Helmut’s Journey

As much as I am happy we have some answers and a direction to go in when it comes to treatment of the "BEAST" it still isn't closure! My Dad STILL has Cancer, we STILL don't know the outcome, there is STILL the possibility that their prognosis is right (I pray daily that they are wrong), we as a family STILL have to endure whatever awaits us, and Dad STILL has the fight of his life ahead of him! Thank you Lord that he is so strong! I asked him last weekend if he was scared...he thought about it for a bit and said "No, I'm not scared!" You see my Dad is a very faithful man and loves the Lord with all his being! If this "goes South" as he says, he knows where he is going and if he ends up going before us, we all live in the peace of knowing he will be in a better place and we will anxiously wait for our glorious reunion in Heaven. Yes it will SUCK for us left behind...but live in the Faith and Love of our Father God and the promises of His Eterni...

 This waiting game SUCKS!! How do you live your everyday life when you have possible death looming over your heads. All I have to say is my parents are super strong faithful people. Right from the day Dad found out he had a tumour he has said that he will fight as long and as hard as he can and the Good Lord will take care of the rest. If I remember correctly they got the call on Wednesday that a Zoom call was scheduled for 130pm on Friday June 11th. Somehow the pins and needles get sharper when you have a deadline to the answers you are searching for. The thing is, Dad does not look sick. His incision is completely healed, his quality of life is 100%, his sense of humour has not been effected at all...he is the same Helmut Neufeld that he was May 28th before all hell broke loose, he just happens to have a monster that has decided to take up residence in his head! I went to work on Friday like any normal day, basically just to keep my mind busy. Around 1pm I went home just incase t...

Dad's most important job now was to rest and heal from the biopsy surgery. He had 4 screws screwed into his head and a 2" incision with 9 staples that needed to heal. He had also a lot of muscle damage from the seizures, so his main responsibility was to rest and heal. Jason and I had both returned home and Mom was still at my Aunts. Between phone calls with Doctors, Nurses and Dad, Mom and my Aunt were able to go on little adventures (if going home to Shoal Lake is an adventure), visit with each other and generally support each other as my Aunt was recently widowed. Everything considered they had a good time together. Dad was going to be released Friday June 4th, so we had to figure out where they would stay so they were close to the hospital. My Aunt offered her home to them but with the stairs, Mom didn't think that would be the best. As most of you know Dad, Mom, David and I are Lions Members and our Foundation in Winnipeg has "Serenity Suites" located at the...

 Dad's surgery was scheduled for 6am, so that meant Mom was wide awake by 5am. She called the hospital to see how Dad's night went and was able to talk to the Neurosurgeon doing Dad's procedure. He was able tell her in detail what was about to happen. They were going to attach a metal cage to Dad's head as a guide for the MRI. They would then attach a secondary cage to the one already in place. They would then go into this brain with a catheter and take a biopsy of the tumor to send away to pathology. Even though considered a small procedure it was still considered major surgery as it was dealing with his brain. They would start at 6am, Mom didn't ask how long it would be so she didn't sit and time them as well as worry. The Doctor said that Dad was quite alert and was understanding what was going on. The Doctor was quite interested in Dad's RCMP history as Dad was telling him all about it as they were getting him ready for surgery. He would also be awake fo...

 Once Dad was on his way to Winnipeg, Mom went back to the camper to pack a few things and wait for Jason to come pick up Max. They spent some time together and Mom headed to the city to be closer to Dad. I on the other hand was at home in Morden walking around in complete shock (as were Mom and Jason) trying to comprehend what was going on! It was my husbands birthday so I should have been celebrating but instead I was getting ready to join  Mom in the city! Dad arrived at HSC around 1pm. I met Mom at my cousins house around 3 and from there we tried to plan what we were going to do! Because of Covid we couldn’t go to the hospital so I guess you could say we were hanging in Limbo! We ended up staying at my Aunts house which was close to the hospital just in case we were needed! Once we were settled we got a call from the hospital that Dad was stable and was going for a MRI at 830 that evening. We both had a restless night as we waited for an update. Sunday morning we got the ...

At the beginning of May, Mom and Dad moved their camper up to the Agriculture Museum in Austin as they have in the past to live in their happy place for the summer! Dad had been up at the camper by himself a few times but the weekend of the 29th Mom and Max were with him! Friday was a typical day with Dad putting around, cutting grass and keeping busy as he usually does. He went to bed before Mom that evening as he was more tired then usual. At 4am on May 29th Mom woke up to Dad seizing beside her in bed. She quickly moved into nurse mode, got him on his side and called 911. With the Ambulance ordered she ran to the neighbors trailer and woke Ron up to go meet the ambulance at the gate. Jake and Carol were also there to help where needed and help keep Mom calm. When the paramedics arrived Dad started having a second seizure. They got him stabilized, removed him from the camper and started loading him into the ambulance just as he went into his 3rd seizure. At this time he was given ant...

As many of you know my Dad Helmut Neufeld is at the beginning of what could be the fight of his life (literally)!! He has asked me to start this Blog so we can keep everyone that loves and cares for him and our family updated with his journey! This is the reason for this Blog and I write it completely with his blessing! ~ Shannon ~