Thursday Update

1^st for church members. There is a funeral w/ a meal following at our church tomorrow. If you are wanting to help with the meal (brining food/setting up/serving/etc.) please let Marjorie know. If you are on the church email list you need to make sure your responses to the email request were sent to Marjorie, not to me. There’s a few things on my plate right now and I *think* I’ve forwarded all the emails that came to me through 7pm last night (Wednesday).

Ok, Frank.

He had a good night—as good as can be experienced while on a morphine drip and being in a hospital where they take your vital signs every 5 minutes or so. (Ok, not that often)

He’s still requesting no visitors but thanks everyone for all their thoughts and prayers.

All tubes execpt IV were removed around noon today. He may get to go home tomorrow.

The hard stuff:

While the surgery went well, we have encountered a “speed bump”. His oncologist, who says we “pay to be paranoid” (Dr. V’s words) has indeed earned his money on this one. He was the one who insisted that the spot on his lung come out. The initial pathology results in the OR say that the spot was germ cell cancer. These are the same cells that were in his original tumor. It is a metastasis of his Testicular Cancer.

Yeah.

Kinda takes the wind out of your sails doesn’t it?

Personally I felt like someone was sitting on my chest all day yesterday.

Dr. V has a call in to IU to get “some hand holding on this from the experts.” The Dad, my mom and dad and I were all there when Dr. V gave him the news. Dr. V even called Frank's brother Dr. Scott so that Scott could interpret for the the ladies in Atlanta. (Frank's mom and sisters).

Today, we wait happy b/c it is out of him, but also anxious to find out what IU recommends.

Things we know:

• There were no tumor markers in his blood work when the CT was last done on April 5
• The spot did not show up as active cancer on a PET scan—but we also don’t know if germ cells show up on that type of scan—a question for IU
• The spot was small and the Dr. M, the surgeon, did get it all and with only 4 small incisions instead of opening him all the way up
• Frank has a great attitude
• And most importantly we WILL get through this

I’ve gotta run.

Peace to you all.

The Rev