Post-Radiation Update

All,
I spoke with my mom earlier today and she said that dad completed his final round of radiation without any difficulty. In fact, she said, he was actually quite emotional afterwards and when she asked him if he was OK, he said that he "couldn't believe that he'd made it to the end of the radiation treatments." Needless to say, the physical, mental and emotional toll this has taken on him (and all of us) is great. So, please pray for a sense of calm and peace as he's reached the latest point on this journey.

I do know that he will have a few appointments coming up by way of follow-up with Dr. O, an appointment with an ENT specialist for the hearing issue and he will begin physical therapy again on Monday of next week. I'll post more as I know it.

Please be sure to lift up to God a prayer of thanksgiving that dad has made it through this stage!

Last Radiation Treatment Today

Hello all. As I write this, dad is undergoing his 14th and final radiation treatment at the Rex Cancer Center today. This is a long journey that began back in early December and was interrupted by the surgery just before Christmas. He will also take his final chemo pill tonight as part of this round of chemo. The chemo treatment will continue next month with a cycle of 5 days on and off for the rest of the month.

Please pray for a few specific things:
1. That the radiation treatments will be successful in beating back the existing traces of melanoma.
2. That God will perform a miracle of healing and not allow any new spots to develop.
3. That dad will be successful in the process of restoring some of the cognitive and physical functionality that he's lost during the radiation sessions.

On this last point, dad's vision and hearing has suffered a bit during the past couple of weeks. Apparently, this is not uncommon for people undergoing radiation & chemo treatments. Nonetheless, it is tough as he's not really able to see anyone or anything unless you get up fairly close to him. Additionally, he has a very hard time hearing and is experiencing a "buzz" in his ears. Many of these symptoms were present during the first round of radiation/chemo, and they did diminish in the weeks in between radiation sessions, so we are hopeful that this will be the case once again. Additionally, he's having a hard time communicating his thoughts when talking, and that makes him quite frustrated.

So, that's where we are on January 14. We appreciate your prayers and support. I'll update later once the radiation session is complete. Thanks.

Latest Update: Starting PT; Radiation & Chemo Resume

Hello all. I realize I haven't posted anything in a while, so I'm sorry for not keeping you in the loop. Dad began physical therapy on Monday of this week. He's doing the PT sessions at the WakeMed facility in Clayton. They are mainly working on physical movement (walking, strength, etc.), occupational therapy (think: sitting at a desk and doing "work" tasks) and speech therapy. When someone undergoes radiation, it is basically destroying some of the tissue cells in the brain. Add in surgery and the removal of a small portion of the brain and there is a loss of some cognitive abilities. Mainly, dad just has a hard time verbalizing what he wants to say. The therapy is good, but tiring.

Also, he began the radiation and chemo sessions yesterday at the Rex Cancer Center. As you may recall, he had completed 7 of 14 sessions when they stopped for the surgery. So, as of this afternoon, he's down to 5 sessions remaining. If all goes as expected, he will finish with those next Wednesday.

Please continue to pray for strength and healing. I know many of you have asked how you can help and we're working on a way to let you know what some of the needs are that mom and dad have. Stay tuned to the blog (I hope to post something about that later today or tomorrow morning) and we'll get you the details.

Thank you for your continued support!

Homeward Bound

Hello all. I'm pleased to report that Dad is on his way home from Rex Hospital. I just talked to him a short while ago (I'm in Atlanta with Melinda and the kids visiting Melinda's family) and he is doing quite well. The past few days have brought much in the way of progress. Dad's been able to regain more of his strength and some of the cognitive setbacks (stringing words together, comprehension, etc.) have improved as well. So, with the guidance of his doctors, dad was cleared to go home today and that's where he is now. Needless to say, this is a major milestone in our journey and while it will still be challenging for him at home as he needs the aid of a walker, tires quickly and is a little restless, it will be easier for him to relax in his own home.

So, here's where things stand at this point. Radiation is still on hold as we were told it cannot resume until 10 days after the surgery. He's completed 7 of 14 treatments, so he's 50% complete. He did resume the chemo on Monday of this past week, but only took the pills for 2 days as it coincided with a major setback in cognitive function. The doctors aren't sure that the chemo was causing that, but once he stopped, cognitive abilities began to return fairly quickly. So, the chemo is on hold for the time being, but will likely resume with the radiation. Lastly, earlier this week, we did have to shave dad's head as he was loosing a considerable portion of his hair each day, so shaving it was a little easier. And now, as my Aunt Betty (dad's sister) said, he looks a lot like Howie Mandel on the TV game show!

We appreciate all of your prayers and support. Being in the hospital for 3 straight weeks is not easy under any set of circumstances and being there over Christmas is even more difficult. However, we truly appreciate how special family and friends are this year as you have stood right beside us during these difficult days. Clearly, we have a long ways to go, but as dad said to me just a short while ago, the goal for each day is to be 110% better tomorrow than he is today.

Several of you have asked what you can do to help. I've asked Mom and Dad to think about some things that they may need help with and I'll post some of those items to this blog once I have them (hopefully later today). But for now, I only ask that you hold off on visits in the immediate future until dad has a chance to get readjusted to being at home. Once he's settled, I'm sure he will welcome a few visitors, so we'll let you know when he reaches that point.

Thanks again and I'll let you know more as we have it.

Next Up -- Treatment

Hello all. After a day's absence, I'm back to writing on this blog. As I mentioned on Friday, I plan to keep this blog going as we shift from being focused on getting home to the next phase: treatment. Dad is scheduled to begin treatment tomorrow morning (Monday) at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. He will undergo both radiation and chemotherapy. The chemo will be done by pill and the radiation will be done at the Rex Cancer Center. We get started first thing at 9 a.m. followed by a meeting with Dr. O. to discuss the situation. Naturally, I'll post an update as soon as it is available.

Dad has done quite well since arriving back home. He's had a number of visitors since Friday and we've enjoyed every smile, every hug, every laugh and every tear. It's kind of been like a mini-reunion since arriving back home and that's been good for all of us.

Melinda and I have talked a lot since arriving back home and there's one thing that is a constant topic of discussion between us-- the amazing way in which God has revealed himself in this entire situation. This one incident brought together so many people in a short period of time. Additionally, we have heard from many of you that you were either praying personally for dad or your Sunday school/small group/church/school etc. were praying for dad-- that is an awesome thing to see happening. Please don't stop. We have much further to go and we can use every prayer you can offer up as we know God can do amazing things.

Thanks for all you've done in the last 7 days. I will keep you updated in the days and weeks ahead. Also, please know that you are welcome to call dad as he'd like to hear from each of you. It does wonders for his spirits. Please be in prayer for us at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning and specifically pray that God will allow these treatments to work and eradicate this disease from dad's body.

Have a wonderful start to your week!

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