We are home from the hospital, and thankfully, I have good news to report. Dad had three seizures earlier - two at home, the second of which was a grand mal seizure, and a third in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. But he is now recovering very nicely at the Health Sciences.
When we arrived, he was unable to speak, and had limited mobility. He could communicate with the doctors and nurses by squeezing their hands or pushing with his feet. They gave him some anti-seizure medication and did yet another CT scan around 8:15 pm. After a trip to KFC/Taco Bell for some food, we were able to get back in to see him and he was sitting up in bed and able to talk to all of us. The CT scan showed that everything was normal (as normal as can be with a tumor!), and that the swelling around the tumor has actually decreased a little since the last scan earlier in the week. They are keeping him overnight for observation and will be sending him home tomorrow morning. Mom is staying overnight with him in the hospital, so I'm sure it will be another long night for her, but we're all very thankful for the outcome of this evening. I don't think I need to say that it could have been a lot worse - we are very thankful that it was not!
We were able to get a bit more information from Mom tonight about Dad's treatments we well. There was fear earlier this evening that the seizures would interfere with treatment, but everything is a go for Monday. Dad will be doing radiation treatments five days a week (Monday to Friday) for 16 days, and will also be taking oral chemotherapy pills 7 days a week during that time. They now know that it is a level 4 tumor, so my understanding is that the therapy will be pretty aggressive.
One specific prayer request right now is that Dad has a certain enzyme in his body that will respond well to the chemo. Mom briefly explained tonight that people either have the enzyme or they don't - and there's no way to tell, other than by how people react to the chemo. If they have the enzyme, it bonds well with the chemo and helps the radation to be more effective. If they don't have the enzyme, the radiation doesn't work as well. So we're praying that Dad will have the enzyme in his body so that the treatments can work as effectively as possible.
As always, thank you so much for your faithful prayers for Dad and for the family.
Dana
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
15 comments:
THank you once again Dana for keeping the readers informed. I have been anxiously awaiting good news about Gerald and praying that he would be okay. I'm so greatful to God that the outcome is treatable with medication and that the agressive treatment will begin on Monday.
I continue to pray for Gerald and your family's strength and again if you need anything including someone to keep Rory for a while you just need to call.
Thanks for the update. Much love to you all.
Thank you for keeping us all informed. My prayers are with you and your family. I pray for Gerald and your family that God would continue to give you strength. I pray that God will also bless the treatments that Gerald will be receiving in the coming weeks.
Diane
Dear Folkerts Family,
We are thinking of you many times daily and are praying for your strength.
Love,
Sara & Harry
Thank you Dana for your updates. We were very anxious yesterday after reading that Gerald had been taken to the hospital. We continue to pray for Gerald & Arlis and family and we think of you all often. Leo & Carla
Dear Dana,
Thank you for your updates on Gerald`s health. May Christ be ever the compassionate companion at his side and that of all the family. May the Spirit of God strengthen your courage and sustain your hope of a successful treatment.
Blessings of peace, love, and encouragement.
Raymond
Wow! What a time. It is not easy on any of you. We are so thankful that we have God to lean on and that we know he will take care of us. Our love to all of you and we pray for you daily.
But - with the chemo. What will Ger do if he looses all that hair!!!
You have no idea who I am but I had heard a lot about your Dad through the Hope Centre church but never met him until I saw his art at the Invisible Dignity Project last winter. What an incredibly talented and spiritual man he is so it is hard to understand why this is happening to him. He is also a truly sensitive man - I so enjoyed talking to him wherever I met him after that. Take care of each other - there are many of us who you don't know who are praying for him. Adeline Berg
Dana and family:
Thank you for sending these reports. I just heard about the blog from Uncle Harry, who called me from King's just before hitting the road with the van which had been used to bring the art show to Edmonton. We're keeping the show for several weeks, and will soon figure out its shipping back to
Wpg. Harry is bringing a cd with pictures of the show, and a book of well-wishes from several King's folk and art opening visitors.
We are all concerned for Gerald and following his progress. The blog really helps.
Thanks Dana -it's so good you are doing this for all of us. We think about you all and pray for you many times a day.
Peace
Steve and Nanci
I need to repeat what others have said--thank you Dana for keeping us all informed. Word has spread around the Piers family and I personally appreciate the updates. Please let Gerald and the rest of the family know that we are thinking of and praying for all of you.
Kim
I don't know what to say - in fact I have been delaying making any contact. All I can think of is, even though we have not connected for years - I still consider you all dear friends. The busyness of life causes people to drift apart sometimes. In any event, you are certainly in our my prayers. I pray God is a comfort and source of strength for you all - I don't know where else it would come from during this time. I pray for healing. As Linda says much love to you all.
Wes
There is not a day that goes by without you being on our hearts or in our prayers. Our smallgroup is praying for you. The Saturday Night team is praying for you. You will especially be on our hearts and in our prayers as your treatment begins this week.
Brian & Bev
Dear Gerald and Arlis and Jared and Dana and Janis and Jesse and Brendan-
So glad to hear that Gerald recovered from the seizures ok. Been thinking about you all lots. Thanks for keeping this blog, Dana.
Lots of love,
Miriam
Dear family,
Wishing you strength and encouragement during this first week of U.Gerald's treatment. Sometimes it feels like you are a world away. We are ever faithful that God will be right beside you all this week and the ones to come.
Love Karri and Jake
Post a Comment