In This Together ~ The Craigs

Dear friends and family, After a two week lull between appointments, Marisa and I were back at Johns Hopkins on Tuesday for another post-surgical examination.  The good news is that Marisa's calcium level has consistently remained at a normal level!  Her parathyroid glands are beginning to function well on their own.  (These are the glands that produce calcium, and they are often damaged in this type of surgery.)  We are grateful for this improvement as low calcium was one of the problems that kept Marisa in the hospital longer than expected. In the last few days we have been hearing a flicker of phonation, just above her whisper, on a more consistent basis.  At first, this was encouraging to us.  However, the medical team does not know yet if this indicates good or bad news.  Throughout the appointment the surgeon and speech therapist reminded us several times that Marisa's double vocal cord paralysis is a "medical mystery."  In fact, the ...

Dear friends and family, We met with Marisa's surgeon on Tuesday for the first time since she was discharged.  Below is the update on the items that many of you have been asking about.  We are grateful for your care and prayer! Tuesday at Johns Hopkins. Surgical report: In addition to Marisa's thyroid,  58 lymph nodes were removed with 15 of them being cancerous.   The surgeon again confirmed that he was able to remove all cancer known to him.   The incision is healing well. Vocal folds (cords): The doctor examined Marisa’s vocal folds with a camera, and he showed us their paralyzed position resting partially open (and partially closed).  [The vocal folds are designed to meet in the middle of the larynx and be able to fully open and close.]  He thinks they look slightly better than just after surgery.    This partially closed position explains Marisa's airway restriction.   At this point the surgeo...

Dear friends and family, Thank you again for your care and attention around Marisa's recovery.  We feel blessed in the midst of these challenging times.   Marisa has been feeling nauseous throughout this last week.  This made it more difficult to keep her medication down but she has been able to stay on schedule.  This weekend there was some improvement with the nausea but it is still lingering. On Tuesday, Marisa will have her first follow up appointment with the surgeon since being discharged from the hospital.  The time between the surgery and the follow up appointment is meant to allow initial healing to take place and swelling to lessen.  We look forward to this appointment as further testing will likely provide more information on Marisa's vocal fold (cord) paralysis and hampered airway.   In the meantime, Marisa began  speech therapy this week.  It was helpful to launch this series of therapy sessions, however fu...