Update on Dad/Ryk/Opa G

Well, I thought this might be the easiest. My sister has also set up a carepage but I know that a lot of people also use this kinda stuff as well, so I thought that I would start a blog too for dad and how he is doing and what's happening... it will more or less for exactly the same as the carepage just so people that use different things can still get the updates... so here you go... this first one is longer than they will usually be but it's more or less what I emailed everyone for day 1! Also the carepages have a place that you can leave a personal message for one of us where are this one will have names and places and some dates taken out as it's a little more public.

Thanks for your prayers! They are greatly appreciated. As for when we might head east... we're not sure at this point in time. Mom has said to wait and see. So, that's what we're going to do for now!

Amy

January 02, 2007 at 11:28 PM EST
Hi Everyone! We're hoping that this site will serve to help keep all of our friends and family informed as quickly as possible on how Dad is doing. I'll just give a small bit of a time line so that you can understand how quickly everything has moved. Dad's colonoscopy wasn't scheduled until May 2007 at the hospital. Thank God Linda suggested going to another smaller centre. Dad's colonoscopy took place. and Dad met with the surgeon and found out that he had colon cancer. His surgery was then schedueled for Tuesday January 2, 2007. In those 2 weeks it was an absolute whirl wind filled with doctors appointments, pre - op visits, and of course Christmas and New Years thrown in for good measure. Phew! So now that brings us to today. Dad was scheduled to go into surgery at 7:30am and we expected to see him in his room somewhere between 11:30-12 noon. Mom, Dan and I spent the time sitting in the food court attempting a crossword puzzle to try and keep our minds off things. At 10:30 the pager that the OR had given us went off (scaring the day lights out of me as i was wearing it) We waited until around 11:20 and the doctor came to speak to us. Going into the surgery we had expected for dad to have a 6 inch section of his colon removed and an Anterior Resection (colon re-attached with tumour gone). Unfortunately the doctor was not able to perform this surgery. There is some adhesion to the anterior wall of the pelvis. He is also wondering if there may be some adhession to the bladder. He feels confident that it has not entered the bladder as dad has not had any symptoms so that is a HUGE praise! Also he thuroughly examined his liver and says it looks great! The liver is a huge concern where colon cancer is concerned so this is another YEAH GOD! The surgeon felt that performing a colostomy was a prudent move right now. This way the healthy part of his colon will be kept far away from the radiation. The next 4 months will be very full, here is a rough itinerary of what will be happening: - 7-10 days in the hospital - 4-6 weeks healing at home - 5 weeks of Radiation not in town ( i will be writing more about this later so stay tuned!) - at the same time as the radiation 5 weeks of chemotherapy administered in town - 4-6 weeks recovery time as the radiation continues to work for up to a month after the last dose - surgery to hopefully remove the shrunken tumour and to resect (reattach) the colon. So, this is where we stand. I'm hoping that Amy or myself can update the webpage daily so as to keep you all informed. As you can well imagine there have been countless phonecalls and prayers for which we are so thankful!! If we haven't been able to return your call we apologize but as you're well aware life is pretty hectic and we aren't at home too much. We're hoping that this site will work well to keep you informed and kept in the loop and so that you'll know to to pray. God is so good, Dad has peace and that is a true answer to prayer. He says that he can feel your prayers and he knows the power of them being offered up to the on his behalf. Continue on in your prayers. Remeber, the prayers of the righteous availeth much! God is going to have the glory in this situation! AMEN! Please feel free to leave a message for Dad and Mom on the message board. I know they would so appreciate it! Also a little request, if anyone will be visiting them could you please copy and paste and print out a copy of the messages so that they could read them. Dad and mom haven't quite jumped into the computer age yet and I don't have a printer available to me at their house.
~Joy on behalf of Dad, Mom, Dan and kids, Amy& Jared

January 03, 2007 at 10:53 AM EST
Hi Everyone! Time seems to fly so quickly. I spoke with Dad's night nurse first thing this morning and she said that he had a good night. I was able to speak with dad later on and he sounds weak. He said that the nurses had him sitting up this morning and that it didn't feel so good. Mom and I are heading up to the hospital shortly. Dad's a bit out of it but I'm sure mom would appreciate the visits. A family from the church has kindly offered to keep my kids the rest of the week and the kids are thrilled. What a brave woman to have 7 kids around! Continue on in your prayers. I know that they are felt tremendously here. The strength of Dad and Mom through this is amazing and I believe it is your prayers holding them. If you know anyone who knows mom and dad PLEASE pass on the carepage so that we can keep everyone informed. Also, we will be leaving a green notebook up at dad's hospital room as well. PLEASE sign it when you visit, especially if mom or I aren't there..who knows what dad will remember right now :D
On behalf of the Opa G clan
Joy
God Bless you all, and thank you for your prayers.