Friday, September 19, 2008

Better odds

We had a meeting with the doctor on Wednesday to discuss the options for my Grandpa which were A. Start chemotherapy or B. Let him pass. She told us about a new treatment plan they have for patients over 60. They give them 2 chemo meds, Atra and Diarubicin. And after 6 years 84% of people were still living. That's a HUGE number. We decided as a family that we would give this a shot. If he was only going to be able to live for 6 months or a year after treatment it might not be worth it but 6 years is a long time. So we explained it to my grandpa and asked him if he would try it with us and he nodded his head yes.
Granted, we have a few more road blocks to get over like the bleed in his brain and lungs. His body is only getting rid of 1/10 of the fluid they are putting into him which is really bad, so they had to set him up on dialysis yesterday. Hopefully he'll only need to have that for a few days. He also has a heart murmer that they're giving him a shot for this morning. It's just one thing after another. I know more about cancer now than I've ever wanted to know in my life.
The good news is, he's very alert and responding well to us. He nods yes and no and squeezes hands. I can even understand a lot of the stuff he is trying to mouth (he can't talk because he has tubes down his throat). He even smiled and winked at me a few times yesterday which really gave me a much needed mood boost. Yesterday he sat up all by himself and supported himself with his arms for 15 minutes yesterday. That may not seem like a big deal, but it's huge for him! As for me, things are still just as hard. You'd think there wouldn't be any tears left, but they just keep coming. I'm trying to constantly remind myself that if it is the Lords' will to take him now that it is just part of the plan, and that i'll get to be with him again someday. But it's so hard getting past your own selfish ways to look at it in that perspective. All I can think of is how I'm not ready for him to be gone. I really appreciate anyone who's had us in their thoughts and prayers.

1 comments:

RIndi said...

Jess I'm so sorry to hear about your grandpa. It's always so hard to see someone you love go through such hard times and my heart really just goes out to you guys. What good signs though by your grandpa! He sounds like a tough guy and I hope things go well with everything.