Post by George on Jul 4, 2010 22:58:59 GMT -5
My dear brothers and sisters, on Friday, June 18th I almost went Home to be with my Lord. I apologize for taking so long to let y'all know about it but I have been slow to recover and still have a long way to go.
It all actually started on Wednesday, June 9th with my normal and "routine" CT scans. Unfortunately they did not come out so routinely. The oncologist ordered some blood work done on Friday, June 11th. At that point I had been in almost constant pain for over a week. I was so swollen and bloated I looked like one of those poor African children shown so often on TV.
I went the next Monday for the results of the blood work and was immediately rushed across the street to the hospital for a set of acute abdominal x-rays. Of course Tuesday the oncologist's office told me the x-rays were inconclusive so I was sent again on Wednesday the 16th for a set of what is called a small intestine study. That involved drinking 600ml of Barium Sulfate that was at least 5 times stronger than I normally take. The radiologist and I watched the screen as he guided his camera thingy over my belly. Very quickly he said "There it is George, do you see it?" (We are on a first name basis because I knew him for many years before I knew he was a doctor.) I told him I did and they basically kicked me out.
What we were looking at was one of the tumors in my abdomen having gotten so large it was causing a kink in my small intestine and thus an intestinal blockage. Recall the 600ml of Barium Sulfate? Of course it is rather thick and had no where to go. Within an hour after I got home I had passed out from the pain and my wife had to call 911. Here's a bit of humor for you: when I passed out I was sitting on the toilet and I ended up face down in the kitty litter box! Fortunately it was clean but when the medics came they found me laying on the floor of the bathroom with my head in the litter box in so much pain I could not move.
I got to take a ride on the freeway in the ambulance with the red lights and siren going after they gave me 10mg of morphine. Now I have to admit that was sort of fun. Anyway to try to shorten this up a bit I was admitted. They let me lie around in the ward the next day to see what they could do for me. That lead to the decision to do exploratory surgery on the 16th.
When the surgeon got inside of me he found out that the offending tumor not only was causing a blockage, it had ruptured. yes brothers and sisters, the tumor literally self-destructed inside of me causing it to bleed all over the place and resulting in me having to get three units of blood during the surgery.
The next morning in the CCU the surgeon stopped by to check on me and told me he found more cancer in me than he had ever seen in someone's belly before and could not understand how I was still alive. (WE know, don't we?) Another doctor who had assisted stopped by and told me he did not expect to see me that morning.
Anyway I spent a total of 10 days in the hospital. The Lord provided me with some wonderful doctors and great nurses. I did develop jaundice right after the surgery and woke up looking like a mango. The Lord got rid of it in a few days with no treatment. I have been battling a low-grade fever since I was in the hospital. I have been taking an anti-biotic for it for 4 days now and it appears the fever is gone now too.
I am still very weak, run-down and sore. I have been bombarded with narcotics such as morphine, norco and percocet for about a month now. The pain is lessening. Praise God for that one! However my blood count is so low that if it drops one more point I have to have another transfusion. Whoopee, more needles. The people at the hospital gave me more injections and IVs than I cared to try to count. My arms and the backs of my hands have been black and blue from it. When I have to go for blood work now I just put both arms up on the table and tell them that if they can find a spot to go for it.
So such has been my life for the last month or so. The wonderful part of it is that God knows what I need to get me through the day and at the end of the day He has provided me with it because I am still here. He also used me daily as a witness for Him and a testimony about being a Christian to many nurses and such. I also invited a lot of folks to Church while I was in there.
Over the passed few weeks without my God, my wonderful and loving wife and my Church I would not have made it. I don't see how an unsaved person could go through what I have recently. The Pastoral staff of my Church were so incredibly wonderful to me. My Church family was likewise. When I got to the point I counted 25 different visitors to my room I quit counting. There is no way I could have begun to count the number of visits I received. After I came home I continue to have people visit. The Biblical teaching of the family of God and Christian love has been played out over and over again for me recently.
I need to end this as it is getting quite long and for that I apologize. You actually got a short version. It could be much longer. I believe I may write something about expectations and taking things for granted here in the next few days as I feel up to it. I have quite obviously had a lot of time to think, ponder and meditate recently.
Thank you all for your prayers. I believe my biggest need at present is for my blood count to improve so I do not need to go back to the hospital for another transfusion.
In Christ,
George
It all actually started on Wednesday, June 9th with my normal and "routine" CT scans. Unfortunately they did not come out so routinely. The oncologist ordered some blood work done on Friday, June 11th. At that point I had been in almost constant pain for over a week. I was so swollen and bloated I looked like one of those poor African children shown so often on TV.
I went the next Monday for the results of the blood work and was immediately rushed across the street to the hospital for a set of acute abdominal x-rays. Of course Tuesday the oncologist's office told me the x-rays were inconclusive so I was sent again on Wednesday the 16th for a set of what is called a small intestine study. That involved drinking 600ml of Barium Sulfate that was at least 5 times stronger than I normally take. The radiologist and I watched the screen as he guided his camera thingy over my belly. Very quickly he said "There it is George, do you see it?" (We are on a first name basis because I knew him for many years before I knew he was a doctor.) I told him I did and they basically kicked me out.
What we were looking at was one of the tumors in my abdomen having gotten so large it was causing a kink in my small intestine and thus an intestinal blockage. Recall the 600ml of Barium Sulfate? Of course it is rather thick and had no where to go. Within an hour after I got home I had passed out from the pain and my wife had to call 911. Here's a bit of humor for you: when I passed out I was sitting on the toilet and I ended up face down in the kitty litter box! Fortunately it was clean but when the medics came they found me laying on the floor of the bathroom with my head in the litter box in so much pain I could not move.
I got to take a ride on the freeway in the ambulance with the red lights and siren going after they gave me 10mg of morphine. Now I have to admit that was sort of fun. Anyway to try to shorten this up a bit I was admitted. They let me lie around in the ward the next day to see what they could do for me. That lead to the decision to do exploratory surgery on the 16th.
When the surgeon got inside of me he found out that the offending tumor not only was causing a blockage, it had ruptured. yes brothers and sisters, the tumor literally self-destructed inside of me causing it to bleed all over the place and resulting in me having to get three units of blood during the surgery.
The next morning in the CCU the surgeon stopped by to check on me and told me he found more cancer in me than he had ever seen in someone's belly before and could not understand how I was still alive. (WE know, don't we?) Another doctor who had assisted stopped by and told me he did not expect to see me that morning.
Anyway I spent a total of 10 days in the hospital. The Lord provided me with some wonderful doctors and great nurses. I did develop jaundice right after the surgery and woke up looking like a mango. The Lord got rid of it in a few days with no treatment. I have been battling a low-grade fever since I was in the hospital. I have been taking an anti-biotic for it for 4 days now and it appears the fever is gone now too.
I am still very weak, run-down and sore. I have been bombarded with narcotics such as morphine, norco and percocet for about a month now. The pain is lessening. Praise God for that one! However my blood count is so low that if it drops one more point I have to have another transfusion. Whoopee, more needles. The people at the hospital gave me more injections and IVs than I cared to try to count. My arms and the backs of my hands have been black and blue from it. When I have to go for blood work now I just put both arms up on the table and tell them that if they can find a spot to go for it.
So such has been my life for the last month or so. The wonderful part of it is that God knows what I need to get me through the day and at the end of the day He has provided me with it because I am still here. He also used me daily as a witness for Him and a testimony about being a Christian to many nurses and such. I also invited a lot of folks to Church while I was in there.
Over the passed few weeks without my God, my wonderful and loving wife and my Church I would not have made it. I don't see how an unsaved person could go through what I have recently. The Pastoral staff of my Church were so incredibly wonderful to me. My Church family was likewise. When I got to the point I counted 25 different visitors to my room I quit counting. There is no way I could have begun to count the number of visits I received. After I came home I continue to have people visit. The Biblical teaching of the family of God and Christian love has been played out over and over again for me recently.
I need to end this as it is getting quite long and for that I apologize. You actually got a short version. It could be much longer. I believe I may write something about expectations and taking things for granted here in the next few days as I feel up to it. I have quite obviously had a lot of time to think, ponder and meditate recently.
Thank you all for your prayers. I believe my biggest need at present is for my blood count to improve so I do not need to go back to the hospital for another transfusion.
In Christ,
George
