Dad’s cancer surgery

A writer I am not -but I thought I’d write out a brief synopsis for those of you who are interested.

This cancer/tumor was a serendipitous find – his doc was looking for something else when he found it. It is not only extremely rare – and of the 3 kinds of these rare tumors, the rarest of the 3. It is also extremely invasive and aggressive as we discovered today. We were expecting a quarter sized tumor on his thymus gland, near his heart. What was found was a salad plate sized tumor that encompassed his aorta, lungs, and a good portion of the thoracic cavity. What was expected to be a 2-3 hour surgery turned into a 6 hour procedure. The situation became so grave that the surgeon came to us for permission to continue. Had he stopped and left some of the tumor attached to the aorta, it would have been like leaving a very bad seed planted. This cancer is likely to return anyway, but leaving part of it would have given it a much stronger foothold. In the process of the surgery, they had to tie off a blood vessel to dad’s arm. This will leave him with permanent swelling and discomfort – but at least it’s his left arm! The surgeon also told us that they had two ’emotional moments’ where blood vessels that were tied off erupted. Twice, Dad came close to bleeding out -but God intervened and allowed the doctors to control it. As of now, 11:30 pm, 10+ hours after this surgery began, Dad is in recovery. He is still intubated – but periodically fighting it a bit. I am hoping that when I return in the morning (I have Cocoa -care duties tonight!), that they will have removed those tubes and he will be breathing on his own. The doctor also told us today that many surgeons would have opened Dad up and declared it unresectable (unable to be removed by surgery). Fortunately, we had an aggressive surgeon who decided it was worth the risk and the trouble.

Thank you to all of you, all over the country, who have called, texted, emailed and commented and most of all prayed. While we had some very scary moments, and the tears were frequently welling over, we were always confident of God’s Sovereignty.

While things are looking as good as can be right now, this isn’t over. Not only is there a very long recovery process ahead, there is also the very likely possibility that this cancer will return and with a vengance. Continue to pray, not only for Dad and his physical recovery, but for mom as well, as she is his primary caregiver – even in the hospital. The advanced Parkinson’s, the Deep Brain Stimulators, the stage 3 kidney failure and the REM sleep disorder, combined with today’s surgery make his care a daunting task.

UPDATE: Tubes were removed around 2:30 this morning. He is still very groggy. His first question was to ask how Cocoa was – and then whether they got the whole tumor.

UPDATE 29th 4:48: Dad spend about 4 hours in a chair today. The chest tubes drain so much better that way. He is struggling to do breathing exercises – it is a multi-task process that for a PD patient is difficult, even with full lung capacity!

UPDATE: While Dad continues to heal surgically, his PD symptoms remain very bad. These symptoms and behaviors are indicative of end stage Parkinson’s. On Wednesday ( I think) Dad had a large amount of one of his PD meds. He seemed almost normal (for him) that afternoon for a few hours. He was speaking much clearer. He also asked to eat and fed himself. However, he also started hallucinating. While the hallucinations are not good – the near normal behaviors seem to indicate that there is hope that the current severity of the PD will ease. Unfortunately, the last few days he’s also been extremely combative- not at all himself. Mom did sleep 2.5 hours at one point last night and then another 2. Considerating that she has gotten MAYBE 9 hours total for the week up to then – 4.5 hours is WONDERFUL!

UPDATE: 6th (end of day 10) Dad is still confused and combative at times. He did seem to have a few more moments of lucidity though. They’ve tried to limit his pain meds to just Ty lenol. Neuro came in today – PTL!! She said that what he is going through is fairly normal for patient with PD who has had such a traumatic surgery . We found out that it normally hits several days after surgery – which is what confused me. He is being moved to ICU though- There are a limited amount of bed in DVCU and a bed was needed for an emergency heart surgery. The unit fought for 4 hours to keep him there though. The staff on the CVCU has been absolutely fabulous. As of the last text msg, Dad is still waiting for that transfer upstairs. 

UPDATE: Since my last update things have gone from bad to worse. 7 hours after dad was transferred out of CVCU, he stopped breathing.( I will not get into the many negative issues we have dealt with since moving to ICU.) At that time he was intubated (put on a ventilator) and sedated and is still in that state today -6 -almost 7 days later. Just when we were thinking that he was resting and healing, his blood pressure tanked. We were sure that it was time to let him go. He did not want any heroic measures and had already been resuscitated to a certain degree. His surgeon was paged when we changed the advance directive, and persuaded us that giving him some blood could be all that was needed to help him turn the corner. He was given 4 units of blood and some medication, and within 12 hours his vitals were looking much better. Since then, they have been slowing lowering the sedation meds as well as lessening the work that the vent does. At one point, yesterday and also today, they had him breathing on his own with some assistance from the vent. He seemed more alert at times today. His very much loved puppy, Cocoa has been to see him 3 times now. The nurses all feel that he is very much aware of her being there. Last night we purchased an Ipod shuffle so that he can listen to hymns and such. He seems to like that as well. I am still struggling with the up and down of it all. Mom has been getting a little more sleep as sedated as he’s been – but has not gotten good sleep, since she only has an upright chair to sleep in.

UPDATE: Sunday, June 14 I need to add here that while my head knows that God is in control, I am still amazed when He works things to our benefit. The day that dad’s BP tanked, God arranged for the right people to be at the hospital at the right time to help us make the right decision at that moment. We were surrounded by people with a Godly perspective who had medical knowledge- people who had ‘been there’ with a husband and brother, and one with a son- people who have wisdom and perspicacity and all who were not afraid to speak up, ask questions and give us their opinion. God has even provided us with some nurses who were believers! 

I should add here that dad is off the sedation meds, and is somewhat alert. He is breathing on his own with the assistance of the ventilator. Still watching and waiting.

UPDATE: Some day soon I’ll come back and fill in the holes between Sunday the 14th and Saturday the 20th…… but for now, to complete this story;
Daddy went home to be with his Savior on the 20th – one day shy of his 64th birthday. While we weep for ourselves, we know that Dad now has a new and whole body.

http://www.weisefuneralhome.com

Too good not to post

I am so sorry that I’ve haven’t posted lately.  I really have been swamped with work.  I’ve been subbing for another teacher as well as teaching my own classes for the last 2 weeks.  Recitals are coming, and while it won’t continue to be as nuts as it has been the last 2 weeks, it won’t totally slow down until after the recitals.

A friend sent me an email that made me cry – I know- that isn’t all that difficult- but I wanted to share it with you.  May we all have the desire to share the gospel that this little guy does.

FROG HAT

My 9-year-old’s last-second request surprised his doctor and taught me a valuable lesson about sharing the gospel….

Tina Blessitt

Last fall, my 9-year-old son, Austin, had his tonsils removed. Before the Surgery, Austin’s anesthesiologist came to start an IV.  He was wearing a cool surgical cap covered in colorful frogs.   Austin loved that “frog  Hat.”

The doctor explained that he had two choices.  He could either try to start the IV, or he could wait until Austin was up in the operating room.  In the OR the doctor would give Austin some “goofy” gas, and start the IV when he was more relaxed.

“So, Austin ,” he asked, “which do you want?”

Austin replied, “I’ll take the gas.”

But when the doctor started to leave, Austin called, “Hey, wait.”

The doctor turned.  ‘Yeah, buddy, what do you need?”

“Do you go to church?”

“No,” the doctor admitted.  “I know I probably should, but I don’t.”

Austin then asked, “Well, are you saved?”

Chuckling nervously, the doctor said, “Nope.  But after talking to you, maybe it’s something I should  consider.”

Pleased with his response, Austin answered, “Well, you should, ’cause Jesus is great!”

“I’m sure He is, little guy,” the doctor said, and quickly made his exit.

After that a nurse took me to the waiting room.  Someone would come and get me when Austin’s surgery was done.

After about 45 minutes, the anesthesiologist came into the waiting room.

He told me the surgery went well and then said, “Mrs. Blessitt, I don’t usually come down and talk to the parents after a surgery, but I just had to tell you what your son did.”

Oh boy, I thought.  What did that little rascal do now?

The doctor explained that he’d just put the mask on Austin when my son signaled that he needed to say something.   When the doctor removed the mask, Austin blurted, “Wait a minute, we have to pray!”

The doctor told him to go ahead, and Austin prayed, “Dear Lord, please let all the doctors and nurses have a good day.  And Jesus, please let the doctor with the frog hat get saved and start going to church.  Amen.”

The doctor admitted this touched him. “I was so sure he would pray that his surgery went well,” he explained.  “He didn’t even mention his surgery.  He prayed for me! Mrs Blessitt, I had to come down and let you know what a great little guy you have.”

A few minutes later a nurse came to take me to post-op.  She had a big smile on her face as we walked to the elevator.  “Mrs. Blessitt, I couldn’t wait to tell you something exciting that your son did.”

With a smile, I told her that the doctor already mentioned Austin’s prayer.

“But there’s something you don’t know,” she said. “Some of the other nurses and I have been witnessing to and praying for that doctor for a long time.  After your son’s surgery, he tracked a few of us down to tell us about Austin’s prayer.  He said, ‘Well girls, you got me.  If that little boy could pray for me when he was about to have surgery, then I think maybe I need his Jesus too.”

She then recounted how they joined the doctor as he prayed to receive Christ right there in the hospital.

Wow! Austin had played a small part in something wonderful.  But then, so did the nurses who prayed and  witnessed.   I thought about John’s words in his Gospel, “One sows and the other reaps”  (John 4:37).

Austin ‘s experience taught me that, although we never know which role we may be called to play, in the end it doesn’t matter.  What’s important is that we remain faithful in sharing the gospel.

Tina Blessitt, a freelance writer, lives with her husband and four children in Kentucky

Thank you

To all of you who called, emailed, cooked, traveled a long way to the funeral, sent flowers and cards, and prayed, we offer you much thanks. We rejoice that Jim’s dad’s suffering is over and he is with the Lord. We can only imagine what Dad is doing right now. Yesterday, the family was enjoying thinking about the heroes of the faith that Dad is meeting now. The words of this song express those thoughts. (You’ll want to pause the music in the side bar – the two songs won’t go  together very well:)

With God

Some of you may remember that I asked you to pray for Jen’s family a while back. Jen went home to be with the Lord this morning. Continue to pray for her husband and her two little ones.

FIL UPDATE: My FIL is not expected to last much longer. My husband headed back up to Davison this morning – and my pastor is on his way as I type.