They have finally made it home, safe and sound! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, they are greatly appreciated.

They just left Rochester!!! Hurray!

As always everything runs on hospital time. Robert is still waiting to be able to leave it should only be about 30 mins now and they will be on there way. All the different departments had to come and give him instructions this morning before he could leave and now they are waiting on his medication. It has been a long process (and a lot of paper work!) to get him dismissed but the wait is almost to an end! They will be driving to Kansas City, KS tonight and staying the night there. Ryan will go ahead and drive all the way home tonight so that he can be with his family. Then Rod, Robbie, Robert and Roxie will travel the rest of the way home on Wednesday. Thanks again for all the prayers, keeping them coming so that we can have our family safe at home again real soon.

Doctors came in after the stint was put in. They said it was very successful. There was tremendous pressure from the tumor on the duct causing restriction. They did a biopsy from inside the bile duct just to get a preliminary to see what kind of cells they would be dealing with when they remove the top part of the pancreas on Sept. 8Th. He is on a liquid diet for tonight. They want him to rest tonight then the doctors will come in, in the morning and release him as long as everything is going good. They will head home after that. It will take them two days to get home so that Robert does not get too wore down. The doctors said that everything was progressing well. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers through this time of need! We all appreciate it! To the family at Rochester take care and come home soon we all miss you!

Robert is out of surgery! The stint is in. He seems to be in a good mood. Will post more info
as we get it.

They just took Robert in for his stint at 1:15 pm. The procedure is 30 mins and then recovery. It should be 2 to 2 1/2 hours recovery after surgery. Then they will take him back to his room. If there are complications the Doctor's will come back up to the room and talk to the family. It doesn't sound like the doctors will come talk to the family until they make their rounds. Another waiting game for the family!

Right now the plan is for them to take Robert in at 12:45 pm. They are trying to keep Robert busy so he doesn't get all worked up about waiting. As soon as they take him in , I will be updating the blog. Keep the prayers and comments coming.

A diabetic doctor came in yesterday and worked with Robert on his sugar level. They hit it with more insulin then they had been and got it down faster. His sugar was 258 this morning. They are trying to keep it at 150 or lower. They are limiting his carbs, he can have 14 carbs (1800 calories). The doctor came in this morning and they still don't know when they will put the stint in. It will be sometime tomorrow. Hopefully they will be released Tuesday morning. They have to monitor him for 24hrs after putting the stint in. The plans are for Rod, Robbie, Robert and Roxie to drive to Kearney, NE Tuesday then get up Wednesday morning and drive the rest of the way in. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. Keep the comments coming!
Love ~ Jill

Hey Papa you said to eat the mouth balls Right???

Tate is all over it Papa!

Are these moth balls?? This is the best racoon chasing thing you can get besides my Good Looks and my secret weapon ohh betty lou she was the one AK 57 uzi radar, laser, tripple barrel, double scoped, heat seeking shotgun! invented for Roberto Berning. By Chandler Berning the grandson of the racoon killing machine he is gonna have a picture with a racoon in the out door magizines for the biggest sweet corn COON! go grandpa and your very sweet, sweet corn ROCK ON!

They have scheduled his surgery on Sept. 8Th . They will put the stint in on Monday. Then Robert, Roxie, and the kids will head home hopefully on Tuesday and be home on Wednesday. Then they will have to be back in Rochester on Sunday. The plans are to leave on Saturday which would be the Sept. 6Th to be in Rochester on Sunday. From what the surgeons said they will be able to do it by laparoscopic which is a much better procedure. The surgery will take 5-7 hours. The surgeon said that he would not have to stay in the hospital as long with laparoscopic surgery. On the stint they just go thru the mouth and do it. It will only take 30 mins to do the stint. The family wanted me to tell you thanks for all the prayers and to keep them coming they really do appreciate it and know that the "power of prayer" is working. They will be able to take Robert to church this afternoon at 4:30pm.

Good Morning! Roxie, Rod, Robbie, Renissa and Ryan ( I should just right the 5 R's) are headed to the hospital to check on Robert. Hopefully the surgeon's and doctor's will come in on time this morning so that they know when they are going to do the surgery. If they do the surgery within 5 days they will not put a stint in but if for some reason they can't get to him for 5 days or longer they will put a stint in then take it out during surgery. He will be in the hospital for 7-10 days after surgery. His recovery time should be 4-6 weeks. Keep the prayers and the comments coming Robert and the kids love to read them and they are checking them all the time! Thank God for technology! The prayers are really working! Thanks to everyone for keeping Robert and the family in your prayers!

Surgeons came in tonight to see Robert at 6:35pm. They will be doing the "Whipple procedure"
The Radiologists, Dr's and surgeons are very optimistic that they can remove it all with no complications. They will also be taking out the gall bladder. He will have about 2/3's of his pancreas left. I also put on pictures and the Whipple procedure in the prior post. The Dr's and Surgeons will come in, in the morning about 8 or 9 to decide on a surgery date and time. As soon as we know more we will let you know!

Whipple Procedure
The Whipple procedure (pancreatoduodenectomy) is the most common operation performed for pancreatic cancer and may be used to treat other cancers such as small bowel cancer. Surgeons remove the head of the pancreas, most of the duodenum (a part of the small intestine), a portion of the bile duct and sometimes a portion of the stomach. After the pancreatoduodenectomy, the surgeon reconstructs the digestive tract. At Mayo Clinic, surgeons perform more than 100 Whipple procedures annually. Patients leave the hospital in an average of 14 days.

What is a Whipple operation?
In the Whipple operation the head of the pancreas, a portion of the bile duct, the gallbladder and the duodenum is removed. Occasionally a portion of the stomach may also be removed. After removal of these structures the remaining pancreas, bile duct and the intestine is sutured back into the intestine to direct the gastrointestinal secretions back into the gut.

Just to help everyone understand I am re-posting this blog so that you can understand what they are doing.
Enlarge

Roxie says the kids think that they are in charge, but what they don't know is " I'm in charge of this Pumpkin Patch!"
" Family joke!"

"This is as good as it gets" by Robert Berning

"Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. If you want a nice vacation spot...you can have my room for $2500/day. Nice view from the 6th floor, just one floor away from the Penthouse with a scenic view of Rochester, Minnesota."

This came directly from Robert!

Rod and Robbie sent me this picture. The balck spot is where the tumor is. Double click on image to enlarge it.

Just talked to Robert on the phone. He sounds great! From what he said it sounds like even if they dont do the surgery for a few days him and Roxie will be staying there. I can't believe how great he sounds on the phone-- it is great to hear him like that again! Believe it or not he is just worried about the weather here, you would think that he was a farmer! Ha! Ha!

Good News!! It is operable!! The tumor has not invaded any other organs and it is not on the blood vessels. The mass has to come out and it is probably cancerous but the doctors are very optimistic that everything will be fine. The mass is 3 Cm's in size and at the top of the pancreas. They will take the head of the pancreas off when they do this they will have to re-route ducts. They will be scheduling the surgery within 10 days. If they can do it they will either do it today or Monday. If not they will put a stint in and send Robert home for a few days, that just depends on when they schedule it. The surgeons might see something else when they get in there but for right now everything looks good. After his surgery he will be in the hospital for 4-6 weeks. They are meeting with the surgeon this afternoon. They will not need to do Chemo when this is done. The mass is not deep! Thank you for all your prayers!! Keeping them coming!! Robert is doing very well and has a very positive attitude. Love _ Jill Roxie and the kids wanted me to tell everyone thanks for all the support and prayers!!

Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the digestive tract and liver. It is the largest practice of its kind in the United States. In any given year, members of the Division perform approximately 30,000 minimally invasive, endoscopic procedures in state-of-the-art facilities.

Copied this so people might understand a little better. Robert has a whole team of doctors but Dr. Robert E. Kraichely is the head doctor. He is a doctor of Gastroenterology. They came in and said that Robert's tumor is at the top of pancreas where the two ducts meet. They are studying the CT Scan and will let the family know in about an 1hour what they see and what they are going to do. They did tell them that there is a special team of doctors that only do pancreatic surgeries and that they will be doing the surgery.


What is the pancreas?
The pancreas is a spongy, tube-shaped organ about 6 inches long. It is located in the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach. The head of the pancreas is on the right side of the abdomen. It is connected to the duodenum, the upper end of the small intestine. The narrow end of the pancreas, called the tail, extends to the left side of the body.
The pancreas makes pancreatic juices and hormones, including insulin. Pancreatic juices, also called enzymes, help digest food in the small intestine. Insulin controls the amount of sugar in the blood. Both enzymes and hormones are needed to keep the body working right.
As pancreatic juices are made, they flow into the main pancreatic duct. This duct joins the common bile duct, which connects the pancreas to the liver and the gallbladder. The common bile duct, which carries bile (a fluid that helps digest fat), connects to the small intestine near the stomach.

They took Robert in for a CT Scan at 8:10 am. It should take about an hour for the scan. As soon as I get more information I will post it!

Good Morning Everyone! Robbie, Renissa and Ryan made it to the motel last night about 1 or 1:30 am. Last night before Robert ate supper his sugar was at 213. Not perfect yet but getting closer. It should be between 80-120 to be normal. Thanks for all the comments and all the prayers, keep them coming! I know that Renissa is checking the blog regularly, she is using Robbie's phone, he was sure that it wouldn't work this morning because she was on it so much yesterday! That is diffently a brother comment! Love - Jill

Robert is in St. Mary's hospital in Rochester, MN. St. Mary's is one of two Mayo hospitals in Rochester. If you would like to check out their site you can go to www.mayoclinic.org/saintmaryhospital

6:00pm For right now they are going to feed Robert supper and then have him fast the rest of the night. First thing in the morning they will be doing lab work and a CT Scan. So for right now they get to try and get a good night sleep so they can start with the testing first thing in the morning. Robbie, Ryan and Renissa should be arriving in Rochester aroung midnight tonight.
The doctor has been in to seem him already.

They just got settled into a room. Right now they are doing Robert's vitals and putting an IV in. It sounds like they had to do alot of paper work before going to a room! He is in St. Mary's Hospital on the 6th floor in room # 308 it is in the Domittila Building. Please no phone calls at this time they are trying to get everything set so they can start testing. He was put into his room at 4:40pm our time. For some reason when I post this the time is off so I will try to state the time in the post. Keep the prayers coming!

Rod just called and they have landed in Rochester. They will be taking a cab to the hospital.
I will keep everyone updated. Thanks Jill

Just to let everyone know Dr. Steurman came in this morning to check Robert and his billirubin was elevated. Last night it was at 7.3 and this morning it was 9.3. Dr. Steurman decided that he needed to go to Mayo's now instead of waiting. They got a plane out of Dodge City to pick them up in Leoti and take them to Rochester. Robert, Roxie and Rod flew out of Leoti at 11:45 am. They should arrive in Rochester in about 3 to 3 1/2 hrs. Robbie is driving to Wichita to pick up Ryan and Renissa and head to Rochester. As soon as they get Robert to Mayo's they will start running test on him. As soon as I get more information I will be putting it on Robert's blog spot so keep checking back. My phone number at work is 872-2529, home is 872-2022 and cell phone is 214-2946. Keep the prayers coming!

Robert Berning's Journal

Hi friends and family- Thanks for all the phone calls, prayers and support through this difficult time. As you have probably heard Robert got sick over the weekend and was put into the Leoti Hospital on Monday. Dr. Alpert did some test including a sonogram. They found a mass on his pancreas. It is at the head of the pancreas and measures 3 Cm's in size. Because the top of the pancreas is where your insulin is produced it has caused Robert's blood sugar to be highly elevated. Right now they are checking his blood sugar on a regular basis and maintaining it with diet and insulin injections. Roxie and the kids have had to learn how to give him shots and check his blood sugar. As far as the mass goes they will be taking Robert to Mayo's in Rochester, MN on Monday August 25th. Monday afternoon Robert, Roxie, Rod and Robbie will be leaving for Minnesota. They will drive to Kansas City Monday night and pick Ryan up there. From there they will go on into Rochester. The plans are for Renissa to fly into Minnesota on Wed. On Tuesday Robert will meet with the doctors, then on Wednesday they will be doing a biopsy to see where to go from there. We will keep everyone posted on Robert's blog page so keep checking back since the family will be busy with doctors and testing and probably will not be able to answer phone calls. Thanks again for all your support and prayers!