Fwd: Update November 18, 2009

I just received this email from Keri Ferguson.  I stand corrected.  I should have said that she is my friend that happens to be my banker.  She is SO much more than my banker and I want to publicly apologize to her for the slight.  We are so lucky to know such wonderful people who care about us.  Keri, I am sorry, you are a wonderful woman and I won't make that mistake again!

This is an example of the wonderful support that we have.

Thank you all so very much, and thank you Keri for calling me on my mistake.  I owe you lunch or an afternoon on the porch!

Love,

Shere

Begin forwarded message:

From: KFerguson@lubbocknational.com

Date: November 18, 2008 8:17:34 PM CST

To: "Shere Forkner" <sfork@sbcglobal.net>

Subject: Re: Update November 18, 2009

You are so welcome. But you did make one mistake. You said Keri is our banker. While that is true, what I am much more than that is a friend who cares about you both very much!  And, yes, I am your banker too!  But mostly I am your friend. Remember that. When the days are so hard that you think you can't do it anymore, think about all of the friends like me who love you dearly and are rooting you and John on. We can't all be there with you but we are there none the less. Because you are both in our thoughts, prayers and hearts all of the time. Give John my love and tell him the prayers will not stop. You stay strong. But also fall apart when you need to. It will do you good. Then pick yourself up and go back and continue the fight. Please keep me informed. I truly do care about you both.


----- Original Message -----
From: Shere Forkner [sfork@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: 11/18/2008 08:05 PM CST
To: Undisclosed-recipients: <>
Subject: Update November 18, 2009



Hi all,

It has been a week since I have written.  Last Wednesday morning
Charles, John's son, Pat (my friend) and I took John across the street
to the hospital.  We arrived at 9:30.  There was the typical (as I
have experienced) right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.
John did not go in for prep until 11:30 and finally, the surgery at 2
PM.  We were given periodic updates throughout the operation and it
ended at 7PM.  The team of doctors came out to tell us what was found.

They took only a small part of the esophagus, all of the stomach, the
gall bladder, many lymph nodes and some other suspicious looking
tissue in the surrounding areas.  The stomach was difficult to remove
because it was adhered to other organs and tissue.  There was only one
incision made, which was the best case.  We were told that John could
not eat until tomorrow after a swallow test is done to make sure that
everything is in operating order.  The feeding tube was removed and
another was not inserted so, he has been without food for a week.

We are expecting and hoping for the pathology reports tomorrow as
well, to see whether there is any metastasis.  So, with the swallowing
test and the pathology report, tomorrow is a big day.  The team of
doctors said that the stomach was where most of the cancer was and had
moved up into the esophagus.  I remember the oncologist at Mayo
telling us we were going about this all wrong because we were treating
this as stomach cancer.  Thank goodness we were.

For the first few days, John was totally out of it and may have had
some reactions to the pain medication given.  He has leveled out and
is much better now though, any movement really hurts him.  He does get
up to walk one or two times per day.  This is usually followed by more
pain.  All of this is expected and I think that he is doing relatively
well considering what he has been through.

John never went into ICU, he was taken directly from recovery to a
room.  I was stayed with him at night while Pat stayed with him in the
day for a few hours  the first few days.  That gave me a break to go
over to the hotel to rest or take a break during the day.  Charles has
been here 3 times, driving in from Austin so, we have had lots of help
which has been very appreciated.  John's daughter, Denise, came to
Lubbock to help us get packed up.  I can't thank you guys enough.

Pat had to go back on Sunday so that she could start work on Monday
morning.  Charles spent the night at the hospital on Saturday night
while I stayed with Pat at the hotel.  I think that is the first full
night of uninterrupted sleep I have had since May.  I really
appreciate all of the support.  Charles left on Sunday afternoon to
get back home to take care of his girls and his animals.  He may come
back in a few days to give me another break.

We were first put into a very small hospital room in which we had to
move the bed table and other things to get into the bathroom.  I
pestered everyone at the desk enough that Sunday afternoon, we were
moved to a much larger room.  This flatlander was having trouble with
claustrophobia!  The nursing care here is very good, as is the doctor
care.  I do wish that the people who made decisions on the furniture
in the rooms has actually sat on them before purchase!  The poor
choices in furniture has really made us miss the wonderful VIP rooms
at Covenent!

We are taking this journey one day at a time.  We are not certain when
John will be released.  I am sure it will take some time before he is
up to traveling back to Lubbock.  My guess is we will stay in a hotel
for a couple of days before we actually leave Temple to make sure he
is stable.

I so appreciate all of the calls and emails and texts that we have
received.  The support is what gets us through every day. We
appreciate the flowers from Jeff and Harriett and from Keri Ferguson,
our banker.  Keri the room is full of fragrance, still.

This is a recap to bring you up to date.

Love,
Shere