thehealthymom is a wreck. For dad, the ERCP tomorrow is a no go. Possible cancer. Options went from surgery to hospice care. I’m not handling this well.10:38 PM
May 20th from TweetDeck

Late Wednesday night they said they wouldn’t be able to do the procedure because he had a fever and he was so very weak.

We spent most of the day on Thursday thinking he would be gone soon. I visited him around lunch time on Thursday and brought some get well cards that the boys had made for him. I read them to him, and gave him some ice chips, and then let him rest. He was very, very weak and looked so unhealthy.

After I left, I met Doug at Buena Vista for Zander’s kindergarten transition/graduation ceremony.

thehealthymom’s father in law needs to have a procedure he may not survive, but he most certainly won’t without it. Heading back to the hospital now.
2:21 PM May 21st from TweetDeck

Then suddenly on Thursday afternoon, Georgiana called and said that the doctors wanted to go ahead with the ERCP procedure. They said that he may not survive the procedure, but that he could not live longer without doing it.

So I called my dad, he came over to watch the boys, and Doug and I picked up his mom and took her to the hospital. We met with Georgiana there and Greg and his daughter Jessica were on their way down from Ft Collins. Normally, he is only allowed 2 visitors in the ICU. But since this was a “special occasion” (ie, he might die) they let us all come in to his room to be with him before the procedure.

THANKFULLY, it was a very short procedure. 20 minutes for the actual ERCP and then another 30 minutes in recovery before we could see him. They cleared out the blockage in his bile duct and it’s kept open with a stent. OMG – he must have been suffering for a long time. They said his duct was COMPLETELY blocked. They released 300 cc of bile that had been built up due to the blockage. They intubated him for the procedure, and decided to keep him intubated afterwards while his lungs cleared. They took tissue from several places for a biopsy. A likely diagnosis would be that the blockage was caused by a malignant tumor.

thehealthymom is relieved that dad’s procedure went well. We’ll get biopsy results in the morning
6:46 PM May 21st from vlingo

We spoke with both the anesthesiologist and the surgeon who performed the procedure. They both said that dad did well. And although he is still very, very, very sick, he will be more comfortable now.

We all went out to dinner together at Appleby’s. Even mom had a margarita.

Friday morning, we got an update from Georgiana. She said that Dad was still intubated, but his color was good and he was more alert.

thehealthymomgot to talk with dad in the ICU – he’s off the ventilator + looks more like himself. No biopsy results today.
5:05 PM May 21st from vlingo

On Friday afternoon, Doug and I visited dad together. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the breathing tube was removed. And even happier to hear dad talking with us, seeming much more like himself. What a relief.

I’m so relieved that he might actually get the chance to go home (with hospice care) and the boys might be able to see him more normally and get a chance to say some form of good-bye to him.

I’m still really struggling with what losing him will affect the boys. No matter what, it’s going to be hard on them, but I just don’t want it to be any more difficult than it has to be.

At this point, our best hope is that he will be well enough to come home with hospice care, so he doesn’t have to be in the hospital.

Please continue to keep him – and the family – in your thoughts/prayers.