Oncologist optimistic

The oncologist (cancer doctor) was very encouraging.
The chemotherapy treatments have improved greatly over the last decade.  The treatment Dad is scheduled for has been tested to show good results on older people, with little / no nausea nor pain.
Dad will get a port surgically installed.  That will be put into his upper chest to allow the medicine to be more easily injected into his blood vessels.
He will have four or six months of chemotherapy, after which the bladder will be examined and possibly removed.  The 4 or 6 depends on the results of a not yet scheduled CAT scan.  The treatments will be one day a week getting 3 hours worth of medicine injected via the port, with a shorter visit the next day to check his status.

Dad should even be able to drive himself to and from the chemotherapy sessions!  He may feel a little weak after the chemo gets into him, but should be able to get home without trouble.

Dad is looking and sounding better and better.  He is still tender, but is no longer in pain.  He is praising God that the he no longer has a catheter and that he can sit or ride in a car without pain.

Mom was occasionally very worried for Dad, but then was reassured.  Her memory is such that she forgets items, so I worry that she may forget the reassurance that the bladder cancer is not as serious.

My Uncle Chuck called this afternoon, and was able to further encourage Dad.  Uncle Chuck currently has a port installed as part of his chemotherapy, which has turned out well.

I think perhaps one of the biggest challenges remaining for my parents is dealing with the disappointment of growing older and less independent.  Dad was told by the doctor he should no longer be shoveling snow, and he should take care of himself.  Mom was saddened that she did not have a nice dinner on the table.  I am very glad that their worries are focused on items that while are sad to realize, are very common and a normal part of aging.

Praise God for modern medicine and the kindness of medical practitioners.

Transportation challenges should improve for a while, but then what?

Dad has hopes of driving himself again fairly soon.
One of the areas wisdom will be needed is how to get Dad (and Mom) to and from all the upcoming visits to doctors.  I have been able to take personal time off days so far, but I have a limited number of days.  So wisdom when to take them is needed.

Mom's short term memory loss is still severe enough that it would be a concern of her driving.  She forgets some things (but not everything) after a few minutes, and forgetting where she is driving to would not be good.

Dad had hoped from the outset of the expected to be outpatient surgery that he would be driving himself right away.  Today the primary care physician told us that Dad can drive once some conditions are met.  Dad should be pain free enough to comfortably sit to drive, and to be no longer taking the pain killing medication that also induces drowsiness.

So we have hopes now that the catheter is out, Dad will recover quickly.
However, tomorrow I imagine we will learn that the coming chemotherapy will wipe him out enough that driving again will be out of the question...

We have also considered taxis, and taxi-like services focused on medical transport.  However, having had no experience, it is hard to know what would be usable.

Aunt Vera in the past has been a great help in this manner.  However, her own health issues and other family obligations limited what she could do recently.  Now I am hesitant to directly ask again, unless it can be part of a rotation or some other load sharing method.
Cousin Sean has already expressed willingness to help with this or other things, even while I was writing this, and it is greatly appreciated.
"Many hands make light work."

Dad (Harold Abbey) much more comfortable, for a while, but chemotherapy coming

Dad (Harold Abbey) had a very tough week. His bladder tumor removal
surgery on 1/21 went smoothly, but recovery has been difficult, mainly
due to a very painful catheter. Praise God that it was finally removed
today, and Dad is already able to be up and about. Previously to this
morning he could barely get out of bed, and even movement in bed was
painful. By afternoon, he was already well improved, able to have
regular conversations and sit up without pain.

However, today we learned that the evaluation from the surgery is that
Dad had a high grade cancerous tumor, and the cancer had advanced into
the muscle of the bladder. So the next step is chemotherapy, and very
likely removal of the bladder. Bladder cancer seems to be a cancer that
is often successfully treated these days. However, the delay of getting
it treated has added risk. Tomorrow, 2/7/2014, Dad will have his first
visit with an oncologist (cancer doctor) to discuss plans.

Both Mom and Dad are still adjusting to this news while also adjusting
to the very positive change of Dad's sitting up and being able to eat a
meal at the table.

Please pray that the doctors and the family have wisdom how to best
handle and prepare for the upcoming challenges.

Dad physically improving, but pain keeping him in bed and despair.

I visited Dad tonight.  He seemed encouraged some by the visit.

It seems like his surgery recovery might be going fairly well.  The issue is not that, but the severe pain he has from the catheter.  The severe pain and discomfort is causing him to be stuck in bed.
So he is feeling hopeless at times.
Hopefully the expected follow-up doctor appointments can be arranged, but getting to doctor with his pain and discomfort is a concern.
Hopefully the social worker tomorrow will have some insight.

Dad stuck in bed, and feeling hopeless.

Dad is not doing well.

Dad is has not recovered well from his surgery on 1/21.  He has been in bed all this time.
He is feeling sorry for himself, and hopeless.
A social worker will be visiting tomorrow, 01/31/2014,  at 11am.

I pray they will have wisdom to understand the situation, my parents desires,
and how best to proceed.

Dad is home

Dad was longer in the hospital than expected.
He had bladder spasms which caused pain in stomach.
Once that was treated with some medicine, felt and did much better.

He still has a catheter, but is resting at home.

Mom is also doing well.  She did quite well by herself a couple nights, but is very glad to have Dad home again.
Tomorrow mid-day I take Mom to get her long-unused feeding tube removed.  It should be an outpatient operation.

Dad spending night in hospital after "outpatient" surgery, but seems OK

Dad, Mom, and Aunt Vera went to St. John Macomb hospital (formerly South Macomb) early today for what was to be outpatient surgery to have a growth in the bladder removed.  It had been delayed in the past in part due to Dad's apathy about it, and in part due to other concerns about Dad's health (about his heart I think).

The surgery went smoothly, and Dad was awake recovering at the expected time. During the surgery, Dad's heart had a few irregularities, but it smoothed itself out.
The growth did not look cancerous, but we will be awaiting the biopsy lab test results.

Dad is uncertain why they decided to keep him overnight. Late in the day he had stomach pains, which is not an unusual result of anesthesia.

Mom is staying home alone, despite Dad's initial wishes. Mom was adamant about not having someone spend the night with her. Dad is very worried about Mom, if she will do the things she is supposed to. I am
much less worried, since she has been managing fine during the typical mornings when Dad sleeps later than her.

We all hope that Dad can come home tomorrow without any problems.
I really hope he can be home by Thursday, as on Friday Mom is to go in for her own outpatient procedure to finally take out the feeding tube that she needed for a short time.