What I wanted to talk about is the kids finishing Spring Break and the week before how much fun we had in Arizona seeing sights and being in the warm desert sun. I still want to thank my parents for their generosity of getting us out there and toting us around and for my Aunt Ruth to have opened her home and allowing to be at home in her "loft" Looking back I can see that Tom was sicker than I realized. He made mention of the Sunday before of how he was feeling nauseated. By Thursday of our trip I noticed that his eyes looked yellow. I mentioned it to him, but he was "fine". By the time we got back home I tried to convenience him to call a doc ~ any doc. He told me that he was tired from the trip and ate more in one week than he does a month. Looking back I wonder how much I should have pushed (or told Kyle & Cody to put him in the car) even if it was against his will. The girls at work told me to have him get into the car and tell him "We're going for a ride"
This past Sunday I noticed how shallow his breathing had gotten, and as I couldn't sleep, realized how much he was getting up because of his pain. During the next day I bugged him enough so he finally gave in and let me e-mail the U of M nurse. She was on vacation and I got a response by Thursday. She wanted Tom to have some lab work done. It took Tom another day for him to get to the lab. So Friday he went and by the evening the Oncologist from U of M called our home and requested that he make his way to the emergency room. They preferred Tom to come to Ann Arbor but Tom asked to stay here in Grand Rapids. We arrived at 8:00 pm and Tom has had a series of procedures since. He likes to think the he'll be going home the next day, but I think reality is he will be here for a while. It's good for him to have goals though.
Tom was admitted for having blood clots in his left chest. This is causing pain under his arm and is also why his breathing has been shallow. They have also stated that the clots have formed because of the mass in his chest. He also had a blocked duct that is causing the Bile numbers to be high (not sure if I have the correct medical term). A person should be a 2 or 3 and he is at 15. Today they were able to put a stent in during his ERCP (scope). Tom has seen GI, Pulmonary, & Oncology docs during this visit.
Next week I am sure that all these teams will come together and talk with the team at U of M to plan his long term care. Until then I am taking it a breath at a time and trying to breath. I appreciate all the comments to our Facebook statuses and know there are a lot of prayer warriors out there keeping the lines open. I have talked with the kids and try to also keep them informed while trying to keep myself at a "calm" state.
On a side note, Tom was in an auto accident on his way home from the lab work. His truck took the crunch and I was glad to know that he was ok after the semi took him on and he was able to walk away. When he called me at work on Friday the first thing he said is...."Take a breath, I am ok" For now I will concentrate on taking that breath through this difficult time.
I do not have my bible with me today but will quote a verse that many of us know...
"The Lord is my Shepard" Psalms 23...many of you know the rest
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