Journal entry by Jeneve Brooks —
Hello Family and Friends -
I have decided to start a Caring Bridge site to coordinate communication about my sweet Dad, Harold. At this point, my Mom is a bit inundated with trying to keep relatives and friends in the loop. So please check this site first for any up to date information and then if you need to reach out to ask follow-ups - please call or text me on my cell at 917-330-1906.
It has been a dizzying four months of not knowing what was behind Harold's health issues. My siblings - brother, Dr. Logan Brooks, and my sister, Cheryl Weldon, have both been consulting with us a lot via texts, phone calls and visits to Dothan. Logan has helped tremendously with trying to coordinate all the different doctors on Dad's case and Cheryl has helped a great deal with navigating finances and Medicaid/Medicare issues. We could not have kept sane without them.
But just to get everyone up to speed - here is a quick timeline of what transpired with Dad's health situation. On Oct. 9, 2019 - Dad was rushed to the hospital for a Urinary Tract Infection. At that point, we discovered lesions in his genital area. Between October and early December, we were sent to an array of doctors (3 different wound doctors, the urologist, the primary care physician, etc.) trying to figure out what was going on with his situation. Harold also had some incontinence and it was decided that he needed to have a suprapubic catheter put in to keep the acidic urine off the genital area. The suprapubic catheter goes directly into the bladder via the stomach. That surgery was done by the urologist on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Dad then ended up in another emergency surgery the next morning given that a blood clot had formed in his bladder. At this time, Mom pleaded with the urologist to also take a biopsy of the lesions while taking care of the blood clot. It was from that biopsy that we finally learned that he had squamous cell carcinoma in that area. This is quite rare - only 2000 cases a year in the U.S.. On Dec. 4th, Dad had a Cat Scan done which did not show anything conclusive that the cancer had metastasized.
Given this, we were hoping that we had a bit more time to treat Dad and were considering taking him to Mayo Clinic, UAB, or Emory to figure out steps for more comprehensive treatment. However, the lesions started to become more aggressive during the month of December, along with excessive bleeding, and it was decided in early January that we did not have time for these consultations. The local urologist and his partner decided to do surgery to remove the cancer on Jan. 7th. Unfortunately, the doctors did not get clean margins from that surgery and the pathologist reported that the cancer has indeed spread into Dad's vascular system.
After being released from the hospital on Jan. 9th - Dad developed an infection and stopped eating regularly. He was later returned to the hospital to combat the infection and to receive IV nutrition on Jan. 16th. A week later he was released again to a rehab facility and we were hoping that he would get strong enough to begin using his walker again, after 3 months in bed. Dad gave it his best in rehab, but, in the end, he was in too much pain. He also felt that his body would not allow this more aggressive therapy. On Jan. 31st - he was released back to Wesley Place Nursing Care - Rm 607 on the South Wing. This is the same facility where he has been in Assisted Living with my Mom since April 2019 and she remains in their Assisted Living Apartment. The good news is that she only has to walk a short distance - to a different wing - to visit her sweetie of 68 years.
The head nurse at Wesley Place Nursing Care also suggested that we start Hospice Care given that Dad has incurable cancer. It was decided by various doctors on the case that his cancer could not be cured given Dad's advanced age and also his other health issues which did not make him a good candidate for aggressive chemotherapy or radiation. At this point, we just want to keep him comfortable and so we are focusing on pain management. We do not know the exact timeframe for how long we have with Dad. His primary care physician noted that it could be weeks/months or maybe even a couple of years before the illness completely takes over. But we do know that he is still very engaged and greatly enjoys watching sports and news as well as getting regular visits from family and friends.
This is where you come in! At this time, my Mom and I would love for folks to visit and spend some quality time with Dad. If you do come to visit, please come between 11:30am-6:30pm. Also, do check this site before you come visit in case we have to cancel for that day because of a doctor's visit or other issue. And here are two beautiful videos that can give guidance on what to say or do on these visits. You do not have to follow these - but they do have some great ideas. The first is "Five Tips for Visiting a Terminally Ill Loved One" - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_eg-qqsySc) and the second is a Ted Talk called "Eulogies for the Living" - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N0U6iri2As).
As our dear family and friends, we love you all very much and thank God for you! Continue to keep the prayers coming and we will be updating this site with more information about Dad on a regular basis. And we pray for each of you - good health, joy, love, and peace in your own lives. Devotedly, Jenny (and Jeneve)
I have decided to start a Caring Bridge site to coordinate communication about my sweet Dad, Harold. At this point, my Mom is a bit inundated with trying to keep relatives and friends in the loop. So please check this site first for any up to date information and then if you need to reach out to ask follow-ups - please call or text me on my cell at 917-330-1906.
It has been a dizzying four months of not knowing what was behind Harold's health issues. My siblings - brother, Dr. Logan Brooks, and my sister, Cheryl Weldon, have both been consulting with us a lot via texts, phone calls and visits to Dothan. Logan has helped tremendously with trying to coordinate all the different doctors on Dad's case and Cheryl has helped a great deal with navigating finances and Medicaid/Medicare issues. We could not have kept sane without them.
But just to get everyone up to speed - here is a quick timeline of what transpired with Dad's health situation. On Oct. 9, 2019 - Dad was rushed to the hospital for a Urinary Tract Infection. At that point, we discovered lesions in his genital area. Between October and early December, we were sent to an array of doctors (3 different wound doctors, the urologist, the primary care physician, etc.) trying to figure out what was going on with his situation. Harold also had some incontinence and it was decided that he needed to have a suprapubic catheter put in to keep the acidic urine off the genital area. The suprapubic catheter goes directly into the bladder via the stomach. That surgery was done by the urologist on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Dad then ended up in another emergency surgery the next morning given that a blood clot had formed in his bladder. At this time, Mom pleaded with the urologist to also take a biopsy of the lesions while taking care of the blood clot. It was from that biopsy that we finally learned that he had squamous cell carcinoma in that area. This is quite rare - only 2000 cases a year in the U.S.. On Dec. 4th, Dad had a Cat Scan done which did not show anything conclusive that the cancer had metastasized.
Given this, we were hoping that we had a bit more time to treat Dad and were considering taking him to Mayo Clinic, UAB, or Emory to figure out steps for more comprehensive treatment. However, the lesions started to become more aggressive during the month of December, along with excessive bleeding, and it was decided in early January that we did not have time for these consultations. The local urologist and his partner decided to do surgery to remove the cancer on Jan. 7th. Unfortunately, the doctors did not get clean margins from that surgery and the pathologist reported that the cancer has indeed spread into Dad's vascular system.
After being released from the hospital on Jan. 9th - Dad developed an infection and stopped eating regularly. He was later returned to the hospital to combat the infection and to receive IV nutrition on Jan. 16th. A week later he was released again to a rehab facility and we were hoping that he would get strong enough to begin using his walker again, after 3 months in bed. Dad gave it his best in rehab, but, in the end, he was in too much pain. He also felt that his body would not allow this more aggressive therapy. On Jan. 31st - he was released back to Wesley Place Nursing Care - Rm 607 on the South Wing. This is the same facility where he has been in Assisted Living with my Mom since April 2019 and she remains in their Assisted Living Apartment. The good news is that she only has to walk a short distance - to a different wing - to visit her sweetie of 68 years.
The head nurse at Wesley Place Nursing Care also suggested that we start Hospice Care given that Dad has incurable cancer. It was decided by various doctors on the case that his cancer could not be cured given Dad's advanced age and also his other health issues which did not make him a good candidate for aggressive chemotherapy or radiation. At this point, we just want to keep him comfortable and so we are focusing on pain management. We do not know the exact timeframe for how long we have with Dad. His primary care physician noted that it could be weeks/months or maybe even a couple of years before the illness completely takes over. But we do know that he is still very engaged and greatly enjoys watching sports and news as well as getting regular visits from family and friends.
This is where you come in! At this time, my Mom and I would love for folks to visit and spend some quality time with Dad. If you do come to visit, please come between 11:30am-6:30pm. Also, do check this site before you come visit in case we have to cancel for that day because of a doctor's visit or other issue. And here are two beautiful videos that can give guidance on what to say or do on these visits. You do not have to follow these - but they do have some great ideas. The first is "Five Tips for Visiting a Terminally Ill Loved One" - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_eg-qqsySc) and the second is a Ted Talk called "Eulogies for the Living" - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N0U6iri2As).
As our dear family and friends, we love you all very much and thank God for you! Continue to keep the prayers coming and we will be updating this site with more information about Dad on a regular basis. And we pray for each of you - good health, joy, love, and peace in your own lives. Devotedly, Jenny (and Jeneve)
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