What the Surgeon said

The surgeon said they are going to remove dad's

1. pancreas
2. gall bladder
3. part of his small intestine

and maybe his spleen. This surgery is called a Whipple. In my dad's case it is called "Whipple -Plus" because of the possibility of the removal of the spleen.. They are going to bypass one duct to another. Usually in a Whipple they do 3 duct bypasses. In my dad's case they will only do two. The total removal of his pancreas will cause my dad to become and instant diabetic. He will have to stay in ICU for 3 days until they can get him stable. He will be the hospital (provided he makes it though the surgery) for 7 - 10 days.

He said this was also going to be exploratory surgery. The surgeon said if he has stage 4 cancer (in the liver) they are going to just sew him back up again because there is nothing they can do.

The surgery will be in 2 - 3 weeks. My dad was not upset about them taking most of his major organs, he was very upset about becoming a diabetic.

It is so hard to watch my dad cry. I told dad that he had been there for me all my life, I will be there for him.

They say that he should go to a convalescent hospital for 2 weeks. When he gets out of the hospital. I am not so sure about that. My dearest friend says it might be a good idea. She says convalescent hospitals are not like they used to be. I said I can take care of him. I don't know. I guess we will have to wait and see.