Successful Stent Placement

Good news! Dr. Manfredi was able to place the stent without any issues yesterday! He said her esophagus was down to 1 or 2mm in diameter. He made some incisions in the scar tissue, dialted her esophagus up to 10mm, and then placed a 10mm stent (all endoscopically). He said that most likely, she will go back to the OR next week to have a 12mm stent placed. He didn't want to push her esophagus too far yesterday. He also changed her G tube to a GJ tube, so she is currently getting slow, continuous feeds to the jejunum. The nurses are giving her tylenol and ibuprofen regularly to stay on top of pain, and also zofran to help prevent nausea. It seems to be working well because she is her normal happy self this morning. She also slept good last night. 

They did a chest xray right after the procedure to verify the stent placement, and then they will check subsequent chest xrays every couple days to make sure it's staying in the right spot. A Physician's Assistant, PA, came to check on her while she was still in the PACU, and he told me that he was really encouraged by what they saw during the scope. He said it was amazing to see the difference in her esophagus from before the incisions to after, even before they dilated. Just the incisions made a big difference. So I am very hopeful that the combination of incisions and stents will get her esophagus to where it needs to be. 

Thank you so much for all your prayers yesterday and continued prayers for the next few weeks. 

Joe is holding down the fort at home. He's been working while our babysitter watches the other two during the day. Today, his mom, Wendy and youngest brother are flying in to stay a few nights. I'm so grateful for their help, and I'm so glad for Rose. She's been missing me and I know this will really cheer her up. 

Love you all!

Before her procedure

Recovering in PACU

Snuggles back in her room