Kevin from CA (US) laser assisted surgery July 2012

[wangcns]

Yeah, we are pretty pro about smuggling the cannabis oil candies on flights. Don't ask why I think the marijuana laws in the US are dumb, but in California we both have marijuana recommendations, though of course it doesn't matter if we get busted by federal agents, which is all TSA. So people reading this, use marijuana at your own risk! We're willing to take the risks, we are tax paying citizens with clean records and have licenses in the state of California. Also, CANCER. So vote for the legalization or at least the decriminalization of pot, my fellow Americans. Even Barack Obama doesn't have a problem with it.

It's the home stretch for us now. We are at Day 12 after surgery and Professor Rolle has had all of Kevin's tubes/lines removed, including the epidural. He is on purely oral painkillers now. Yesterday we walked to Kaufland and back, and today one of the ICU nurses Marcus took us to Moritzburg Palace. We took it slow, but Kevin felt fine the whole way and we walked through the whole hunting lodge and grounds just fine. Marcus said it was ok for him to have beer, so we had some good German beer while sitting next to the lake around Moritzburg Palace. As for pain, it twinged a bit last night, but Kevin seems to be doing fine today.

Jussi (the other ASPS patient) left on Monday, he and Kevin swapped pictures they drew for each other. Jussi is a big fan of the games Kevin's company makes, so Kevin drew him a pic of one of the characters attacking ASPS tumors. Kill those tumors!

It's Tuesday here, Prof. Rolle thinks we will be out of the hospital by this weekend. We are planning to head back to Dresden and slowly recuperate some more before flying back next Thursday. Made plans to meet Marcus and his girlfriend in the modern section of Dresden and go to a karaoke bar. We've been annoying the nurses by singing along to Ella Fitzgerald in our hospital room. I think getting out of the hospital and hanging out with Marcus (who I think is around our age) did wonders for Kevin, plus doing some normal things like walking around, seeing cool stuff, and having a beer by the lake really helped improve Kevin's mental outlook. Neither of us have ever been cooped up at a hospital this long, but now that we've done it, it should be that much easier next time!

Kevin hasn't jumped on the bikes yet, since they just removed the epidural yesterday but I'm guessing this will happen soon. They skipped some of the rehab they told us Kevin was going to do, like the one where you sit at a machine and it pumps air into the lungs. I think Prof. Rolle is worried it will cause tears or aggravate Kevin's lung scars, since they removed so many mets, but they said his CT scans look good, the lung is doing well though the said it will take weeks to fully recover.

Looking forward to going home, soon! SOON! I miss my dog.

[Ivan]

Connie, I think there is 1 million people in jail in the US for minor drugs-related possession type offenses. I would be very, very careful.

It's obvious to anyone who has researched the issue that the war on drugs is an abominable failure, and that alcohol is a much more dangerous drug than marijuana. Obama tried both pot and coke when he was a teen. Had the laws that he supports been enforced upon him, he would never (ever) get the chance to become a president after spending a few years in jail. I think that makes him a massive hypocrite

Have fun in Dresden soon

[wangcns]

We're back home in the States now, whew! It's good to be back.

We see our oncologist on Monday, and Kevin already made a trip to our family doctor for more painkillers. He was genuinely shocked and intensely interested in our trip to Germany, especially when Kevin told him how many mets were removed from his right lung

Kevin's still in a decent amount of pain, but I'm not sure there's anything to be done other than to wait for his body to heal. Either way, it's a comfort to be home and Kevin is sleeping much better now that he's in his own bed and has access to his vaporizer. It doesn't help with the pain much, but it helps him sleep which he was barely getting in Germany.

Hooray, first surgery down? Tentatively celebrating!

-Connie

[Olga]

It is good to hear that you made it home safe. I am sure that it was a very difficult trip for Kevin and you, and the flight back it long.
If he keeps to get a lot of pain in about a week, he might need to go to see a pain specialist. The thoracotomy incision and later tubes might damage the intercoastal nerve and there are specific nerve-directed meds that might help. Ivan was prescribed Gabapentin after he had to have a tube for a few weeks with the lung collapse episode, it worked wonders for him, but it is a drug that has to be taken very accurately. From our experience, it takes about a month to became pain free and 6 month for the lung to completely recover, but again everyone's situation is different.

[mikko]

We are so glad to hear that you are safely home again! Let´s hope the pain will go away.
Jussi is quite painless now, but his 15 mets+ 4 old scars is nothing compared with Kevins 129 mets.
Also Jussi´s first thoracotomy was the hardest of these four.
We are still waiting for decisions from dr Littrup and dr Liu concerning cryoablation of that 1cm met near the heart.
When is Kevin´s next ct?
It was so nice having you with us in Coswig! Thanks.
Mikko, Pirkko and Jussi