Status Update: April 15

Hello all,
I wanted to bring you up-to-date on a few things that have taken place with dad in the last week or so. As dad has been going through the latest round of chemo, the doctor has been keeping a close eye on his blood counts. As many of you are familiar, this isn't unusual as chemo is quite literally destroying the red blood cells in your body along with pretty much everything else as it attempts to fight the cancerous cells. Dad has been doing quite well, but a couple of weeks ago, his counts were beginning to decrease. Dr. O tried a shot that aims to boost the cell counts, but that didn't make the kind of difference she was looking for. So, last week, dad had a blood transfusion. The procedure was rather straight-forward and dad was back home and resting later in the day. Since then, his energy levels have risen a bit, so we're hopeful that it has made a difference. However, when they did the transfusion, the medical team had a hard time finding a vein to work with. In fact, the last couple of chemo treatments have been quite painful for dad because of this same situation. So, Dr. O recommended putting in a port. For anyone that isn't familiar, a port is a device implanted in the body that allows for needles to be inserted so that blood can be drawn, chemo can be administered and anything else that happens via a needle can be done in a less painful way. So, now, instead of the medical team searching for a vein, they will go straight to the port to do whatever is necessary. The port was inserted yesterday (putting it in involves a minor surgical procedure) on the upper-right side of dad's chest and he was back home yesterday afternoon.

So, we move on to today. Dad is going back to Dr. O today to check his blood counts. If they are high enough, he will likely have his next round of chemo tomorrow (Thursday). So, I ask that each of you be in prayer for dad's comfort, for wisdom for the doctor/medical team and for God's guidance on how best to proceed.

Thank you once again for your continued support and prayers. If you get the chance, please leave a comment on this blog or give mom & dad a call to let them know that you are standing with them during this time.

Have a wonderful day!