The Kourt

My brother Meldon has long called Kourtney "The Kourt." I could not help but smile at the irony as we prepare for another surgery tomorrow. Kourtney  means " surrounded.” As the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. We have been reminded of this over and over again in Kourtney's 20 years of life. But in the last month as we prepare for this surgery it resonates with me even more how surrounded we are as a family.

 To be honest we aren't quite sure exactly what will happen when the surgeon puts her under tomorrow. All we know is that there is a large area on her hand that is painful, unusual and not healing properly. Although her biopsy reports revealed that it is benign tissue, the skin does no look normal and is causing far more pain than usual. The plan will be to clean up the wound and  debride the unhealthy tissue, biopsy more tissue and then put a skin graft on. We completely trust Dr. C. He has looked after Kourtney since she was a baby. He is protective of her and even advocated for Kourtney to have her surgery at Children’s Hospital despite being an adult.  A brand new facility just opened in November 2017.  The post-op pain will be comparable to the pain she is having already. However, this is not as straight forward as it sounds. Kourtney is complicated.

This is what the last few weeks have been like as Kourtney prepared for this surgery.

With all the pain Kourtney is experiencing she has had to increase her pain medication. This does not require a trip to the doctor and then to a pharmacy. Recently family doctors have gotten their hands slapped for the over prescribing of prescription pain medications so it's not easy to obtain a prescription. We have a pain Doctor that comes to our home and always makes Kourtney and I feel better about what she is taking and never hesitates to help us. Kourtney is very cautious about what she takes as she doesn't like to feel tired and sleepy. It's a fine line but we are always thankful that he doesn't ever make her feel guilty for using the medication.

Our local GP is the quarterback for Kourtney. He organizes everything to make sure all requisitions, medication and blood work are reviewed and Kourtney is well cared for. We are thankful for such a supportive man. The one doctor though that goes beyond the call of duty is  is an interventional radiologist.  These doctors have revolutionized health care by doing procedures under X-ray. Because Kourtney is such a difficult IV start Dr. B. will start IV's, dilate her esophagus and for this upcoming procedure put in a pic line. A pic line is wire that goes into the heart. It makes it easier to have IV access and can stay in for an indefinite amount of time. Kourtney had the procedure done last week. What is usually a simple procedure turned into a tough 2 hour ordeal. Kourtney had a mild sedative at the beginning but was aware enough that she felt the pain of the freezing go in and knew that her nurse was a student of her grandpa Dave's. 

For tomorrow’s surgery Kourtney will not receive a general anaesthetic. It's so difficult to intubate her, so they will use conscious sedation. Although she won't remember anything it makes the surgery a bit more complicated as she will continue to feel pain and have reflexes. So in order to achieve good sedation she requires a skilled anaesthetist. She has had a designated one for her last few surgeries. This time she has agreed to help out again. However, it meant another trip into Vancouver. It worked out Todd could take her in. I am so thankful for him. Tomorrow Marijke will be joining us just another part of the village. 

Although there is so much to be thankful for, it resonates how complex Kourtney and her care is. These past few months have been so difficult as we have watched her suffer more than she ever has. They only way I can reconcile this grief is knowing and understanding that Kourtney still has life, a good life. She still is in school, enjoys outings and is so capable in making decisions regarding her care. We know Gods ways are perfect and we can only rest knowing that God controls this sweet little life. My role is to be there advocate and spend time with her. I have peace about tomorrow, it will be a long day but I look forward to. Spending time with her. I feel blessed to be her mama and thankful this journey has been made easier by the people who surround our family!! We will keep you updated.