HAPPY TURKEY DAY

Gary is home and we are watching The Cooking Channel. He is actually an EATING MACHINE right now. I had a hard time fitting in his antibiotic (has to be taken an hour before or 2 hours after a meal) into his food schedule!

Lots has happened over the past 24 hours since I last posted so I will catch you up to speed.

We talked to Zach in great detail. We both read When Children Grieve before speaking to Zach and we are so thankful for that book. I know I have mentioned the book before because it deals with ALL loss (pet death, divorce, death of a relative or friend, etc...). Love this book. Anyhow, we laughed together and we cried together and we prayed together and just talked very openly and it was more than Gary and I could have hoped for. So, thank you for your prayers.

Dr. Barth came in to talk with us and he spent almost an hour talking to Gary and to me and to Zach. Nothing has really changed from the previous correspondence with the exception of our home care. We are not on Hospice as per Dr. Barth's recommendation. Gary is eating plenty and his nutritional values are better than they have ever been. His liver functions are completely normal (which is kinda scary seeing as there is cancer in there) and his cancer has shrunk (ever so slightly but it has).

We are basically putting out fires at this point in time. As long as Gary feels okay and it not being killed by his pain and has a quality of life that is acceptable to him then we can keep chasing down infections.

However, Gary has developed a fistula. Fistulas are common problems post operatively. A fistula is a "tunnel or connection" between 2 places that should not be there. So, Gary's bladder did not completely heal from the last surgery and a fistula has formed between his bladder and his wound. So, instead of his urine naturally flowing out where it should it is now coming up out of his wound and you can only imagine what a wet mess this has become. Lake Sallee is what I refer to it as. So, next week we will go to Barth's office and Gary will have 2 nephrostomy tubes placed (tubes that go into the kidney and come out of the back to drain the urine). These tubes will bypass the bladder completely which will dry up the wound. The cancer in the bladder can grow without the flow of urine and thus in theory decreasing the chance of infection.

So, as if we weren't complicated enough for all of you we have once again added another twist to Gary's care. For now I will change the wound dressing (like 20 pads that make him look 6 months preggo) every 3 or so hours to keep Gary dry. Our schedule will be like it was when we had a newborn.

BTW - Happy Thanksgiving everyone. There are so many incredible people we need to give thanks to. The miracles and love that have come out of our tragic cancer battle are abundant and overflowing. Even though we probably face the unimaginable we give thanks and give thanks and give thanks for everything God has given us. Everytime we turn around we are showered with love and support and friendship and warmth. God has always provided for us through all of you and we just thank Him and you for everything. We could never thank all of you enough -ever!

So, after Thanksgiving we will talk to the 2 other boys and then we are going to live every single day to the fullest! We will have many early Christmas celebrations and just soak everything in!

But for now we look forward to tomorrow and tomorrow we will feast on turkey until we can't button our pants (maybe we should wear elastic waist pants like Gary does every day)! We will toast all of you because that is what we are so thankful for!

We can still pray for a miracle. We also need to pray for continual peace and comfort as well. BTW - my headache is gone and I feel 100% better!

Enjoy eachother and give thanks for everything you have been given by Our Father. We are all so fortunate!

With Love and Thanksgiving,
Lisa and Gary