Grandfather Update

There’s no beating around the bush so I will get right to it.

During my grandfather’s colonoscopy on Friday, they discovered that he has colon cancer. It’s a very early and small-ish tumor and it was oozing, which played a big part in his drop in blood counts. He was also taking a low dose blood thinner which is what played a huge roll in his rapid blood loss.

After lengthy discussions with the surgeon, the gastroenterologist, the cardiologist, and his primary care doctor, we’ve weighed all the options and decided that it would cause him more harm to remove the tumor at this point. He would have to endure general surgery and he’s 92 years old - anesthesia and recovery from a procedure like that doesn’t have a good outcome with someone of his age with his health issues. I’ve told everyone, we just want to be reasonable and we want to do the right thing - unfortunately in this case, there is no right or wrong answer. I don’t want to push anything on my grandfather that is not reasonable, which includes surgery or any type of treatment. His physicians do not believe that the tumor will cause him additional harm in his lifetime (perforation of the bowel, blockages, etc). They think something else will get him before the tumor will.

We also had the opinion of an oncologist but he’s NOT who I wanted my grandfather to see and when I found out who was on call, I already knew what his determination would be before he even came in the room. I’m making an appointment with an oncologist of MY choice this week, not for chemo…just to discuss options and his opinion.

The hospital my grandfather is staying in is NOT the one I work at and he’s on the heart floor, not the oncology floor. Let’s just say he (and we) have had less than “excellent” care this hospital boasts. Most of the nurses don’t know me, which also means they don’t realize who I know, including the oncology nurse manager of the hospital. I’ve already spoken with her and she gave great advice and told me to call if I need anything.

Anyway, my grandfather is bound and determined to get back home. Whether that happens or not, we will see. At the moment, the plan is for him to go back to the care center to resume physical therapy and go from there. Thanks again for all of the prayers and concern! We appreciate it more than you could possibly ever know!

Also, don’t forget about my Zensah Argyle Compression Socks Giveaway! Ends on Friday!

Life

Thanks for all the concern over my ITBand from the race this weekend! I’ll be back tomorrow with a full race recap. For now, I’m going to share a few thoughts that have been rolling around in my mind this past weekend.

Here’s the scoop on my grandfather.

He’s 92 years old. He’s a diabetic. Lucky for him, he’s been doing SO well and has lived at home by himself up until this point. I stopped by for a visit on Thursday and discovered a pretty bad foot issue – he had been doctoring it himself.

I drove him straight to the Emergency Room and my parents met up with us there. He was admitted for IV antibiotics over the weekend and will have to have surgery either today or tomorrow to remove the source of infection on his foot.

I’m a nurse and I’ve seen and done a lot. It’s times like this when I hate being in the medical field. Life is fragile and so are 92 year olds. Putting a 92 year old under anesthesia is not a good idea. However, we are stuck – the source of infection HAS to be removed. Another concern of ours is the site of surgery – if there’s poor blood flow to the area, will it even heal? So what do we do? We are between a rock and a hard place.

My grandfather has been a huge part of my life from birth until now. Him and my grandmother kept me on weekdays until I started Kindergarten. They picked us up from school every single day and kept us until our parents got off work. They had us every summer until we were old enough to stay home alone. I often spent the night at their house on weekends.

I love him to pieces and am not ready to say goodbye. I joke with him and he jokes with me. I love our relationship.

Working in Oncology has really opened my eyes to life and living to the fullest. I don’t know what the end result of all of this will be, but I’m trying to hope for the best. I’m not trying to sound un-optimistic, he may come out of all of this completely fine and go on with life – none of us know, but that’s what we are hoping for.

Until then, I’m holding on to the promises.

My grandfather and my family REALLY appreciate your prayers!! Thanks so much!

Romans 8:38-39
”Yes, I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”