The pain clinic called back yesterday afternoon and it was decided to have Randy come in for an appointment to be assessed in person by the doctor.

Our appointment was today at 12:30 and the doctor, once seeing him and talking with us,  recommended that Randy be admitted to the hospital so that they can try and get his pain under control.  He is in the Palliative Care - ICU unit at the Foothills Hospital.  Their specialty is looking after patients and making them comfortable.

It will be easier for the doctor's to try different pain medicines while in hospital where they can monitor him 24 hrs a day and see if it is working or not.  Rather than going home with a plan and calling them with updates....waiting for them to call back....having home care nurse come and unable to do anything without consulting a doctor....good grief.....

So right now were not sure how long he will be in could be 3/4 days or longer.  Just depends on how fast they can get something to work. 

Please pray for the doctor's and nurses to have the compassion and knowledge to help Randy and all those in their care at this time.

Prayer for Doctors and Nurses
O merciful Father, who have wonderfully fashioned man in your own image, and have made his body to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, sanctify, we pray you, our doctors and nurses and all those whom you have called to study and practice the arts of healing the sick and the prevention of disease and pain. Strengthen them in body and soul, and bless their work, that they may give comfort to those for whose salvation your Son became Man, lived on this earth, healed the sick, and suffered and died on the Cross. Amen.

Randy has had a couple of rough days.    He did not sleep well Saturday and Sunday as his pain spiked up to level 8.  Have been able to get it to level 6 but not lower.  Called pain clinic and now wait for them to call back.  Not sure what's going to happen next but please pray for comfort for Randy. 

I will always be by your side.

 And I will pray for you each day.

 Comfort you through all the pain,

gently kiss your fears away,

 you can turn to me and cry,

always understand that I give you all I have inside...

Randy has recovered from the procedure for the stent, just a lingering soreness in his chest from the stent expanding.   He also felt the liter of saline he rec'd on Thursday helped a lot.  It does cause him to be very tired after these outings but it was well worth it. 

He continues to be very weak and fatigued.  We are now working closely with the Pain clinic and the Home care nurse to manage his pain levels.    He has let them know that 3 out of 10 is an acceptable level for him.  The pain can spike up to 8 and usually is around 4/5.  He did try to stop the steroid last week because he felt it was not doing anything.  Found out next day that is was doing it's job because his pain increased dramatically without taking it,  needless to say he is taking it again. 

I have noticed a shift in him, Randy has accepted what is happening to him and resigned himself to what he has to go through in the future.  He has handed over the "management" of his medicines to me.  I now look after the timing and giving of all his meds.  A little stressful at first but I am slowly working out a system which includes writing everything down so I can keep it straight!  :) 

Your continued thoughts and prayers are a blessing to us as we continue on this dreadful journey where there is no happy ending. 

 

May Christ Who was crucified for your sake
free you from excruciating pain.
May Christ Who died for you
free you from the death that never ends.
May Christ the Son of the living God,
set you in the ever green loveliness of His Paradise,
and may He, the true Shepherd
recognize you as one of His own.
May you see your Redeemer face to face
and standing in His presence forever,
may you see with joyful eyes
Truth revealed in all its fullness.

Amen.

We are still working with the pain clinic and home care to try and manage Randy's pain levels.   The nurse is coming for a visit tomorrow.  Still waiting for pain clinic to call back.  Left two messages......  :(

Today was a long day again.  Had an appointment with the GI specialist to see about a stent for Randy.  While talking with him he felt it was a good idea so rather than scope him they decided to go ahead and insert the stent.  We had to wait a couple hours as a few emergencies came into the hospital and they have priority.  Randy was successfully "stented" later in the afternoon we got home at 6:30 pm.  He will be groggy and sore for a few days as the stent expands to it's full size.

He can have liquids for couple days and then start with small amounts of puréed food.  He will never be able to eat like he use to but at least will get some food intake through the mouth.  Doctor said not to eat vegetables as the tend to clog up the stent.  Randy has no problem with that!!  He will also be on acid reflux for his lifetime.  So at least a bit of positive news. 

That some good can be derived from every event is a better proposition than that everything happens for the best, which it assuredly does not. ~James K. Feibleman

Had our appointment today with the Oncologist.  It was much nicer as Randy was able to lie in a bed that is in the waiting area while we waited for our appointment.  They actually came out to Randy to do the visit there so he wouldn't have to move.

It has been decided to stop chemotherapy as Randy is too weak to carry on right now.  It is not benefiting him any to continue if he is unable to be up and walking around for at least half the day.  Also, due to the other chemo treatments not doing much of anything they feel that continuing on will not accomplish what they hoped for.

We are now going into "symptom control" mode.  Through palliative home care, the palliative pain clinic and our family doctor they will work together to manage the pain and help keep Randy comfortable for whatever time he has left.

On Tuesday we will be going to the GI Specialist at the Peter Lougheed Hospital, to see about the stent insertion.  They will scope his esophagus and if its ok they will perform the insertion at that time.  Pray it goes well.  This will greatly help Randy, if they can put the stent in as there are more choices then for pain meds...ie: he can swallow pills.

I would also like to let you know that we need to monitor the length of time for visits.  Randy gets so worn out that it takes quite a bit of time to recover.  He finally admitted it to me that he struggles with the amount and length of stay from company.  I know you all want to see him but we need to be aware of how it affects him.

So I ask that if you come to visit that your length of stay be limited to 10 - 20 minutes.  Even though you see Randy with his eyes closed he is not really sleeping.  You all have been great about texting me to see if he's up to a visit and we truly appreciate that if he's not you understand.  Love to you all!!

I want to also add that the boys and myself are so grateful to all of you who have cooked for us, given us treats and made us feel loved through your friendship.  You are all blessings in our life!!  THANK YOU so much. 

O God, who has doomed all men to die, but has concealed from all the hour of their death, grant that Randy may pass his days in the practice of holiness and justice, and that he may deserve to quit this world in the peace of a good conscience, and in the embrace of your love through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Quick update to let you know how Randy is doing.

He says the pain is no worse after 2.5 days of taking the steroids.  It remains the same but after eating last night he said there was not the increase in pain that usually started after an hour of eating. 

The pain clinic pharmacist talked with us today and would like Randy to continue with the steroids until Tuesday to see if he improves gradually each day.  If not we will go to plan B.  Maybe adding different nerve blockers or different narcotics.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to Aunt Shirley and family as you struggle through the grief and sadness. Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Life brings tears, smiles, and memories.
The tears dry, the smile fades,
but the memories live on forever.

With heartfelt sympathy.

Randy, Kim, Dan, Andrew and Matthew

We are home from the Pain clinic.  It was a long visit for Randy,  3 hours, but they are very nice and are going to try and get Randy feeling more comfortable.  When we first met the nurse she recognized our last name and said she remembers, from a long time ago, the name.  Found out she graduated with Randy!! 

We learned more from the pain doctor then we have from our oncologist.  He figures the pain and trouble eating Randy is having is because his stomach is squished.  The tumors that are on and around his liver cause inflammation and swelling which could double the tumor size.  This would then push on nerves and the stomach.  The first treatment, plan a, that they recommended is to hit it hard with steroids to reduce the inflammation.  He told us Randy should feel better within 3 -5 days.  We will be calling him on Thursday to let him know how it is going.  If nothing is better we will try plan b.  Not quite sure what that is yet, maybe some nerve blockers or different narcotics.  Fingers crossed this works so Randy can start to feel bit better.

Randy is also being referred to a GI specialist to talk about a stent insertion.  If it is viable, the stent would be put in to help with quality of life.  Randy would not have to spit into a cup anymore.  May or may not be able to eat solid foods.  Will be seeing him next week. 

That's all for now. 

Gracious God,
You have given us many healing remedies
that are a benefit to us when we are sick.
Through the miraculous intercession of St. Anthony,
we ask Your blessing upon the medication prescribed for
Randy
so that he may experience healing,
and be restored to full health in mind and body.

Amen.

 

It's been a bit since I updated the blog so here goes:

Randy is still suffering with lot's of abdominal pain and pain through out his body.  The only relief he gets is when he is able to find a comfortable position and fall asleep.  The nurse told us that the pain clinic should be able to help but it may take trial and error to get the right combination of medicine to work.  I am praying that they get it right quickly as it is very, very difficult to watch Randy suffer so much.  Our appointment is on Tuesday at 1:15pm at the Foothills Hospital.

He is still struggling to eat.  Was doing 2 - 3 cans a night but these past few nights he could not tolerate any as he is in so much pain.  Does manage to sip on chicken/beef broth through out the day and keep up on his water intake.

Dan's graduation banquet was this Saturday and Randy so wanted to attend but was unable to.  We surely missed having him there to celebrate this awesome accomplishment.  It suck's so bad that this disease has to ruin special moments for Randy.  We all had a good cry and allowed ourselves to work through the anger and sadness.  It was good to release these feelings which allowed Dan to have a good time.  He worked hard these past two years!!


Our next big event will be Andrew's 18th birthday and graduation in May.  My prayers are that the pain clinic doctor's will help Randy so he can attend these special moments. 

Lord Jesus Christ, by your patience in suffering you hallowed earthly pain

and gave us the example of obedience to your Father's will:

Be near me in my time of weakness and pain;

 sustain me by your grace, that my strength and courage may not fail;

 heal me according to your will; and help me always to believe that what happens to me here is of little account if you hold me in eternal life, my Lord and my God. 

Amen.

 

Things have not improved much for Randy.  The pain does not go away.  It can go from a constant ache to sharp shooting pains so to try and diminish it Randy sleeps a lot.  Our home care nurse is coming on Thursday to see what can be done.  Randy doesn't have much hope they can do anything for him but will keep trying what ever we can.  We are also having the Physiotherapist come to see him.  Maybe he can try acupuncture or massage to try to ease some of the pain.  He is willing to try anything.

We have good news,  Dan has been offered a job with Avmax Aviation Services here in Calgary.  He accepted the offer yesterday!!  This is truly a wonderful opportunity for him as be begins his career in Aviation Maintenance.  Thanks for all the added prayers.

 Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each other in the human family. Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our loneliness. Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the whole of our lives. Thank you for friends, for health and for grace. May we live this and every day conscious of all that has been given to us.

Randy started his new chemo treatment on Wednesday Apr 2.   Takes an hour now instead of three.  He did, and is still going through some of the side effects which are flu like symptoms and joint pain.  Wednesday afternoon/evening they started and continue till today.  He feels bit better today.  The fatigue is back too.  This new chemo drug is going to also, pretty certain, cause Randy to lose his hair, eyebrows and possibly his eye lashes.  He has already lost some of his hair but the doctor warned us it will all go now.  He will have 3 cycles of this new drug and then a CT scan to see if it is doing anything.

He continues to struggle with stomach/lower abdomen pain.  The morphine does not help that.  If it becomes unbearable we will call our home care nurse.  So far Randy feels he can handle it.  It's a constant annoyance for him.  We do have an appointment now with the pain clinic on April 15th.

“Heavenly Father, I thank You so much for this day. Thank You for blessing us with it and in it another opportunity to serve You. Thank You for being the light in this dark world. We thank You for the enormous blessings that You send our way. Thank You for the opportunity to serve others in Your name. 

 

I lift up all cancer patients to you. Please be with them and give them comfort and peace during this battle. They need Your care and attention. Please be with them in this journey and where it’s Your will, bring about healing to their bodies. Please be with their families as well as they join their loved ones on this journey. 

 

Amen