Hip Hip Hooray!

It's Hip Hip Hooray! 
Mom came home yesterday!
So thanks for your prayer
And your love and your care.
Praise God for for his wonderful grace!

Yep, Mom came home yesterday and she's doing FANTASTIC!  The staff at Penn Medicine were all wonderful throughout the surgery, recovery, and therapy.  She has a few restrictions on her movements and will have therapy at home for the next few weeks - but is doing amazingly well.  She's even moved to using only the cane for short trips around the house!  Mom's not quite up to that 5K run yet...but check back in two months and she might be.  :)

Dad is happy to have his "beautiful bride" back home where she belongs and is all set to be her coach, ensuring that she complies with the doctor's orders and does her therapy on schedule.  They are a great team!

Many thanks to all who are helping out during this time - it's much appreciated!

A Hipper Hip...and it's Titanium!

While we've targeted most of our posts to keeping you all updated about dad's ongoing battle with lung cancer, it is called WilsonSpot, not RoySpot, so I'd better give you an update on the Wilson matriarch to even things out a bit.

Mom had surgery at Penn Presbyterian Hospital to replace her right hip joint with a brand spanking new titanium wonder. She was in surgery for about 2 hours this morning, and is now in recovery waiting for her room. The next couple of weeks are going to be full of physical therapy to make sure that the new joint is as strong & flexible as possible. To that end, she'll be staying in the hospital until at least Friday to make sure that she is fully recovered from the surgery and that she has a good start on her therapy regimen.

While I know that mom would love to see each of you, visitors are discouraged while she's in the hospital. Plan on visiting after she gets home either Friday or Saturday depending upon some unknown criteria that probably includes the weight of an unladen swallow and the positions of the planets. I know she'll enjoy the company, and you can help her by cheering her efforts at therapy, or just sit back and watch the fun as her coach (dad) encourages her through "just one more set."

On a serious note, I want to thank you all for the prayers that you've laid before the Lord on mom & dad's behalf. We see them answered every day and thank the Lord for such faithful brothers and sisters. If you are looking for specific areas that need your prayers, please pray that mom recovers quickly from her surgery and that her physical therapy is able to get her back on her feet and mobile without too much pain. Please also pray that dad responds well to the COPD treatments and that his appetite is returned. Thank you all again for your faithful support.

Here a huff, there a huff, everywhere a puff, puff...

Today was a busy day!  We started out at the oncology center, where we talked about the ongoing pain in Dad's shoulder.  Last week, he started on a pain patch which has provided significant relief...but it isn't totally gone.  Since the stronger pain medicines have some unpleasant effects, they decided to try a different kind of medicine that works directly on nerve pain.  It will take a few weeks to work up to the full dose, but hopefully it will provide long-term relief without using (or at least decreasing the amount) of the nastier pain medications.  After that, Dad had Immunotherapy Treatment #3.  Barring any unexpected surprises, he'll have a PET scan after the 6th treatment to check its effectiveness. 

After that, it was off to the Perelman Center for a pulmonary function test.  We were braced for a 90-minute test.  Praise the Lord, it only took 30!  Though Dad might tell you it FELT like 90 minutes.  :)  Our hope was that the test would pinpoint why Dad is so short of breath despite his amazing progress against the cancer.  The Lord answered our prayers and they identified his underlying COPD as the cause.  Inflammation in his lungs is letting the air get in, but not out.  It's sort of like have a cup of dirty water and taking out an ounce.  You can add an ounce of crisp, fresh water to replace it - but not enough to make the water clean.  To counter this, they prescribed a steroid inhaler and a "booster" inhaled medicine.  Like the nerve medicine, the results won't be instantaneous but should provide significant relief.

One other piece of great news today - the food truck was back!  Woo-hoo!  To top it off, it was a beautiful day to wait for the sandwiches.  A win-win all around!

This was just the start of a busy week.  Mom's hip replacement is on Wednesday; please pray for the doctors as they perform the surgery and for Mom as she recovers.  Thank you in advance to all of you who will be helping out over the next few weeks - we couldn't do it without you and thank the Lord for your servant's hearts!  I'll post an update here on Wednesday to let you know how Mom is doing.

Of course, we can't end this update without telling you about Cindy and Bruce's beautiful wedding on the 13th.  The weather didn't cooperate for an outdoor wedding,  but the indoor venue was gorgeous and - most importantly - Cindy and Bruce's commitment to each other and jointly to the Lord was obvious.  They are safely back from their honeymoon and settling into their home near Pittsburgh.  We couldn't be happier for them!  Below is a picture of Dad walking Cindy down the aisle with a little help from grandson Rich. 

Thanks for checking in with us and for your faithful prayers.

A mystery wrapped in a blessing...

As some of you may know, Dad's been a little more short of breath over the last couple of weeks, despite having the fluid drained on schedule.  To rule out a blood clot, he had a CT scan last Thursday.  The blessing is that there's no blood clot and that it showed the cancer has continued to shrink.  But the mystery remains...why is Dad short of breath? 

Today, Dad had his regularly scheduled immunotherapy treatment then hopped over to the Perelman Center to see the pulmonology staff.  In addition to draining the catheter on the left side, she also drained the right side and got the same amount of fluid.  They ordered oxygen to help him feel better immediately and also set up a pulmonary function test to see if they can figure out the root of the mystery.

Sadly, the food truck wasn't in its normal spot today!  Hopefully, it will be back next time.  If not, we may need to figure out a Plan B for lunches.  FYI...the hospital cafeteria has already  been eliminated as an option.  :)

A mystery is great to read...but not nearly as much fun to live.  Please pray that the Lord gives the doctors wisdom as they continue to search for the cause of Dad's discomfort.  Also, please keep the family in your prayers as we prepare for Cindy's wedding and Mom's hip replacement. 

Thank you for your care and support!