As many of you know
Sara R was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, and within what seemed like a flash, she was in an operating room having a small mass removed from her mouth — along with part of her jaw and a number of teeth anchored in that bone.
The good news was that the surgery was very successful and she’s spent the intervening months healing up.
It hasn’t been easy.
That life-saving surgery left her with a thickened “flap” in her mouth, where they transplanted skin they took from her upper arm to replace the skin removed during the surgery. The plastic surgeon did a terrific job, as far as I can tell you can barely see the scars even if you know they are there. But for Sara R, those scars are a mile deep and lit up like Hollywood premiere lights for all to see. She’s also been restricted to a liquid diet, because the lack of teeth on one side of her mouth and the thickened skin flap, which make chewing food something she just can’t do… yet.
Which brings us to today
I’m asking as many of you as possible to send Sara R some good thoughts and wishes for a successful surgery tomorrow, Thursday, October 7th.
With all good luck and the incredible medical team she has at the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) medical center, by sometime Thursday afternoon or early evening, Sara R will have a thinned skin flap, a bone replacement inserted and seated and replacement teeth anchored into that new jaw bone!
Correction: I got mixed up on the medical providers, from Sara R:
I get my medical care from Providence, not OHSU. (I get routine dental care from the OHSU Dental School, however.) I will be at the Providence hospital in Portland — and my surgeon is from Head & Neck Surgical Associates, a group that works closely with the Head and Neck Cancer Program at Providence. These surgeons are truly awesome — I am so fortunate to have such top notch care.
Within a few weeks (3 to 6) she should be able to start eating something other than smoothies. I can only imagine what she’ll pick for that first real meal, and I have my suspicions that she’s been dreaming about biting into something CRUNCHY for some time now.
I know she’s both excited and scared
to have this surgery. So I’m hoping that together, we can send her so much love and good wishes that she goes into this new procedure with strength and confidence, and comes out the other side with a big smile full of teeth and a more normal eating future!
I’ll bring you news of the outcome this weekend on Sunday (after the virtual Netroots Nation event which starts tomorrow), when I’ll be asking for some financial help for Sara R and winglion for household needs. They were surprised and grateful to receive a donation sufficient to cover some of their pressing tax issues, FICA (self employment) and Oregon state income taxes, due on November 1; but they still need to pay for power, food, gas and other necessities.
They’ve both applied for Social Security Disability (and I believe they will both be approved, eventually) and some other safety-net resources for which they may be eligible. But as anyone who has done so themselves knows, that process takes time. In the interim and while they are physically limited in the amount of their staple products (Pootie Pads, masks, quilts) which they can produce; due to Sara R’s all-over physical fatigue and winglion’s carpal tunnel (she’s supposed to have corrective surgery on both arms, but COVID is putting that on the shelf currently) and arthritis, there are few resources available to them.
So get those Good Vibrations coming folks
I know your messages of love and hope will help her get ready to go back under the knife tomorrow morning around 6 am.
p.s.
Just a note to say that all of this medical care Sara R has received was made possible by Expanded Medicaid, available to her because of the persistence of the Democratic Party members of Congress and former president Barack Obama.
If you want to see more of good work like that out of our federal government, please keep calling your members of Congress and tell them to pass the Build Back Better act and improve Medicare, reduce drug costs and make the lives of other Americans better, too!
(202) 224-3121 Congressional Switchboard
pps
Just heard that winglion finally has a surgery date for her carpal tunnel for November 3rd!
From Sara R in the comments:
Thank you so much, everybody! Seriously, all the good vibes are so supportive and I appreciate this so, so much!
I just got off the phone with a nurse — going through medications and pre-surgery dos and don’ts. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow and I’ve got some things I need to do beforehand. But I’ll be checking back! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
