Pneumothorax..WHAT?

Last night I has a PET scan to check my tumors for size & location. But it showed one more thing...So today the pulmonary doc walks in and says I have a pneumothorax (hole in my lung) from having the Hickman line put in on Monday. WOW!!! I about hit the floor. She was amazed that I was sitting there without any complaints, no pain, and no oxygen on. I had some complaints the day I came back from surgery though. I had felt a little short of breathe and had pain in my chest/left side area. Being a nurse, I immediately thought of a pneumo but they had taken xrays after the hickman was placed and those looked fine. And all was better by the end on the day.

The doc stated that had I gotten on the airplane to fly home tomorrow I could have died from the expansion of air in my lungs and no one would have known what was going on with me! Whew!! THAT scared the crap out of me!! Xanax please! Of course I needed a chest tube put in my lung to help it re-expand. I thought that was going to hurt like hell but they sedated me and numbed me quite well! Thank you God!

Later today, Dr. Willis showed Gary & I the PET scan on his laptop. He couldn't really give us a size at this time but will use it as a baseline after my 2nd cycle of chemo. That's approximately in 5-6 weeks. Another shocker was finding out that I have a third tumor in my right upper abdomen. This is what is causing all my partial bowel obstructions. Hummmm...OSU couldn't find it I guess!! :( But I say BRING IT ON, IF I CAN HANDLE KICKING THE OTHER TWO TUMOR'S BUTTS I CAN SURE HANDLE A THIRD! The other two are behind my bladder in the pelvis area and then at my sacral area on my back.

Since the third tumor causes the partial bowel obstructions I am unable to eat solid food. I mainly eat smoothies and pureed things. Puddings, yogurt, tomato soup, and mashed potatoes are usually on every lunch and dinner tray. Cream of wheat for breakfast. Gets boring but it's better than the pain, bloating, and nausea that I would get otherwise.