The Basics

Catching UP.

If you have not seen Liz in the past few months then you've missed out on her best impression of The Wicked Witch of the West....that is, her color had turned a rather chartreuse hue. She felt fine but she scared small children....and their little dogs too. Not surprisingly, her jaundice nature did not slow her down save for the occasional doctor's appointment to determine the cause of her neon skin tone.

Several tests and scans later, the doctors were still stumped. They thought it might be due to an allergic reaction to antibiotics following a recent bout with bronchitis....but it should have subsided. It didn't, and eventually she she underwent a procedure in November that sent a tiny little camera into her intestinal area to see what it could see. It saw plenty and made her plenty sick.

The procedure, whose actual name is too fancy to pronounce (let alone spell) but is commonly known as an ERCP, determined that there was a blockage in her bile duct that could be caused by a cancerous lesion. While the doctors tried to sort out the details, Liz found herself in the ICU for three days suffering from a procedural side-effect, pancreatitis and sepsis. The family rallied around, made some (mostly inappropriate) jokes by her bedside (we are after all, still the Hatch clan), and watched as she grew strong enough to leave the hospital for further testing. The true cause of all her troubles still remained a mystery. Was it her bile duct? Was it a diseased gall bladder? Nobody could say for sure.

It took several weeks, many meetings with doctors, and a second opinion to finally determine that the only way to know what was going on was to go in for surgery.

Mom had found an ally in the very serious, very stoic, very German, Dr. Fuchscheuber (sp?) . His no-nonsense exterior was no match for the woman who never met a person she didn't intend to make her new best friend. He may have been planning to take out part of her guts, but he would soon be hugging her and calling himself "her soldier." No surprise.

We were all very hopeful that the surgeon's exploration into her intestines would find something simple and easy to fix. On Thursday December 17th, Liz went in for surgery and it was anything but simple and easy.

What We Know Now

Liz's nearly four-hour procedure found a cancerous gall bladder that had affected other areas of her intestines. The gall bladder was removed along with a small part of her liver, part of her colon, and her four bile ducts (which were restructured to allow free bile movement). It does appear that the cancer has reached her lymph nodes which is concerning for us as it is a diagnostic indicator that the cancer has spread. Just how far it has gone and thus how serious it is remains to be seen. But we pray everyday that this is a battle she can fight. She's tough and we're willing to bet that the cancer is plenty scared.

Liz's Life Right Now

Liz is currently at Kaiser Walnut Creek in Room 3071. She is in very stable condition and is doing her best to get well, keep infection at bay, and process all the information that is coming at her. She is succeeding at all that right now! She is strong enough to take some leisurely strolls around the floor and order all us family members around her room (she can't stand the sight of a cluttered bedside table). Today, she requested that we bring her some Lego sets to curb the boredom. That worked...for a little while. She can't eat any food yet, so we are imagining that her ice chips are North Beach Fettuccine and Peanut Butter Balls. It's not quite the same.

For now, family are the bulk of her visitors. If you are hoping to sneak by and say hi, she would probably love it but we are trying to limit visitors for now to family. We expect that will change in the next few days (and she will surely be plenty tired of us by then), so feel free to check back here at the blog, or give Mark a call. No sick people PLEASE! If you feel like a big walking germ, send a card for now....

What's Next

We expect that she will be in the hospital through Christmas (and a bit beyond). Once she is released, she will meet with her oncologist to determine the next step. Chemotherapy and radiation are potential options and she will surely be gathering all the info and weighing her options in true Liz-fashion in the weeks to come.

Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We are...