This Is It

Well friends and all, it's finally here.

We checked into NUH @ 4pm today. Jo will undergo the procedure at approx. 0830 hrs tomorrow morning. Prof. Wang will be performing the op on both days.

The Y-90 radioactive beads are delivered through a catheter placed in the femoral artery of the upper thigh and threaded through the hepatic artery (the major blood vessel of the liver) to the tumor site. The spheres are trapped in the tumor’s small blood vessels, where they destroy the tumor from inside.

I'll cut to the chase and explain in detail what's happening over the next 2 days with Joanne:

Tuesday: Prof Wang will be mapping out Jo's liver arteries and blood vessels to ensure that those which lead to other organs or outside of the liver will be blocked. This process is complicated and time consuming because each artery or blood vessel that needs to be blocked takes nearly 20-30mins to do so. Also, there are possible complications that come with this -
rupture of a blood vessel etc.

Wednesday: Radioactive Y-90 will be administered via cathether to the tumour in the liver area. This will take only 30 minutes.

All in all, the attending doc had to spell out in no uncertain terms ALL that could possibly happen in this op - from liver failure, vessel rupture, cathether puncture, the list goes on.

So may your prayers for Jo and us be over the next 48 hours simply this: that our good Lord
will allow His Will to be carried out.

Jo's at a C-class ward today so not quite possible for me to bunk over even if I'd wanted. Tomorrow she should be moved over to an isolation ward once the op is over. After the whole procedure she will continue to remain very mildly radioactive and doc has advised against going out or coming into contact with friends for the next 14 days. Even I am not allowed to hug her :(

Ok will update more in the next 12 hours.