KY3 News meteorologist Brandon Beck left the hospital on Wednesday, eight days after surgery which removed part of his pancreas and adjoining intestine. He'll now spend a few weeks recovering at home. He sent this letter from home.

Dear Viewers,

 I thought I'd give you all an update on how I'm doing just a week after surgery. Before I do, please let me say a huge THANK YOU for the incredible outpouring of support you've shown my family over the last couple weeks. On the Monday morning before my surgery, I shared my heart with you all and told you of what was to come. By the time I left the station that morning I had received more than 300 emails! The web article received more than 30,000 visitors and I now have nearly 800 cards and letters sitting in my living room ! I'm not sure what words can appropriately describe how blessed and grateful I feel to have such a response from KY3's viewers. I am humbled, and I sincerely thank you!

The worst is certainly behind me and my recovery is going well. The surgery was considered successful and was one of three such procedures performed by my doctor that week. Even an esteemed doctor here in Springfield who performs the "Whipple" suggested I have it done at Barnes in St. Louis because of how frequently it is performed there.

Because of my surgery last year, I had a few benchmarks to measure my recovery by this year. I have no doubt in my mind that all of the countless family, friends, and viewers who remembered me in prayer made a huge difference. I commented to my wife a few days into my recovery how amazed I was at the relative ease, and I could see how God's hand was at work. I was asked by a few, "Is that the medication talking?" Considering I had the exact same medication (and dose) last year, I'm inclined to say "no."

CATCHING MY BREATH

My first achievement was breathing. Seriously. After an abdominal surgery breathing can be shallow because the expansion of the lungs applies pressure to the rest of the gut. Breathing as deep as possible is important, though, to help prevent the onset of pneumonia. So, hospitals immediately shove an apparatus called an "inspirometer" in your face after a surgery (see the photo). You breathe IN through this to measure lung capacity. Last year it was painful for me to go to 1,500 (whatever the units are) a few days after surgery. This time around, I was doing double that without any pain. Even the nurses were impressed!

STEPS TO RECOVERY

The second notable difference was walking. To prevent blood clots, hospitals get you up and out of the bed as soon as possible after surgery. This is usually the day after surgery. I was dreading this, knowing how hard it was last year. You don't really know how much you use your stomach muscles until they've been cut through! So, on day two, here comes the nurse. "Time to walk!" "Ugh. Okay," I said. With a little help I sat up to the side of the bed and stood to my feet. I was little dizzy at first but took a few steps, then a few more. It was to the door and back the first time. The next day, I did a lap around the huge wing of the floor I was on. The next day, it was a couple laps a few different times. I was quickly walking farther in less time. In fact, on Friday (three days after surgery) I was by myself for a while and decided to walk. I got up and started heading out the door with my I.V. pole just in time to meet my doctor coming in. He did a double take and got sort of a strange look on his face. "What day did we do your surgery!?" he asked. I just smiled and said, "Tuesday, sir."
My improvement progressed fairly quickly and I was cleared to come home this past Wednesday. This was with an extra day thrown in "just in case" since I live so far from the hospital. I was originally told 10 days to two weeks and I was in for eight.

TESTING THE NEW PLUMBING

I'm still dealing with some pain now and then, and my body is having to re-learn how it is plumbed. Part of the stomach is gone now, and so the food isn't "stored" as it used to be. It now drops directly into the small intestine where it is met farther on down from the new entrance for the pancreatic duct. This means I eat very small amounts at a time, and there's a good chance I'll lose a fair amount of weight in the process. Thus far I've had no problems with processing sugar (done by insulin) or fats (done by enzymes). I really won't know the final verdict on that for a few weeks still, but so far so good. My doctor says that most people lose up to about 15 lbs in the weeks following surgery, but then gain it back once the body adapts. I personally am amazed at the body's ability to do this despite such an invasive change. Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

As of now I plan to return to work on January 12. In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



Brandon Beck

KY3 StormTeam

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Beck underwent serious surgery in St. Louis on Dec. 9. His family says the surgeons say it went well.

On KY3's Ozarks Today on Dec. 8, Beck explained the surgery that will keep him off the air until late January.

"In the summer of 2007, I suffered from an attack of pancreatitis," he said. "That September, I had major abdominal surgery to fix what doctors thought caused the problem. You can imagine my surprise when I got a worse case of pancreatitis this August."

"The pancreas is a very touchy organ and takes considerable time to calm down, so I was in the hospital a total of two weeks. I've been on medication since then to make the pancreas function minimally.
"Extensive testing revealed that I have multiple abnormalities in the pancreatic ducts and the adjoining intestine, all related to my premature birth."

"I was given the option to stay on the medication for a year and then hope pancreatitis didn't recur. But, each attack can be worse and the risks of that are numerous and potentially life-threatening."

Tuesday morning at 7:30, he had a six-hour surgery called the Whipple Procedure.

click to see an explanation of Whipple procedure

A surgeon removed nearly half the pancreas and part of the intestine to remove all the abnormal parts. A new part of the intestine was then reconnected to the remaining half of the pancreas. In theory, it's like cutting off the bad part of an apple.

"I will be in the hospital for 10 days, and the recovery time is at least four to six weeks. I'm scared.
"I don't want to do this but it is the best chance I have of being normal and the risks are lower than if I leave it alone.

"I also believe that prayer is powerful, and my God can do all things. Thus, I would sincerely appreciate your prayers for the next few weeks."