I am awake. It has been a whirlwind of a week here in our household. I was over in Asia for a week just to finish up our final CHA-W products and make sure everything looked to be in order. With the help of technlogy, I was able to keep up with the kiddos:
With the time difference being close to 14 hours, it was hard to catch them but 1x a day. When I got up early in the morning, it was close to dinner time and we could chat for a little bit. They did perfectly fine without me.
I of course brought them home a couple of things. My little girl shares my intense love for Hello Kitty:
So I got her a couple hard to find things. Noah got a couple of CARS 2 things which you cannot find here.
And quickly a week passed and I was ready to go home for many reasons, my kids, my hubby but most of all things were happening rather quickly with the health of my dad.
So a couple of weeks ago we had headed out to California to spend some time together with my sister and meet her new baby. While we were there, we did manage to get some family photos. This one is one of my favorites:
If you were to take a look at my dad (even with his stage IV lung cancer diagnosis in October 2010) he looks perfectly fine. He hasn't really lost weight. He looks fairly healthy. We are more than thankful that he is almost never in pain.
But during this trip he ended up hospitalized after a fall; he said he had some headaches and wasn't feeling well. They gave him some IVs and antibotics and sent him on his way. He was tired but ok the rest of the trip.
When we got home (and while I was in Asia) the doctor ordered an MRI for his brain, etc. My husband called me one night b/c the doctor moved my dad's appointment up. Now while I am no medical doctor, in my mind I knew they don't move appointments up to tell you good news.
And good news it was not. My dad now has some spots on his brain. His tumor which hasn't increased in size has not shown it is more active - on the hunt for places to go I think. So my dad started this week on radiation for his brain. 15 treatments in all. That should help to control the stuff going on there before they start on chemo again.
This week when I got home and spent some time with my parents, we also found out my dad now has prostate cancer. Something unexpected but after doing some reading and meeting with my dad's doctor, that seems to be a less of a worry in the short term though my dad will need radiation.
So it is going to be a busy time here in Dallas for us between appointments and such. My dad has been a bit blue lately especially after his fall in California but the last couple of days even with all the radiation, he has been feeling pretty good. For that I am thankful. We will continue to help him fight this.
We did notice for some reason he and my baby girl Olivia get along really well (here they are in June):
She seems to bring a big smile to his face when he is feeling so-so. Noah is way to active at times for my dad though he enjoys Noah being around too. Baby girl however is more mellow and they just get along really well. So we are spending as much time with them as possible.
In the greater picture, no matter how this journey turns out, we are thankful that Maya Road allows me and my family the time to spend with my parents. Even with appointment that end up taking 2-3 hours, we can go and make sure everything is going well. Life it too short to sweat the small stuff. I told my dad enjoy your life. Don't worry about the diagnosis. Get your treatment. Learn something new each day. Enjoy your grandkids. I told him no matter what, enjoy your time on this earth. None of us live forever so why waste it asking "why me?" and instead go out and live it.
And it is nice to see my dad in a better mood these last couple of days.
We are going to enjoy our Christmas time together next week. And we hope you do too.
Caroline, I just wanted to pop in and to say your dad is in my prayers! It's not easy but the time you spend together is priceless. Hang in there!
Posted by: MargieH | December 17, 2011 at 08:52 PM
I'm sorry to hear about your dad's latest health problems. You and your family are in my prayers.
Posted by: Patty Del Rosa | December 19, 2011 at 12:34 AM
Dear Caroline, I lost my sister to breast cancer a few weeks ago. She was diagnosed two years ago. As a family, we made a decision at that time to make the absolute most of our time together, because we just didn't know what the outcome would be. All of us made an effort to get together more than we ever had, and our gatherings were full of laughs and wonderful times. Not long before she passed away, my sister said that the last two years had been amazing. What wonderful words to hear. I just wanted to commend you for making the most of the time with your dad - you will never regret a moment of it. With best wishes for the times ahead and for a happy holiday season. ~Amber
Posted by: Amber M. | December 23, 2011 at 02:37 PM