3 Long Weeks With No Time to Write

For anyone who does not know, my dad is dealing with colon cancer that has spread quickly through his lymph system. He had surgery to remove the right half of his colon on March 3rd, and since then, he has spent 18 nights in the hospital.

That's much of what I'm dealing with right now. Watching my dad deal with pain, emotions, embarassments. Helping him with daily care.

This week has been very long for me. My dad actually progressed enough to come home from the hospital yesterday though which is good. I took my brother and his wife and daughter to the airport yesterday. They had been in town for about 11 days, a big blessing. We are transitioning back to my dad being home again, trying to eat, deal with nausea, and figure out how to do other basic things that have to be done very carefully when you are receiving chemo treatment.

Some praises. His kidney function, which looked very bad earlier this week, causing the doctors to consider dialysis, has completely reversed itself and is almost back to normal again. The chemo seems to be having some good physical effets, as it's lessening his back pain for the first time in months. Some other uncomfortable areas that have had swelling are going down slightly too. He is managing pain pretty well with minimal help.

Prayer requests. His throat has been ripped up by vomiting, and there are very few foods that he can tolerate because of this. Pray that his throat will begin to heal. Pray that he will keep food down to get the calories and nutrients his body needs. Pray that swelling in his legs from sitting for days in the hospital will go down. And, pray for other swelling due to the cancer to go down as well. He is getting better sleep now than before he went to the hospital this time, so that's good. Pray that he will continue to be able to get the basics his body needs to survive, good sleep, proper food and drink, etc, and that the chemo would continue to work effectively.

He goes into his oncologist on Tuesday morning for blood work to check for tumor markers in his blood, to make sure his white blood cell counts are high enough, and to further check his kidney function. Pray that the results show marked improvement in all areas.

His next round of chemo will begin on Monday, May 1st. Pray that the cancer will not continue to progress before then.

I expect the rest of the time my dad is being treated, should be spent at home. He will go into the oncology clinic every other Monday to receive 3 treatments through his chest port. Then, they will attach a pump that he will wear at home for two days, which they will remove on Wednesday. The cycle will be repeated every two weeks for up to 6 months.

That's our plan of action right now. Pray. Keep my dad eating and drinking properly. Pray. Keep him from getting dehydrated. Pray. Make sure he's getting rest. Pray. Manage his pain. Pray. Take chemo treatments. Pray.

Despite all the difficulties, we continue to be astounded by the ways that God works to perfect his children. The resurrection visibly works in the lives of believers when we place our hope in God's grace, and his perfect plan. And, life, given by Christ, grows stronger in my dad, and in us, even in the midst of pain, sickness and death. We continue to count this all joy and God continues to bless that. That's my witness of what I see in front of me and around me right now.

Let us praise God from whom all blessings flow and let us count our trials as joy. Let us be changed by the resurrection daily as we grow to understand better God's grace and the merciful way he deals with his children.

Thanks be to God.

- David