Hello friends. By now, many of you may be aware of this news, but in case you were not aware, we've had a day with less than stellar news. The day began with dad's scheduled visit to Rex to have an MRI performed. It's been 3 weeks since he wrapped up radiation & chemo and Dr. O wanted to see how things were progressing. The procedure went off without any problems. However, later in the morning, Dr. O called my sister to let her know that 1) the radiation appears to have had no effect on the existing spots on dad's brain, and 2) there appear to be new spots that have developed. Needless to say, this is not what we were hoping or praying for.
Cassie drove out to meet up with mom and dad (dad had a PT appointment in Clayton after the visit to Rex) and shared with them the results of the MRI. I headed over from work to meet up with them. We had a nice family lunch at Chick-fil-a and then went back over to mom and dad's house to talk. Dad did most of the talking-- he let us know that he's not going to give up and that he's definitely not going to be pessimistic about anything, but he also let us know that God is in control and that when God decides it is time, it will be time and he's OK with that. I'm sure most of you know that dad is quite strong in his faith in God. As a son, it is quietly comforting to hear him say that last part; it's kind of like he's still teaching me one more lesson and I'm very much willing to be the student.
We all shed a number of tears this afternoon and I guess that's to be expected, but at the end of it, dad told us that he "was tired of sitting around and he doesn't plan to just sit around doing nothing." So, mom, dad and I got out and drove around for a while. Eventually, we ended up at their church-- Aversboro Road Baptist-- and we decided to go inside. The only other person there was a member of the cleaning crew, but it didn't matter. This was the first time dad has been able to go inside the church since before he was in the hospital back in December. We walked the hallways and ultimately made our way to the sanctuary. Mom turned on the lights and we all walked down front and just sat on the front row. The quite of the sanctuary was interrupted only by the chiming of the bells and I really couldn't have imagined being anywhere else at that time.
Dad wanted to go out to O'Charley's for dinner and my Aunt Betty joined us. We had a nice time, but dad was starting to get run down from the day, so after dinner, we headed back home. Dad wanted to sit by the fireplace and enjoy the warmth of the gas logs. His final words to me tonight were that he was going to be and that he planned on getting up tomorrow because tomorrow is going to be a "fresh start; a brand new day."
So, that's where we are tonight. As always, we covet your prayers. Specifically, we ask for the following:
1. pray for comfort and strength for dad, my mom and all of us
2. ask God to heal dad if that is within His will
In addition to the prayer requests, I have to additional requests:
1. I know that a few of you have sent cards and/or photos. If you haven't had the chance to, please send mom and dad a card and a photo of yourself to let them know that you are standing with them.
2. If you have a mother or a father-- hug them and tell them that you love them. If you have a son or a daughter-- hug them and tell them that you love them. If you have a grandson or a granddaughter-- hug them and tell them that you love them. If you have a brother or sister, an aunt or an uncle-- hug them and tell them that you love them. If you do those things, it will quite possibly one of the most important things you will ever do in your life.
Much love,
The Parks Family
Showing posts with label MRI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MRI. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Friday, November 7, 2008
Post-Treatment Update
Hello all. Dad completed the cyber knife treatment late this afternoon and he's doing well. The procedure started about 1:30 and finished up around 4:30. Dad was a little concerned traveling over to UNC-CH this morning as he had a headache and was concerned that it might affect the ability to do the treatment, but soon after arrival, the medical team assured him that taking some pain medication was OK and he felt much better after he did.
I spoke with dad after the treatment and he said he was very impressed at the medical team. They were right there with him the entire time and were quite responsive to his needs. He had to go to the bathroom a couple of times and they gladly stopped the process, he took a break and they went right back to it. Dad also said that the procedure was indeed painless as he never felt anything. In fact, all he could pick up on was the movement of the machine.
Dad told me that he feels even more confident now after having completed the cyber knife process that he is indeed on the right path for treatment. As someone mentioned to me today, staying positive with a good outlook is critical, and we couldn't agree more.
So, with the first step done, we move on to the steps ahead. Dad will go back over to UNC-CH on Dec. 17 for a follow-up consultation on this procedure and they will do another MRI in 3 or 4 months to see if the process was successful. Also, as I noted earlier, dad will meet with his medical team at Rex Hospital next week to evaluate the process for whole-brain radiation and the timetable for doing that.
For now, dad said he was planning to go home, get some dinner, put on some comfortable clothes and relax for the remainder of the evening. He's even talking about going to the Duke/State football game tomorrow afternoon if he feels up to it!
Thank you for your prayers today and I ask that you will continue to pray for him over the next few days that he will continue to feel good and strong. Also, please continue praying for ultimate healing in that the cancer will be completely eliminated from his body.
I spoke with dad after the treatment and he said he was very impressed at the medical team. They were right there with him the entire time and were quite responsive to his needs. He had to go to the bathroom a couple of times and they gladly stopped the process, he took a break and they went right back to it. Dad also said that the procedure was indeed painless as he never felt anything. In fact, all he could pick up on was the movement of the machine.
Dad told me that he feels even more confident now after having completed the cyber knife process that he is indeed on the right path for treatment. As someone mentioned to me today, staying positive with a good outlook is critical, and we couldn't agree more.
So, with the first step done, we move on to the steps ahead. Dad will go back over to UNC-CH on Dec. 17 for a follow-up consultation on this procedure and they will do another MRI in 3 or 4 months to see if the process was successful. Also, as I noted earlier, dad will meet with his medical team at Rex Hospital next week to evaluate the process for whole-brain radiation and the timetable for doing that.
For now, dad said he was planning to go home, get some dinner, put on some comfortable clothes and relax for the remainder of the evening. He's even talking about going to the Duke/State football game tomorrow afternoon if he feels up to it!
Thank you for your prayers today and I ask that you will continue to pray for him over the next few days that he will continue to feel good and strong. Also, please continue praying for ultimate healing in that the cancer will be completely eliminated from his body.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday Evening Update
Hello all. I realize that it is the middle of the night on the east coast, but here in the west, it is just about 10:45 and we've had a very busy day. Dad continues to make progress on several fronts. He was able to get out of the bed, walk down the hall a couple of times and he's able to get up and go to the bathroom. You never realize how big a deal something like that is until you are unable to do that for a period of time. Appreciating the ordinary-- that's definitely a lesson that we've all learned the past few days.
Dad currently has a urinary tract infection. The infection came about b/c of E. Coli. I know-- when I first heard that, I was a little startled as well. However, it appears that it is not an uncommon infection and also the antibiotic he was on before today (Cipro) made him more susceptible to the infection. His antibiotic has been changed and we hope he is on the road to getting past that infection.
Dad is mostly very tired and we're trying to make sure he gets as much rest as possible. However, we do read him your comments when he's feeling up to it and he enjoys every one of them. Thanks for sending them along-- they really help keep his spirits up.
We met with two doctors this evening. The first is a resident neurologist. We still haven't heard back from the results of the MRI that was done on Monday afternoon. I let this doctor know that we are tired of waiting and that I needed him to find out the results right away (OK, I was forceful, but in a nice way about it :) He did a little checking and was able to get his hands on the MRI. However, he indicated that he needed to consult with the chief neurologist in the morning as the chief is better qualified to read it and talk with us about it. So, we're waiting a little longer. The bottom line-- we want someone to be looking at the MRI to get a better assessment of the situation and to share that info with our medical team back in NC.
The second doctor we met with is the head of dad's medical team at St. Mary's. She is one of the best doctors we've met with thus far as she has a great bedside manner and a good way of explaining the situation so that we can understand. We talked about dad's status-- he continues to be stable, good blood pressure, good blood sugar, good oxygen levels-- and she talked about some of the next steps ahead. Tomorrow, her team will be meeting with a case worker in the hospital to begin devising a plan/coordinating details to transport dad back home. They have indicated that it would be their preference for a "home health nurse" to travel with dad as well as have the appropriate medicines on-hand during the flight to administer them to him in the event that another seizure should strike. The doctor told dad that he's "a healthy person" in that all of his organs and his body in general are in good shape, but he has the lesions on his brain so we would need to take extra precautions with a flight. Please note that this is in the event that everyone on the medical teams (LB & NC) feel that the trip back home is advisable. While we pray and hope that this will be the case, we want what is best for dad to take care of this situation. This is definitely an area you can be in prayer for us on.
We've also been in touch with Dr. O'Lila at UNC-CH and he indicated that he's anxious to have dad back home so he can "get to work" on this. My dad, and our family, think very highly of Dr. O'Lila as well as Dr. Olajide (oncologist at Rex) and that is why we have them weighing in on the situation.
Dad received several of his ASPE friends today at the hospital as they are wrapping up their convention and returning home. We were grateful for their support of dad when we could not be here in the initial hours of all of this. For that matter, we are grateful to everyone for their love and support as we know you've all been reaching across the country to help us during this difficult time.
I did want to update on a couple of items from earlier: 1) we have secured our hotel rooms through at least Monday of next week. We hope we won't need them, but we at least have them. Thank you for your prayers in that area. 2) I'm feel much better as I got some rest this morning and took some decongestant to alleviate the crud I was experiencing. Again, thanks for your prayers for me-- it is easy to get so focused on providing support for others that you forget to take care of yourself.
Please continue to pray for our family (all of us-- here in LB and those back home in NC). As you know, my brother-in-law, Josh, returned home on Tuesday and my wife, Melinda, is at home with both of our children (3 yr. old & 5 month old). It is a time like this that test a family's strength and I would like to request prayer to make sure those bonds remain very tight. Also, please continue to pray for dad for total and complete recovery. I'm not picky-- God can make the disease simply disappear or it can go away with the help of treatment, but please pray for complete and total recovery.
Well, that's it for today. I'm sure I left out a lot of details, so if I think of anything else, I'll update in the morning. I do want to leave you with a smile, so I'll try this-- while we know it's been quite chilly back in the Triangle (50's, I believe), the temps here have been in the 80's and sunny! OK, anyone who knows me knows that I'd rather enjoy a cool/cold day in the fall than warm weather like this! But, when you're putting on that jacket in the morning, think of us as we're out here with the warm weather!
Thank you for your prayers, love and support. We know our family will never be able to repay you for the kindness you've shown during these past few days.
ps-- in case you weren't aware, you can "follow" this blog by clicking on the "follow" link to the left of this entry and I believe it will e-mail you whenever I post a new update. Of course, you're welcome to simply stop by as well-- we appreciate the support. Have a wonderful night!
Dad currently has a urinary tract infection. The infection came about b/c of E. Coli. I know-- when I first heard that, I was a little startled as well. However, it appears that it is not an uncommon infection and also the antibiotic he was on before today (Cipro) made him more susceptible to the infection. His antibiotic has been changed and we hope he is on the road to getting past that infection.
Dad is mostly very tired and we're trying to make sure he gets as much rest as possible. However, we do read him your comments when he's feeling up to it and he enjoys every one of them. Thanks for sending them along-- they really help keep his spirits up.
We met with two doctors this evening. The first is a resident neurologist. We still haven't heard back from the results of the MRI that was done on Monday afternoon. I let this doctor know that we are tired of waiting and that I needed him to find out the results right away (OK, I was forceful, but in a nice way about it :) He did a little checking and was able to get his hands on the MRI. However, he indicated that he needed to consult with the chief neurologist in the morning as the chief is better qualified to read it and talk with us about it. So, we're waiting a little longer. The bottom line-- we want someone to be looking at the MRI to get a better assessment of the situation and to share that info with our medical team back in NC.
The second doctor we met with is the head of dad's medical team at St. Mary's. She is one of the best doctors we've met with thus far as she has a great bedside manner and a good way of explaining the situation so that we can understand. We talked about dad's status-- he continues to be stable, good blood pressure, good blood sugar, good oxygen levels-- and she talked about some of the next steps ahead. Tomorrow, her team will be meeting with a case worker in the hospital to begin devising a plan/coordinating details to transport dad back home. They have indicated that it would be their preference for a "home health nurse" to travel with dad as well as have the appropriate medicines on-hand during the flight to administer them to him in the event that another seizure should strike. The doctor told dad that he's "a healthy person" in that all of his organs and his body in general are in good shape, but he has the lesions on his brain so we would need to take extra precautions with a flight. Please note that this is in the event that everyone on the medical teams (LB & NC) feel that the trip back home is advisable. While we pray and hope that this will be the case, we want what is best for dad to take care of this situation. This is definitely an area you can be in prayer for us on.
We've also been in touch with Dr. O'Lila at UNC-CH and he indicated that he's anxious to have dad back home so he can "get to work" on this. My dad, and our family, think very highly of Dr. O'Lila as well as Dr. Olajide (oncologist at Rex) and that is why we have them weighing in on the situation.
Dad received several of his ASPE friends today at the hospital as they are wrapping up their convention and returning home. We were grateful for their support of dad when we could not be here in the initial hours of all of this. For that matter, we are grateful to everyone for their love and support as we know you've all been reaching across the country to help us during this difficult time.
I did want to update on a couple of items from earlier: 1) we have secured our hotel rooms through at least Monday of next week. We hope we won't need them, but we at least have them. Thank you for your prayers in that area. 2) I'm feel much better as I got some rest this morning and took some decongestant to alleviate the crud I was experiencing. Again, thanks for your prayers for me-- it is easy to get so focused on providing support for others that you forget to take care of yourself.
Please continue to pray for our family (all of us-- here in LB and those back home in NC). As you know, my brother-in-law, Josh, returned home on Tuesday and my wife, Melinda, is at home with both of our children (3 yr. old & 5 month old). It is a time like this that test a family's strength and I would like to request prayer to make sure those bonds remain very tight. Also, please continue to pray for dad for total and complete recovery. I'm not picky-- God can make the disease simply disappear or it can go away with the help of treatment, but please pray for complete and total recovery.
Well, that's it for today. I'm sure I left out a lot of details, so if I think of anything else, I'll update in the morning. I do want to leave you with a smile, so I'll try this-- while we know it's been quite chilly back in the Triangle (50's, I believe), the temps here have been in the 80's and sunny! OK, anyone who knows me knows that I'd rather enjoy a cool/cold day in the fall than warm weather like this! But, when you're putting on that jacket in the morning, think of us as we're out here with the warm weather!
Thank you for your prayers, love and support. We know our family will never be able to repay you for the kindness you've shown during these past few days.
ps-- in case you weren't aware, you can "follow" this blog by clicking on the "follow" link to the left of this entry and I believe it will e-mail you whenever I post a new update. Of course, you're welcome to simply stop by as well-- we appreciate the support. Have a wonderful night!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Breathing Tube is Out
Late this afternoon, the medical team gave the OK to remove dad's breathing tube. As a result, he was able to begin communicating with us a little more regularly. He's emotionally very fragile right now. He is aware of the seizure and the lesions and, understandably, that has him rather upset. However, in the interest of focusing only on the items directly in front of us, we're joyous that the tube is out and he's able to communicate with us. For now, we need him to continue resting and breathing.
We were finally able to track down the phone number for the neurologist that dad was consulting with back at home (Rex Hospital). We're planning to get in touch with her tomorrow morning and get her connected with the neurologist out here. We're also trying to get in touch with dad's insurance company to find out what they will/will not cover as we examine options. And speaking of options, the neurologist here says that he would like for the radiation/chemo treatments to begin right away. Naturally, we'd like to see that happen back at home, but we're still unsure of his ability to travel. So, we're waiting to see the results of the MRI that was done this afternoon before proceeding any further.
I do want to thank you for the comments that you've offered up-- they mean a lot to us and it is amazing to see the outpouring of support from all of you. It is wonderful to see God at work through each of you. Please keep praying for strength for us and healing for dad. We're about to get some dinner (it's about 8 p.m. out here) and will briefly go back to the hospital tonight before calling it a day.
Thanks for your prayers-- it is wonderful to see how God is at work through
We were finally able to track down the phone number for the neurologist that dad was consulting with back at home (Rex Hospital). We're planning to get in touch with her tomorrow morning and get her connected with the neurologist out here. We're also trying to get in touch with dad's insurance company to find out what they will/will not cover as we examine options. And speaking of options, the neurologist here says that he would like for the radiation/chemo treatments to begin right away. Naturally, we'd like to see that happen back at home, but we're still unsure of his ability to travel. So, we're waiting to see the results of the MRI that was done this afternoon before proceeding any further.
I do want to thank you for the comments that you've offered up-- they mean a lot to us and it is amazing to see the outpouring of support from all of you. It is wonderful to see God at work through each of you. Please keep praying for strength for us and healing for dad. We're about to get some dinner (it's about 8 p.m. out here) and will briefly go back to the hospital tonight before calling it a day.
Thanks for your prayers-- it is wonderful to see how God is at work through
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