We have had some friends mention we should start a Caring Bridge page to keep friends and family updated without having to constantly be on our phones. As much as we love to hear from you all it’s hard to remember to update each one individually.
A little back story: Dad started experiencing quite a bit of pain in his joints the last few years and just brushed it off as “getting old”. Mom & Dad both had bloodwork done in May and Dad’s PSA levels were a little high. He saw a urologist in June and the doctor found a nodule on his prostate. He then got an MRI in July and it confirmed that they should do a biopsy. Shortly after his MRI he went dip-netting on the Kenai with Jared & Tyler and many others. He started experiencing really bad pain in his legs that would not go away. In August his doctor first thought he had Lymes disease and since dad was in so much pain the doctor wanted to push off his biopsy until they got his pain under control. The doctor put him on some medication that would help Lymes disease. By the beginning of September the doctor ruled out Lymes Disease and was thinking Rheumatoid Arthritis. Dad was prescribed prednisone and he changed up his diet and started eating an anti inflammatory diet to see if it would help. It helped for just a little bit and the pain was back. He also had started feeling a pain in his upper chest (right lung) so when he went back for a doctor visit he asked for a chest x-ray. There was a spot on the right lung that the doctor thought could be pneumonia but ordered a CT scan to look at it better. Oct 12th we got results from the MRI that was very concerning for lung cancer and so his doctor ordered a PET Scan and biopsy. Between waiting for approvals, appointments being canceled due to no dye making it to Alaska we finally had all appointments and results from both biopsy and PET scan November 7th. The diagnosis was stage IV Adenocarcinoma. The right lung had the biggest mass but other spots in his body lit up with the scan: lymph nodes outside his lungs, around his kidneys, a spot in his stomach area, one of his ribs, left femur bone, and sacrum. The doctors believe he has both prostate and lung cancer of the same type, with the prostate cancer spreading to his bones in the sacrum and femur.
Just 2 days after his diagnosis Dad experienced some explosion like feelings moving from the top his right shoulder up into his head on the right side. His vision went dark and he thought he was about to blackout…he experienced this about 3 or 4 times. He was in a lot of pain as well. The next morning he could hardly get out of bed to go to the bathroom he was in so much pain. Dad felt like his time was coming quickly. We were able to get some pain meds prescribed and within a couple days he was happily visiting company that started to trickle in from our home locality as well as out of state. What a blessing the pain medication was. Dad just kept saying how they were like magic and what a blessing they were to allow him to be able to go to church and to see his friends and visit. Before he could start any kind of treatment the doctors wanted to get an MRI of his brain to make sure it hadn’t spread to it and thankfully it hadn’t. Dad has an appointment for pain management this week. This was the first Sunday he stayed home since his diagnosis. He is in too much pain and losing a lot of his strength. He will get a port put in on the 6th and start immunotherapy & chemotherapy at the same time on the 11th. I’ll keep everyone updated here. Please continue to pray for us and that we can accept God’s will in all things. -Amanda
God’s Peace. On behalf of my family we want to thank you for all the caretaking, prayers and gifts of love during Dad’s illness and passing. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we strive together towards Heaven. Love you all ❤️
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