very hard day for Devin. The radiation machine she uses was down so the day that started at 9:15 AM leaving Bethlehem didn't end until 4 PM when she finally got home. Thank you so much Kim, I know it was a long day for you too!  

Tuesday, we saw Dr. Lin.  He is still pleased with Devin's progress although each day is harder than the last. She lost some weight this week as the nausea got worse. He prescribed a anti-nausea medication so we will see if that helps. As of today she has 4 more radiation treatments to go. He says the side effects should peak about 3 days after the treatments end and then the healing can begin. We will be seeing his Nurse Practitioner a week after radiation ends and a few times after that to check on the healing and try to ease her off the pain meds.

Today we saw Dr. Canaday, the plastic surgeon. He was pleased with how she looks but said he will not be doing her second surgery for 3 months as she needs that time to heal. As you can imagine that was a huge disappointment to Devin and all of us as we thought it would happen sooner. It does make sense though since her mouth has many lesions and the surgery does involve another skin graft. He will see her again the first week of February.

She will have her first PET scan the second week of February and see Dr. Weinstein the 3rd week of February for the results. Then we assume surgery. She will be seeing Dr. Weinstein and Dr. Lin for PET scans every three months alternating between the two of them for the foreseeable future.

This is such a long road to travel but we look forward to this all being behind us and a time when Devin can get on with her life healthy and whole again.

 Thank you all for your encouragement, the many cards and gifts and for keeping her in your prayers. Knowing you are all rooting for her really helps. If you would like to donate to help Devin with her medical expenses here is a link to her Go Fund Me site.