Sunday, March 15

It is with a sad heart that I have to post this message today.  At about 2:00 this morning, Daddy finished his job here on this earth and made his journey to heaven.  He had several good days at the hospital here in Shamrock.  He was able to recognize and visit with his family and friends and knew how much each of them….and all of you, loved him.  He will be greatly missed.  For those of you who will be coming to Shamrock to see him off, here are the details.  He is at the Wright Funeral Home here in Shamrock (311 N. Wall).  We will be celebrating his life with a gathering between 5:00 and 7:00 pm on Tuesday, March 17.  We will be sharing cookies, coffee and stories and celebrating the life of the man we all knew and loved during that time.  His funeral service will be at the First Baptist Church here in Shamrock at 2:00 on Wednesday, March 18.  For the funeral procession, Daddy will be carried using a horse-drawn hearse.  Those who wish can follow on foot….New Orleans style.  Others can follow in cars.  This is the way Daddy wanted to be remembered.  Thank all of you who have been concerned for him, our Mom and our family.  Thanks for all of your love, prayers, comments, phone calls, e-mails and support.  You have no idea how much they meant to Daddy and us.  We know that he is in a better place in heaven.  We will miss you, Daddy!

Wednesday, March 11

Good morning to all of you following Daddy’s blog.  Well…much has changed since my last post.  The information that I have to post today is the most difficult yet.  We have had a week of waiting this week….mainly waiting on the hole in Daddy’s lung to heal.  However, there is no significant progress in this direction.  Earlier this week, the doctors began talking like they had pretty much done all that they could do to seal the hole.  They began talking to Daddy about performing a different, experimental procedure to try stopping the air leak.  After thinking about it for a while, Daddy has decided that he has had enough.  He wants to return to Shamrock and see Mother and all of his friends there.  Basically, what he has conveyed to me is that he sees no point in continuing radiation or chemotherapy treatments as long as the hole in his long continues to be an issue.  I understand his point and, ultimately, the decision is his to make.  I pray that all of you will respect that as well.  As a result of this, we have been arranging for transportation to get Daddy to the Shamrock hospital.  The hospital has accepted him as a patient and we are scheduled to leave Tulsa at 12:30 pm today.  Daddy will be traveling via ambulance and I will follow.  Christy and Lewis are going to be in Shamrock today, but have to return to Louisiana very shortly.  I think that both Cathy and Uncle Bill will also be by the hospital at some point today.  I know that we had all hoped for a miraculous cure for Daddy’s cancer.  I also know that we serve an awesome God who has a plan for all of our lives.  Daddy has touched many people with his kindness and willingness to give.  He knows that his next home will be in heaven and I know that, when that time comes, he will have a glorious mansion there.   I hope that all of you know that Daddy had a wonderful first week in Tulsa.  He was so alive and got to experience some new and different things.  He loved this facility and its people and was excited about being treated here.  The collapse of his lung is something that none of us could have expected or predicted.  However, it really changed Daddy’s treatment plan and options.  My hope is that you will continue to support him and our family with your thoughts, visits, phone calls, cards, and most of all, your prayers.  We are so fortunate to have Daddy, to know him and to call him our friend.  I know that you, as I, count yourselves among the blessed.

Monday, March 9

Good Monday morning to you!! Hope all of you survived the time change!  I know “spring forward” is always hard for me.  Things are looking pretty good here this morning.  There is still no change in the leaking in Daddy’s lung; however, I did find out this morning that Daddy’s status is no longer considered “critical”.  He didn’t have to be accompanied by a nurse when we went for the swallow testing.  They told me that this change occured because he was no longer considered critical.  Having said this, they still expect to keep him in his current room. room 202…which is in the “special” or intensive care unit.  His radiation treatment went pretty much as expected.  After that, they performed some new swallow testing on him to try and get him taken of of the thickened liquid/mechanically soft food diet.  His swallow looks good; however, he has some swelling in his neck area from air that is leaking around the chest tube.  As a result, the swelling is pressing on the muscles in his neck and they determined that he needs to remain on soft foods and thickened liquids.  The good news is that when the swelling subsides, he can return to a normal diet.  The problem is being caused by more of an external factor (air leaking around his chest tube) rather than from an actual problem with his swallowing.  Daddy is resting today because all of the activity associated with radiation and the swallow testing made him tired.  Other than that, he is doing well.  He looks better today than he did yesterday.  He spent most of the day yesterday sleeping….which is probably what he needs to do.  He continues to be weak, but that is expected since he has been in ICU for almost three weeks.  Not much else is going on today.  We hope to see the doctor to discuss options for the chest tube and to see if Daddy will be released from here when he completes his radiation treatments late next week.  Please keep these issues in your prayers.  Love to all of you!!

Sunday afternoon

Hey, gang.  Hope this blog update finds all of you doing well.  Not much is going on here in Tulsa.  Daddy is sleeping right now.  He says that he didn’t get much rest last night, but I think he slept as much as you can in a hospital bed!!  He is still in the ICU unit.  Dr. Adams, the thoracic doctor, stopped by earlier this afternoon.  He said that the hole in Daddy’s lung appears to be about the same..even after his having “tweaked” the chest tube on Friday.  He made mention of another procedure that could be performed by Dr. Nader, the pulmonologist.  Dr. Nader doesn’t come in on the weekends, so I am hopeful that we will get to see him tomorrow and will be able to discuss alternatives at that time.  Daddy looks good, but is very tired as is to be expected after taking radiation treatments.  He has a full week of treatments this week, then will finish with four the following week.  Continue to lift him up in your prayers.  Pray for healing of the hole in his lung so that he can go home when he finishes the radiation treatments.  He is looking forward to that day!!  We are going to kick back here and take it easy this afternoon.  Hope all of you are able to do the same.  Sending our love and asking that God bless each of you in a special way!

Friday, March 6

Good morning to you all!  Daddy has gone down to have his fourth radiation treatment….basically 1/3 of the way through!!  He is excited about that!  Just wanted to give you a quick update this morning.  Dr. Adams, the thoracic doctor, came by this morning to visit Daddy.  He believed that Daddy’s lung leak is somewhat better; however, he wanted to try a procedure that he called “tweaking the tube” to see if it lets the healing process complete.  Basically, he moved the chest tube out about 3″, then rotated it.  He told me that these tubes have eyelets in them and that, sometimes, these are positioned in such a way that they interfere with the healing process.  By “tweaking” the tube, he was able to move it within Daddy’s chest cavity.  Hopefully this repositioning will get the tube into a spot where it doesn’t interfere with healing.  Dr. Adams is going to check in again tomorrow morning (yes…he will make rounds on a Saturday).  We are still in the “wait and see” mode.  Daddy was sitting on the side of his bed eating when Dr. Adams came in.  The doctor was very pleased to see this because he said that both eating and sitting show him that Daddy is getting better.  He also said that  both are important to his healing.  We will have to wait and see if this latest procedure allows for healing of the hole in Daddy’s lung.  Please keep that in your prayers.  When the hole seals, the chest tube can be removed.  That would definitely be a move in the right direction…allowing Daddy to be moved out of the ICU which is the first step toward him leaving the hospital.  We appreciate all of the support that all of you following the blog have provided and we love you for it.  Approach the throne of our God with boldness and ask for His healing to continue.  In the meantime, we will be lifting each of you up and asking that God bless you abundantly!  With love from Tulsa!!

Thursday morning – March 5

Greetings to all of you from Tulsa.  Daddy is looking good this morning.  He slept last night, so he is feeling better today.  He is downstairs taking his 3rd radiation treatment….1/4 of the way through with the whole brain treatments!!  He is ready to be through with them all.  He says these make him much more tired than the treatments he had to his lung last year.  We are still waiting on more news from the thoracic doctor about his lung.  They had to put the suction back on his chest tube yesterday because he was leaking air into his chest cavity.  That means that the hole in his lung has not sealed yet.  Dr. Adams, the thoracic doctor, is supposed to discuss other options with us; however, we don’t know when he will be at the hospital.  This is not his primary hospital, so we kind of have to work around his surgery schedule.  I am hoping that we will see him today.  Other than that, things are progressing well here.  Daddy is still in the special care unit.  I think he will be in that unit until they can remove the chest tube.  I’ll update with any news on that as soon as I can.  In the meantime, keep lifting those prayers because we can definitely feel their power.  May God bless each of you as richly as you have blessed us.  Love from Daddy and our entire family!!

Tuesday Afternoon

Good afternoon to all who are keeping up with this blog.  I am happy to tell you that Daddy is still doing good.  The doctor came by yesterday to look at Daddy’s chest tube.  They have decided to leave it in for a while longer.  Daddy’s lung is still leaking some air but is much better.  The doctor, Dr. King, believes that it will continue sealing and that the chest tube can be removed sometime during the next couple of days.  That is good news because the tube is painful and limits Daddy’s mobility.  He is able to take physical therapy, but they have to keep him in the confines of his room due to the chest tube.  He is ready to get it out so he can start some walking in the halls.  The really good news is that they started his radiation therapy this morning.  He got his first treatment (to the brain tumor) at 10:00 this morning.  He was back in his room by 10:30.  He has been pretty tired today.  Although the radiation will cause him to be tired, I think he is still suffering the affects of several sleepless nights.  He did sleep better last night and has napped on and off today.  Daddy continues to look good (as you can see from the previous pictures).  By the way, for those of you asking about the baby in the picture….that was not my grandbaby.  That is Jason Henderson’s son, Grayson.  They were here visiting Daddy and I was holding the baby while Christy took the picture.  He is a precious baby and we enjoyed the entire Henderson family while they were visiting.  Thanks, Jason & Shelly!! Back to news of Daddy, he spent most of the day yesterday without having to take any oxygen.  However, last night his levels got lower than normal, so they started him on a minimal amount last night.  He will continue taking radiation therapy every day (except for the weekends) for the next 12 days.  The first twelve treatments are to his entire brain area and the last (the 13th) will be a focused treatment to the remaining tumor.  I am not sure how much longer he will be here in the hospital.  He continues to be in ICU…I think mainly because of the chest tube.  I expect they will move him to another room here at the Cancer Treatment Center when they can remove the tube.  If he does well enough, he may be able to come back to my house before finishing his radiation treatment.  His current plan (if it doesn’t change) is to finish the radiation treatment here, then go to Shamrock for a while.  As soon as we have visited with his oncologist, Dr. Pollock, about options for the lung tumor, we will decide how his treatment for it will go.  Right now, Daddy is thinking that he will have to take some type of chemotherapy.  He is currently saying that he will come to Tulsa to take it, so we will see as things progress.  He is improving each day and we have God to thank for that.  I know that all of your prayers and petitions made a difference in Daddy’s recovery and we ask that you continue praying as we face the days to come.  Cathy and Mother made it to their respective homes yesterday.  Mother is tired, but doing well.  She decided to stay in Shamrock at her home for a while.  She did wonderful here in Tulsa and I think that knowing she can make such a long trip is encouraging for her.  Please continue to lift her up as well.  Christy and Lewis are returning to Port Allen today, so they have a long trip.  They stayed until Daddy had his first treatment this morning.  It was delayed an hour (from 9:00 to 10:00), so they will have a long day.  Pray for travel mercies for them.  We send our love to each and every one of you and thank you so much for your faithfulness in praying for Daddy and us.  We could never make it without your support.  I’ll give an update again in the next day or two.  Until then, may God continue to bless you as He has us!  Love and prayers.  PS…for those of you praying for Daddy’s sister, our Aunt Jo, she got a good report on her brain scan….no tumors in her brain.  She will begin taking radiation for her lung tumor, which is now the size of  a BB, soon so please lift her up as well.  God is doing some miraculous things in our family and our world!!!

Sunday happenings

Greetings from ICU.  These pictures were taken over the last couple of days.  Daddy is looking good!!  Thought all of you might enjoy seeing these pictures.  Not much is going on today.  Daddy is really tired because he hasn’t slept much the last couple of nights.  They are giving him steroids to control swelling of the tumor in his brain (which they have been doing for quite some time).  However, they have not been able to give him anything to help him rest since taking him off of the ventilator.  We think that will last for 72 hours…which should mean that it ends tomorrow??  Anyway, the steroids keep him from resting well, so he has had a couple of sleepless nights.  He is resting now, so we are letting him sleep.  We should see the doctor tomorrow and hopefully get an idea of how things will proceed from this point forward.  Today we are still hurrying up and waiting.  Just wanted to share these pictures and give all of you a quick update.  Mother and Cathy are going home tomorrow and Christy is going back to Louisiana on Tuesday.  Hopefully Daddy will be able to start taking some treatments this week.  We are still waiting to see.  I believe that they will keep him here for awhile.  He is still in ICU and we are not sure when he will be released from there.  I think they will keep him in a regular hospital setting for a while..at least until they are sure that his infection is gone.  Then he might get to come back to the house.  We will have to wait and see.  He is very weak right now and is having a difficult time getting up and down.  Hopefully that will get better over time.  We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers and ask that you continue lifting us up.  Love from all of us here!!  Have a great rest of the weekend!

Friday morning

Good Friday morning to you.  I just wanted all of y’all to see how good Daddy looks this morning.  They removed the ventilator tube this morning at 6:30 and he is doing wonderful.  There seems to be less bubbling in the device that is measuring progress on the sealing of the leak, so all is going well here in Tulsa.  Mother is here seeing Daddy this morning, so that is why he is smiling.  We love you all and just wanted to share a picture…..because, after all, it is worth a thousand words.  Love to you all.

Thursday night – post surgery

Good evening to all of you.  I am happy to be able to tell you that the surgical procedure they performed on Daddy appears to have gone very well.  He is back in his room and resting right now.  They have him on a ventilator, which is normal after this type of procedure.  He will be on the ventilator all night, then they will wean him off tomorrow morning.  We were able to talk to the surgeon, Dr. Adams, after the procedure and he was well pleased.  We were also able to look at the x-ray of Daddy’s lung and it did fully reinflate after the procedure…which is an answer to all of our prayers.  Daddy still has a chest tube as a precaution.  It is hooked to a device that bubbles when the lung is leaking air.  The device continues to bubble now because, according to Dr. Adams,  the ventilator acts like a bellows and causes the bubbling.  When the ventilator tube is removed and Daddy is breathing on his own, the bubbles in the device should lessen and hopefully stop altogether.  Dr. Adams believes that it will take two or three days for the hole to seal properly so the next couple of days are important and will tell us the ultimate success of the procedure.  Continue to pray for Daddy as we try to get him on the road to his treatment plan.  His attitude has been great and he has the strongest will to overcome that I have ever seen!  Also, Mother was here tonight while they were performing the surgery.  The last week has kind of caught up with her and she is very tired.  Please pray for strength for her.  If all goes well with Daddy, she could be going home early next week…at least for a little while.  That would be good for her because I think she would rest better at home.  As most of you know, it is not easy staying in a hotel!   I would like to thank all of you again for your diligence in praying for our family…for all of the prayers, phone calls, visits, food, notes, e-mails, text messages.  Until you have been through something like this, you have no idea what those moments of you reaching out mean to us.  Our words can never thank you enough.  Know that each of you are in our prayers and we ask that God richly bless you as you have blessed us.  I’ll say goodnight for now and God bless.