Dad Update

I've haven't updated on Dad's cancer journey in a while so I thought I'd fill you all in.  Dad has been getting chemo since January and all things considered, it's been going well.  He's lost around 20lbs (which he says he needed to lose) but he hasn't had any nausea nor has he lost any hair!  He is weaker and gets out of breath pretty easily so he quickly learned that he needs to use his spare time taking it easy.  He is still working full time and has yet to take a day off due to feeling bad.  The only time he misses work is when he's getting chemo or at a doctor's appointment.  On the "off week" when he doesn't receive chemo, he gets a steriod that makes him so wired... he almost drives us crazy because he talks ninety to nothing and goes from one thought to the next.  He doesn't even sleep but a few hours a night...It's like he's on speed! 

They are trying to kill as much cancer as much as possible so that he can have a stem cell transplant.  I'm not exactly sure how it all works, but this isn't the controversial kind of stem cell transplant that you hear so much about in the news... they will extract stem cells from dad, harvest them, and transplant them back into him so that they will create new healthy (non-cancerous) cells to replace the ones that have been killed during chemo.  There is a chance that he will have to have 2 transplants to go into remission.  The good thing is that if dad doesn't have enough stem cells, they can check to see if me or my sister are a match, as well as my dad's 5 brothers and sisters.  His doctor that is overseeing his treaments and the transplant is at Vanderbilt.  Last week, mom and dad headed to Nashville to see dad's doctor and for various tests to see if he was ready for his transplant yet.  They got the results this past Friday and it wasn't what we had hoped... Dad still has 25% cancer in his bone marrow so they wanted to postpone the transplant and do 2 rounds of a much stronger chemo.  Dad left yesterday morning and checked into Vanderbilt  Hosp. and is hooked up to chemo for 96 hours STRAIGHT.  He'll be finished Tuesday night and probably come home Wednesday morning.

To add to the craziness, my mom already had plans to go to Birmingham this weekend because my grandmother's house sold last week and she and my aunt have to get it ready for closing (go through everything and keep the things they want, have an estate sale, clean the house and close on May 11).  My aunt is single, my dad is sick and my mom's brother lives up North SO that leaves the project up to my mom and aunt and not alot of time to get it all done (Easter next weekend, Noah's birthday party the next, and Collier is being dedicated at church the next).  Jamie and I would be there in a second but with two kids, we would be in the way more so than helping.  I felt TERRIBLE about dad going through this chemo by himself but he is completely fine with it and is going to use this time to rest.  He didn't want mom taking off work or canceling her plans of going to Birmingham.  So that's where we are. 

I called Dad this morning and he was doing fine, he'd been hooked up the chemo for 9 hours and was okay.  He did get very emotional on the phone when we started talking about Noah.  I took the boys to my parent's house on Wednesday evening since Dad was leaving the next morning and he said that it was as if Noah knew something was going on because he kept his eye on Dad the whole night.  It is a possibility that he knew something was up because I did have a talk with Noah explaining that we really need to pray for Poppa and that he would be gone for several days and would be in the hospital.  Who knows if he understood all that I said but I felt like I should tell him regardless.  I have seen my dad cry, maybe 2 times prior to Noah entering our lives but he tears up almost every time he talks about him.  The night Noah was born, my mom and sister stayed with me in the hospital but Dad went with Jamie to Huntsville.  They were by Noah's side constantly and saw Noah in the worst shape he was in and have since told me that they didn't think he would make it.  We practically lived with my parents for the first month after Noah was released for Huntsville Hospital's NICU and he stole Dad's heart immediately.  When you've had a child that has gone through and overcome so much, it makes the small milestone that much greater of an accomplishment.  We all witnessed first hand the situation that Noah faced when he was born so to see where he is today is a miracle.  We all appreciate his little life that much more.  Dad and Noah have always had a very special relationship and a bond that I can't even explain. Whenever I talk about Poppa to Noah, he gives me the biggest smile and his face always lights up when he's with my dad.  He wants my dad's constant attention and Dad is perfectly okay giving it to him!  Of course, now with Collier in the picture I see their bond forming as well and know they'll be just as close as Noah and Dad are.  That's why I need my Dad to be around for a long time!  I want Noah to have my Dad as long as I've had my grandparents, if not longer!  I want him to see Noah as he gets older and begins walking, running and talking our heads off.  I want Dad, Jamie and the boys to spend their Saturdays on the golf course together for years to come.  I want Dad to be in the crowd when Noah graduates from kindergarten, plays his first sport, learns a musical instrument (because he LOVES music), and graduates from high school.  I want Dad to be able to get out in the yard with the boys and help them perfect their baseball skills (or golf, basketball, whatever), like he would always do with me during the years when I played softball.  I want Collier to be given the chance to have the same relationship that Noah and Dad will always have.  Prayerfully, this chemo will work as his doctors are hoping it will, we can proceed with the transplant and be on the road to recovery in just a few months.

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. ~Author Unknown