Friday, March 27, 2009

Updates

Sorry it's been so long, alot's been going on. Here's the short version:
Dad got the last of the radiation on his lung, and the doctor said he was very optimistic that the cancer was not gone, but arrested (which means that the tumor is isolated with no chance of growth, kinda smothered if you will). He had a few good weeks with that, then he started forgetting alot of stuff, long term, and short term. It would take him forever to finish a sentence. Well then he started falling all the time. Mostly at night was the hardest b/c mom didn't know he would get up, he wouldn't remember where he was, and would ultimately fall back asleep on the floor until she woke up to find him. We took him to the doctor (hospital) and the neurologist diagnosed him with demintia (we feel like it was induced from the radiation to the brain). Mom still felt she could handle the illness at home. He started falling more and more often, almost nightly. The last time, mom called me up at 5:30 in the morning, and said she and my brother had tried to get him up for the last hour, and couldn't do it. She called 911, and they came and got him up, took him to the ER, and made sure he broke nothing. There in the ER, mom finally came to the realization that she couldn't keep him safe any longer, so we (mom, my sister and I) came to the conclusion to put him in a nursing home. He has been there for 2 weeks now, and on the days he knows what's going on, he's ok with it. He says they treat him like a king. But on the days where he is confused, he don't want to be there. He gets lonely, even though my sister, mom and I visit him daily. So pray. We don't know if he's going to have to be there the rest of his life, or if this is temporary.......The doctors are also worried that the cancer may be back, based on his xrays from the last fall. They aren't going to scan anymore b/c they said even if it is back, there is nothing they can medically do for the cancer, as we have exhausted all our treatment options already. So I guess in this case, ignorance may be bliss......