A breath of life

GUEST POST – I’m stepping back in to post for my hero as he rests up for a big day tomorrow.  – Richard

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”   Hebrews 6:19

It has been over a month since Dad last posted. While he has wanted to send an update, he hasn’t had the energy lately to do so; especially over the last 21 days in his home away from home – Banner Thunderbird Hospital. 

All had been steadily progressing, and Dad was delighted at the generosity of donations to his charity of choice that you can read about here. Though his spirits were high, his weight dipped into the double digits and he began having some specific pain in his upper right chest. This pain brought about coughing fits that increased in severity and frequency, all culminating in a trip to the ER on the morning of Christmas Eve. That was officially 21 days ago and the Doctors told us this evening to anticipate another 7 to 10 days minimum. 

We have experienced all the joys of hospital life: 24 hour service including cleaning and cooking, changing and chauffeuring – though this is distinctly different than a Downton Abbey lifestyle which could otherwise include the same description of service…  Dad has been fighting and the Doctors have been chasing, tracking, and testing – all to no avail.  As my brother noted this evening, “It’s amazing how we perceive modern medicine to be capable of curing everything, yet it clearly cannot.”

“It’s amazing how we perceive modern medicine to be capable of curing everything, yet it clearly cannot.”

So what am I talking about with vague generalities? We aren’t really sure, but we do have a plan.  Dad was initially diagnosed with pneumonia – an infection in his lungs.  The initial chest x-ray showed a white area indicative of consolidation or infection in the upper right lung and the Doctors set to work on the standard course of treatment. Unfortunately, after weeks without improvement, the Doctors were back at the drawing board. To cover all bases, Dad has been on two different IV antibiotics and a broad spectrum antifungal. More tests, scans, cultures, and still no answers. Even worse, Dads condition is in decline. The coughing is more significant, the scans show a larger area of consolidation, and the culprit is still incognito. 

Two different biopsies have been performed; one through his mouth and down into the lungs to “pinch” off a sample of tissue, and another with a needle through his back and deep into his lung for another sample. The bright side is that all tests show no sign of cancer in the lungs. The darker side is that we still dont have conclusive cultures to tell us exactly what is going on, though the Doctors believe this disease process walks and talks like a specific fungal infection that destroys tissue as evidenced by the necrotic samples from the biopsies. The sobering moment came when they explained that they are out of medications to try…

So what exactly is the plan? Well, Dad has a big day tomorrow, Saturday the 14th of 2017, because they are going to surgically remove the entire upper lobe of his right lung.

We met with the surgeon this evening who put many of our worries to rest. He specializes in this procedure and has been performing it for 36 years. It is minimally invasive and started out with tuberculosis patients who were immuno-compromised and needed the surgery to have the least amount of stress and secondary damage possible so the patients could recover despite their already weakened state.  There will be a “small” incision on the right side where the surgeon will remove the entire lobe. He expects Dad to be up and walking the next day. It was also explained that most of the lobe is necrotic and non functional currently, so there shouldn’t be a noticeable change in Dads ability to breathe.

Fortunately there are no other options, so we had no deliberation before deciding to go ahead with Plan A. 

While I could go on an on about our many unique experiences during this stay, like being quartered in a room they normally use for storage or the interesting neighbor patient who refuses to wear any clothing or gowns, I do believe this post is long enough so you will just have to use your imagination 😉

I will close by saying that my dream to go deep sea fishing with my Dad one more time swells with emotion as we navigate the highs and lows of this God forsaken storm we are weathering. I worry that this dream will forever remain just that; a dream,  though I will eternally hope and pray for more. 

  
With Hope and Love,

Richard