The Results Are In...kind of

We should've updated this information yesterday but to be honest everything happened so quickly that it wasn't really an option. Yesterday (Tuesday) Tim got a call that an opening had just become available for today (Wednesday) for his endoscopy and they asked if he could come earlier. So we arrived at the hospital to get Tim prepped for the scope/ultrasound around noon today. They took him back for the procedure around 2 which took an hour. He's still been hurting a good bit so they gave him some good pain meds and coupled with the anesthesia, he was pretty out of it after the procedure.

The doctor spoke to us and mentioned that although he didn't see any tumors on Tim's pancreas, he did see scar tissue indicating Tim likely had pancreatitis previously. He's never had any symptoms like this before so everyone is unsure of when this happened. The doctor did mention thickening of the beginning of Tim's small intestine. He took a biopsy that should give a few additional answers about what is going on but it's still too early to speculate about exactly what is going on. This was not the news Tim was hoping for so its been pretty rough on him which is awful timing considering that tomorrow (Thursday) is his 32nd birthday. He has an Op-Ed piece coming out in this week's Greenville Journal (I believe) and needed a headshot so my talented photographer cousin, Jessie, took some great photos this weekend. I thought I'd share my favorite of the birthday boy!

The other challenge we are having right now is keeping Tim's weight stable (and preferably increasing) as he is on a strict low-residue and low/no sugar diet to rest his gut and pancreas. He's having a hard time with eating the same things (bland things) over and over again and really wants something sweet which is not possible right now.

Please pray that the swelling is not associated with the spread of Tim's cancer. Although it wouldn't change anything about the treatment plan or Tim's staging, it would be a blow to him and he could use all the good he can get right now. Please also pray that this pancreatitis will clear up quickly so we can get Tim back into a robust diet to improve his weight.

Thank you all for all of your support. We're behind and owe a lot of return communication right now but you all have no idea just how much the calls, emails, cards, texts, Facebook and blog comments, etc. mean to both of us. Sometimes all of this feels very isolating so its a great reminder that there is still a great world outside of the insanity we're currently wrapped up in.

Hope you guys have a great weekend and we will update as soon as we can!