Back to Boston

 Hi Friends,

We're back in Boston, our favorite place in the whole wide world! (Italics is the font of sarcasm you know). After Lily's last dilation in Grand Rapids, they told us she would need another one in about two months. That put us in Maine, so we scheduled it at BCH. After a whole lot of back and forth with insurance issues (which is a whole 'nother blog post for another time), we had everything set up and made the drive down yesterday. We had good roads and made it the three and a half hours nonstop, after a semi-rough start while everyone in the back seat got settled in for the drive.

We had to go to BCH yesterday so they could do her pre-op assessment, and also a covid test. She was scheduled to be first in line today at 6am. So of course I'm thinking, great, go in and get dilated a few mm and be on the road home by this afternoon and go on with our lives. Then Lily pulled her usual "ha, yeah, about your plans...".

The Dr came out and talked to Heidi and said Lily had dilated down so small, they were shocked that she has been able to take anything by mouth. They dilated her back up to 8mm this time.

Based on her condition today, they want to go the next step further and do small vertical incisions on her inner esophagus lining to encourage it to stretch/stay stretched and also place a stent in her esophagus.  The Dr. said we should schedule surgery within a month. Probably place the stent, then one week later place a larger stent, then take out after 2nd week. It's possible she could go home before removing 2nd stent, but not guaranteed - depending on how she takes it. So sometime in the next month, we will have to bring her back down to Boston and she'll have to stay for a week or two. And I'm sure after the stenting they'll want to see her again soon after that.

So lots of time in Boston, and on the road between Bangor and Boston, for all or some of us in the near future.