Back in March we found out that FIL had esophageal cancer. They caught it early but it’s been a roller-coaster of emotions since his initial diagnosis when every time he has a scope the news changes. It’s basically gone like this:
“You have cancer, but we think we caught it early so you should be fine”
“It’s far more advanced than we thought… you’ll have to have surgery and radiation but come back in a couple of weeks for another scope”
“You’re fine…. we got it all with the scope scrapes but come back in 3 weeks”
“You should probably have radiation because there are new polyps but we’ll scrape and see what happens”
“You’re fine, we got it all but come back in 3 weeks”
“Maybe we should consider surgery because there are new polyps”
“You’re playing with fire, and we need to do surgery ASAP.”
So now, it’s surgery for sure. Luckily it’s the lesser of 2 possible surgeries we were informed about but it’s still nasty. He will be having a part of his esophagus removed and then his stomach reattached higher up. It means 10 days in hospital and 2-3 months recovery at home, at which time they will determine if further treatment (chemo or radiation) is required.
Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t be worse (not that there’s ever a good time to have cancer). First, it’s summer and to FIL that means cold beer, golf and weekends at the cottage. Apparently that won’t be happening beyond this weekend since his pre-op appointment is next week. So, we’re all headed up there this weekend to have one last summer hurrah (just as the summer gets started) with him. Secondly, SIL is getting married in October. He will now likely miss pre-wedding festivities and the wedding itself will be at the tail-end of his recovery. So, fingers crossed that he’ll be healthy enough to attend.
Bub’s being really strong, but I think it’s eating him up deep down. I’m going to try to get him to talk about it, but we’ll see. He’s not a talker. So, we’re just going to work through this as a family. I’m trying to bite my tongue with SIL and be considerate for Bub and just be there for anyone who feels like they need to talk about it. Hopefully he makes a full and very speedy recovery.
Before I go, I feel the need to say once again…F*CK CANCER!!!!
1 comment:
HUGS Ashley.
I hope your FIL heals well and the surgery goes ok.
My FI doesn't like to talk about family related bad stuff either. I just wait for him to come to me and eventually he opens up.
As long as Bub knows you're there for him, he'll be ok.
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