Welcome to Ron’s CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting, check back here for the latest updates.
Father. Grandpa. Brother. Cousin. Friend. Actor. Manager. Counselor. Whoever he is to you, you’d probably agree that he is a special guy. If you’ve been wondering where he’s been, we’ll he’s been battling some serious health issues. Please share this site with others who know Ron and feel free to post your support. We’ll do or best to relay your messages. Come back here for updates. Your prayers and thoughtfulness are appreciated very much.
Below is timeline via text history of updates from Ron’s son, Ronnie.
29 Nov 2020: Hi Family
This is Ronnie. My Dad asked me to pass along an update.
Things changed a couple of times throughout the day today. The oncologist visited him today with me and Franni on the phone. The oncologist explained that it is bladder cancer that spread into the pelvic bone area. Because of the spread they are classifying this as stage 4 cancer.
They still do not know what the mass on the heart is. He said cancer spreading to the heart is rare. Right now it is too risky to try to biopsy the heart mass.
The treatment plan will start with radiation hopefully this week. That will go 2-3 weeks. Then chemotherapy. Depending on how he reacts to that will determine the rest of the plan. The oncologist said he can't give an idea on how long my Dad will live until he sees how he reacts to treatment. He did say the cancer is treatable but not curable.
The hope is to move into a transitional care facility soon. One place denied him today. Apparently they thought he would need transportation to his treatments which they don't offer. Franni explained to the social worker that transportation is not an issue. The social worker is going to reapply.
My Dad had another chest scan this afternoon. They found a blood clot in his lung. The clot is different than the mass they found. He is now on a drip to treat the blood clot. We still don't know anything about the other mass.
The idea is to see if the other masses react to chemo to help confirm they are cancer spread. If not they will have to decide on how to figure what they are.
That's the latest information I have at this point.
24 Dec 2020:
My Dad is in the ER. This morning he had a PET scan that showed an abscess near the cancer mass. We found out while we were meeting with the palliative care doctor this afternoon.
The oncologist contacted that doctor to tell us to go to the ER.
He is in an ER room now. The ER doctor reached out to the oncologist and is also trying to find a urologist for opinions on how to handle this.
He might need surgery to remove it. It might also be infected.
I'm in the room with him. Uncle Chucky (Ron’s brother) is out in the waiting room.
24 Dec 2020:
I'm at the hospital with him now. He is eating dinner right now. Things have been changing throughout the day.
It might not be an abscess. A couple doctors think it is cancer spread.
29 Dec 2020:
My Dad is still in the hospital. Right now there isn't a timeline for discharge.
Outside of that his blood count is too low to get the next chemo treatment that was scheduled for today. He received a pint of blood yesterday. They will monitor his blood count levels and go from there on the next chemo treatment.
We talked to his oncologist yesterday. The oncologist is calling the cancer aggressive. The original mass has grown. Cancer has spread into more of the pelvic bone and down into the thigh. The lesion on the lung has multiplied.
The idea once he can do chemo again is to keep on with the treatments and see how it goes for a few rounds.
His pain seems to be somewhat under control. Moving around and getting up out of bed is really difficult.
30 Dec 2020:
We found out today my Dad had a stroke at some point recently.
The oncologist is recommending ending chemo. The chemo and other drugs may have help lead to the stroke and could potentially cause another.
The neurologist will be in today or tomorrow with an opinion.
Frances is going to look into hospice care.
I haven't been able to talk to my Dad today. He forgot his phone code so he is locked out of his cell phone and hasn't answered his room phone. Frances is going to see him tonight. I can't go to the hospital because only one visitor per day is allowed. So I don't know how my Dad took the news.
Assuming the neurologist agrees with the oncologist on ending treatments, the goal will be finding a way to get my Dad as comfortable as possible.
3 Jan 2021: CaringBridge site create to keep friends and family updated.
Please note:?Ways to help will be updated soon. “Tributes” do not go towards Ron’s expenses but do help this non-profit offer this site free of charge. Information for those wanting to contribute to his care financially will be made available if that option is activated.
5 Jan 2021:
We met with the doctors today. My Dad hasn't shown any signs of improvement. He has agreed to move to hospice care. We should hear from the care coordinator at the hospital in the next day or so about making that transition. Ideally he can be discharged from the hospital and into the hospice facility soon. All of his current treatments will stop. He will only receive treatment for pain and comfort. We don't have any new information on his cancer or other issues. Monitoring the cancer, lungs, heart and stroke will stop so we won't be getting any new information on his physical health. There is no timeline on life expectancy.
If anyone was thinking of coming to see him, it would probably be best to sooner than later Thanks family
