Prayer Request

[Unisaw]

My 77-year old father has been suffering from severe neck and shoulder pain the last 2 months in addition to his normal arthritis.  Today, he called me to say that he has a malignancy in his left shoulder blade, which was found to be broken.  At this point, the doctors don't know what kind of cancer it is or where it originated.  I would appreciate any prayers that y'all can send for him and my mom. 

[wmenorr67]

On the way.

[LadySmith]

Prayers sent.

[mike]

Prayers sent. Hope they can help him.

[seeker_two]

Done.....

[xavier fremboe]

Best wishes for a good outcome.  Hang in there.

[Tuco]

As requested.

 

That was easy

[Unisaw]

I just spent the last 8 days with my dad, including 5 nights sleeping in a hospital chair.  He has multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the blood plasma that attacks the skeletal structure.  At this point, it has attacked both shoulder blades, his ribs, sternum, and several vertebrae.  Unfortunately, it is considered incurable.  Given his age, a bone marrow transplant is not an option, so treatment is aimed at slowing the progression of the disease, controlling pain, etc...  Interestingly, he told me to check out a file in his home office dealing with Agent Orange.  It turns out that the VA assumes that multiple myeloma is attributable to exposure to AO.  Dad had been tracking AO because he was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay, through which AO was shipped into Vietnam.  A lot of the people he knew in Vietnam have died from illnesses that are presumed to have been caused by exposure.

By the time I left, Dad had several radiation treatments under his belt, had his pain under control, and was able to get out of the hospital bed without assistance and take a few steps.  While this is good news, it is still quite a shock given the fact that he was lifting (light) weights only a few months ago.  His big goal is to be well able to attend my son's wedding next summer.

I'm not going to provide continuous updates but, for those of you whose parents are still living, don't assume that they will live into their 90s and don't assume that you can catch up "later".

[Larry Ashcraft]

I hope he has some good time left.  Wishing both of you the best.

I lost my dad in January, he had just turned 80.  He had been an absolute pillar taking care of my mom and her hip problems for the last three years.  When her doctor finally proclaimed her cured, dad said he needed to take care of some minor "heart problems" he had been diagnosed with over a year before.  Turned out the minor problems had turned into major ones.  He spent a month in the ICU before his strength gave out.

I would love to go hunt elk or fish a stream with him one more time.  I still had things I needed to say to him.

[Unisaw]

My dad passed away this evening (1/11/09) from complications of his multiple myeloma.  I was able to be with him for most of the past week and all day today.  As strange as it might seem, I was happy for him when he passed into a pain-free state.  He was a great dad and I hope to be able to hold it together enough to speak at his memorial service so that others can share in the great memories I have.

[Laurent du Var]

I'm sorry for your loss and hope you've spent a lotof  time
with him; did he make it to your sons wedding ?

[Unisaw]

Laurent, thanks for asking.  My dad actually was in good enough shape that he could have traveled to the wedding but, two weeks before the wedding, my mom had to have a stent put in a coronary artery!  So, they both missed it.

On the plus side, I talked to my dad on the phone roughly every other day for the past 18 months.  I treasured each call.

[myrockfight]

I started writing a novel on here as a reply, which I'll post later from my computer. I'm using my phone now. However, I strongly encourage you to speak of your father at his wake/funeral. It helped me to deal with the loss of my grandfather, who stood in as a father from 2-8 years of age when my parents divorced. He did a damn fine job of it too.

Let people know, as your father seems by your words, he's a good man and what he taught/meant to you. My eulogy (of sorts) was based mostly on that and how we should appreciate and thank those who significantly changed our lives by teaching "life tools" everyone needs to have a happy and fulfilling life.

I'm happy to send a prayer for him. Although he is probably looking at you/everyone else and asking his buddies/family to say a prayer for you while you go through something so difficult. My uncle passed of a similiar type of cancer. It was really hard to deal with, seeing him at 80 pounds when he passed vs. his healthy/lifting weight of 215.

My heart goes out to you. It is really tough to see anyone go through that, much less a loved one. I think part of what makes it so hard is that we tend to idolize our father figures when we are young with the perception of monsterous strength and quick wit. That step down from that deserved pedestal we create can be a long one.

Good luck to you and yours. I hope everything goes/is going smoothly otherwise for everyone. You'll have to excuse my spelling/continuity errors.  I am sitting in my Grandfather's ICU unit and keeping an eye on him as I type this. It has been a loooooooooong night without any sleep and trying to keep him from hopping out of bed iwth a broken hip or pulling out his catheter/oxygen hose/heart monitoring tabs, etc. He's a handful!!

[castle key]

I'm not going to provide continuous updates but, for those of you whose parents are still living, don't assume that they will live into their 90s and don't assume that you can catch up "later".

Very true...

When my father was on "final decent" a good friend and I were talking. He opened by saying, "Not to go 'Oprah' on you, but make certain you make any needed peace with him. I did with my father and my sister did not. It shows."

I don't come from a real touchy feely family, so it was hard, but when done, I knew it was right.

He died later that day.

We all have to do what is right for ourselves, but I really appreciated that advice.

Yikes, a grim hijacking of this thread.

My prayers are with your father and all others in need of them.

[Ex-MA Hole]

I am sorry for your loss.

I am also jealous of your relationship.