It has been a long time since I last blogged. Sering a loved one with Cancer truly sucks!
I will back up a bit. Hub had his first round of chemo March 21-23. In hospital March 30-April2. Began feeling better. Had an appointment at Duke Cancer Center April 19th to discuss a chemo treatment that his body could tolerate this second time with this nasty disease. It was agreed on to keep the same chemo treatment but reduce the amount by 50%.
Second treatment was scheduled for April 25-27th. He was taking his treatment that Tuesday, April 25th and began to get extremely nauseous then the sickness started. Chemo was shut off and an hour of saline was given but still extremely sick. We were sent to the ER and by this time, hub was in tremendous pain. Tests were run and that DAM (pardon my French) Cancer Tumor was blocking his bowel. I was told to go home pack my bags because Charlie was heading to Duke.
Both daughters were just as upset as me and thankfully friends drove me home and helped me pack. Charlie was taken by ambulance while my van was driven by my minister (who is also one of hub's best friends), my aunt and her daughter, and my youngest daughter headed down the road. We arrived at Duke around 2am that morning only fourteen minutes behind the ambulance.
Preliminary schedule was to do surgery on Thursday......BUT Duke medical teams had other plans. A group of teams GI Teams and the surgery team had other plans. More tests a lot more tests were done and all teams were meeting on him. The plan that the teams came up with was a by pass bowel surgery--make a loop and by pass the tumor. Surgery was scheduled for Monday, May 1st.
Daughters came up for the weekend and care packages were sent to us. We received a care package from my previous school I had taught at with some encouraging notes and Bible verses. Hub and I read each note with tears in our eyes. There are no words to express our gratitude.
Monday came and we waited. Surgery was to be at 11 that morning. Around 11 hub still in room; I looked up and there came 4 people from our church coming down the hall. Again the tears came. At 11:30 hub was taken down. Surgery was to be 2 hrs. The surgery lasted over 5 hrs. When the surgeon talked to me, I could tell he was exhausted. Hub was doing fine. He was taken to the surgery floor later that Monday night.
Tuesday morning I could tell hub wasn't feeling the best. His vital signs didn't look good and before I could say a word a ream of surgeons, doctors, and nurses were in the room. Youngest daughter was with me and she and I just cried no words spoken only tears. Hub was taken time to SICU. My heart was breaking and there wasn't a thing I could do.....physically anyway...... Hub was in SICU Tuesday -Saturday. He has had many tests run on him and his arms look like a pin cushion. My heart hurts. Cancer really does suck!. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything since April 25th and the NG tube is driving him crazy. He was transferred to the surgery floor Saturday evening.
Today, Sunday, surgeons came by. I have so many questions and they have some answers not all but some. Hub's stomach has to wake up and his gastric juices have to be trained to go another route before going out the bowel. BUTdoctors say a change of scenery might help so we were able to go outside!!! Hub smiled as he sat in the sunshine watching nature. We stayed an hour because that is all the time he was allowed. We are back in room and hub is resting. There are so many thing we--No I take for granted and hub was taken them all in.....the birds, the feel of sunshine on your face, the cool breeze, hearing children laugh .....yes I have stayed with him around the clock BUT I have walked out of the hospital to take a shower at hotel and return. Me, I have taken things for granted that brought a smile to my hub's face.....a smile I haven't seen in a long time....a smile that I have missed because of YOU CANCER!
Cancer does take a toll on a person BUT ...Isaiah 53:5 "By his stripes we are healed". When the doctors mention my hub's outlook and time frame, I cling to this verse.
