Could use a little "help from above" with new health troubles

Dear V-8 Buick community,

Alas, I am continuing to have health misfortunes. In mid-April, I was diagnosed with a hernia. It was not too serious, so I couldn't get an appointment with the surgeon until mid-May. However before I could schedule that surgery, a routine skin check turned up a melanoma tumor on my left ear. A melanoma had been removed from that ear in 2021, so the concern is that the melanoma had come back and may have spread. That triggered a more aggressive response. I was sent to an oncologist and surgeon of the head and neck. He will remove the new tumor on my ear, but he will also do what is called a nodal biopsy. To do this, they injected radioactive tracer in the area of the tumor the day before. That tracer will be carried to lymph node in my neck where any cancer would have spread. The surgeon will remove that node identified by the tracer and have it checked for melanoma. If there isn't any cancer in the lymph node, hopefully they will have solved the problem. If there is, then more cancer treatments will be necessary.

I spent the afternoon having the radioactive tracer injected and having the lymph nodes in the area detected by various imaging techniques. The surgery is tomorrow the 16th, so I would appreciate if folks could keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for your support,

Edouard

P.S. Somehow the hernia will have to be repaired sometime after that.

 

Keeping you in prayers.
I cannot fathom the burden of all of this on you.

 

Ed Hope all turns out in your favor and I will keep doing what I have done for the last year or so . Bruno.

 

Prayers Edouard....healing /surgery success and your knowledge & faith in God's healing power

 

Edouard,
Edouard, I don’t know you from a hill of beans, but every time you write something I always read it. I guess you could say I like listening to you! Yes sir, you are an inspiration to many. I am an optimist about everything in life, I believe you’re going to turn out just fine. At least that’s what I’m praying for buddy. Keep on going!

 

Hoping for speedy recovery through all of this. Asking for great blessings on your life and also your family whom I know are also struggling with health issues.

 

I lurked for years, but Edouard's story's of his "Grand adventures of a trusty "billy-goat" wagon" finally drew me in to joining the V8Buick and 65GS forums.

 

Edouard,

God bless you and prayers for wisdom,knowledge,& discernment for those performing the procedure.
Praying for favorable results and a very smooth future.

Kindest Regards,

Fritz

 

Prayers for a good report from the Doc.

 

Dear Michael, Bruno, Gary, Michael, Fritz, Ray, and V-8 Buick fans,

Thank you for your prayers and good wishes!

I got home from the surgery center about 1/2 hour ago. The doctor thought the procedure went well and he thought he did a good job reconstructing that ear. It has been already damaged by removing the first melanoma and a basal cell tumor back in the autumn of 2021. I hope he actually made some improvements over what it looked like before.

So it is time to recover and wait for the biopsy results next week.

Thanks again,

Edouard

 

I remember waiting for biopsy results and the phone call from the Dr. office. Try to take your mind off it by doing something with your Buick. Like maybe a couple of real Smokey burnouts?

 

Dear Ray and V-8 Buick fans,

Not a bad idea, but I think I'd better wait until I'm off the heavy-duty pain medications before trying to drive any car!

Thanks for your support!

Edouard

 

Dear V8Buick.com community,

I had a one week follow-up appointment with the doctor who removed my melanoma from my left ear. The news is mostly good, but not quite. Most importantly, the cancer had not spread into my lymph system and he successfully removed the tumor from my ear with clear edges. However, the skin that he removed had some additional "noninvasive melanoma" spots on the tip of my ear. I didn't even know there was such a thing as "noninvasive melanoma" until this appointment. Apparently it is the very early start of melanoma before it can get harmful. As such it doesn't require a quick response. Alas, it still has to be removed and can only be removed by the same sort of surgery under general anesthesia. The doctor wants to wait a few months so the ear can get fully healed up. My ear is so badly damaged at this point that a skin graft may be needed to repair it for this subsequent surgery.

In the meantime, the doctor cleared me to go ahead the surgery to repair my hernia. It is scheduled for the second week of August. My poor body sure is being pushed very hard by all these surgeries. I sure hope these doctors know what they are doing, because I'm already feeling exhausted.

Still, I guess I cannot complain too much given how much worse things could have turned out. I'll hold the course and take the blows as they come.

Thanks for your support!

Edouard

 

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers Edouardo, stay strong!

 

Excellent news, Edouard. A clean lymph node is the best result. The extra cut is a bummer but small potatoes in the grand scheme.

I had a double hernia surgery five years ago. That was a pretty rugged recovery but it was definitely worth it.

 

Prayers

 

Thank you Rich, Ray, Joe, and Zach for your prayers and support!!

Edouard

 

More Prayers coming your way Edouard. God Bless!

Bob H.

 

Hey Ed!
We got your back, prayers coming and continuing!