Desperate for information about Psuedomyxoma Peritonei
(PMP) in November 2003, I sent a desperate message to a website where the
creator of the website had not posted since 1998. I hoped someone might read my
post and respond.
Bob Peterson emailed me. He invited me to the PMPbellybuttons@yahoogroups.com.
I was the 17th person to sign up for the group and Bob became our
encourager.
Sometime before husband’s surgery in 2004, Bob flew
into Omaha for his checkup with Dr. Brian Loggie at Creighton Medical. Bob
invited husband and me for dinner. Bless his heart, Bob didn’t know how
financially strapped we were by then and he paid for the meal.
A professional phot of Dr. Brian Loggie |
Bob encouraged Gary (husband) to trust Dr. Loggie. He
shared his own PMP journey with us. How he’d followed Dr. Loggie from one
location to the next because of the doctor’s expertise.
Gary did have surgery in February 2004, the week after
our 43rd wedding anniversary.
Two memorable incidents before husband’s surgery:
A sweet nurse rolled husband toward surgery. “Oh, Mr.
Crawford, you have such pearly white teeth.”
Husband popped out his teeth and handed them toward
her. “You wanna use them? I won’t need them for awhile.
The second, when husband looked at Dr. Loggie and
said, “Doc, I do believe you will see a miracle today.”
When prepped for surgery we were told it would take
somewhere between 13-17 hours, but nine
hours after they wheeled husband away, Dr. Loggie showed up. He grinned at me.
Dr. Loggie's poster boy, Gary Crawford |
“Mrs. Crawford, I do believe I’ve seen a miracle—I believe
we removed every bit of PMP cells.”
More of this story is found on my "More Than a Caregiver" website and in my book Capsules of Hope: Survival Guide for Caregivers.\
Husband lived seven more years (to the day from the
first time he told me he had a problem). He did not die of PMP. My dear hubby of
almost 51 years died of a sudden heart attack.
It's hard to believe November 25, 2009
will be five years since husband died.
I first set my cap for Gary L. Crawford at
Bible School at age 10. That’s lots of years to love one of God’s chosen
people.
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