These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Friday, June 16, 2006

dad update

i god word from the sis a few hours ago. she had word on my dad.
and the news is positive so far.

my parents are returning today from houston only to have to go back monday. (my niece is being baptized this weekend.)

the doctors at m.d. anderson said there is a big possibility thathemay be able to get operated. they found two spots in an area of his liver, i'm guessing where it was the worst for him. they think they can go in there and remove that chunk of his liver where these two spots (tumors) are located.

he wil return monday for tests. then on tuesday he is to meet with an anesthesiologist for a possible operation wednesday. it will be determined monday-tuesday if they can operate.

the good thing is his heart is strong, so there is no problem there.

if they operate, he will have to stay in houston for 10 days, five to recuperate and five more to keep tabs on him.

also, the doctors told him to get of the chemo and the pills that were his colon. (didn't get details why, but i'm guessing the chemo wasn't working anyway.).

if all that continues to go on par, then in august he will have a major operation to remove most of his liver. he will then take medication to start regenerating the liver again.

so it is positive news. i guess it all depends on what happens early this coming week. i told a friend at work taht it's like a maze, where you keep going down the different pathways, hoping to either get to the middle or out of it. sometimes you readch a dead-end with no where else to go and you lose, in other cases you have choices and you keep going.

weith that simple-minded analogy, i guess my dad came to a crossroad and it's time to switch direction. hopefully that will continue until he can find that golden ticket, as charlie did.

here's wishing and hoping...

Thursday, June 15, 2006

the cat's meow

medical woes keep on happening in my family.
first my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. then my uncle
had a stroke that left him impaired. after that my dad was diagnosed with
colon cancer. then my uncle died of a stroke.

well, there's another member to add to the list of those with medical problems.

yesterday our cat kit was diagnosed with a thyroid condition. yes, i know,
it's hard. we never suspected.

dawn noticed he'd lost weight; his haunches and lower spine were thinning out. plus,
he was always hungry and thirsty. our other cat katrina wasn't acting funny that way.
kit wasn't any more lathargic than usual. he still asked for normal pets and he still played around with katrina.

so off we went. we packed him in the cat crate. he spent the entire trip all the way to south washington meowing like crazy (that how it was when we had him and 'trina in crates coming cross-country).

the vet was very thorough and said his weight loss was odd because if he'd been losing weight due to less food, he'd be thin all over instead of only towards his back. so he stayed for blood work to test for things. the thought ws he had diabetes. i had ideas of wilford brimley stopping by to drop off syringes and insulin for our cat (medicare covers it for most seniors, you know).

however, when the results came back, it was determined he had a thyroid condition. that would explain he voracious appetite. his gland was working overtime and his metabolism was rapid.

now, we must feed him two pills every day, one in the morning and one in the evenign for the rest of his life. depending on the exact dosage, which will be determined in the next month or so, the cost is anywhere from $15 to $30 a month.

hey that's the way things go, right? who would've thought our cat would get a thyroid condition.

please call to find out more about our eldest cat. we do appreciate the
supportand concern, though.

Monday, June 12, 2006

M.D. Anderson

my dad got the call this morning.they're ready for him in houston. he, my mom, aunt and uncle will make the five-hour trip up there some time tomorrow afternoon. the appointment is at 7 a.m. wednesday, tests all day, then on friday the doctor will see him with results and the possibility of an operation if that's the way it'll work out.

it's happened very quickly. i hope they are prepared. today my mom has had to go all over the place gathering all records, paperwork, exams, x-ray results and scan results all the way back to when it was diagnosed and even before at the doc's office in kingsville when it was first thought he might have something going on.

i was surrpised by the news when i talked to dad this morning. he said they called up and bombarded him with info. he wished my om had been around. he's not good with too much info. i think he panicks or something. still, he got the time, date and what they weant to do to him down. so that's enough for now.

here's wishing for something good to come out of this trip.