Hello Groupies!
Well I had a phenomenal weekend with my son, who has now been inducted into Firecrafter, which is an honor society for Scouts here in Indiana. Previously this spring he was inducted into the Order of the Arrow, which is the national honor society for Scouts. So he's had a very good year this year. I was inducted into Firecrafter last month, and from what the word on the street is, next spring will probably be a good time for me as well making it into the OA too - so good times for us all around - at least on one front, that is.
On the greater family front, however, I will say there was such a cloud hanging over the weekend though. I spoke with my wife on the phone late Friday night and she shared with me more about her dad. And then last night after we got home she shared some more.
They found some spots on his lungs, hip and back. A biopsy was performed yesterday and we are waiting for the results, but as I was suspecting the big C is apparently looming fairly large on the horizon. My BIL finally Friday evening made the doctor shoot straight with them, and yes, he told them both (BIL & FIL) that they were suspecting cancer, which is what I was suspecting myself just from the round of tests and info that BIL was sharing. My FIL broke down pretty hard from what I understand. But by Sunday's procedure, he was adjusting to it, and pretty resigned to the situation. They'll know more for certain within a day or two. The doctor put a rush on the results, and is hoping to have them back today, but said most likely it will be Tuesday.
DW was checking out airfare for the next couple of weeks to be able to at least get out there and spend some time with him. We are all heading out there in December to spend Christmas out there, but as she said last night, that might be too late. And I certainly understand. When my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer 19 years ago she was in the hospital for 3 or 4 days and then transferred to an assisted living facility where she lived the rest of her days, which in her case was only 3 months, dying the day after my birthday.
He's being transferred today or tomorrow from the hospital he's in now, to another hospital that has a specialized oncology unit with more long-term type of accomodations. I'm not exactly sure what they mean by this, but ok. If it's like my grandmother's situation, then why not just say assisted living? But then I wasn't the one on the phone asking the questions so perhaps my DW just didn't know or my BIL just didn't know. I don't know.
So dear friends - once more, please just continue to pray for comfort all around. I do believe that he can be healed, but that's not my decision. He's lived a long full life, and perhaps his time is drawing near, perhaps not and his situation is being used for some other purposes by our creator. We don't always see how the pieces are brought together until after the fact, so we wait and watch and see. I need to get my DW on a plane soon to be able to spend some important quality time at her dad's side. Hopefully I can do that very soon. Next stop - Southwest's site to check out some fares myself. More later...
Unfortunately, as he headed to his new home in Charlotte, 2.5 hrs away, he left Adam behind for Tammy to deal with for the rest of her time that she is there. She is taking it all in stride. What a wonderful woman she is! Course she puts up with me, so I must have been a good case study for her
