My Dad

My dad passed away at about 7:25 this evening. It was very peaceful and we were all there with him when he died. Thank you all for your prayers, phone calls and notes. It really means a lot to us.

Update 2

We got the pathology report back this morning. The neurosurgeon explained that the type of cancer my dad has is very aggressive. The words he used are metastatic and anaplastic to describe the tumor in his brain and that it came from most likely his lungs where the tumors are too many to count. He told my mom that he estimated my dad will live about 1 month; however, my dad is very strong so he said he could last longer. He advised that we look into hospice care for the coming weeks. Whether that means at home or elsewhere, we are not sure. Our main concern at this point is that my dad is not suffering. He struggles with speaking, so I imagine he is frustrated. They inserted a feeding tube, so hopefully he will get strong enough to communicate at least. Keep us in your prayers.

Update 1

Today is Thursday and there is not much to update. Because we have not gotten the pathology on the tumor back, the doctors are not moving forward with anything yet. But when they do, they will advise us on what the best plan of action is. They found several tumors on his lungs and his liver has fluid around it. The liver is definitely secondary. The lungs are definitely worrisome. But again, they can't move forward with anything until the pathology report comes back.
He has had no pain meds or sedatives but is is still very sleepy, but he tried to talk to me today. I couldn't understand him, it was very jumbled. I am hoping it is just because he is still so groggy. I just keep expecting him to wake up and talk to us like normal. I told him to wake up and tell us a funny story or cheesy joke like he often does.
Please keep us in your prayers. I will update again by tomorrow.

My Dad

This definitely isn't a happy posting. On Sunday the 16th, my dad had emergency brain surgery due to a brain bleed. The surgeon removed a large tumor from the left side of his frontal lobe. He is currently "asleep;" however, he can move his left arm, his left leg and he has opened his eyes a few times. This morning they removed the breathing tubes and he is breathing well on his own. This morning, he opened his eyes and said, "Hi, Love" to me. It was great to hear his voice, if just for a moment! The nurse wanted to see if he could swallow so she gave him an ice chip. He was able to chew it and we think he swallowed. It's amazing what you think is a great step forward when we weren't sure he'd ever open his eyes again! I will post updates as I get them. It is a very slow process because we are just waiting for him to completely wake up, which seems to be taking forever. We will know more as the days go by. We REALLY appreciate all your prayers. They are working!

Trick or Treat!

This Halloween was especially fun. Lola really understood what was going on and she loved running from house to house to get candy. Eventually she didn't want us to go with her up to doors so we hung back and just listened. When the door would open, she whould either say, "Trick or Treat!" or "Happy Halloween!" Then she'd stick her bag out and after receiving her goods, she'd most always say a great big, "Thank You!" The best part about it though was after it was all done, she never asked to eat any of the candy she received! The bad part about that though is that Jordan and I are left to partake! Ryan went along for the ride. He obviously didn't have any idea how much fun this holiday will one day be for him!

Some friends and I decided to start a homeschool preschool. We are going to alternate teaching at our homes. Last week, Lola learned all about the letter C. She even had a little homework to do over the weekend! I think she had a good time, especially because Jack was there. She enjoyed singing songs, "making" cookies, making the cotton ball clouds rain and reading books. Here are the pictures from her first day.