A busy ten days...

Hard to believe that it has only been ten days since Dad came home from the hospital.  His leg hasn't hurt since, praise the Lord!

Dad has followed up with an oncology radiologist, as well as a surgeon specializing in bone tumors.  The surgeon gave him the all-clear to walk on his leg and doesn't feel that surgery is needed at this time.  Woo-hoo!  That clears the way for some radiation treatments to ensure the pain doesn't return.  The chemo should stop the tumor from doing any more damage, and the shot he gets with it will continue to strengthen his bones and hopefully prevent this from happening again elsewhere.  He's scheduled to see the radiologist on Friday to get all scanned, measured, and fitted with a "jig" to ensure each treatment pinpoints the exact location, then he'll be set to get started.

There's no reason Dad's pain should have stopped and not returned - except your prayers.  Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for Dad and for your support of the family.  Many thanks to those who brought meals, visited at home and in the hospital, and helped in a myriad of other ways.  The Lord has started us on an interesting journey and it is comforting to know that so many are traveling along with us.

Praise the Lord, Dad's home

We just returned from bringing Dad & Mom home from the hospital and they are looking forward to a restful night in their own bed. The hours since they finally made it to Penn Presbyterian yesterday afternoon have been put to good use. Dad saw no less than 7 different doctors and had innumerable x-rays. The consensus is that the spot that had been diagnosed as a fracture was really just a small tumor on the thigh bone which had not caused any significant damage.

Dad had been in a significant amount of pain when he & Mom arrived at the hospital on Friday morning and it persisted until Saturday morning when he had his last pain meds. Since then, his pain levels have fallen to zero! That bears repeating. Since his last pain meds at 7am Saturday morning, Dad's pain has dropped to zero and stayed there! Even after the moving around and jostling of the ride home via pothole ridden roads, he is still pain free. I  can't explain it any other way than an answer to all the prayers that you all have been offering on his behalf. Thank you all.

Dad has to follow up with an orthopaedic surgeon to see if they need to do anything to shore up the femur or if it will be good for the immediate future. He'll also be following up with an interventional radiologist to ensure that the pain won't return.

We continue to covet your prayers on our behalf and we can't begin to tell you how appreciated those you've already offered have been.

Finally...

Praise the Lord and thank you all so much for your prayers. They've been effective. Right now Mom & Dad are in an ambulance on their way to the ACE Unit of Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia.  After 22 hours of waiting at the Wilmington Hospital Emergency department, they were both thrilled to finally be on the road. The folks there were very kind and compassionate and we're all very grateful for the care they gave to Mom & Dad.

We're now looking forward to Dad being seen by an Orthopaedic specialist who can access the condition of his femur fracture and suggest appropriate treatment. Please continue to pray for Dad, Mom, Cindy, Kim & I along with the rest of the clan as we navigate the medical system. Pray that Dad heals quickly and is able to get back to his active schedule. Pray that Mom is able to get enough rest & recharging while she gives him support. And please pray that we all have the strength, patience and wisdom to support Mom & Dad through the challenges ahead.

The Wait Continues...

So dad is still hanging out at Wilmington Hospital Emergency department. It has been a challenging night as Mom & Dad have been waiting for a transfer to Penn Presbyterian hospital where his Oncologist practices. Unfortunately, the hospital has been full to capacity and the one time a bed became available, there were no ambulances available to do the transport.

Please pray with us that a bed will become available and transport will be available at the same time so that dad can get to the hospital and be evaluated by the doctors.  Please pray also for strength, patience and peace for Dad & Mom and for Cindy, Kim and I as we wait along with them.

An interesting morning...

Another twist on the journey.  Dad had severe hip pain overnight and the on call doctor at Penn recommended a hip x-ray.  A few hours and a CT scan later and it looks like there's an in line fracture in his upper thigh near his hip.

After consulting with the oncologist, we're transferring Dad from Wilmington Hospital to Penn to consult with an orthopaedic specialist.  Dad will have his first ambulance ride!

Keep checking back and we'll keep you updated.  In the meantime, please pray for Dad and the doctors.

Beginnings and Blessings

First, the beginning - today was the start of Dad's chemotherapy treatment.  Driving up to Philadelphia for an 8:00 a.m. appointment prompted Mom to say, "Wilmington traffic isn't looking so bad now..."  With our new-found appreciation for Wilmington, we got set for the first treatment.

It was interesting!  As we've found throughout the Penn system, the nurses and staff were nothing but kind and professional.  We went through the first round of what will most likely be the routine - blood counts, a kidney function test that takes about an hour, then the all-clear and the infusions.  Today, it was a bag of anti-nausea followed by the chemo.  Add in a shot to strengthen Dad's bones and a shot of B12 and he'd been thoroughly poked.  But as a positive, these nurses practice their needlework all day, every day, and made it look (and feel!) easy.  The treatments were made even more comfortable by the power-reclining, heated massage chair with attached television and complimentary drinks and snacks.  Only Dad got the souped up chair...but we all had a chance to visit the "Nutrition" room.

Suzie, one of the nurse practitioners, stopped by to check in.  She shared that the remaining biopsy sample wasn't large enough to perform genomic testing.  However, there's a relatively new blood test that can identify many of the most common gene mutations and avoids the pain and risk of another biopsy.  In fact, it is so new that Dad is their first patient at this location to get it!  Praise the Lord that there's an alternative to another biopsy.

Now, for the blessings....
Suzie also mentioned that she'd call for the results of Dad's brain MRI from Friday.  We stopped by after the treatment to see if she'd received them.  She had - and his brain is clear!  Woo-hoo!  Hallelujah!  While the gamma knife sounds amazing, I'm glad we get to be amazed from a distance.

All in all, a day of thankfulness as we start the next part of this journey.  As you join us in thanksgiving, please also pray that Dad has minimal side effects from today's treatments.

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! - Psalm 106:1

 Starting the first treatment!