Surgeon Appointment Update…

Well, this drawing to the left is an artist’s rendering of me.  It was drawn early this afternoon and this is really what I look like, really.

Here is where this is stemming from.  I saw the surgeon this morning.  No sooner did he get into the room and starts talking about how I looked.  Let’s face it, I am tall, dark and handsome.  That goes without saying.  However, I am now tall, dark, handsome, and severely underweight.  I am 6 foot 4 inches tall and am now tipping the scales at 138 pounds.  Yep, you read that correctly, the big 138!!  I have not weighed this much since junior high school.  This is just nuts. 

Anyway, my surgeon is giving me a few days to try to get myself back on track.  If I don’t, then I will need to be put on TPN.  You can read about what TPN is here.  I hope I can get myself back on track, as I really don’t want a PICC line put in and have to be connected to a bag all night long. 

The infection in my incision in healing nicely.  Pain is really not a big issue anymore.  Eating is the issue right now.  So, that’s about it for now.  Give you all another update on Monday as I visit with my oncologist and then my family doctor.

One Year…

Well, today marks the one year anniversary of my diagnosis of stage IV colon cancer.  What a year it has been.  About 20 chemo treatments, two surgeries, countless blood draws, numerous doctor appointments, too many CT scans (I am surprised that I am not glowing). 

Not sure how you mark an occassion like this.  A good friend of mine told me that it is another day.  It will have 24 hours in it and it will pass into the next day.  He is right, it is just another day.  However, it is a significant day in my life as well.  I don’t want to celebrate the fact that I have cancer, but it is something that I do have and it, unfortunately, is part of my life at this time.

It has been a journey for sure.  I have had opportunities that would not have otherwise be afforded to me because of this disease.  The support that we have been surrounded with is unbelievable.  I have really been taken back at some of the things people have done for us, we feel so undeserving, and all we can say is thank you.

So, off we go, heading into year two.  Our prayer continues to be complete healing.  Maybe this will be our year!!

FIRE…ahh, not really…

Thought you would all get a kick out of this.  The family took me to get a blood draw at my oncologist’s office yesterday.  The kids did well, despite the wait.  On the way out, the excitement started.

Derek, hit the handicap assistance button on the first set of doors.  Well, Carley wanted to be helpful, so she also tried to open the second set of doors.  What she did not know is that the fire alarm will not open the door. 

However, having your three year old daughter pull the fire alarm will embarass you and will upset the staff.  Yep, gotta love when this happens.

Home again…

Well, I got discharged this afternoon and got home about an hour ago.  They just think it was some sort of virus and it has run its course.  I am not ready to whip the world, but feel TONS better than I did late last week. 

The appetite is coming back a little more and I am getting some energy back.  Just want to thank all of you for the prayer support and visits and encouragement.  It is still going to be a long battle, but we REFUSE TO LOSE!

Update..sort of

I just wanted to let everyone know what I know after being at the hospital for the past 21 hours. Right now they are looking for a possible infection in Stefan’s colon that could be causing some of his issues. They also have decided that they want to keep him long enough to monitor his eating and drinking since that has been so poor as of late. They don’t want to send him home if food and drink might be causing some of the trouble. All of that said, I really don’t know a whole lot more than I did last night. Hopefully, I will find out more tomorrow. If that’s the case, I will update everyone in the evening. Thanks for checking in and keeping us in your prayers. Sandi.

Off to the ER

Just a quick note…

Stefan and I are getting ready to leave for the Emergency Room at OSU. It’s about 1010 pm on Friday night and he is not feeling any better and may actually be getting worse. Please pray that the doctors will know exactly what is wrong and how to properly treat him. Thanks so much. I will update as soon as I can. Thanks. Sandi.

Request for Prayer

Hi, everyone–it’s Sandi again. I just wanted to ask everyone to please pray for Stef. He got really sick on Wednesday evening, and it has continued into today. He has not been able to eat or drink anything or take any of his many medications. He is also in quite a bit of pain because of skipping his meds and being so ill. If he is not better tomorrow, I will have to call his doctor to see what we should do.

On a brighter note, we received some surprises in the mail that really put a smile on my face. Stef doesn’t know about them yet as he is so ill. However, I will share them with him tomorrow. Anyway, to those who sent the couple little surprises–THANKS!! They are greatly appreciated.

Please continue to pray especially for Stefan over the next couple of days as we try to get him past this latest setback.

Well, goodnight. It’s 1105pm and I finally have all the kids settled down. It’s been a crazy day.

One of us will let you know how he fares over the next day or so. Thanks so much for your prayers and concern.

It’s been one week…

since I have been released from the hospital. Guess it is time to get back to life. I have been on the couch most all of the week. The pain is coming and going and is very strong at times. Have had a few take your breath away moments with the pain, but am pushing through it. The appetite is coming back very slowly. At least the sight of food does not disgust me anymore and I am trying to eat more. The wound on my incision is healing nicely. It will take a few more weeks to heal, but the infection is gone and the healing process is moving forward.

I would be remiss if I did not take the time to thank my wife for everything she has done and is doing. Being at the hospital everyday, just being there for me. Now that I am home, she has the house and kids to deal with, an me on top of it all. She faithfully changes the dressing on my wound, makes sure I am eating, makes sure I am on top of my pain meds, makes sure I am resting, etc. I absolutely would not be able to walk this journey without her. I cannot thank her enough. She is a strong woman, but even strong women need prayer. Please pray for Sandi that she has the strength and sanity to take care of everything she needs to. Love you, Babe!!

I would also be remiss if I did not thank all of you who visited me. It was great to see all of you and I am sorry if I was a little strung out on my pain meds when you were there. I know I drifted in and out of sleep on some of you during our conversations, so sorry about that. Yes, the pain medication that I was on gave Sandi some memorable and laughable moments at the hospital. Just ask her to share some stories!

Right now, we are doing ok. I would ask for prayer support on the following:

1. Physical and mental strength to continue to fight this battle. It is getting harder to fight.

2. Growth of appetite.

3. Complete healing of wound at the incision site.

4. Regaining of strength to make it through the day.

5. Complete remission/eradication of the cancer.

Thanks, again, for the prayer support and everything else you have done for us. We do not take it for granted and we appreciate what people are willing to do for us.

Take care and stay tuned.

We’re Home

Wow, we’re finally home. It was a long 13 days, but we finally made it. Thank you for all your prayers and well-wishes. Stefan is glad to be home and will hopefully recover more quickly here. Please continue to pray for his pain and lack of appetite. He is in quite a bit of pain today since we’ve gotten home. He also still has pretty much no appetite. He is currently at his lowest weight since starting this battle. We would love to see him gain some weight. Thanks again for checking in. Sandi.

By the way… this will probably be my last post as Stefan will hopefully be getting back in the driver’s seat.

The Latest

This will be a pretty quick post as I am posting from Stefan’s phone in his hospital room. He is definitely doing better after Wednesday’s set-back. We are hoping that he will be able to go home tomorrow. This time around he has had more pain, nausea, and fatigue. This combination unfortunately sometimes gets him down. The past couple of days have been somewhat of a struggle for him. We would appreciate your prayers about this. He is also struggling with eating as he has no appetite. He really can’t afford to lose more weight. If you could pray for his appetite to greatly improve, we would love that. Thanks for checking this blog, visiting, and the many cards, gifts, and acts of kindness. We are truly grateful beyond words.