The Last Walk With The Family

On May 1st my dad started down an unknown path. My family and I went with him. This was a journey that none of us wanted to take, but there were no options. The journey ended Friday morning when my father passed away with complications from cancer. Three months after being diagnosed, this disease took his life. It attacked every minute, every hour, every day for 3 months. On July 27th dad was taken to Iowa City. He lived his last 11 days at Mercy Hospice on the 5th floor at Mercy Hospital. On Sunday August 1st his conditioned worsened. A call was made for family members to come as soon as possible. For the next five days my mom, brothers, sister and I lived at Mercy at my fathers bedside. My dads brother and sister were there every day also. The days and nights were filled with many tears as well as many prayers. Watching my father die was absolutely the hardest thing any of us have ever done. After dad drew his final breath, sadness and tears filled his room. But through all of this I felt a great relief, almost joy.. He was finally free of his cancer and pain and now starting on the greatest journey of all. Although we cannot walk this final stretch of his journey with him, we take great comfort knowing that Jesus is holding his hand and bringing him home.

Walking The Path Together

Saturday after work, I went to mom & dads home in Williamsburg. My brother Garry was there from the previous night and staying Sat. night also. It seemed to me that dads health had taken a turn for the worse since my last visit. He had lost 4 lbs. last week. He wasn't eating or taking his meds some of the time. The Dr's. had decided that the chemo wasn't doing any good and have ended his treatments. They have scheduled a series of 5 days of radiation over 4 different areas of cancer on dads body. This is to help relieve some of his pain. In addition to the meds he now takes, he is also on a new drug called called Haloperidol. It is a very strong drug used for the treatment of delusions and hallucinations. Dad wasn't coherent much of the time I was there. When he did understand it would only last a little while. My sister and other brother live closer to my parents and they are there helping out a lot throughout the week. Hospice has been a big help also. They come to the house regularly to monitor and check up on dad and see how things are going overall. Friends and relatives have brought food, driven mom and dad to appointments, and helped out doing odd jobs. We are forever grateful. Thank You.
Mom is still recovering and doing well. She takes care of dad every day, which is becoming a tougher task as the weeks go by. She had 3 appointments with the Dr's. and surgeons this week. She was able to drive to Ia.City for the first time since her surgery. Along with her recovery she is taking on a lot of the daily jobs that dad used to do around the house. Thanks for all your prayers.

Rough Road Ahead

I spent the 4Th of July at mom & dads house in Williamsburg. Earlier in the week they took dad to Ia. City because his pain was getting bad. They doubled his pain medication and questioned if the chemo was doing any good at fighting the cancer. Dad was not adjusting well to the medication. He would have hallucinations and delirium some of the time, not recognizing family. The drugs were altering his rational thought process as well. Pain has spread to his leg and he is using a wheel chair to get around, which mom pushes him in. Pills have to be crushed and mixed with ice cream or liquids as it is almost impossible for him to swallow them now. Dad doesn't have much of an appetite as most foods no longer taste good to him.
Not all days are bad. Now and then he has a good day, just not as often. Dad goes back to The U. of Ia. hospital tomorrow for a full body CAT scan. This will tell us if and where the cancer has spread. July 1st marked 2 months since he was diagnosed and began treatments.
Mom has been recuperating at home and doing very well. She still is unable to do alot things around the house, but slowly getting better. She has been taking care of dads everyday needs
as well as her own. Considering what she has endured the past month, she is making progress every day.

Chemo Infusion

Friday afternoon, June 19Th, I took dad to Ia. City for his chemo treatment. The infusion of the chemo drug itself, is a quick process taking only about 10 minutes. It is everything else leading up to and after the treatment that is time consuming. Dads appointment was sheduled for 3:30 and we left the hospital after 6:00. The chemo drug that he is receiving is called Navelbine The following is taken from Chemocare.com It tells how Navelbine Works: Cancerous tumors are characterized by cell division, which is no longer controlled as it is in normal tissue. "Normal" cells stop dividing when they come into contact with like cells, a mechanism known as contact inhibition. Cancerous cells lose this ability. Cancer cells no longer have the normal checks and balances in place that control and limit cell division. The process of cell division, whether normal or cancerous cells, is through the cell cycle. The cell cycle goes from the resting phase, through active growing phases, and then to mitosis (division).
The ability of chemotherapy to kill cancer cells depends on its ability to halt cell division. Usually, the drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that tells the cell how to copy itself in division. If the cells are unable to divide, they die. The faster the cells are dividing, the more likely it is that chemotherapy will kill the cells, causing the tumor to shrink. They also induce cell suicide (self-death or apoptosis).
Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells only when they are dividing are called cell-cycle specific. Chemotherapy drugs that affect cells when they are at rest are called cell-cycle non-specific. The scheduling of chemotherapy is set based on the type of cells, rate at which they divide, and the time at which a given drug is likely to be effective. This is why chemotherapy is typically given in cycles.
Chemotherapy is most effective at killing cells that are rapidly dividing. Unfortunately, chemotherapy does not know the difference between the cancerous cells and the normal cells. The "normal" cells will grow back and be healthy but in the meantime, side effects occur. The "normal" cells most commonly affected by chemotherapy are the blood cells, the cells in the mouth, stomach and bowel, and the hair follicles; resulting in low blood counts, mouth sores, nausea, diarrhea, and/or hair loss. Different drugs may affect different parts of the body.
Navelbine belongs to a class of chemotherapy drugs called plant alkaloids. Plant alkaloids are made from plants. The vinca alkaloids are made from the periwinkle plant (catharanthus rosea). The taxanes are made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree (taxus). The vinca alkaloids and taxanes are also known as antimicrotubule agents. The podophyllotoxins are derived from the May apple plant. Camptothecan analogs are derived from the Asian "Happy Tree" (Camptotheca acuminata). Podophyllotoxins and camptothecan analogs are also known as topoisomerase inhibitors. The plant alkaloids are cell-cycle specific. This means they attack the cells during various phases of division.
Vinca alkaloids: Vincristine, Vinblastine and Navelbine
Taxanes: Paclitaxel and Docetaxel
Podophyllotoxins: Etoposide and Tenisopide
Camptothecan analogs: Irinotecan and Topotecan
Antimicrotubule agents (such as Navelbine), inhibit the microtubule structures within the cell. Microtubules are part of the cell's apparatus for dividing and replicating itself. Inhibition of these structures ultimately results in cell death.
So there it is, the fight against cancer that my dad does weekly.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. Kelly

Both roads lead to home..

Mom came home from St. Lukes Hospital last Thursday, June 10th. She passed all of the rehab tests and felt good enough to be released. She is resting at home and trying to slowly regain her strength. She still has a few weeks of recovery before she will be able to return to her "normal" lifestyle.
Dad was doing OK this weekend when I went down to stay with them. He had a little nausea for a couple of mornings. We quickly tried one of the chemo anti nausea pills and that seemed to work fine. Dad took another pill later on and it worked also. A low white blood cell count prevented him from receiving his chemo therapy last Friday. We took extra precautions all week to limit visitors, and try and get his white cell count back up. We will know Friday if he is able to receive this weeks chemo. Dad has been enduring alot, but has done everything that has been asked of him. He always says "thank you" to everybody for all their help.

A Week Of Travel

Dad has been by my moms side every day, and for most of the day. Some of his days are better than others. The pain pills and pain patches can only do do much. The days usually start off pretty good but after a full day of activity dad is usually pretty tired out and sometimes hurting. We take dads meds with us when we travel as he has a noon dose that he has to take. His regiment of medications start in the morning, followed by noon, afternoon, evening and then bedtime. The radiation treatments have made it very hard for dad to swallow. He has a medicine that he gargles with in the morning, evening and before every meal that numbs his throat. This makes it a little less painful to swallow. Dad will be getting his 3rd infusion of chemo-therapy on Friday. He has been given medications to use for the side effects, but hasn't needed them yet. Hopefully dad will rest a little more when my mom returns home.
Again, we thank all of our relatives and friends for their prayers , support and help.

The Road to Recovery

Mom was moved to St. Lukes hospital on Sat. June the 5th. She has a room on 6th floor, which is rehabilitation. One to two weeks of Rehab was the original time line we were given. After the first couple of days some of the nurses and therapists thought mom might be able to go home after just 1 week! She is slowly gaining back her balance, walking, and strength. Her days consist of physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy and a few more. Mom is doing pretty well at everything but is weak and sore from being the hospital bed in Ia. City for about 10 days. She still has about a month of recovery from her surgery, which means that when she does get to go home she will still have to take it easy and relax. Hopefully mom will be home when I post next week. Things are starting to look up.... Kel