Friday, October 31, 2008

Dad’s condition varies from day to day.  Recently his urine output dropped to almost nothing; today it has increased, but is still well below normal.  Lab work shows increased Creatinine and BUN levels, indicating kidney failure.   A sonogram of the kidneys was performed which showed a 6.5cm X 3.5cm X 7.5cm mass that was not visible two weeks ago.   This mass will prohibit any type of intervention that would normally be used to assist the Kidneys.

  All non comfort prescriptions have been stopped to focus solely on comfort and pain.

Recently he has been asking to see specific people including his grandchildren.  Normally children under the age of 12 are not allowed on the floor.  After talking to the nursing staff JR, Adam and Megan were allowed to see him.  We were able to get one of his other requests completed, which was to get him and the grandchildren on video together.  He wanted this so that they would have something to look back at when they get older.  He has had several visitors and seems to enjoy the company.

To let everyone know the oncologist has stated to dad he has anywhere from hours to days left.  We appreciate all the support and love of our family, friends, and co-workers.

Nathan

Tuesday, October 28, 2008     

Dad has been admitted to Methodist Medical Center in Dallas this afternoon.  He can not stop vomiting and the nausea is out of control even with meds Dad is getting no relief!  Hospice has done all in their control to help so they made the call to take him to the hospital.

For those of you who planned on visiting him this evening feel free to come to the hospital and visit.  I know Dad would love to see all! 

Please keep those prayers going; he needs relief!

Love to All,

Mel

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Dad came home on Friday but not before he was baptized!  Dad was baptized when he was 12 years old but with that being along time ago he had been thinking about doing it again for a while and decided to “redo it” since he felt like it was for all the right reasons and to be obedient to God. God made it possible for Dad to be baptized that day with the help of the ambulance team and Methodist Rehabilitation Hospital who agreed to allow us the use their therapy pool!

The scripture tells us in John 3:15 that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life! "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, ye may be also" John 14:1-3). What beautiful and comforting verses; Dad is not afraid! He knows he has a place with his savior!

Dad has agreed to be admitted to Hospice Care and is at home with me now! I am with him during the day and his wife, son, sisters, son-in-law and daughter-in-law have pulled together to give him around the clock care; what a blessing to have everyone involved to keep Dad as comfortable as we possible can! It was not an easy decision to place Dad on Hospice his or ours there have been a lot of tears; it hurts to accept that the cancer will probably take his life. However, we have been told by so many people that have experienced their loved ones being placed in Hospice’s care how wonderful there aid can be!

Our dearly loved Husband, Dad, Son, Brother, Uncle, Nephew,Cousin and Friend desires our compassion and we want do all we can to fill his life with love, support and comfort. I would like to welcome and encourage all of you to feel free to visit Dad.  He seems to enjoy visitors and we pray it will help to give him peace and fill his heart with love for whatever time we have left with him. If you would like to come by and see him just e-mail me at mgorrell@aircanopy.net and I will be glad to send you directions.

Many thanks to all of you for your thoughts, encouraging words and prayers!

Love to all,

Mel

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Dad received 2 units of blood Thursday this week.  The blood has helped the Creatinine levels go down (Creatine levels must be carefully watched as to not damage the kidneys), so the Lasix (water pill) has been increased a bit.  He is taking a “heavy duty” anti-biotic so it is making him pretty sick at times, thankfully it has been moved to every other day instead of daily. He is also on a pain patch which seems to be working pretty well! And he has been able to get more rest than he has in a long time! He is still in the hospital and may be there through the next week. The Doc is keeping him in the hospital so that the Creatinine levels can be carefully watched as they keep trying to get the excess fluid off. 

Love to all,

Mel

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

We have just learned that Dad has Hospital Acquired Pneumonia. Symptoms and signs are the same as those for community-acquired pneumonia. Diagnosis is suspected on the basis of clinical presentation and chest x-ray and is confirmed by blood culture or sampling of the lower respiratory tract. Treatment is with antibiotics. Overall prognosis is poor, due in part to having the cancer. So it will be much harder for him to fight.  Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

Love to all,

Mel

Monday, October 19, 2008

Sadly, Dad is not feeling very well right now. He was admitted to Methodist Medical Center in Dallas last night and will probably be there for a couple of days or so.  He went in due to extreme pain whole or in part caused by very excessive fluid retention and shortness of breath. So far he has had his right lung set up with a catheter for continuous drainage and the doctors are carefully trying to get the fluid off of the rest of his body (from his chest all the way to the toes everything in-between is swollen) as to not harm the kidneys. And as always they are trying to keep Dad in minimal or no pain so that he can be as comfy as possible! 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Love to all,

Mel

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Dad was discharged from MDA Cancer Center around 6:00 p.m. today and is on his way home along with sister Marnita!

The numbers on the blood work of the kidneys are improving in fact most of his results are improving; even his Hemoglobin counts are going up! The doctors believe that his kidneys were damaged by the amount of CT contrast or "dye" (used to make the organs stand out more) used since he was use to getting a CT scan every 12 weeks and he had 3 within 6 weeks. It is not know however if the damage was permanent only time will tell.

The sonogram done on his heart yesterday showed that the heart was working normally so all looks good there!

His legs and groin are still swollen with little or no improvement even though in the hospital they put T.E.D. hose and Sequential Compression Devices over the hose to help improve the swelling/circulation. The underlying cause of the swelling is still not known since it does not seem to be a problem with the heart.

He is scheduled to return to MDA on Wednesday, October 15^th to follow up and continue care with his oncologist there.

We are waiting for the results of the biopsy concerning the fluid drained from his lungs on Monday. I am sure we will get those by next week.

Dad’s energy level varies from day to day. Overall however he is himself and doing as much as he can physically do as well as keeping in good spirits.  We are hoping for more energy and quality of life once the kidneys are back on track.

We pray you are all well and thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Mel

Monday, October 06, 2008

Dad has been admitted to MDA (M.D. Anderson) in Houston today due to complications of his kidneys.  At this point he has an ultra sound scheduled at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning; until then we have no answers to the underlying cause and nothing that could be going wrong has been ruled out. They have proactively started him on an antibiotic. The pain in the groin area is still there with very little improvement.

Today they were able to drain the plural effusion on his lungs; the volume they removed was 1,250 milliliters that is equal to about 1.25 liters. A biopsy of the fluid has been ordered and we are expecting results by Thursday this week. Dad said the fluid looked like tomato soup mixed with milk; he said he felt better afterwards.

The fluid on his legs is not decreasing at all so an ekg was ordered on his heart; we have not received the results from that yet.   

His Hemoglobin counts are down to 9.1 so a test to rule out blood in the stool was done; it came back negative. Still don't know why the counts are down though. Hoping to know more tomorrow when more tests are done.

Nathan is with him through tomorrow afternoon and I will be with Dad until his sister Marnita can be with him sometime Wednesday.  They are expecting him to be there until this weekend. We are praying all will go well and he will be back home then!

I will let you know more as I do. Until then thank you for your prayers!

Love to all,

Mel

Monday, September 22, 2008

Friday last week Dad met with the Clinical Trial department at M.D. Anderson.  The doc was very concerned about Dad’s health stating that at his current shape (using oxygen, fatigued and using the wheel chair to get around) he would not recommend him for a clinical trial, but did not say that he definitively would not allow him to participate; he wanted to see how Dad was in a week and work from there, so he will see the doc on Monday, September 29^th.  However, Dad is very determined to prove to the doc that he could participate!  He pushed his wheel chair out of the hospital and took himself off the oxygen under the doctor’s care (the doc said he needed to try to go without the oxygen if he could) of course!   He is still using the chair but has managed to stay off the oxygen currently; he still carries a small tank with him if he needs it though.

Dad is scheduled for a CT scan of his chest,abdomen and pelvis and also a chest xray tomorrow Tuesday, September 23^rd at MD Anderson; there is also a pending appointment set for Palliative Care ( any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay or reverse progression of the disease itself or provide a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness. Non-hospice palliative care is not dependent on prognosis and is offered in conjunction with curative and all other appropriate forms of medical treatment. It should not be confused with hospice care which delivers palliative care to those at the end of life. In the UK this distinction is not operative; hospices and non-hospice-based palliative care teams both provide care to those with life limiting illness at any stage of their disease). He will be escorted by his son Nate.

This is pretty much all we know at this time.  Dad is still struggling with the pain in his groin and has asked Dr. Cox his Oncologist here in Dallas to look at the possibility of kidney stones since he is experiencing similar symptoms to this, even pain while urinating.

The folks at MD Anderson are evaluating Dad to see if they can do anything for him in all aspects of his illness.  At this point Dad’s quality of life is of the utmost importance! However we are still praying for a cure!

Love to all for your many thoughts and prayers!

Mel

September 19, 2008

Well as you all probably know Dad did not make it to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX on Monday due to Hurricane Ike!  After many calls and visits to the M.D. Anderson website we were able to reschedule his appointment for Today at 12:00 noon.  Daddy and sister Marnita are Houston bound this morning they left at 6:15 a.m.!

While planning the trip to Houston we were having zero luck finding a Hotel to stay in since most of Houston and surrounding cities have no power.  So after contacting a few scattered family members (the ones that had power) in the area we found out that they too were housing as many as 14 people already (this was my husband John’s cousin Brion and Dad’s cousin Mike ) but said if you could not work anything else out we will find a place for you!  We are so blessed!! Dad’s sister Laura finally set up a place for them to sleep at her sister-in-laws in Katy,TX (thank you so much Lisa and family for opening your home to us)!!!

Dad had blood work this week Tuesday and Thursday and results are steady. His hemoglobin counts are in the 10.  range and all other tests are showing good.  He has been very fatigued and the right groin area is really sore internally and this is making it difficult for him to get around.  He is in the wheel chair most anytime he goes out anywhere. Oxygen and all pain meds are continued at this time.

I will keep you all posted as I know more today!

Thank you for your continued words of encouragement and of course your very much needed prayers!

Love to all,

Mel

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Okay here is what is going on!  Dad received 3 units of blood today since his hemoglobin (an iron-containing protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body) count declined to 8.6 g/dL (grams per deciliter). The normal hemoglobin count is 14 to 18 g/dL for men. Dads had been staying around 11 to 12 g/dL since last years transfusions (transfusions from what I am told are to be expected with Dad’s illness).  Before the transfusion yesterday Dad was not feeling very well and even saw spots that he explained “looked like snow”.  However, after today he is feeling better and looking better too!

The fluid is finally coming off of his upper body and some in the legs, but again the doc wants to do this slowly.

Oxygen is to be continued at this time and he may or may not have to stay on the Lovenox injections since he received the transfusions.

Concerning the clinical trials/further treatments we have spoken to the Baylor Texas Oncology Group here in Dallas and they have placed Dad on a 4 week waiting list for a Phase I trial that involves an oral medication that restricts blood flow to the tumors/lesions. In the mean time he is scheduled to re-evaluate with M.D. Anderson in Houston for clinical trials/further treatments there.  He and Nathan will be leaving Monday, September 15^th to meat with the clinical trial department for the evaluation. We are hoping to know more by then as to whether Dad can receive further treatments there although we are told the evaluation could take as long as two weeks.

We will keep everyone posted as we know more.

Love to all and many, many thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Mel

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Just a brief update to let you all know that Dad seems to be doing a lot better now that he is home; he looks a lot more relaxed and in a little less pain.  He even traveled with Nate to Lowe’s to pick up new smoke alarms for the house since he was using the oxygen!  Nate said he seemed to enjoy getting out (he used one of the courtesy electric ride-ons to get around).

 He is set up with the oxygen and a new mattress for his bed; we hope it will work out so that he can be as comfy as possible while resting (he is going to try it tonight. It was just delivered today and is a Tempur-pedic brand mattress. It really felt nice when we laid on it in the store).

It is such a blessing to have so many wonderful people praying for Dad! We will keep you posted!

Love to all,

Mel

On Wednesday, August 27 Dad was admitted to the Hospital after a CT scan showed a blood clot in his right lung. 

During his hospital stay another clot in an artery in the groin area of  his left leg was discovered by Doppler. Dad explained that the exam caused a great deal of discomfort. They do not know how long the clot has been there, however he still has 50% blood flow in the artery.

Presently it was a very busy day at the hospital for Dad and with very little continues sleep it made for a very exhausting day for him also.  The Doc came in about 6:45 p.m. this evening and explained that he would be discharging Dad tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. He ordered Lovenox injections which can alter the blood’s ability to clot and Dad has been receiving them while in the hospital. The doc has also ordered them to be continued at home along with oxygen (while the lung is healing from the trauma of the clot), a low dose of Coumadin (for blood thinning)morphine (for pain management) and lasix (for swelling; excess fluid)

Dad overall is himself.  He still has a great deal of pain in the lower abdomen and has a great deal of swelling all over which the doc has said that the underlying cause is the cancer itself along with the fluid on the lung (the clot could also be a contributor). Although the Lasix does seem to be helping the swelling problem little by little; the doc explained that the fluid should be taken off slowly.

We will all be glad to get Dad home tomorrow and I know he will be happy to get home too; he was obviously disappointed not to get to go home tonight!

Thank you all for you words of encouragement and prayer. We will keep you posted on Dad’s recovery.

Love to all,

Mel

Doctor's Update: August 13, 2008

Dad had his latest doctor’s appt and scan read out last Wendnesday. We did not get the results that we had hoped for.  The scan showed a 4cm increase in the Liver and growth in several of the lymph nodes.  The oncologist said that we can seek clinical trials at Baylor or MD Anderson, but the traditional treatments are no longer an option.  We have contacted both hospitals, and MD Anderson has responded.  They are working with Dad’s current oncologist to gather his treatment and test result history.  Once MD Anderson has completed there initial assessment Dad may need to go down to Houston for additional test, before he can start any treatment.  Dad has been in a little more pain over the couple of weeks, mainly in his abdomen and upper chest.  His pain medication has been increased, and Dad says the pain is more manageable now.   Dad did gain a few pounds since his last visit as well.  We are excited and hopeful that MD Anderson will have some good trials available.  MD Anderson is the #2 ranked cancer hospital in the nation and has had some awesome results in the past.  Dad has expressed that he is excited to be working with them.  Thank you everyone for your support and prayers.  We will keep you updated.

Love

Nate