Update

There has been some time since I have sent out an update.  There is no way that I can fill you in on everything that has happened so, I will bring you up to date.

John finished his radiation and chemo on Thursday.  It didn't begin to make him sick until weekend before last.  He seems to be a little more sick every day.  Swallowing is hurting again, he has been in bed for 4 days.  Those of you that really know John, realize he must feel pretty bad if he is staying in bed.  We have started the tube feeding again.  The oncologist said that even though the radiation is stopped, the treatment continues working and burning him for some time.  He could stay this exhausted for another 3 weeks.  That is why they want to give him a 4-5 week break before surgery so he can build up some strength before this intensive operation.

A challenge we are going through at this time is, not knowing where we will go for surgery.  We had an appointment set up to talk to a doctor tomorrow in Dallas.  John's niece, Claudette was planning to pick us up at the airport and take us to the doctor's office and we were going to fly home tomorrow night.  On Thursday late afternoon, we got a call from the doctor's nurse to tell us that they don't accept our insurance.  I had to cancel our reservations and let Claudette know we were not coming.   I have made numerous calls to doctors to try to start making another plan.  Only one has called me back but, she didn't know exactly what our new plan would be.  We still have conflicting doctors opinions about where we will go.  I will start working on this again tomorrow.

I don't know how this is all going to shake out but, I would like some input.  There seems to be 3 places we may end up.  Dallas, Scott and White in Temple and a very remote chance of Houston.  This operation will be probably in the first or second week of November.  I would like to know if any of you will be available near any of those towns to give me some support.  I know Pat M. that you have offered a place to stay if it is in Dallas and you have offered to take off the day of the surgery to sit with me.  Nikki and Claudette, I know you are available for anything I need.  There are others of you in the Dallas area.  In Houston, I know that Dee and Angie will be traveling, at that time.  We don't know anyone in Temple.  I guess it is somewhere between Dallas and Austin.  Any responses that I receive on this request will be appreciated.

I, in no way, want to put anyone on the spot.  I know many of you are working, have families, are too far away and other things.  Not everyone is wired to help in this type of situation.  I am just realizing that if John is in the hospital from 10 days to 3 weeks, doing it alone will be pretty difficult for me.  His illness has been ongoing non-stop now, since May and both of us are very tired.

I had a wonderful and long visit with my friend Judy Wilkins last night.  Sadly, she lost her husband to cancer in January of this year. They had to leave Lubbock for surgery and she called something to my attention that I had not thought of before she brought it up.  When one is in a hospital that is away from home, when the hospital released the patient, that patient may not be able to travel for some time.  Hospitals release patients much sooner that they used to.  Once the patient is released, the doctor there is no longer the patient's doctor.  If there are problems or complications, Judy's experience was, there was no one to help her, medically.  She was far from home in a hotel with a man who had just had a complicated surgery.  A doctor in Lubbock helped her set up some nursing care assistance while they were waiting for Louis to get strong enough to travel home.  When they did drive home, there was a critical emergency.  Thankfully, she was not alone on the drive and could tend to her husband Louis while her son drove.  I am just trying to prepare.

Thank you all for your interest in how we are doing.  We are hanging.