Colostomy

Another quick update: after much consultation, the team of doctors at PMH looking after Anne have recommended a colostomy, which was due to happen today, but now looks likely to happen Friday (as it is now 7PM). We have been moved to TGH, across the street, so we went for another weird trek through the tunnels connecting all the hospitals. The reason we're here is because most surgeries happen here; PMH doesn't have much in the way of ORs, unfortunately.

Though it's not the most appealing prospect, we're happy with the doctors' reasoning for this course of action. Two other options - putting in a stent, and radiation therapy - turned out not to be viable, and not guaranteed to fix the problem, respectively. On the other hand, we're really looking forward to Anne eating again, and eating whatever she wants, to boot. This could take a while (4-6 weeks after surgery, but it's not really clear), and it depends a little on what "-ostomy" she gets. A colostomy (we want this one - pray/hope/cross fingers for this one) means little or no dietary restrictions, but an ileostomy has restrictions related to bulky food. (Colostomy for large intestine, ileostomy for small intestine, and the latter if the former is not viable for whatever reason.)

That's the news for now - time to go back to watching Grey's Anatomy to get Anne into the mood for her operation!

UPDATE: It's now 22:42 on Thursday, and Anne has gone into surgery. JP and I (Eric) are at home now and will return to the hospital in an hour or so, just before she's due to come out. She was in good spirits and happy to be getting the procedure done. Also, the surgeon we spoke to tonight thought that she could be eating normal food much sooner than the 4-6 weeks estimate, so I don't know where that came from. Keep your fingers crossed!