New York and Great News

Great news before I talk about New York... Dad recieved word from his surgeon... they were able to remove all the cancer! Since he has gotten out of the hospital he has been doing great and is actually returned to work.

Now for New York... Jerome and I just got back this past weekend. My sister in law Melissa graduated from school up there, so we made a trip out of it. We stayed right on Times Square, which was awesome. We saw Wicked which actually exceeded my expectations (and for the cost of the tickets, my expectations we high!). We went to the top of the empire state building... what a view. We also did an amazing dinner cruise that took us under the Brooklyn Bridge and right up to the Statue of Liberty. We had perfect weather that night- 75 degrees! It was a fun trip, but we were glad to be back home where the air is fresher and the skies are clear. :c)

Check facebook for more pictures!

Rough Road.

As planned, dad had surgery on 8/13/09. Quite a long and stressful day for everyone... especially dad! We got to the hospital at 10:30 am. As always, dad was all smiles and ready to take the procedure on. After a few unsuccessful IV attempts, the presurgery nurse made him pretty comfortable with IV medications. He barely remembers a presurgery prayer with Joe McColligan, an associate pastor at the church who actually used to be a telemetry nurse. He went into surgery right at 12:30 and did not come out until almost 5 pm.

Dr Emmott said that everything went well and smoothly (whew, a relief!). While he was recovering in post anesthesia unit, he had some issues with pain control and low blood pressure. The usual one hour post recovery turned in to a 2 hour ordeal. Once he was stabilized, they moved him to his room.

All was well the next day. He got some sleep, but his abdomen was pretty tender! Dr Emmott felt he was looking good and he went home at 2pm! That evening Jerome and I watched a very long, drawn out, bad movie at his place (the Watchman... don't see it... especially with your parents... cussing, violence, and drawn out sex scene = uncomfortable). He slept well that night, but the next day things started getting rougher.

Saturday night his abdomen became more distended and tender. He had no appetite at all. He started having episodes of shaking and violent hiccups. He got very minimal sleep. Early Sunday morning I received a panic phone call from Colleen- dad was starting to vomit, he can't stand up straight, he is shaking, and his abdomen is so distended that you can bounce a quarter off of it! Pain level higher than ever. I jumped out of bed and headed over to his house... his usual smile was not present and I could tell something wasn't right. I call Dr Emmott and Colleen took dad up to the emergency room. Dr Emmott admitted him back into the hospital for possible illeus (pretty much his belly was sleeping still, a complication that 1 in 50 patients may experience). They started an IV, fluid replacement, and pain medications. He felt better, but still not right. This was by far the most stressful day, especially since I had to go into work :c( . It was hard not to be there by his side! I kept close communication by phone though... like a stalker! I went to see him after work and was still concerned when I left late last night.

Throughout the night he has made a turn for the better! He is not having any pain today and his abdomen looks MUCH better... his appetite is finally starting to kick in! One of the other urologist came by to see him today and was pleased with the progress- he is concerned that it may happen again, so he has been started on a bland diet. Dad should find out pathology results sometime today or tomorrow, he will hopefully be release in the morning if things continue to get better. I continue to pray that the results will show eradication of the cancer. Thank you so much to friends and family. The notes, calls, your presence and support have been amazing.

As for Jerome and I? Doing fine. Increased stress for sure, but still counting our blessings...

I Hate Cancer

Something has been bothering me lately... why do bad things happen to good people? Thankfully I have had church friends who have helped me realize that we all have decaying bodies, but the spirit will live on for an eternity in heaven.

For those of you who don't know, which would be the majority since I have only shared this with a select few, my father was diagnosed with prostrate cancer on June 26th, 2009. What a shock. My father, my best friend- whom nothing bad could happen to- had cancer. I was really mad about this. My pessimistic thoughts were, lets say, prevalent. Through the help of my amazing husband and friends, I have come to realize the positives. It is a blessing that this was caught early. It is a blessing that he has great health insurance that helps him hand select the best surgeons and get different opinions. It is a blessing that his primary care provider was being overly "concerned" and had a prostrate ultrasound and biopsy performed. It is a blessing that my father lives within 20 minutes of a minimally invasive procedure for prostrate removal that many people travel many miles to get to. The blessing list goes on...

I know that although he was diagnosed with cancer, God is with him. A really strange thing happened. My father goes to a church where there are 15,000 members. Each church service has 3,000 people. He was working security at the church on the Sunday following his diagnosis (he was diagnosed on Friday and had not told anyone about it except for immediate family). The pastor at the church is a very popular man (if you can imagine). I have been going to this church for 10 years and have never met the pastor if that gives you a better idea. After the church service, my father was doing security watching the pastor from a far as the people of the church flocked to talk to him. He was dazing off and when he turned around the the pastor was right in front of him with his arm outstretched. The pastor said, "Are you okay". Dad said, "No, as a matter of fact I am not." With people swarming all over the Narthex, they had a 5 minute period with out any interruptions. They talked about his new diagnosis and prayed together. This is really a strange thing because 1) the pastor rarely walks up to other people due to people always walking up to him 2) my father rarely has anything like this wrong with him and he just happened to come up right after his diagnosis 3) no interruptions?? weird.

So on Thursday, August 13th, my father will be having surgery at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. He is having the Da Vinci Robotic Prostatectomy (meaning a robotically assisted complete removal of the prostrate.) A very cool, minimally invasive procedure. Dr. Emmott will be performing the surgery. He could use all the prayers and support he can get! I've set up a new page on the Prostate Cancer Foundation's Honor Gallery website. The Honor Gallery is dedicated to men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This is a place to honor Rodney Annan who has faced the challenge of prostate cancer.


To visit his page click below. The page is a bit bland due to issues uploading photos, so enjoy the pictures on this blog instead! Your comments of support may make it a bit more decorative :c)

http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=gpIVK4OxFjG&b=1552997&sid=hjJWI5OJIkLYI8ORKvH

Ditty the Kitty

Some people say I am an animal lover- those who know me well describe me as more as an animal loving psychopath. I deal with the pain and suffering of people on a daily basis at work, but the thought of an animal being neglected or abused makes me want to vomit. I want to pull out my karate chop move on those who inflict the pain on animals (I can be more scary than I look... I have been lifting weights...) When I married Jerome, he knew what he was getting into. A marriage to me equals a life of animals in the home.

Shadow #1... Ditty the Kitty

the first addition to our home came in 2003. i began my search at the animal shelters, which was quite difficult. all of the cats were beautiful in their own way. while at the humane society of greater kansas city, i was in the kitten room looking at all of the kittens in their cages. as i was leaning down to peek at the kittens in the lower cages, i felt a big "pop" to the top of my head. glancing back up to see what just happened, a white kitten was peaking at me- the look said it all, "yeah, that was me that just hit you on the head. what you gonna do about it?" curious, i took him out of his cage. he was quite a fiesty one. about 12 weeks old, the lady at the humane society said they found him at the side of the road with bugs all over him and close to death. his neck had 2 large holes from bot flies that were burrowing their way to his heart. she explained that they had used funds donated through the gabriel fund to nurse him back to health. the holes in his neck were slowly healing and they were having difficuly adopting him out because of them. seeing that we all have holes in us somewhere, visible or not, i decided to adopt him and give him a chance.

since ditto's adoption, he has been my shadow for the last 6 years. he has helped me through my nursing program and masters program and is now about to help me through my doctorate. he is always by my side. as i write this he is laying on my left forearm purring. when i am having a stressful day at work or upset, i think about the peace i will have at home laying on the couch with my cat purring on my chest. just looking at him helps to relieve a lot of stress. and jerome? although he was not a cat person prior to the adoption of ditty, he now has found one of his biggest fans. he thinks the cat is "alright". i think he thinks more than this since i frequently find them snuggling on the couch.

i strongly suggest the adoption of animals. it is weird because in some way i think they know that their life was saved by you. they make great pets and become a reliable best friend. they may not all be purebred, but neither are we- we all have imperfections! the holes on his neck are now healed and a small scar remains. now each christmas we donate money to the humane societies gabriel fund: http://www.hsgkc.org/gabrielfundpage.htm