It was light out 'til 7:30 tonight!

Hi all. Just another post to check in with you. I was planning on posting last night, but I somehow lost an hour over the weekend and just ran out of time.

The end of last week were pretty bad days. Dave generally felt pretty crappy, had headaches, and wasn't able to keep a few of his meals down, which is really painful for him. The weekend was pretty good though. On Saturday night we went to our friend Mark's birthday party for a few hours. It's good to get out and Dave felt OK.

At the end of last week I was also able to speak directly with another surgeon out of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto regarding options to ease Dave's swallowing problem. (Dave's thoracic surgeon here in London gave me his name and said he was the only doctor he knew of doing PDT for Esophageal Cancer.) I faxed him some of Dave's reports and he actually called me back the same day. He said that laser therapy and PDT (Photodynamic Therapy) weren't recommended for the stage and size of Dave's cancer, and he said that he would also recommend a stent for Dave's situation. This is what his surgeon here in London said was his only option. I think I've mentioned this before, but a stent is a self-expanding flexible mesh tube that they insert in his esophagus to keep the tumor growth back. It's an outpatient procedure and Dave would be able to eat again in 24 hours. Although his doctor assured me that there are little complications, I have read that there is risk of the stent slipping down and can become uncomfortable. (I also recall the second opinion doctor we spoke with in January mentioning this problem exactly as well.) Also, it's only 1/2" in diameter and his doctor mentioned that the most common problem is people becoming overzealous and trying to eat steak dinners etc... and food can become stuck.

At this point, Dave would prefer to hold off on the stent and just deal with the inability to swallow for now. There are two reasons for this. The stent apparently can't be removed after it's been in for a few weeks, which means it becomes permanent. Although the doctors don't understand this, we are still optimistic for healing through the grace of God, and so don't want the stent. Secondly, Dave really doesn't want to have to deal with something else that could have complications and cause other difficulties for him. He's concerned that it may become uncomfortable and will just become a new issue to contend with. 

Right now poor Dave is regularly tormented by food commercials on television. It's funny how you never notice this kind of thing, but there are A LOT of food and restaurant commercials. Food is such a social thing. People just get together and eat. That's what we do. Dave usually watches them, longingly, and is doing pretty well, but it does take it's toll over time and occasionally it's very trying for him. I guess it's just another challenge to overcome.

Yesterday some of his family came down to visit him. His 5 year old nephew was curious about the feeding tube. It was lunch time and Dave had to eat, so he showed John how it worked. Then he let him push the food in with the syringe. (We returned the feeding pump because of it's irritation factor - It's noisy.) Dave would rather just use big syringes and do it himself. Also it's easier to use syringes with the raw food diet than the pump. Anyway, John was pushing the syringe and his mom said, "He is never going to stop talking about this - I can tell right now!" Kids are so cute! They don't even think things like a feeding tube are strange. If it's normal to you - it's normal to them.

Today Dave was feeling pretty good for most of the day. His mom came down to visit and help him to sort through some school paperwork he brought home a few months ago. He was doing OK until a few hours ago and unfortunately was unable to keep his meal down. It's extremely painful for him, but he did feel better shortly afterwards. He actually said his back was feeling better afterwards than it had in a long time. Go figure. I'm really hoping with spring on the way, that Dave starts feeling up to getting outside and going for short walks every day and gets out in the fresh air again. I know that spring is good for the soul. (It is for me anyway!)

Everyday we hope and pray for a better day than the last. Thanks for your continued concern and prayers!

Val