Pumps...and not the Prada kind...

Hola everyone,

Dad is home (well, at my home anyway). He is currently passed out thanks to lack of sleep and a little happy pill we like to call Vicodin. He started his feeding tube tonight and it was rather uneventful. The little pump in held inside a backpack so that Dad is able to move around freely. I promise to add a picture tomorrow.

The queen bee will be here tomorrow and I think that Dad is pretty excited about it. We will see how much furniture actually stays in place. Apparently she has packed her favorite paint brush...Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us.

Thursday we see the gastrointestinal oncologist and the radiation oncologist. I will update tomorrow with information about Mom's adventure to Houston.

Say a little prayer for Mom, she is pretty nervous about flying.

Lots of Love,
Kate

Comments

Okay everyone...now you can comment on this blog without having to set up an account! Be excited! I expect lots of comments....

Whoooo iiieeeee....

I am delirious, I may have stolen some of Dad's morphine...

JUST KIDDING...Geeze!

Oh Waiting Room, Oh Waiting Room...

Okay everyone, it's late and I have spent a combined 7 hours in waiting rooms, so do not expect much! Dad is doing well. He may not come home tomorrow, depending on the dietitian schedule. That does not mean that something went wrong, so don't getta worrying. Nothing can be put into the feeding tube until it has been in place for 24 hours. They will put the first drip in, make sure everything goes well, and then send him home. Of course, Dad is not a happy camper, but I am glad they are being thorough.

I will be sure to keep everyone updated.

Did yall enjoy my twitter updates?

I know some of you (cough, Mrs. G, cough, Aunt Moe) are having some difficulties with the comment portion of the blog, so I am working a way to make this easier for everyone.

Night everyone!

Lots of Love,

Kate

Sunday...

Hello my faithful followers, I know you are itching for your update. I am sure most of you sit anxiously waiting for my daily update, your life revolves around it. I understand, and I am completely used it it. Rest easy friends, here is your update...

Well here we are, the day prior to surgery. We did the pre-admission for surgery and receive our report time, which is 10am (Central time). We don't have too many more details. Remember to check the twitter for hour by hour updates, starting at 10am.

http://twitter.com/dansmdajourney

Keep Dad is your prayers. He is about to play the Wii Fit for the first time!

Lots of Love,
Kate

Houston Tour...

Today we drove around Houston and saw all of the major areas...fun stuff. Dad is feeling much better today, so it was great to see him in better humor. He got some good sleep last night, so I really think that helps. Mom will be here on Wednesday, so I am sure our entire house will be rearranged, some new accessories from pottery barn will be added, and probably a new accent wall will be painted LOL! We all know Mom and I am NOT complaining!

We went to Mass today...the music was worse than Our Lady of the Springs...holy cow. Dad want to try to go to Life Teen at 5pm on Sundays instead.

Just wanted to keep everyone in the loop.

Well here it is...

Alright everyone, are you sitting down? Of course you are, this is a computer! Dad is going to be receiving a feeding tube on Monday to help him receive nutrition. The irritation in his esophagus has made eating rather difficult and he is having a really hard time getting balanced nutrition. Once he has surgery he will need one for a little while anyway, so we are just getting an early start. This will also help while he is receiving chemo and radiation, since we all know that the side effects of those treatments tend to be rough on the body. The feeding tube will be inserted laparoscopically, so the recovery time will be pretty easy.

To keep everyone updated on a hourly basis I have started a twitter account. Feel free to follow us!
http://twitter.com/dansmdajourney

Dad had another endoscopy today and we finally got a stage from a doctor. The stage T3N1, but don't google it...we are not statistics! The endoscopy showed that there are some pretty good sized ulcers on the tumor, which means Dad needs to be on a liquid diet. The ulcers are actually probably what saved Dad's life. They caused the soreness that brought Dad to the doctor in the first place. Dad is not super thrilled about the liquid diet but he enjoyed a McDonalds's Hot Fudge sundae today. Icecream for dinner? Sounds like Dad is pretty happy to me!

Dad also had a complete Pulmonary Test today and guess what? He was ABOVE normal! Wonderful! The stronger your lung function is, the better you will do with surgery.

Please send Dad some love, he is feeling pretty down trodden right now.

I added some pictures in the next post. I edited the time so this one will show first.

Lots of love,

Kate

Pictures thus far...

Uber cool arm band. They took his picture
once and EVERY department had it...awesome!


Lovin' the pocket map!


Inside the pocket map



Endoscopy results...don't ask me to translate...




Courtesy of Dr. Rice...well I may have stolen it. The circled area is going to be
removed during surgery. The image on the left shows what his new esophagus
and stomach will look like post op. The marshmallow type stuff is the tumor area.
Not really drawn to scale since the tumor is 5cm long