Swan Dives and Birthday Wishes!!
Today as I sit here it is hard to imagine that come Saturday (Lord willing) we will be pulling our campers out of Town & Country Campground and heading home. Where have at the past 6 weeks (5 weeks for me) gone? After today Dad has only 3 more Radiation Treatments left...like what?!?!?
This week has been the first week that we have seen results that we didn't want to see. There have still been absolutely no side effects from the treatments, physically...but the Chemo has all but killed most of Dad's Platelets. When he started this his Platelet levels were at a healthy 340,000mcl. Every week they dropped a bit but were still in the "Healthy Zone". Last week Wednesday they dropped quite drastically and were at 94,000mcl. He was immediately taken off Chemo and was to get tested again on Monday. He said in his humorous way..."I should have gone to the Olympics, I would have won Gold for the Swan Dive, or at least my Platelets would have"! 🤣 So glad he can make light of a scary situation. Yesterday he had blood work again and again they are going in the wrong direction and are sitting at 35,000mcl...today he has more bloodwork, lets pray they start going up!
Quick side note...I am sitting in my camper trying to update this Blog...this is what I have to contend with!
You would think with Dad's levels being so low that he would be dragging his butt, but not him. Yes he sleeps in the afternoon (which he has since day one) but other then that its still go go go! He continues to say "If I hadn't lost those 4 days of my life, I would think this is all a joke"! So that shows you how well he is feeling.
On Friday he will get to ring the bell on the Radiation Ward signalling that his treatments are over. He has asked permission for me to be there with them so we can get a family picture in our "Helmut Strong" shirts. They were going to send an email to their boss to see if I could go. I have been part of their bubble through this all...so hopefully I will be allowed to!
Today marks a milestone in Dad's life...today he is 73 years young!! Today we celebrate the first man I every loved, the one I have looked up to for 43 years, my hero, my rock, my Dad! This past summer is one that I would not want to repeat because of what we are fighting, but on the other hand I would do it all over just so I can spend the time together that we have again and again. We may not have gone to all the places we wanted to (Zoo, Lower Fort Garry) but we have made memories that will last a life time. We have watched many movies (Anne of Green Gables is one of our favourites), had many talks, just sat there staring at each other, gone for many walks, but they have been the best times that I have had this summer. We have had many visitors of family and friends and are thankful for them all! We don't know what the next months or year will bring, but today I get to be here to celebrate my Dad. For my entire life he has been my rock and my hero...this past while I hope I was a bit of that for him. Happy Birthday Daddy...I love you as BIG AS THE SKY!!
Whats next in this journey we are on? Well Friday is the last day of treatments and at 130pm Mom and Dad have an appointment with his Doctor to see what is next. We are hoping a MRI will be done sooner then later to see what is going on in his brain. We all pray and live in the Faith of the East Indian man Dad met the other day that "Go home and eat your breakfast, your cancer is gone"! We are a family that believes in miracles, Dad has already been our miracle this summer, but we believe God can heal and have Faith that he has healed Dad. Mom and Dad will hopefully be bringing their camper back to Austin on Saturday, and the plan is to continue living life as normal as possible. Ill be heading home on Saturday and back to the office on Monday. It will be nice to have a "normal"routine again. David and I celebrate 10 years of marriage this coming Friday, August 13th, so that is also exciting. He will hopefully be home from The Pas shortly after that so we won't have to wait to long to celebrate!
Well that is it for this update, hopefully I am not boring you all too much. Again if you want to visit please contact Mom or I to see how Dad is doing. He also enjoys phone calls and catching up with all of you. Thanks again...we love you all!
People have been asking for the Go Fund Me Link so I am going to post it at the end of each post. Any monies that are raised that Mom and Dad do not use for medical expenses will be donated and paid forward to another important cause. We want to thank everyone in advance for their support.
Go Fund Me Link:
Hello Helmut and family. A voice from the past that has not spoken to you or seen you for several years. We have been following your journey and have been hoping for a victory in your fight. Knowing how determined you are (notice I did not say stubborn) I know you can win this battle. We had many discussions over coffee at the Pine Tree cafe while you were in Ashern and I was in Lundar. There are probably still some world issue discussions that were left unresolved so we will have to get together again when things are normal. Bonnie and I remember the wonderful reception we got from you both when we took a trip to Churchill many years ago. Thankyou again for that. Keeping you and your family in our thoughts. You will overcome this.
ReplyDeleteFrank and Bonnie Vande Graaf