Monday, January 12

I am writing to remind you all to continue to pray and lift up Papa during the days of radiation treatment. He is right in the middle of his treatments and things are pretty rough. His throat is severely painful and swallowing is almost impossible. Just about the time his appetite returned and he had worked up to eating mostly solid foods, we are moving back to liquids (soups and such) because they are just easier to get down. His spirits have been really good considering. Today was tough. Please pray that the treatments continue to be successful and are as easy on him as possible. Pray that he can see the end (16 more) and keep his head held high. It is NOT FUN!

Last week he found a swollen area on his right side down by the lower jaw. He showed it to Dr. Hardacre and he suspects it is a swollen saliva gland trying to overcompensate for the glands not working on the radiation side. He gave him a few things to try and see if he could shrink it. Today it hadn't gone down much so we are going to Birmingham tomorrow to see Dr. Holmes and let him look at it and go from there. Please pray that it is something simple like a swollen gland that can be fixed easily.

I will post and let you know.

Thank you all!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you on behalf of our entire family! We had a wonderful Christmas and were so thankful for dad feeling well and that we were able to celebrate in our usual way. We gathered at Mom and Dad's house for Christmas Eve after church for Stephen's homemade pizzas. Dad ate them up just as well as we did! It was fun. We all headed to Mamaw's house for Christmas morning breakfast and then picked up Jordan and Patrick to head back to Decatur for the opening of gifts at Nana's. It was fun and yummy. Tonight we celebrated the beginning of 2009 with dinner at Nana and Papa's. As per Dad's request, we brought in the new year with spaghetti pie! Probably not your traditional New Year's feast, but it worked for us and we loved it.

The treatments are going well and as expected. Although they started about two weeks ago, Dad has actually only had 9 treatments (I think) because of the holidays. Mom and I went with him on Wednesday to hear a report from the doctor. He is tolerating them very well. His throat is getting really sore and stays a little dry all the time. You will see him with a water bottle at all times. This is good for two things..(1) It helps to keep his mouth wet and (2) it helps keep him hydrated which is very crucial. Dr. Hardacre prescribed him a mouth wash to use 30 minutes before meals and at bed time when the pain in the throat is the worst. It is supposed to smooth and coat with a little numbing medicine in it too. He hasn't used it yet, I guess he is waiting as long as he can before it is absolutely necessary. He also gave him some pain pills to have if he needs them in the coming weeks as the throat pain is expected to increase. At least we know what is coming and he is prepared. Dad told us that his taste buds are really starting to change too. All this is normal and will come back after a while. Mt. Dew is out and apple juice is in! Crazy, huh? The Dt. Mt. Dew King is not doing the dew! Coffee has also left the building! Oh well, that is not all bad. We could all do without the caffeine intake anyway!

Please keep Dad in your prayers as the next few weeks will be tough to endure. We are just thankful that we can fight it as unpleasant as it may be. Thank you all for your constant love, prayers and concerns.

First Treatment

Today Dad went for his first radiology treatment. He said it wasn't that bad (although I bet he could probably think of a million or so things he would rather be doing!) He was pleased that it is very quick and he was in and out of there.

One down and 31 more to go! Please continue to keep Dad in your prayers and thoughts. We look forward to completion of the radiology treatments and positive, clear reports from the scans to come.

Update on Radiology

Today Dad had an appointment to get his "mask" and "mouthpiece" made at the oncology center. He also had a CT scan to make a model of his head so that the doctors can direct the target location of the radiation. He will go back next Tuesday for an X-ray to make sure everything is directed in the right place. After that, his first radiation appointment is scheduled for next Wednesday, Dec. 17. Please be in prayer for the long 6 week duration he will be facing. He is in such good spirits and his attitude is awesome. He is a walking lesson and testimony for all of us!

Let our prayers be prayers of thanks. God is so awesome and good. I thank Him for getting Dad this far so good. I thank Him for the doctors and the amazing surgery that was performed to get the cancer out. I thank Him for the tests that showed us we need more treatment. I thank Him for the peace that we have and most of all, I thank Him for the hope. After our thanks, please pray with me that the radiation goes smoothly and that the side effects be minimal. Pray especially for his remaining teeth and the new bone, that they remain in good shape. I will let you all know how it goes next week.

Radiologist Appointment

Dad, mom and I went to meet with the radiologist this afternoon. It was a VERY informative and thorough meeting. We talked with Dr. Hardacre for nearly two hours. He amazingly explained to us every step and exactly what was happening with Dad's treatment. For the most part all the information was positive and again we praise God for everything. Dad's situation keeps falling in that "thank you God" category!

For now, Dad is 5 weeks out from the surgery and in cases like his they usually wait anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months to start the radiation therapy. He has healed so well up to this point that they are ready to start the process to begin radiation in the next two to three weeks. He has a planning appointment this coming Tuesday to do a CT scan and make his mask and mouth guard. Based on the scan, the doctors will then take a week or two to develop his plan. After that he will start radiation and go Monday through Friday for about 6 1/2 weeks. Each visit will last 15-20 minutes. Dr. Hardacre explained that the side effects are different for everybody and we will hear stories from "that wasn't so bad" to "it was the worst thing I ever did". So, we are prepared for some uneasy weeks ahead, but ready to face it. Please pray for God's continued blessings on Dad and this radiation process. The good news is that since Dad's tumor was confined to one side of his face and had not crossed over the mid-line in the head and neck area, he will only be treated on one side! This is awesome in that the side effects will be lessened and only occur on one side of the face and neck instead of all over. Yeah!! We also learned that the side effects occur gradually and he probably won't have any problems until about the 3rd week or so. This is good, as Christmas will fall in the time before all the "yuck" sets in.

I know this is a lot of info for one post, but I was bombarded with tons this afternoon. I am sure I forgot something, so I will post again soon. Please continue to pray for Dad and our family. We are so thankful for you all.

Love,
Michelle

Dr. Holmes follow up appointment

We have just returned from Dad's follow up appointment in Birmingham. Dad had a picture taken of his mouth and evaluated by Dr. Holmes. The flap is doing very well and healing as it should. The sutures are falling out naturally as they should and the swelling shrinks daily, again, as it should. He checked out the new bone and assured dad that he had "good bone" to attach the teeth to. Very nice! The arm cast came off and...well, lets just say "it wasn't pretty", but also healing very nicely and Dr. Holmes was pleased. He gave Dad a few exercises to help strengthen the bone back and some ointment and gauze to help new skin continue to heal. I think Dad was shocked at how painful just doing little things (like picking up a tea glass) could be once the wrist support was taken off. Dr. Holmes said that it would take about 12 weeks for the bone to completely heal and strengthen.



We discussed the pathology report and Dr. Holmes explained that they took a good parameter around the tumor and that part looked good. They did tell us at the time of surgery that they would take several lymph nodes as a precaution and PRAISE GOD that they did! When reviewing the pathology report we found out that one of the lymph nodes taken out did show evidence of cancer. At this point, Dr. Holmes explained that many had gone through this before him and left it at that, but if it were him, he would consider radiation to make sure there are no more cancer cells hanging out in that area. It took no discussion on our part. Radiation it is! We had already expected this anyway so here we go. We are going to meet with the radiologist here in Decatur some time before the end of the week to go over the pathology report and plan the radiation treatments. So please, please, please pray that that was all there was and radiation will be the end of it! Papa is in good spirits and just ready to get it done. Pray for radiation itself, that it be as easy as it possibly can and for the doctors that they are knowledgeable and do the right things for Papa. Above all, praise God for all the He has done for us so far. We are so blessed and so thankful. Our entire family is especially thankful for all of you. All your concerns, love, friendships and prayers!

I will post again once we meet with the radiologist.
Michelle

Update

I have had so many requests to keep updating the blog. I do apologize for those of you who check it often to see how things are going. Since the last post, Papa has been continuing to do well. He has been going to work every day until about lunch and even going out to some job sites with Stephen and/or Shawn tagging along to "supervise". Each and every day the flap site improves and it looks as if it is healing nicely. The inside of his mouth has now completely turned the same color as the rest and other than a few missing teeth and some sutures hanging around..it looks FABULOUS! Looking at him, you would never know what has just taken place if you didn't know ahead of time. The cast on his arm is extremely annoying now because he feels better and wants to do more but can't because of that silly cast. We go to Birmingham tomorrow to see Dr. Holmes. I called today to see exactly what the appointment was about and they told me it was just a post op and Dr. Holmes would take a few pictures, check things out and probably remove the cast and staples from his arm. I will post after the appointment to let you know what all we find out.

Thanksgiving went really well! Papa was able to eat almost everything. He ate all the soft foods as well as some chopped turkey. I assure you he didn't miss out on very much. Maybe the pecan pie, but other than that he was full and satisfied like the rest of us!

I forgot to mention that he went to church yesterday! What a testimony! 4 short weeks since major surgery and he wanted to go to church. (or very long weeks, depending on who is talking :) It was great to see so many who were thrilled to see him and to see the evidence of prayer and God's hand at work. Awesome!