I'm Not Retarded! I Have Cancer!

Well where do I begin!? It blows my mind how fast time flies. Especially now that it has been two hours since I wrote the previous two sentences :). Here is the recap from the last 2 weeks:

• Dr. Siever drained a liter of fluid from dad's pleural cavity. That is the amount of fluid that had accumulated in about 2.5 weeks since he was released from the hospital. To make this appointment really exciting, I fainted in the middle of the procedure. It was our most eventful appointment yet! The procedure, although only temporary, really made Dad feel better and more importantly breath better.

The excitement

A whole liter of fluid

The yellow portion on the left is the pleural cavity where Dad's fluid is accumulating. The right is a normal lung

• This past week Dad had a PET scan. We met with Dr. Reuss (cardiologist) two days later and she let us know that we were essentially out of options. The cancer has spread and we are left with the options of hospice and chemo (which I will talk about later). The fluid around the heart is metastatic (cancerous) and with the hard, scar tissuey (totally know that isn't a word) pericardium, the heart and lymph system aren't working properly. Dad is in a state of cachexia (also called wasting syndrome) where basically the cancer is using all of the energy Dad is getting from his food. It makes people lose weight and appetite, fatigued, and weak. Although it wasn't the easiest appointment, Dr. Reuss was very honest, informative, and compassionate. While examining Dad she said "Your sentences are good!" and Dad replied with "I'm not retarded! I have cancer!" with the most real look on his face. The whole room was laughing and it is one of my favorite moments to date. 
• Friday we met with Dr. Ejadi (chemo doctor). He talked a lot about what Dad could or could not do, what might or might not work for the first 25 minutes before stating that he didn't think chemo was a good idea. It was one of the first times that I really snapped back because I didn't understand why we were talking about chemo if he wasn't going to recommend it. Long story short, Dad is really not eligible for chemo, he is too weak. He also does not meet the criteria for a clinical trial. He could get a biopsy this week which would test for some other specific markers that might help but that takes 2-3 weeks just to process and Dad needs to decide if he feels strong enough to do it. 

Our favorite thing to do

Our warrior <3

From all of our appointments we have decided to bring hospice in. It is not us giving up on Dad but making sure that he has the access to care and meds that keep him out of pain. They have been great so far and have altered his medications to help him stay out of pain. The nurses and doctors are always on call and will come out whenever we need. They do not think Dad is ready to go to a hospice facility at the moment so until then we are watching a whole lot of old TV shows that were made way before I was born and doing whatever the heck we want :) Dad still has his "OJ" spirit and that beautiful glimmer in his eyes when we laugh. We have been so blessed to spend so much time together as a family, we couldn't ask for anything more!

Tonight was our last night together as a family for a while...Kristen is moving to South Carolina for Teach for America tomorrow! Kristen and I are driving out there just like Thelma and Louise (watch out world...seriously though, clear the road) and we are so excited. We will miss her so much, but we could not be more proud of her for going after her dreams and making them a reality.

Family <3