The Procedure

Today has been a crazy day.  We went to Dr. Guttenplan's thinking he was only going to removing the packing in Jeff's nose.  We had no idea!  Since Jeff's nose was still bleeding he didn't want to remove the packing.  So we moved on to Plan B.  He got on the phone and found a radiologist to do "the procedure". Thank you Dr. Guttenplan for taking charge!!!
We ended up back in the hospital, a place we swore we'd never be again.  But here we are.  They ran a catheter up through Jeff's femoral artery up to the blood flow in his face.  Crazy!  They injected dye to see the blow flow that was feeding his tumor.  Once they found it they cut off the blood flow to the tumor.  So it should stop the bleeding.  He said it appeared to have worked!  Yippee!  They also want to do a little radiation next week to the tumor - just a zap or two to show it who's boss.  That should also shrink it a little and cut off any other bleeding.  We are still in the hospital until 10 or 11 tonight.  Jeff has to lay perfectly still on his back to make sure his femoral artery has completely clotted.  We are feeling some relief.  I hope this procedure will give Jeff some relief and a better quality of life.  The fix isn't permanent but should last a couple of weeks or more.  Melanoma is smart enough to find a different blood supply.  But we'll take the time we have. 
We didn't even talk about hospice today.  Because once you are under hospice care they manage your care and your pain but not "procedures".  So as long as he is still seeking any treatment we will stick with Dr. Patel and Dr. Guttenplan.  That's the plan for now.  Who knows what tomorrow or next week will bring.
Thanks for all the prayers and messages.  We are feeling the love!  A special thanks to my Mom and sisters, Sally and Katie.  Thanks for sitting with me and cleaning out my purse.  Jeff loves to be surrounded by women!

Love,
Leta