My turn
I am headed to Minnesota tomorrow, my dad is very ill and right now in surgery at a hospital in the cities. The hope is to correct a bowel obstruction by re-sectioning, but due to radiation therapy damage from his prostate cancer the tissue is not reliable and may present quite a complication. They have tried several different ways to clear this up with no success. As of yesterday, the Drs were going to try 2 more days of nasal gastric decompression but today it was determined that they could no longer wait to try surgery. Thankfully my brother, two sisters and some of their families are there with Mother at the hospital. I am very hopeful for successful surgery, my dad is a strong and determined man - but all prayers for him are welcome. Looks like I will not be at CC Thursday. I will keep you updated.
Posted by Carol on 05/16 at 05:12 PM
Next entry: CC tonight
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I’m sorry I’m behind in the news.I had a very busy day at work and just read your FB and CC post. Have a safe trip and know You, your Dad and Family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/17 at 07:34 AM
Glad your Dad’s surgery was a success. It is amazing what goes on in our body that we don’t know about! Recuperation will take some time…Enjoy the visit with your Dad - I am sure your Mom will appreciate you staying with her. Life is fragile at any age but it is especially fragile as we age - and see our parents aging.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/17 at 07:47 AM
How quickly health matters can flip. So glad that the surgery was successful. I went to CT with a friend on Thursday. We went to a garden show and then the next day toured five gardens. We just returned yesterday. we drove in a day and a half and then monday drove straight through to home. Details on Thursday.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/17 at 09:06 PM
Carol—my thoughts and prayers are with you. I’m glad you got the good report before driving up there; it would have made the trip seem much longer.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/19 at 09:40 AM
Sigh of relief - my dad’s surgery was successful - here is a general report that my niece emailed (after I had talked to my sister Barbara and to my mother) I am still going up to MN in the morning.
Surgeon came out and talked to us. Gmpa is doing well - they were able to both figure out what was wrong and fix it in this one surgery.
He doesn’t have a radiated/weak bowel - they found a cramp/kink/knot in it up in his chest. They had to open his entire chest cavity and pull out all 26 feet of his insides (the surgeon was kind of crass and graphic) before they found it. They said the kink was caused by a ring of scar tissue that’s been there for a long time (like 25 years), but they don’t know what created the scar tissue.
He’s awake now and apparently has his Turbo Ears on and is talking. They removed his nasal tube, which he’ll be happy about. He’ll be here for at least a week. It’ll take at least a week before he has a regular bowel movement because his bowel is stretched out from his system being clogged for so long. They’ve moved him to the surgery wing so he’s no longer at the address I gave you earlier. We’re going to go see him two at a time.
Grandma perked up and is so happy that he’s on his way to recovery. She made the surgeon give her a hug.
Caitlin (sent from my Droid)
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/16 at 11:54 PM