- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,685
I really hate to be asking for anything else since you all have been so very kind and giving to me as of late. I am extremely grateful and in your debt.
However, as I mentioned in my firearms thread, my father-in-law, Mike, is fighting a losing battle with cancer. It started in his colon back in '99, spread to his liver (which he was able to treat which is VERY rare), then a bit made its way to his hip (which he had cut out and his hip replaced). It still spread to his lungs a bit (nothing you can do about that), and a tiny bit to the base of his skull.
In other words, cancer was going to get him. This past weekend during the in-laws' visit, he seemed sort of out of it and almost childlike. To be honest, we figured that it was just the amount of opiates that he has in his system. As you all know, cancer is never a pleasant or comfortable way to go.
Yesterday afternoon, he was admitted to a hospital in Nashville where he has been undergoing one of the several cancer treatment studies that has kept him alive for nearly ten years. He has been having some very black bowel movements which pointed to internal bleeding. They did a scan on him and it turns out that the behavior that we thought was a drug side effect was in fact a tumor in his brain that was causing some hemorrhaging. I just received word from my wife that they are going to go ahead and treat it with radiation, which I guess is good news that it is at least MAYBE treatable.
Basically, I'm taking off at noon and she and I are going to make the trip down to Nashville to meet her brother and sister-in-law and to do whatever we need to do for her mother. They are talking about moving him back up to Louisville where he can be more comfortable and get the treatments there. At this point, we don't care if they move him from Nashville, to Louisville, to Ottawa, to Fiji. We're going to make the trip to be with him. I might be back Sunday night, or it might be longer. It's going to depend on how things go over the next couple of days.
This has been a real scare for us. After you spend this much time preparing yourself for someone to go in an expected way, then for fate to turn around and throw you a curve ball, it really knocks the wind out of your sails. We honestly thought that last Christmas would be Mike's last. As the year went on and he responded to various treatments, we were feeling blessed that we might just get another holiday season with him. Honestly, I don't know where we stand with that now. Sure they are going to start radiation, but cancer in your brain takes you very, very quickly.
My in-laws are passionate people. I am not. Because of this, my father-in-law charged me years ago with being the person that holds the family together by example. It's a tough gig, but they need someone like that, i guess.
At any rate, if you could please send up a little smoke, I would greatly appreciate it. I love my father-in-law. My wife and I dated all through highschool and college before finally getting married. I have known this man for 14 years. Because of that, part of me really wants him to hang on so that we can enjoy him just a little more. The more rational and hardened side would like for him to let go now. Up until this point, he and my mother-in-law had a very high quality of living even with the cancer treatments. He's never going to get even half of that back. This radiation is going to be a slow and grinding thing that will buy him time that is not worth spending, in my opinion.
He is not afraid to Walk West. He's square with family, with his demons, and with God.
I don't know what to do. I guess keep things reasonable, shoulder the family as best I can, and make things as comfortable as possible for dad.
Once again, I thank you fine folks so very much for your smoke and prayers. I'm blessed.
However, as I mentioned in my firearms thread, my father-in-law, Mike, is fighting a losing battle with cancer. It started in his colon back in '99, spread to his liver (which he was able to treat which is VERY rare), then a bit made its way to his hip (which he had cut out and his hip replaced). It still spread to his lungs a bit (nothing you can do about that), and a tiny bit to the base of his skull.
In other words, cancer was going to get him. This past weekend during the in-laws' visit, he seemed sort of out of it and almost childlike. To be honest, we figured that it was just the amount of opiates that he has in his system. As you all know, cancer is never a pleasant or comfortable way to go.
Yesterday afternoon, he was admitted to a hospital in Nashville where he has been undergoing one of the several cancer treatment studies that has kept him alive for nearly ten years. He has been having some very black bowel movements which pointed to internal bleeding. They did a scan on him and it turns out that the behavior that we thought was a drug side effect was in fact a tumor in his brain that was causing some hemorrhaging. I just received word from my wife that they are going to go ahead and treat it with radiation, which I guess is good news that it is at least MAYBE treatable.
Basically, I'm taking off at noon and she and I are going to make the trip down to Nashville to meet her brother and sister-in-law and to do whatever we need to do for her mother. They are talking about moving him back up to Louisville where he can be more comfortable and get the treatments there. At this point, we don't care if they move him from Nashville, to Louisville, to Ottawa, to Fiji. We're going to make the trip to be with him. I might be back Sunday night, or it might be longer. It's going to depend on how things go over the next couple of days.
This has been a real scare for us. After you spend this much time preparing yourself for someone to go in an expected way, then for fate to turn around and throw you a curve ball, it really knocks the wind out of your sails. We honestly thought that last Christmas would be Mike's last. As the year went on and he responded to various treatments, we were feeling blessed that we might just get another holiday season with him. Honestly, I don't know where we stand with that now. Sure they are going to start radiation, but cancer in your brain takes you very, very quickly.
My in-laws are passionate people. I am not. Because of this, my father-in-law charged me years ago with being the person that holds the family together by example. It's a tough gig, but they need someone like that, i guess.
At any rate, if you could please send up a little smoke, I would greatly appreciate it. I love my father-in-law. My wife and I dated all through highschool and college before finally getting married. I have known this man for 14 years. Because of that, part of me really wants him to hang on so that we can enjoy him just a little more. The more rational and hardened side would like for him to let go now. Up until this point, he and my mother-in-law had a very high quality of living even with the cancer treatments. He's never going to get even half of that back. This radiation is going to be a slow and grinding thing that will buy him time that is not worth spending, in my opinion.
He is not afraid to Walk West. He's square with family, with his demons, and with God.
I don't know what to do. I guess keep things reasonable, shoulder the family as best I can, and make things as comfortable as possible for dad.
Once again, I thank you fine folks so very much for your smoke and prayers. I'm blessed.
