Nutrition On The Way!

The last couple of days have been eventful. Mom spent Monday morning on the phone getting COH moving. After dad was sent home from the hospital on Saturday, he was sent home for the second time with his prescriptions wrong. Mom has been so kind with the staff at COH, and she still was; but she had to say something. If my dad had been in pain that first night, he would've been in trouble. The only pharmacy that my dad is allowed to go to would not fill the prescription, due to an error on the paper from COH. But God was watching over him, and he was able to make it through the night without the dilotin. COH apologized; they are just way understaffed and overwhelmed I think. We are praying that there will be no more mistakes like that, with dad in such a crucial state. Mom got them moving though, and they were able to get the new prescription over to the pharmacy. She also worked hard on getting food bags for my dad. Good news is, dad will have the food bags delivered tomorrow and a home health nurse will be coming to the house daily to administer the food going through dad's hickman catheter. This is great! He will now be getting the nutrition that he was getting while at the hospital, since he is not holding down his food.

Another great thing to get some more nutrition in dad, is my friend Joanna was able to get some new protein drinks for him. They have tried all kinds, and they are now trying her company. Joanna went to my parents to hand deliver it. My mom said that she walked in the front door and just wrapped her arms around mom, while they cried together. Joanna prayed over my mom, and mom was completely blessed. It means so much to me when my friends and family love on my parents like that, since I can't physically. Mom was even in tears as she told me on the phone, and yes so was I. Thanks Joanna.

Dad's been getting his white blood cell shot everyday at Dr. Nanda's office in Victorville. Today, he went on a walk and kept his food down all day. When I talked to them in the evening, dad was really focusing hard and fighting to keep his food in. Even as mom talked about what they ate that day and such, she had to stop because it was making it harder on dad. It breaks my heart to watch him struggle so much with having to focus on not vomiting. He so badly wants to keep in that nutrition.

Dad had a nice visit from his friends Buzzard, Lindel, and Dick Holly. Mom said that she left the men to have their time together and went in the bedroom. Dad joked with a smirking smile, "We had male bonding time." I'm glad he had some time with his friends.

Family Day

Dad and Mom got to spend the day with Travis and Samantha. It was a great time to be with their son and their precious only grand-daughter. They had a little Thanksgiving dinner that my sis-in-law Janelle prepared for them. Unfortunately, Jaxon got sick and so Janelle stayed home with him (since he can't be around dad with germs). Mom said that they had a relaxed day together; Sam helped prepare the food with mom in the kitchen; Trav offered to rub his Daddy's back and feet. But Dad spent the day focused; as mom says, "he's like a strong warrior on the battlefield. Though we sit and play games and Barbies with Sammie, watch football, eat; he is in focus mode. He is at war to keep in every piece of food that he can get in." "He's a stud," mom says. And he is. She said he wakes up and gets out of bed by himself and into the shower; next he gets on the tredmill for 20 minutes, no matter how much he really doesn't feel up to it. He's a strong warrior- the strongest I've ever met. I told him today that he didn't have to go to the Middle East to prove to me that he's a warrior. It's evident here and now. He's determined and he WILL keep fighting for his life. We're so proud of his determination, drive and strength and reliance on the Lord.

After Sammie and Travis left, Dad did lose his food for the day. Its a lot of nutrition that is not staying in his body, and so we ask that you plead on behalf of my dad for that food to stay in his body and give him the nutrition that it needs.

Thank you for your continual love and support.

A Beautiful Surprise To Come Home To

Dad and Mom were released from the hospital this afternoon. As they pulled into the driveway, they saw my grandparents (mom's parents) getting ready to leave. Mom drove faster than they had expected, as they were trying to make their get-away. My grandparents and my mom's brother Steve and wife Diane, mom's sister Vicky and husband Donny went in together on buying mom and dad this tree with lights already built into it (which they had wanted, before they hadn't felt up to getting one themselves). They filled it with some family ornaments and some ornaments bought. The photo is blurry, but it is beautiful. My mom was moved to tears! And mom said that dad sat on the couch starring at it for half an hour while she made him lunch. What a blessing this will be for my parents to feel the warmth of the holidays now! Thanks for blessing my parents. What an amazing family we have!

Dad began losing his food again today. Mom was in tears today as she told me, and the frustration of wanting to keep dad healthy yet the food not staying, can become overwhelming. Please pray that the food will stay as it did the couple of days in the hospital. Also pray that dad and mom will have a restful week at home with no complications as they wait for the next chemo. My brother didn't come up to visit since the day would've been cut short; he will come up tomorrow to have a full day with dad and mom.

Thanks again to our amazing family and to all of you who love, support and pray for my family. We are forever grateful!

Headed Home Tomorrow

After two days of no vomiting, dad will be sent home tomorrow (Saturday- America). They switched him to the dilotin pill today instead of the drip through his hickman; they want to see how the pain is tonight on the pill, before he goes home tomorrow. He seems to be doing okay during the day now, and was looking good today on skype. The x-rays didn't show any immediate problems and the doctors believe that the chemo is shrinking the mass because of dad holding food in and his body seeming to function on a normal level again. He will go home and two weeks from this last chemo, come back again for the next round. They should then be able to do another PET SCAN to see what the mass is looking like.

Please continue to pray that dad will hold his food in and his body will function normally and that would be a direct result of the mass shrinking.

My brother will be going to visit my parents tomorrow and they're looking forward to some time together since its been a couple of weeks. Please pray that dad is feeling well enough for company and that he can enjoy his day with his son.

Thank you for all of your love, prayers and support.

Happy Thanksgiving

My dad and mom enjoyed their day being together. Dad was able to be dilotin free for the entire day, as the pain was not so bad. At night when he was lying down, he had to be on it. But when he is sitting up, its much better. He was able to walk around a bit, and enjoyed his Thanksgiving meal. His favorite part was the mashed potatoes and gravy and the best part is that he kept it all in!!!!! YAY! He looked much better today, which brought a smile to my face. He was able to skype his mom today and talked to my brother for a little bit. Thank you for all of the prayers. We will find out the results from the x-rays today (Friday- America). Praying that mass is shrinking and off the intestines.

" Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thanking God for every day..........

Pain Being Managed

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a little better; the dilotin was beginning to work and dad was getting more calloused to the pain. He still can feel it; its just not as bad. They took an x-ray of his body again today to see what has happened since these last two chemo treatments. They will have the results back on Friday. Dad and Mom will spend their Thanksgiving today at City of Hope. The staff said that they will make up a yummy Thanksgiving dinner for them both, and dad will also be going back on his food IV. He will continue to eat as much as he can, but with the consistent vomiting after meals, they have to get some nutrition into his body that will stay there.

I spoke to my dad and mom on the phone today, as skype was not working since we have now entered rainy season, aka stormy season. It was so good to talk to my dad, though I couldn't do a lot of talking as I was mostly crying. Today for me is such a hard day, not only because of the tremendous pain and battle I know my dad is fighting; it's also hard with being away on the holidays, especially at a time like this. Today also stands out for me in a real, more vivid way than ever before. It was today, two years ago, that my grandpa (my dad's dad) died of cancer. He said all of his good-byes to each one of us on Thanksgiving night, then passed away that night.

Please keep my dad in your prayers as I know today is a hard day for him with losing his dad, and even now as he is going through the same battle with cancer. Please also pray for his mom (my grandma) as I can't imagine how it feels to have just lost your husband to cancer and now watch your youngest son battle it also for his life. Please also pray for my family today, as we are all separated. Please pray for my mom and dad in the hospital to just have a day of loving on each other and being thankful for every moment they have together.

Thanks to all of you for taking time out of your lives and families, to stay updated on mine and to pray for the healing of my dad. Today, I am completely thankful to each of you that stays up on this blog and lifts my family up.

Happy Thanksgiving~ From our family to yours~

Like my dad said today, "He promised to never give me more than I could handle." He's continuing to stand on THE word and I am thankful for my dad, who sets such an amazing example for me to follow. Still Thanking God, whether we're in storms or smooth sailing.

A Day Almost Unbearable To Be Away

Throughout these last 6 months, every curve of this roller coaster has been hard. But the hardest drops that come are when I am told that my dad endured pain. I hate knowing that he hurts and I just want to take it away. My mom called this morning with one hand on the phone, my brother on the other line and one hand holding her laptop calling me. She was letting us both know that my dad had been in excruciating pain the entire day, from the moment the chemo drip began. The tears immediately rolled down my face, as I so badly want to do something to take it all away. And yet, there's nothing I can do but pray and encourage my dad. Whether dad was standing, sitting; no matter what position, he was in absolute pain- the worst yet for 10 hours. They put my dad on a dilotin drip, which is heavier pain narcotics than morphine. The dilotin still didn't work. My mom said that his pain was in his pancreas and down to his lower back. When the chemo was over, the nurses told them that they could go home if they wanted since it was a holiday. My dad immediately said "no, please let me stay." Both mom and dad said, "we don't care about the holiday... we just got to get better." He knew with the excruciating pain that he was in, he was not in any condition to go home and needed to be in a doctor's care. As soon as my dad said that, the nurse knew that his pain was serious and though he was trying to stay so calm on the outside and strong.... she now knew how bad it really was. My mom said that he did stay strong all day and didn't even moan in agony though that's how he felt, and all he could say out loud was "God please help me."

My mom called us when dad had finally been able to feel the dilotin working and easing the pain. He was close to falling asleep when she called and she was in complete relief. We don't know what the pain was caused from. My mom heard one person walk by (she couldn't remember if it was a nurse or who); but they said that maybe the pain was caused by the chemo breaking down the mass. We are praying that is what it was. We are also asking that you pray that pain subsides and never resumes. My dad's weight has dropped the lowest yet and broke my heart today to hear the number. Dad is fragile and frail and even struggling to walk, my mom says. Please pray that they can figure out this food issue and getting him strengthened and weight back on him.

Thank you for the continued love, support and prayers. We are so grateful to our good family friend Curtis Powell, who works at a hospital down the road from COH. He stopped by last night to see my dad and rubbed his lower back where that pain was and just prayed over my dad. My dad was very grateful for the love and support that Curtis showed him. I didn't get to talk to him today, as he was not feeling up to talking..... but my heart was breaking and I sent love, hugs and kisses for my mom to give to him.