It's been a long day...again. Dad has been able to eat a little, including a few Good & Plenty licorice candies every now and again. Yeah, Mom is none too thrilled with that. The pain doesn't seem to be letting up, though. The need for the Percocet has been constant. I'm guessing having your pancreas stabbed with a 25 gauge needle 5 times has caused the inflammation Dr. Darwin said may occur.
I spoke with Dr. Alexander's office this morning. He is the surgical oncologist we have been referred to. He is highly recognized in the field and seems to be a rock star in the world of pancreatic issues. The "first available" appointment, according to the scheduler, is next Friday morning. I respectfully told her that was just not soon enough for us. She put me on hold for a while "to see what she could do." When she came back on she indicated that Dr. Darwin's referral had not indicated that my dad's case was an emergency, and Dr. Alexander was not there for her to speak with. Not an emergency???? Really??? I wanted to scream, "Hello in there, lady! My dad has this THING on his pancreas and we want it out yesterday! THAT IS an emergency!!!!" I just must be purely exhausted b/c for those of you who know me, I'm usually a pretty direct person and in times of emotional crisis, speaking my mind has never been an issue. (Yeah, Dad and I are cut from the same cloth.) She apologized, but again stated that October 5th was the first available. Of course we took that appointment and with the understanding that if something opened up sooner that we wanted it.
But maybe the fact that this is not considered "an emergency" is a good sign? The pancreas is not the favorable organ to have a 4cm mass to decide to take up residency, but along the way there have been small blessings to give us reason to be cautiously optimistic. I like to think that this "non-emergency" is another one. We have many friends, family and even strangers praying for Dad's health, and praying for supernatural wisdom upon the health care specialists working with him. I ask that we all continue our prayer warrior efforts. I pray that Dad's pain ease so that he may swing a golf club sooner than later ;)
Many thanks and much love to all.....Jen
Cut from the same cloth -- the apple doesn't fall far from the tree -- chip off the old block. I think that sums it up.
ReplyDeleteNow pap has a legitimate reason for any golf round that is >90. When I look back on his Myrtle Beach golf game and his atypical, inconsistent rounds, it now makes sense. Right Pap? It wasn't a pain in the a _ _ but rather a pain in the pancreas! All those Annika putts were caused by this darn mass. Now the debate in the Snead household is this --- what causes more discomfort, consternation, trepidation --- the mass or the thought of 4 more years of the current Administration?