Update on Dad
Today was another busy day in the life of the Stump family. I imagine this is only the beginning for at least a little while.
First, thank you to the many people who have commented on this blog or sent me and my family emails with your words of encouragement and your prayers. It has been an enormous sense of comfort for my whole family. Thank you. I noticed in the last post there are comments from some good friends who are new to the blog and it made me think that this is actually a pretty good place to keep people informed about how things are going with my Dad. So, I will try to keep this site as current as possible, though your calls and emails are still welcome.
Here’s the latest:
We got the results of the biopsy and they confirmed that my Dad does indeed have cancer. We were told that was likely the case from the beginning, but having it confirmed was still another blow. There is something psychologically damaging about hearing a diagnosis of cancer. It is so mysterious, so infamously lethal, so difficult to treat or combat. It is, in a word, scary. From the moment I heard about my Dad’s tumor, I knew it was cancer and have been trying to ready myself to hear that word for a week now, but all my efforts were mostly in vain as it still came as an unwelcome and almost unfathomable shock.
The good news is that the treating oncologist believes that this particular type of tumor is likely completely treatable with surgery. That is, there may be no need for chemotherapy or radiation therapy before or after it is removed with surgery. It is a spindle cell tumor, though they still do not know where it is attached or precisely what kind it is. Still, the possibility that surgery could be a complete cure stood as good news in the face of bad.
The bad news about this tumor is that it is also the type that likes to spread to the lungs. My Dad’s lungs have not been checked because there were no symptoms that would suggest a problem with the lungs. So, another CT was done tonight to check the lungs. We should know the results of that tomorrow. This is something more we can all be praying about.
The surgeon who performed the surgeries on my Mom’s esophagus a few years back is the first choice to do my Dad’s surgery. He was coming back in town tonight and we to meet with him tomorrow and find out when they might be able to schedule surgery. Pray that it is soon. My Dad is still in considerable pain and taking hardcore drugs. He is staying in the hospital which he, like most people, does not enjoy in the least. So, the sooner we can move things along, the better. Hopefully, we’ll have a better timeline tomorrow.
I think that’s pretty much where things stand at the moment. Since I don’t have more news, I thought I would take just a moment to point out how blessed we have been as we go through this difficult time. I won’t try to list everything, because there is too much, so I will just point to a few things that come immediately to mind.
Our faith. Our love for Jesus and our faith that God is with us has been our biggest source of comfort. It allows us to ask for help from the one most able to provide it. It allows us to be sure that good can come out of this situation no matter what turns it takes. It gives us the spirit of God through whom we can calm fried nerves and exhausted psyches. It gives us strength and hope and courage. I hope that no one asks God why He has done this to my Dad. I hope that no one spends even a moment in anger with God for the injustice of this disease. God is not the originator nor the instigator of this attack. God is our protector and our comfort. He is the one who heals and the one who redeems. Do not question God at a time like this. Praise God that He is with us now when we need Him the most. God is good.
Our family. My parents raised 5 children. 4 sons and one daughter. Each of us has taken a different path. Each of us have different relationships with my parents and with each other. And we have added to this family loving wives and loving Children. And now, when our father is hurting, each of us have come to his side to help however we can and in doing so have propped each other up. Two of my brothers live in Sacramento and were able to travel up to support the family. All of us have spent most of the last week at the hospital. All of us love each other. Show me something that means more than that at a time like this and I will try to explain how you have missed the point. My family has not always gotten along. We have all made bad decisions and hurt the others in the process, but through it all we love each other and that love has kept us sane and strong in the last two weeks. Praise God for my family.
Our Church. Our church family has done nothing but shower us with support and encouragement. The emails, the visits, the cards, the flowers, the meals, the babysitting, and the literally dozens of offers to help in any way possible have been overwhelming. You know the best thing about it though? It was totally expected. I knew my Church family would step up to help us like they have. I knew they would come to our aid as I hope they know we would come to theirs. I can’t tell you what a sense of comfort it is to know that I could pick up the phone and dial any one of 30 or more phone numbers and get someone on the line who would drop everything to come help my family if I asked. And it is with pride that I say that I would be on that list for any one of those people. That is what Church is. Praise God for our Church.
Our circumstances. There are hundreds of advantages we have that I thank God for every day. I live less than 5 minutes from the hospital where my Dad is staying. The hospital had a room for him to be admitted. We have close family friends who are doctors and nurses and specialists that have all gone out of their way to help us receive the best possible medical care. We got the biopsy results back in 2 days rather than 2 weeks like it can take. It wasn’t colon cancer which may have been quickly fatal. It appears that the cancer has not spread and may be completely treatable with surgery alone. I and my brothers and sister and our families have flexible understanding employment situations that have allowed us to drop everything to support each other and my Dad. My parents have health insurance so money is not an issue.
I could go on and on, but I only wanted to list some of these things so that you will know that in the face of what has been terrible news that has made my heart ache and left me fighting back tears every minute of every day, God is blessing us and protecting us. We are a blessed family. If you pray for us and I hope you do, please do not forget to thank God on our behalf for His love and His mercy.
God is good all the time.
More tomorrow.
First, thank you to the many people who have commented on this blog or sent me and my family emails with your words of encouragement and your prayers. It has been an enormous sense of comfort for my whole family. Thank you. I noticed in the last post there are comments from some good friends who are new to the blog and it made me think that this is actually a pretty good place to keep people informed about how things are going with my Dad. So, I will try to keep this site as current as possible, though your calls and emails are still welcome.
Here’s the latest:
We got the results of the biopsy and they confirmed that my Dad does indeed have cancer. We were told that was likely the case from the beginning, but having it confirmed was still another blow. There is something psychologically damaging about hearing a diagnosis of cancer. It is so mysterious, so infamously lethal, so difficult to treat or combat. It is, in a word, scary. From the moment I heard about my Dad’s tumor, I knew it was cancer and have been trying to ready myself to hear that word for a week now, but all my efforts were mostly in vain as it still came as an unwelcome and almost unfathomable shock.
The good news is that the treating oncologist believes that this particular type of tumor is likely completely treatable with surgery. That is, there may be no need for chemotherapy or radiation therapy before or after it is removed with surgery. It is a spindle cell tumor, though they still do not know where it is attached or precisely what kind it is. Still, the possibility that surgery could be a complete cure stood as good news in the face of bad.
The bad news about this tumor is that it is also the type that likes to spread to the lungs. My Dad’s lungs have not been checked because there were no symptoms that would suggest a problem with the lungs. So, another CT was done tonight to check the lungs. We should know the results of that tomorrow. This is something more we can all be praying about.
The surgeon who performed the surgeries on my Mom’s esophagus a few years back is the first choice to do my Dad’s surgery. He was coming back in town tonight and we to meet with him tomorrow and find out when they might be able to schedule surgery. Pray that it is soon. My Dad is still in considerable pain and taking hardcore drugs. He is staying in the hospital which he, like most people, does not enjoy in the least. So, the sooner we can move things along, the better. Hopefully, we’ll have a better timeline tomorrow.
I think that’s pretty much where things stand at the moment. Since I don’t have more news, I thought I would take just a moment to point out how blessed we have been as we go through this difficult time. I won’t try to list everything, because there is too much, so I will just point to a few things that come immediately to mind.
Our faith. Our love for Jesus and our faith that God is with us has been our biggest source of comfort. It allows us to ask for help from the one most able to provide it. It allows us to be sure that good can come out of this situation no matter what turns it takes. It gives us the spirit of God through whom we can calm fried nerves and exhausted psyches. It gives us strength and hope and courage. I hope that no one asks God why He has done this to my Dad. I hope that no one spends even a moment in anger with God for the injustice of this disease. God is not the originator nor the instigator of this attack. God is our protector and our comfort. He is the one who heals and the one who redeems. Do not question God at a time like this. Praise God that He is with us now when we need Him the most. God is good.
Our family. My parents raised 5 children. 4 sons and one daughter. Each of us has taken a different path. Each of us have different relationships with my parents and with each other. And we have added to this family loving wives and loving Children. And now, when our father is hurting, each of us have come to his side to help however we can and in doing so have propped each other up. Two of my brothers live in Sacramento and were able to travel up to support the family. All of us have spent most of the last week at the hospital. All of us love each other. Show me something that means more than that at a time like this and I will try to explain how you have missed the point. My family has not always gotten along. We have all made bad decisions and hurt the others in the process, but through it all we love each other and that love has kept us sane and strong in the last two weeks. Praise God for my family.
Our Church. Our church family has done nothing but shower us with support and encouragement. The emails, the visits, the cards, the flowers, the meals, the babysitting, and the literally dozens of offers to help in any way possible have been overwhelming. You know the best thing about it though? It was totally expected. I knew my Church family would step up to help us like they have. I knew they would come to our aid as I hope they know we would come to theirs. I can’t tell you what a sense of comfort it is to know that I could pick up the phone and dial any one of 30 or more phone numbers and get someone on the line who would drop everything to come help my family if I asked. And it is with pride that I say that I would be on that list for any one of those people. That is what Church is. Praise God for our Church.
Our circumstances. There are hundreds of advantages we have that I thank God for every day. I live less than 5 minutes from the hospital where my Dad is staying. The hospital had a room for him to be admitted. We have close family friends who are doctors and nurses and specialists that have all gone out of their way to help us receive the best possible medical care. We got the biopsy results back in 2 days rather than 2 weeks like it can take. It wasn’t colon cancer which may have been quickly fatal. It appears that the cancer has not spread and may be completely treatable with surgery alone. I and my brothers and sister and our families have flexible understanding employment situations that have allowed us to drop everything to support each other and my Dad. My parents have health insurance so money is not an issue.
I could go on and on, but I only wanted to list some of these things so that you will know that in the face of what has been terrible news that has made my heart ache and left me fighting back tears every minute of every day, God is blessing us and protecting us. We are a blessed family. If you pray for us and I hope you do, please do not forget to thank God on our behalf for His love and His mercy.
God is good all the time.
More tomorrow.
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