Bile Duct Diaries IV

23 Jan. ‘08

Bile Duct Diaries IV

Today Jane and I met Mr. Sharma, the liver surgeon at the Royal Free who will be taking my case from the team at the Radcliffe in Oxford. About 40, in a smart pin- striped suit. He was very professional and thorough, taking about an hour to discuss a very complex situation, since no one can be 100% sure of what is going on. He discussed the operation, but since it is a major intervention with a mortality rate of its own, he wants to slow things down enough to gather as much evidence as possible, and be reassured that I am fully fit ‘mentally and physically’ for the operation. This took us back to the damned pancreatitis, which he said is tricky and can be very serious in its own right. Because of that he suspects the CT scan done in Oxford was not as helpful as it could be and wants me to do another. Then he wants a laparoscopy (keyhole surgery to get a closer look at the relevant organs) and while these are being done and analysed, the pancreatitis should be settling completely, and I should be posing for the cover of Men’s Fitness Weekly. He said, ‘if you swim one lap, I want you to start swimming two’….and, ‘If you walk for one hour, I want you to start walking for two’. Rather inspiring, actually.

Then we discussed the urgency of having a suspected malignancy, but he said there is no strong evidence that it is spreading and in the balance, it is far better to take the extra weeks and get everything right for the operation. This places the date of the operation into the mid February range, but we are all committed to taking one step at a time since there can be so many ‘slips ‘tween cup and mouth’ with my situation.

So as I reflect on this consultation, I feel relieved about stretching this out to leave more time for everyone to consider things and more time to prepare myself…..particularly since I think I am still shocked by the sudden change of life direction I am experiencing. Also I like the idea that Sharma is on board and taking things seriously…a form of second opinion…… and he seems very open to discuss things as we go forward. For example, I said I had a number of friends who were medics and they would be concerned that this is the right course of action, and he said ‘I’d be happy to speak to any of them on the phone if you’d like.’

So that’s it for now. If any of you are walking on Hampstead Heath, in the next few weeks, and you get overtaken by a blur that looks vaguely like a 64 year old man, it’s probably me.

Thanks so much once again for all the support and good wishes you have conveyed to Jane and me, each in your own way.

LoveDavid (and Jane)