Quick Update

Things are going great.  Dad went in on Tuesday for some testing to see if everything has been healing as it is supposed to.  So far so good.  He is having some pain in the incision in his back (he has one on his upper back and one across his stomach) but that is usually what is bothering him and what usually is prompting the pain meds.  The doctors biopsied all the esophagus and lymph nodes they took out during surgery.  They could see no cancer though one lymph node did have active cells which would categorize him as N1 (not a cancer stage... they won't probably ever claim "cancer free" but he is as close as they could hope anyone to be at this point).  The doctors didn't seem too worried about his as they took out all lymph nodes that they thought would possibly be infected so we're hopeful that this was the only one.

This particular cancer has a really high chance of either recurrence in the same area or somewhere else in the body.  Clear scans for 2 years is the biggest hurdle, 5 years is amazing and longer than that is the goal!  While this cancer does have a high chance of recurrence, judging how amazing Dad has done thus far, there is a high chance he will be in the percentage that never has it come back.  The doctors were incredibly impressed with Dad and his results so that certainly says a lot.

Right now Dad is enjoying a diet of liquids, soups and ding dongs.  I am not sure why ding dongs, but we all have our own cravings right?  So far so good.  He will still be being fed through the feeding tube but hopes to have that tapered off within the next 2-6 weeks.  The amount of time and amount of food he will be fed through it will decrease as he is able to eat more.  The good news is that he actually gained a little wait post surgery which is WONDERFUL... but I think he is still looking scrawny.... we'll get him bulked back up in no time!

Dad has been getting out each day.  He is supposed to do a lot of walking and he is also getting a little restless at home so the outings are helpful.  My mom says he is like a newborn, awake for a couple hours, sleeps for four hours, awake for a couple hours, sleeps for fours hours.

This weekend company comes into town (my dad's brother and his wife), my parents get their new bed delivered and our neighborhood pool opens!  Ok, that last one is the highlight of our little home's weekend but doesn't have anything to do with dad.  I doubt he will be going in the pool for quite awhile.  

Sorry for the lack of pictures... I'll get on that.

Home Now and Recovering Still

The picture below is of Dad right before leaving the hospital... Glorious day!  He is wearing his boring brown slippers... he could have had the green mop ones.  Whatever, my floors are sparkling now that I have been wearing them instead of him.

Dad is home now.  He had a rough night the first night as he was trying to get used to managing his pain without the epidural and hospital drugs.  He was also trying to figure out the j-tube pump that kept beeping (this is the feeding tube-- he has to be being fed for 16 hours each day).  The bags in the picture below are the bags that the brown liquid food is poured into.  The food goes directly into his intestine because his esophagus and stomach are still healing from the surgery and they need to make sure it seals without leaks.  That means he still hasn't eaten or had anything to drink since last Wednesday.  He will go in this next week for the appointment where he will drink barium and they'll be able to test his insides for leaks.

Here is Dad resting... and Toby.  Toby needs more sleep than Dad does.  Yesterday I was able to spend the day with Dad... well, sleeping while he slept.  I came over because I was in the midst of trying to pass some kidney stones-not fun.  Dad and I bumped hospital bracelets and Mom acted as Florence Nightengale tending to her sickly patients.  I think Dad is already restless of sitting inside all the time.  He was planning on going to a funeral today and perhaps to the store with my mom.  He has to take walks several times a day anyway, so I guess this is probably no different.  Don't worry, he has several of us breathing down his neck to make sure he is getting adequate rest.  Healing continues...

Guess who is home!?

Dad!!  6 days and he is out... must be a record I am sure.  A lot of his easier recovery seems to be due to his general health, his age, amount they had to remove, overall attitude and lots and lots of prayers from all of you.  THANK YOU!  Recovery for this surgery takes awhile, but we are pretty excited about how quickly he is bouncing back already.

Smell you later Nose Hose!

Today, Dad said a happy goodbye to the nose hose.  No more nasty tube jammed up his nose (held on by a stitch-ouch) and pushed down his throat.  Thankfully my brothers and I walked in just after the removal... couldn't have been pleasant to watch I am sure.  Things are going much better than they were when I left last night.  Dad was pretty worn out and grumpy from just being in the hospital, wanting to be better and wanting to be home.  Having the tube come out certainly helped!  He also got a chest tube removed.  It was oozing a bit, but they kept bandaging it and it looks to be doing better and the doctor said it should not cause any complications.

 Here is Dad!!!  He is playing Skip-Bo with us and holding his favorite stuffed animal :).  Dad is growing his Philmont beard... Lucky me, Dan (my husband) has decided to grow his own beard in solidarity... so have my brothers, but their's is a little patchy.  He did 20 laps today around the nurses station.  While I was there he said his next goal is to make it a full 26.2.  

Two weeks post surgery dad will do a barium test to check for leaks in his esophagus and stomach.  After this he will be able to reintroduce himself to foods/drinks again.  He says he isn't hungry but could really use a soda... not such a good idea right now unfortunately. 

Check out these awesome slippers!!  (and the cute dog too... that's Lucy).  Dad could have had these babies but he chose the brown boring slippers instead.  Too bad... these are both comfortable and helping to clean my floors. 

I have gotten lost at MDA no less than 20 times since Dad has been in the hospital.  I have a horrible sense of direction... it's crazy that I get so lost when the hospital has kiosks all over that print out directions for you.  Today my brothers and I got a little turned around in the parking garage.  Not our fault as it took us over 20 minutes to find a parking spot and we couldn't leave the parking garage to go to a different garage because you are charged $2.00 for 0-20 minutes.  Rip off. 

---Shh... there's a rumor floating around of possibly being discharged in the next couple days....

Sir Koff-A-Lot and the Nose in the Hose

Dad is still doing well, though he was more tired today and seemed to be in a bit more pain.  It could have been the 16 laps he did around the nurses station.  Basically, the man needs to slow down!!!  He probably is just sore from the exercise.  I can always tell when he is tired or hurting as he becomes less and less entertained by my particular brand of humor.  Actually, he is hardly entertained by it at all. But when he is tired or hurting, he doesn't even bother to give me strange looks but just closes his eyes and ignores me all together.

I think the pain meds are making him say crazy things too.  He was blabbering on about how he is halucinating and seeing holograms that fade in and out of reality and sometimes he thinks people come visit him who were never there or is surprised when we "come back".  What a weirdo.  Then he told me how excited he was to "get the nose out of his hose"-- what he really meant was he was excited to get the tube (hose) out of his nose.  That should be happening tomorrow.  Over the course of the next week he will get several 'hoses' removed...nose hose, chest tubes, epidural, catheter etc.... he has the whole rainbow of colors coming out of his body right now.  It's gross and cool at the same time.

The above picture is of Sir-Koff-A-Lot... isn't he regal with his bow tie?  I think so, but Mom and Dad didn't so they stripped him down.  Mom said that Dad is a grown man and doesn't need a bear with a bow tie.  Yet, he still needs the bear apparently.  He needs the bear because it is a weighted bear and if he squeezes it, it will help not to hurt as much when he coughs.  Pillows work too.

I forgot to mention that Dad started being fed through his J tube yesterday.  It's his feeding tube that goes right into his intestine (they still aren't ready for him to have anything go down his esophagus or his stomach as it is still healing).  The food looks like chocolate milk, but he won't be tasting any of that. 2 Weeks post surgery he will have a barium test to check for leaks to see if everything is healed up as it should.

He also got a fun new 'toy'... it's one of those dentist-type suction hoses that sucks up all your spit.  He made it a point to gross us all out with it several times.  Dad also wandered down to the patient/family lounge to help us with a puzzle (probably why he is feeling more pain--doing too much). Shortly after he decided to return to his room to continue more phlegm sucking and pain med button pushing... then he fell asleep and we went home.

Another update tomorrow....

Updates and Such

Quick update on Dad:  He is doing awesome!  So far, BETTER than the BEST case scenario!  Honestly, everyone expected a lot more pain, a lot more complications and a lot more emotional stress on all of us.  He is doing great.  Of course, we are still quite early in the process, so things could always change, but for now he is doing wonderfully.

 

The nurse said today that he is looking better than any patient he has ever seen have this surgery.  I think that is fitting... my dad is one of those people who in school put in minimal effort and got straight As... Like now, he is just doing his thing, trying to just endure this process and he is getting through it with flying colors!!! It really has been amazing to see how human bodies are able to preserve energy to help the body heal and how quickly one can feel like themselves again.

 

Dad will likely have one of his chest tubes removed today---several days earlier than the norm--he will also get his nose hose removed on Monday (hence the lack of facial pictures... I don't mind embarrassing dad through photos but even I have standards).  When I left last night he had just finished 10 laps around the nurses station and when I was leaving he was about to go for another walk.  He leaves all the nursing staff amazed at his progress.  I saw one of his incisions... it looked so cool... like frankenstein with all the staples...  It looks like a cesarean incision but curves up in the middle.  He is going to be so cool now with those scars.  Seriously, I think he is cooler already.

 Here we have Dad's tootsies!!  Also pictured are the leg cuffs that inflate to keep circulation going and to prevent blood clots.  He doesn't wear them as much anymore as he is moving so much.  Last night while we were there, he joined us in a game of spades.  He tired towards the end but was perfectly able to play... our team won by the way...  Of course, once we were done, he scooted us out and pressed his button (delivers pain meds but also makes him really sleepy... I think he mostly uses it to make himself sleep).

Thank you all for your prayers... you really can feel a prayer you know.  We are very sensitive to the fact that many others have trials in their lives right now.  These lives of ours are very fragile and it's incredible how quickly our lives can change.  I'm grateful that we have choices and are able to decide how to handle these trials.  Admittedly, I am not an incredible example of how to handle these sorts of things as I was a mess for a couple weeks after finding out about my Dad's cancer.  It took a lot of soul searching and prayer for me to get a handle on what I truly believe about life.  I hope any of you that are feeling loss or going through trials will feel comfort as our prayers come your way.

Has anyone seen SUPERMAN lately?

Probably not many of you because he is busy flying laps around MD Anderson hallways!  Dad is doing great!  He has been managing his pain so far and is moving quickly... much faster than the other patients there.  Doctors and nurses both have been in awe at how well he is doing a day out of surgery.  One nurse said, "wow, your dad must be in awesome shape to be doing so well post surgery". 

Dad is superman!!  He really is.  He is doing much more than we would have dreamed so far.  He still has the epidural to control his pain, so things are still in very early stages so it's hard to gauge how well he will do after he is off the epidural;  However, what an awesome start!  Keep it up Dad, do what your able, but we are so proud of you.