kimk
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Gene,
Thank you for the encouraging words. While we wait for the living donor process, John and I are able to work at the ski area. We are in the midst of a great holiday season, with fresh snow every night. I am on the ski patrol and have been doing avalanche control nearly every day. Nothing like explosives and powder to keep your mind focused on the moment.
We can’t wait to get on the other side of this ordeal, when every day John is getting stronger and healthier.
Sincerely,
Kim
Dianne,
I sincerely hope your husband was home for Christmas. My husband and I are in the ski business. He manages ski areas on the West Coast. We live near Seattle, and both work at Crystal Mountain Ski Area. The holidays are a busy time for us with work and have always been an extremely important part of our family life. John has two children from a previous marriage. Thankfully, they are with their mom during this time. My heart goes out to you in your struggle to be both a mommy and a wife. We have decided to get rid of our one year old labrador retriever simply because I can’t take care of the dog and my husband. I can only imagine how it must be for you.
John is 49 years old. The surgeon, Dr. Rosen at Mayo, feels that a living donor would be the best bet for John. To await a deceased donor would be another 9 months or so. The surgeon thinks that would give the cancer time to spread. Several of our family members and friends are being considered as a living donor candidate. I pray that the team can find a suitable donor quickly before it spreads.
Will your husband be undergoing brachytherapy? John went through that and it was not as bad as the chemo and radiation. John had twice daily radiation for three weeks and an infusion of 5 F-U. The first two weeks were not too bad, but the last week was really hard. The hardest part came afterward, when we expected him to get better. Instead, he got worse before he got better. It took 4 weeks until he felt well enough to go to work. Before that he didn’t have enough energy to eat, and spent most of the time on the couch or in bed.
The brachytheraphy was essentially just an ERCP with a stay in the hospital afterward. I was only allowed to be in the room for one hour within the 24 hour period in which he had the internal radiation inside him. For that treatment, there wouldn’t be anything for you to do there, so you should stay home with the kids.
I appreciate your spirit and hope. I am trying to maintain hope for the future as well as live in the moment and find joy today. Perhaps we will run in to eachother at Mayo sometime soon.
God bless you,
Kim
Colleen,
I understand your burden. My husband has left the research up to me. So much of what I read is too scary to share with him. I have tried to put myself in his shoes. How would it feel to have to say, “I have cancer”? It is hard enough to utter the words “my husband has cancer.” I, too, admire my husband’s strength and his resolve to fight this disease.
It is my job to help him do that. And yours, too, is to help Fred fight. We do that in the best way we know how, muddling through the dark hours and following the path we know to be right. Keep it up girl.
Sincerely,
Kim
Thank you all so much for your responses. My husband, John, goes in for an EUS on Friday. I am praying they will find that the cancer is localized. The doctors have seemed hopeful, and now the day will finally come when we will know for sure. It has already been a long road with John recovering from prancreatitis and the subsequent staph infection, which the doctors later told him could have easily been catastrophic. John is a very fit 49 year old, who has always been a strong athlete. This has helped him so far. He has already lost 30 pounds (he has never had any extra weight to lose). His appetite is unpredictable. Does anyone have any suggestions on diet? Do some foods work better than others? Are there foods to avoid? He is trying to put weight on, but he gets full after only a few bites of food. He tries to eat more small meals. I make him smoothies full of good, healthy supplements. Is anyone trying milk thistle? How about probiotics? I add medium chain trycligerides b/c I hear it is easier for the liver to digest these fats. Any thoughts?
kim
