Come On Chemo!!!!!

Please pray as my dad is enduring yet another chemo treatment at this moment. This is crucial to get this mass to shrink! They have tried many types of different chemo's and they are trying yet another. We are praying that this is the one. The cruciality in getting this cancer down has now come to the point that it is now pinching/blocking the small intestine, thus causing my dad to never hold down food. Along with not being able to hold the food down, the bile gasses are now coming up. My dad is to the point of gagging and choking, with that feeling of something rising up in your throat. I can't imagine living with that feeling, but he is. We've got to get that mass down!

Today they kept him on ice chips and by late afternoon tried the first broth with a gatorade. As he was okay with that, they gave him jello to add a little substance. Well that didn't take long, and it all came up. Later on they tried the broth again, with no jello this time and with the gagging it was causing my dad, it too came up.

Tomorrow they will start him on liquid food through his hick-man catheter. He's got to have some nutrition. He's lost over 10 pounds this last week and we've got to keep him strong to fight off this cancer.

My mom can't stop bragging on how strong and brave he is. Though he looks at his body and selflessly apologizes to mom for what he looks like now, she continually builds him up. He IS still her knight in shining armor and will always be. "Through sickness and health" they vowed on their wedding day 32 years ago, and are a living example of just that to so many out there. Mom says that he maintains such a good attitude and still has that "fighter mentality." If I've ever seen anyone with "the eye of the tiger," its my dad. He's my hero! Today my mom said "I don't have in me what he has in him." There's something about the way he has made it through all he's been through thus far with the attitude and composure that he has had. A man of Courage.

Yet with all that's going on, he's kept his wit. Yesterday he saw pizza on TV and asked the nurse "does that count as a liquid?" You see, he wants to eat; he's hungry. But's its miserable, and he feels better after vomiting. Some of the nurses have been so sweet to them. One of the nurses came in to dad's room to invite my mom into the staff lounge to enjoy a veggie tray and some home-made chocolate chip cookies that she had brought in. She was grateful for the offer, but stated "if he can't have chocolate chip cookies, then I won't have them." Those are dad's favorite, and so I love that mom even supports him in ways like that. Thanks mom for taking such good care of my daddin'. I'll never be able to thank you enough.

It was a rough morning and dad wasn't stoked to get out of bed. His only sadness was coming from wanting to eat and feeling hungry. But after some time relaxing in the room and turning on the TV, mom got him convinced to get out and they took a nice 20 minute walk outside all bundled up. They came back to the room and mom had dad doing some easy exercises. Dad with his lil' wit was joking around with her and moving his arms funny to make her laugh. Love them!!! They got in one more evening walk before they began the prep for the chemo.

Praying now as the chemo goes all night until morning (Thursday). Then we'll see what's next.... hopefully a test with results showing the mass is GONE!!!

Still praying for a miracle......