day two
2007-02-28 - 8:30 a.m.
they told my dad yesterday. he cried. just a little. then, he just got happy again. and not because of drugs. he and my mom are going to try to plan a little weekend getaway here soon, before things get too bad. he wants to get out of the hospital this time and go play - walking, birdwatching, geocaching (look it up online - THIS is how nerdy my father is...).
we're gonna get pathology results back today - that will tell us more and if there is ANY hope of chemo prolonging his life. it just depends on the kind of cancer cells that are in there. so, we'll know a bit more today and, tomorrow, we've got an oncology consult. maybe two. the surgeon says we can have as many second opinions as we want (God - he is awesome) and, if we want to get big name places like May@ and John$ H@pkin$ involved, he'd be more than happy to "hook us up". he also said something yesterday about this being a case that will probably go before the "tumor board". i had no idea they had things like that. i mean, i know they have things where they get to bring in their most spectacular and troublesome cases and get all kinds of opinions in one room, but i didn't know they called it something so blatantly funny as "tumor board". it kinda reminds me of that journal that one of our docs gets. it's called "blood". i love it. so, that will be wonderful if we can get that kinda help - i mean, the more minds involved in my dad's case, the better. and, oh - everyone at this hospital is so freakin' nice. i mean, it's the one where my mom has worked for years. and, now that i'm in "big town" sin-sin-nati, i have always thought of it as "just" a small-town regional hospital. and, the small-town regional hospitals down by me scare the bejeebus outta me. but, not this one. they are all great. i have a new respect for my mom's hospital. the staff is awesome and everyone is so kind.
also - when the doc told my dad yesterday, the tension did not get worse. there was no cake cutting at all. it dissipated and my mom was more calm because, it seems, she can now talk to my dad about what THEY want to do, instead of trying to figure it all out on her own. and my brother and i are bonding like crazy now and it's really kinda fun.
i am doing better today. i know i am still in shock though. it's very unbelievable. that my dad is dying. it's hard to grasp. i imagine it will soak in as time goes on. and heck, maybe it won't be so fast, especially with people like the "tumor board" involved. maybe we'll get more help than we could ever ask for.
