July 4th 2013 Day 69.......
Happy July 4th to everyone. Unfortunately Scotty was not able to make it home for the 4th which by the way is one of his favorite holidays. Scotty always goes to Pete's BBQ and makes a trip to the fireworks store on this day. He would shoot fireworks for my children and for Noah. I remember one year Jacob (my son) had to have an emergency appendectomy on July 3rd. Scotty and Jacob were both so disappointed that he would not be able to see the fireworks that him and Scotty had planned to shoot. However, with the doctors permission we were able to go over to their house and placed Jacob in a chair. He enjoyed the fireworks and Scotty enjoyed shooting them. He even bought a few extra to cheer up Jacob. We decided as a family to wait until Scotty gets home to shoot some for him. I did go to Pete's and get BBQ and had Deborah and Noah over along with my mom, Jacob, Kristin and her boyfriend. It was nice to sit around the table and laugh and we put Scotty on speaker phone so we all could talk to him. And I have saved some BBQ for him for tomorrow when he comes home.
Now for an update on his illness. Scotty has two types of staff infections in his lungs and they now feel they are giving him the correct antibiotic to make him well. The good thing is it is in the form of a pill and he can come home sooner. They had scheduled his discharge for today but there was a problem with his oxygen level. Apparently they dropped while he was walking and his recovery time was too slow for him to be sent home. He has been walking up and down the hall and practicing going up and down steps with his walker and with oxygen. He will have to remain on oxygen when he comes home and his levels will be checked weekly until his lungs have completely healed. We also learned that the liver cancer can cause some issues with his oxygen levels. The liver doctor did confirm that the latest CAT scan reaffirmed he has a large tumor in the liver along with a few other small places. Once his lungs heal he will have a procedure called TACE which stands for Chemoembolization. What a mouth full ! I had to look it up to get the correct spelling after the doctor told me what it was. Apparently a catheter will be placed in his groin and the Oncology Radiologist will shoot chemo directly into the big tumor. The Palliative Care team has changed his pain meds a bit still trying to manage his pain better so he will not have the break through pain. So far it seems to be working. The bone scan came back negative as far as in the legs but there seems to be another spot above the original tumor in his spine. But the doctor did not seem to be alarmed by it. She said it did not appear to be like the other tumors. Home health care will start back coming to the house as soon as he is dismissed. An oxygen technician will come to the house tomorrow and give them a tutorial on the oxygen tank. He will have a small portable tank so he can be as mobile as possible. The lung doctor was very frank with Scotty and told him he had to sit up while eating and he did not need to lie down all the time. So that is where we stand now. Hopefully he will be released tomorrow to come home.
Please continue to pray for Scotty to regain his strength and to beat this deadly disease. Pray for Deborah as she brings Scotty home and now has to add another regiment to his care. Pray she can find someone to help with Noah while she starts getting her classroom ready for school. She is very worried about her classroom. Please pray for Noah to gain an understanding about what is happening to his Dad and for his mental state of mind while he tries to adjust to the changes. Please continue to pray for our mom and my family as we try to provide additional support and care for Scotty, Deborah, and Noah.
