Currently, the infectious diseases doctor has given mom clearance for an operation and dad said the cardiologist gave mom clearance last night. The dietician and the oncologist are still monitoring her closely.
Dr. Burbon showed me mom's x-rays. Mom's femur looks like an "X" instead of a straight line. It is a severe fracture. Currently they have attached mom's leg to a heavy weight that hangs over the end of her bed to stretch the muscles in preparation for a bone repair.
The first option for surgical repair is to reposition her femur bone in its correct position and drive a long "nail" through it to keep it in the right position for it to heal on its own and to prevent it from breaking again.
The second option is to correct her femur using steel rods and pins on the outside of mom's leg.
Dr. Burbon would like to attempt the first option. If he finds that her bone is weakened and brittle during the operation, he will perform the second option. During the operation, he will take a sample from her bones to see if cancer is what caused such a severe break. He commented that only high impact/high energy accidents cause fractures like mom's. He suspects that cancer or osteoporosis has contributed to the break.
He said mom could be cleared for surgery in the next few days, be scheduled for an operation shortly thereafter, and then have the procedure done within the next two weeks. Is this coincidence that I bought plane tickets for exactly these two weeks of pre and post surgery care? I think not.
Let me know if you have any questions. There is so much else to share but I want to at least give you all a quick summary of what's been happening. I'm sure there will be another update tomorrow.
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