Results

Praise GOD!!! The unofficial reading of the PET scan shows NO CANCER! The "official" reading from the pathologist will take two or three days to come back, but the radiologist who read it today saw no signs in the head and neck. There was a slight scare when she said she saw something "unusual" in one of his lungs. Her questioned Dad about fever, sinus activity etc. and it turns out that she suspects he has pneumonia. It would make sense because he has so much drainage from allergy and sinus problems and for the past two weeks he has been feeling feverish and chills, especially late in the day. We all attributed it to his body just working so hard to heal and of course he doesn't commit to resting much during the day. He has developed a bad cough as well and again he has been treating it as drainage problems from allergies. She couldn't say for sure, but her suspicions are that he does have pneumonia and she sent him for chest
x-rays, etc. After another hour or so and a visit to a different doctor to look at the x-rays, he also determined that it looks like pneumonia, sounded like pneumonia and shows symptoms like pneumonia. So he gave him antibiotics and an inhaler and told him to rest. He HAD to add that he couldn't say 100% without the official reading from the pathologist that it was pneumonia, but I feel so confident that it is. God is good. Continue to pray as we await the "official" results, I just wanted you all to know what we know. Thanks so much for your prayers and love!

Pray!!

Just wanted to you all know that the PET scan is scheduled for THIS THURSDAY at 8:30 in Huntsville. If you have ever had one before you know it is not a fun experience in the first place but when you add anxiety over what the results will show, it is even more dreadful. Not just for Dad, but for all of us. Please pray for Dad specifically and that the outcome of the test is "all clear". Pray for the anxiety that we will all feel while waiting for the results. We look forward to GOOD NEWS! Please pass this on to any prayer warriors who will lift Dad up. Thanks!

Follow Up Visit

Well, it has been nearly a month since I last posted. As you know, Dad finished all his treatments about this time last month and has spent the last 4 weeks healing and getting better and better each day. His appetite has increased and he has been eating more and more lately. He still struggles with things that don't "taste right" or things that are too spicy. If you have seen him out lately, you will agree that he looks great and we are so grateful. His energy levels are climbing back too. He works full days and has given up his afternoon nap. (I think I would have figured out how to keep that!) Today he even went out and TRIED to hit a golf ball.

He had an appointment with Dr. Hardacre today. (His 4 week post treatment appointment) The visit went well and he told dad he was looking good. He is calling to set up a PET scan appointment and should call us with that in the next day or so.. Hopefully it will be soon. Once that is completed we will be called back for an appointment to go over it. If everything is clear, we will then schedule an appointment with Dr. Holmes, the surgeon in Birmingham. That is who Dad really wants to see. He is ready to hear the "action plan". The only concern that Dr. Hardacre had today was an irritated spot on the inside of Dad's cheek. About a week or so ago, he bit down on it by accident when eating. You know if you have ever done that before, that for some reason you keep biting it over and over making it difficult to heal. Well, apparently it is a little swollen and he was concerned that it might show up as "suspicious" on the PET scan. (I am guessing that irritated areas or anything that is not "normal" lights up) That being the case, they would feel obligated to biopsy it. We all feel confident that it is nothing, but just that word can make you a little nervous. So, lets pray that the PET scan comes back all clear.! Pray for the continue healing of his mouth and the return function of his saliva glands. It can be very frustrating to deal with a dry mouth.

Even though he is hungry and eating more, he still cannot seem to gain any weight. Dr. Hardacre told him not to worry too much about that. As long as he is eating and getting nutrition, his body is using everything to heal. We can handle that!

Thank you in advance for praying for Dad. We have been so blessed and pray that God's plan is for complete healing. I will post after the PET scan and let you all know. Until then, Michelle

Beach Trip and Doctor Visit

Dad and Mom joined our family at the beach for a few days. When we got here, Dad was full of energy and ready to go. He ate out twice and enjoyed two fish meals. We were so proud. By the second day here, his energy went downhill from there. He was sooooo tired and just couldn't get any energy. His face and lips however were improving by the minute. He actually wanted to stop taking all pain medication and went to plain old Tylenol. He really spent his three days here resting and napping. They left on Tuesday and on the way home, Papa mentioned he felt like he was dehydrated so they called the doctor and drove straight in to town to the office and got IV fluids. He immediately felt better. I talked to Dr. Hardacre and he reminded me that as we were noticing all the improvements in Dad's physical looks that his body was having to work really hard to do all that healing. He said it was like his body was running a mini marathon twice a day. Therefore, the tiredness and all the napping was to be expected. Putting it in perspective like that really helps. I just know how much if frustrates Papa to not have the energy that he is used to. My family prayed together really hard for Papa and his recovery. He had an appointment with Dr. Hardacre this morning and the first words out of his mouth were complete AMAZEMENT at his physical looks. He said that he couldn't believe how good he looked (that is the same thing we heard from all the doctors/nurses at the surgery) and that he didn't need to come back for 4 weeks! He said his healing looked about two weeks ahead of time! Praise God! HE is sooo good to us. Dr. Hardacre really stressed to us all the importance of Dad starting to eat more. As his body is healing it really needs a lot more than he is putting in. Realize that it isn't because Dad doesn't want to eat, it is just that the food still has such weird tastes and makes it so hard. He knows now that in order to replace all that has been destroyed and rebuild his energy he MUST try to eat...especially liquid (water) and proteins. We are on it...the Smith family mission to feed Papa! So join with us in prayer that Papa be able to eat more and more each day and that he continues to heal. Ultimately, that his PET/CT scan will come back "all clear" and we begin the next stage of rebuilding his teeth. God has been so good and so have you...all of our prayer warriors. We are so thankful.

All Done!

Well, last Friday was the last radiation treatment. Praise God. He has really been through it. We have been told that the next two weeks won't feel much like he is "finished" because everything he did the last week is still in his body and coming to a peak this week. So please continue to pray for his comfort. The left side (the side of the original tumor) has healed remarkably! Therefore, we have complete faith that the right side will do the same. It seems so much worse because of the combination of the two treatments...radiation with the chemo. So, for now we are healing and waiting. He goes back to Dr. Hardacre in another week just to check on the healing and then again two weeks after that. Hopefully then he will be healed up enough for a PET/CT scan. That is what we are waiting and praying for! He will see the chemo doctor for a follow up in 6 weeks. By then, hopefully we will have been to Dr. Holmes or at least have an appointment scheduled to see what our next step will be. It has been a LONG 4 1/2 months and we still have a LONG way to go, but we are getting there.

Stephen, Patrick, Callie and I are going to the beach next week and Mom and Dad are coming with us for the first part of the week! Yeah! We are looking forward to it. I know Dad will be happy to be anywhere as long as there are NO TREATMENTS!

Please pray for his continued healing and for the upcoming scan!

Today's Visit With Dr. Hardacre

Dad, Mom and I met with Dr. Hardacre this morning after his radiation treatment. We are on go for the last two days of treatments and then he's DONE!!!!!! He will spend the next 4 weeks healing and then report back to see Dr. Hardacre and talk about when he will get his PET/CT scan. It should be around that time. Thank you for all your prayers. The treatments he receives the next two days will peak about a week from now, so continue to pray for his tolerance and his pain as it is really tough. I think just the excitement of knowing that Friday is the last one gives him enough pep to get on in there and get it done. (Hee hee...that is me talking...I am not the one with the burnt face and lips right?) Bless his heart! Keep lifting him up. ~Michelle

Hanging In There!

Ugh. Today was a rough day. I would have thought that getting to skip one of the radiation treatments on Friday would have made a difference in the way his face/lips felt, but he wasn't that lucky. Even after a 3 day break, he was and IS pretty miserable. In fact, I think he wanted to run away this morning and not go to the treatment. Who could blame him? As usual, he was our STRONG Papa and went through with the first of the last 5 treatments. He also had his regularly scheduled chemo appointment this morning. As some of you may know, all of the Decatur General chemotherapy patients were being transferred to the Cancer Institute today which made for a hectic, busy day at the center. Dad did not get out until after 1:00! He hadn't eaten and didn't feel well so he spent the remainder of the day resting and trying to recuperate. He is simply "hanging in there"!! Praise God that it is almost over. Friday should be the last radiation treatment and hopefully today was IT at the chemo center. There is a possibility that he might have one more treatment Monday after the last radiation, but I am not sure. As I have said a million times before, Dad has been such and inspiration and testimony for us all. His faith and positive attitude have carried us all through. Thank you GOD! We pray that he handles the last few days of treatment without getting any worse. We cannot wait to hear those words..."It is all gone and your done!" To God be the glory!