Thank you very much Christine! Believe me, I have plenty of moments of despair, but I am doing my best to face the situation bravely. In a few days all detectable bits of this horrible thing will be out of my body. That is something to look forward to. Of course there will be rads+chemo down the line, but I will worry about that when it gets here. In the mean time, I will shamelessly allow my wonderful family to treat me like a king as I recover from surgery.

The first time around, I was amazed at how painless the recovery was. The team at the hospital did a great job of managing my pain. I am hoping for a similar experience this time around, though the surgery is of course more extensive. I'll be sure to make it known if I am having pain.

Thanks for the tip on the trach. The first time around the trach did not have any sort of valve. When I got to speaking, I had to cover it with my finger. After a while I was able to cap it off during the day so speaking was easy, and then the wonderful day finally came when it was removed altogether.

Thanks again for your kind wishes and support. I'll be sure to post when I can or get my daughter to do so for me.