Anita's Story
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Anita went in for a relatively routine surgery--to get her gallbladder removed--at the end of March. She had been struggling with what she thought was acid reflux, but blood tests and a CAT scan had recently revealed that gallstones were likely the source of her problems.
During the operation to remove her gallbladder, our dad, the honorable Timothy K., was informed by the surgeon that mom's gallbladder was cancerous and that her liver was also involved. Both the gallbladder and a part of her liver were removed. Her bile duct, which usually empties into the intestine, was cancerous as well, and was cut in the course of the surgery.
This led to some complications, as her bile was building up in her abdomen without an exit. Her situation was grave enough that the doctors in
Once there, two stents to the outside were inserted into her liver in order to drain it. This was a difficult procedure, performed by highly-skilled surgeons!
The immediate results of the operation were amazing. Anita's pink coloring returned and her nausea dissipated. She still wasn't sleeping well at night, but she was able to take short walks in the hospital and talk without pain.
After almost a week at the Mayo Clinic, she was cleared to go home.
The war plan? To heal for a few weeks before reevaluation to determine whether a surgery to reconstruct her bile duct can be performed. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments are also a possibility at some point.
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