Update from the man himself!

Well, cancer hasn't "Barry'd" me yet, but it has had a major impact on every aspect of my life.  I had surgery (esophagectomy) on the 4th.  As I waited on a bed in the hallway outside the operating room, a resident approached and removed the mask covering his beard.  To my surprise, it was an old friend who I had gotten to know when he was a student in a BYU ward that I served in about 12 years ago.  It was a great relief to find out that he would be assisting in my surgery and subsequently performed the first half of the surgery.  The surgeons removed 2/3rd's of my esophagus and then fed my stomach back behind my heart, reconnecting it behind my collar bone.  My former stomach is now a tube, replacing the esophagus.  This will make eating a new challenge, but I'm grateful that I can still eat and live a fairly normal life.  The Dr's also discovered another blood clot in my right arm in addition to the PE in my right lung.  Hopefully the blood thinners will quickly resolve these clots. The hospital stay was challenging as the tests, medications, and hospital care, made it difficult to sleep.  In those rare moments of quiet, I couldn't stay awake to be able to visit or even check email etc.  I sincerely appreciate all of the thoughts, cards, emails, etc, etc, etc, through this entire process.  

I was released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon and have been at home getting some much needed rest.  Lisa is a great nurse and I am extremely grateful for her love and support through this challenge.  My daughters and their husbands have also been a great and I am very appreciative of their love and support.  During the surgery, they did remove and test some lymph nodes.  They did find the cancer in one of the lymph nodes which may require additional chemo treatments down the road.  We meet with the oncologist in a few weeks to determine the best course of treatment.  

We have witnessed many of "The Lords tender mercies" over the past few months and have much to be grateful for.  I am so grateful for the many friends who have offered their support, friendship, example, and love over the years.  I have been so fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life.  I can't thank each of you enough for being the great people you are.  Thanks for the impact you have had on my life. Hopefully we are at the end of "blog updates" and can move forward in getting stronger and back to normal.