On December 4th Tom received a phone call from Dr. Worden's office. The tumor board had reviewed his case and determined from the latest MRI that the tumor in C6-C7 had increased and there was fear of spinal decompression. Tom was told to come to the Emergency Department at the U of M immediately to meet the Neurologist to determine if surgery was necessary. Tom tried to talk them into admitting him the following morning but was told they expected him to show up in Ann Arbor that night. Tom called me at work to give me this news. He joked while I tried not to lose it on the phone with him. Afterwards while I was explaining what was going on and trying to still be strong, I had my co-workers around me hugging me & asking what they could do.
Once I got home we packed and headed out for the 2+ hour drive. I drove while Tom took phone calls and explained what was going on. We tried to keep the air light as we made our way across the state. We were triage then escorted to the waiting room where we sat for over 2 1/2 hours. Tom was getting anxious and we did not understand why we had to follow the ER procedure when we already knew Tom was to be admitted. At this point he went to ask the admissions desk these questions and was almost immediately called into a room. I joked with him that he should have done that 2 hours before:) The ED doctors placed a cervical collar on Tom and a steroid injection. After talking with the Neurology department and determining that he did not need emergency surgery we took a breath. Finally 6 hours after arrival, Tom was admitted and we were able to be in a room in the hospital at 3:00 am.
Neither one of us slept much this night as the staff assessed tom every 45 minutes until 6:30 am when a team of doctors from the different departments started making their rounds and assessing Tom's condition. Tom saw the Radiation Oncology & the team of Oncologists. They all assessed Tom and told us the high level plan that was forming. Around noon (13 hours later) the collar finally came off. Tom was ordered to have another MRI from the thoracic level down to the end of his spinal cord. They took him out of the room for 3 hours. I have to admit I took advantage and slept for a little of that, but by the 2nd hour I was getting antsy!
We were told multiple times that we were probably going to be released. About 7 pm the Radiation Oncology team arrived with a plan to begin the SBRT radiation and wanted Tom to have a CT and simulation while he was here so that the radiation could begin. They had him scheduled for 7:00 am on Thursday and then they would finally cut him loose. After another sleepless night & all the scans complete they finally discharged Tom at 11:30 Thursday.
This is a very high level of the two day hospital stay. Tom and I realize that the steps the department took was precautionary and the situation Tom is in is balancing on the fact that for now the vertebra is strong and this can change drastically very quickly. They placed Tom on steroids to help strengthen the bone and helping to stop the tingling Tom experiences in his hands. They are also pushing forward quickly with the radiation treatment plan as it is essential to prevent the tumor from further pushing on his spinal fluid and/or collapsing damaging the nerves and causing paralysis.
Thanks to both our moms for taking turns coming out to watch our children. Also thanks to Tom's dad who came out to cheer Cody and Katie in the sports. I appreciated Tom's cousin for coming out and bringing me dinner to make sure I was eating. So many texted/called/facebooked to inquire how Tom was doing and the support was overwhelming.
Tom's friend and EMT partner posted the following which sums up how Tom has touched people's lives:
Day and night
Through the dark and the light
Racing to cheat death
Trying to postpone that last breath
Stood two men of impeccable skill
Whose thirst for trauma would never fill
A crazy driver who raced just to stop on a dime
The other called Rabbit who got there in the nick of time
Years they spent roaming every street
Sometimes just helping those up who fell from their seat
You see them in parades and out getting ice cream
They will be with us in even in the worst dream
Where ever they are, though the winds may blow
We will always agree, long live the T&A show
Get better Tom.
