Ed's Health Update - Part 2

Part one was getting a bit long, so I started a new one.

July 5, Update

We have had a few days of just resting. We had a great view of the fireworks last night from our 4th floor room. Ed went for a walk about and went down to the Resource Library and sat for a while. Dr. Grochmal came by and has put Ed on a lung exerciser. Of course he hates it, mostly because it wears him out and he doesn't see any progress. It's only been one day. He hates to do anything that takes any effort on his part. He is so spoiled. When I left at 9:30 tonight he was still watching the NASCAR race. I don't think he will make it to the end.
Please add this to your prayers. Ed would really like to reconcile with his daughters. Please pray that they will have a softening of their hearts and reach out to their father.
Unless God takes thing into his hands, and I pray all day for Ed's healing, there really isn't a positive outlook. Dr. Grochmal told us that he believes Ed to be in Stage 4 since it has spread to his liver. I know that the Oncologist believe that they can treat him, but they haven't given us any idea what to expect or how long Ed my have. I know our God, and His Son, Jesus, can heal my husband. Please all pray this. Come by often and lay healing hands on him. I want my husband to live a long happy life.
Thank you God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit for lifting my husband up into your arms and healing him. Thank you for giving him your strength Father God. Thank you Jesus for your blood that was spilt for his healing. Holy Spirit, Thank you for lifting us both up and bring your love into each of us. Aman, Aman, and Aman,

July 8, Update

Well the last couple of days have been very long. Last night they decided that Ed needed an ultrasound of his legs. That came back with him having some clots in both legs. They needed to put him back on the heparin blood thinner. It took two hours 4 RNs and finally an Anaesthesiologist, who came by to get Ed to sign a form, to get the IV in. My poor husband was stuck so many times and he is hypersensitive and every stick hurt, his arms are black and blue.
Then they scheduled the Portacath insertion for 6:30 am. So since it was after midnight I stayed at the hospital. Needless to say Ed didn't sleep much, so I didn't sleep much. The insertion went well and after 48 hours they will be able to use it to draw blood and inject IV and drugs into it.
Dr. Grochmal came by this afternoon and decided that because of the way Ed zones out and becomes despondent sometimes he wanted to make sure there wasn't anything going on there. So he scheduled a MRI of the head. He is thinking that Ed is just hypersensitive to the zofran - the nausea med, and or the Lortab - the pain med. He also wants to do a bone scan of Ed's legs just to make sure. They are supposed to be done tonight or early in the morning.
We are praying that there will be nothing new on these scans. Hopefully, Ed will get to come home tomorrow.
On the miracle front: An old friend of Ed's gave me $100.00 I used it to put meat in our freezer. I met with the Attorney, so keep praying for this to go smoothly and quickly. The meds that were going to cost us $1000.00 copay a month were approved at $15.00 a month for a year. Praise GOD! and the Xango juice, that is God made, and the powerful Xanthones that naturally fight cancer, we have had 10 cases donated to us so that Ed can go on the 21 day, 1 bottle a day program to help him fight this illness. Thank you to all who have donated and for those of you who would like to know more about Xango check our my other blog under the June archive. Ed's Dr. said he could drink as much of it as he wanted.
Oh yeah, We put the condo up for sale. With the housing market we are hoping to break even. The realtor is a long time friend of Ed's he is looking for a small place for us in Duval with a yard. The stairs at the condo are just not good for Ed. Once Ed is home I could use some help to move stuff in and out of rooms so I can get some really go photos for the Realtor. I also need to paint some, and box up stuff. They said that the carpet being pulled up was a positive since it will allow the buyer to put down what ever they want. So we could also use prayer that this will go smoothly and that we can find just the right place to rent where we can keep all our beloved babies, (Abby, Minster, Madison, Maggie, and Isabelle)
Well that is about all that my tired brain can remember. God Bless each and everyone of you.

July 9, Update

Well, I wish I had good news. Boy! do I wish I had good news. The MRI of the brain showed that Ed had a couple of old strokes and at lest 1 recent stroke (with in the past 2 weeks). Ed could not complete the scan. He said that the noise really bothered him, so he had it stopped. The Neurologists said that it was a good thing that Ed was on the Blood thinners. They said that he needs to concentrate on getting strong and fighting through his illnesses. I ask them if these strokes would interfere with him going to the office or if we should close it and let him work from home. They were both pretty adamant that Ed did not need to be going to the office anymore. They feel that he has only about a year left. So tomorrow I will begin the process of closing the office. I will need some help moving things to the storage area. On the positive side, Dr Grochmal said that his cancer is only a few months old. So Ed is still strong and should respond well to treatment which should start next week. We will get the bone scan results tomorrow. God! I am so tired. Please give me strength! I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that my husband will be miraculously healed tonight! Thank you father. Aman

July 11 Update

Well finally some Good News! The bone scan came back normal! YEAH! Dr. Grochmal said he didn't want to do anymore test. (he was jesting) Hopefully, Ed will get to come home tomorrow or Sunday. Physical Therapy has been working with him and helping build his strength. You know we have those stairs to navigate. We are scheduled to meet with Dr. Marks the oncologist, Monday afternoon and we will get our chemo schedule. Thank you for all your prayers. Keep them up. We have just started the hard part is yet to come, but with your prayers and God Love and Christs healing all will be well. Once Ed is home the Updates will be fewer. I will still send everyone an email whenever I post something new. Thank you all for your support and Love.
My next goal is to get the office packed up and moved out by the end of the month. I could use a lot of boxes and a few people to help me disassemble the office and get it ready to move.
Thanks for all your help.

July 14 Update

Well Pooh! I thought Ed was going to be going to a Short Term Rehab Center today, but it didn't happen. It seems that Ed's bilirubin levels (the stuff that makes you jaundiced) are to high to start Chemo. His were below 2 when he was admitted in June and as of yesterday they were 3.9. They need to be below 3 to start chemo. Dr. Marks ordered a Sonogram of the liver and requested Dr Kohm to do an ERCP (that's the endoscope that goes down the throat) and place a stint in the bile duct if necessary. He believes that the tumor has grown and is pressing on the duct which is causing the biliruben to stay in the body. The bile needs to be excreted because that is how the chemo gets out of the body. Anyway, please pray that Eds pancreas will not become angry when the ERCP is done as this procedure can cause pancreatitis, which is very painfull and can take upto 10 days to settle down. The goal is to get Ed into physical therapy so we can build his strength and get him home. Thank you all for every prayer. Please if you think about it give Ed a call at the hospital- his number is 821-6401. I will be checking out Jacksonville Rehab and Nursing Center on Dune Avenue tomorrow. It's a long way away, but covered by the insurance. I'll let you know how things go.

July 16 Update

Where to begin? It has been a real emotional roller coaster the last two days. Yesterday, before the ERCP, Two men from Ed's Thursday Men's meeting came by. They had a great word for Ed about forgiveness - giving and receiving, repentance, reconciliations, and the healing of hurts given and received. There was great prayer and great release and peace fell upon Ed and us all. Ed went into the procedure with a light heart and filled with the Holy Spirit. After the Procedure we were told that there was no blockage or strictures and no need to place a stint. Praise God! We thanked God and spoke of hope and going home the rest of the day.

By the way Jax Rehab and Nursing Center is 40 min from our home, it is small, older and crowded. We were looking at another facility that is closer to home in riverside.

Well today, Dr. Marks came by and told us that Ed's Kidneys and Liver were not doing well. That we needed to flush the kidneys and see if we could get them to function properly. The biliruben was know up to 4.8 and when it tops 5 things are really bad. He can not have any chemo until the kidneys and liver straighten up. So today he has been on and IV and I have been forcing him to drink. I got a wheelchair and took him on a tour of the hospital. He needed to get out of the room for a while.

Later Dr. Box came by, She is part of his primary group. She said if there was no change for the better tomorrow that we should go home and call HOSPICE. She said that his cancer is being very aggressive and at this time he is not a candidate for surgery or treatment. Remember this has only been going on for 4 months. We have been in the hospital for 22 days and counting. It is not unheard of for this cancer to start and end in under 6 months.

It was suggested that I look up and contact MD Anderson Cancer Center in TX. They do alot of cancer trials and treatments. Basically, Ed has too many issues between the strokes and blood clots in the legs and pulmonary embolism that he is not eligible for any of the trials. They would not be doing anything different than we are doing here. They have a network Dr. at Mayo if we feel that we need a face to face consultation. Ed and I discussed it and decided not to.

Ed and I have had a great touching heartfelt talk today about his dying. Neither one of us is ready to let go, but we both know where he will be going, and who will be waiting for him there. We have come to an understanding an both have a new level of peace. The Holy Spirit has been ministering to both of us today.

Ed is tired. He has been tired for awhile now. He wants to rest and is blessed to be loved by all of you. Thank you all for your prayers and friendship. Please continue to stand by us as 'we walk down this wonderful path to Ed's new life in the Sonshine of Jesus Christ. We relish hearing from each of you and know that you have prayed for us. We haven't given up on miraculous healing, but when you pray for healing you do not get a choice of where God will choose to do the healing. Here on earth or up in Heaven. It is a wonderful thing to know how much you all love Ed and I. Thank you for all you have done and will do in.

May God bless each and every one of you and bring you all the desires of your heart.