The Prequel

The Prequel:

I wasn’t around for this part, this is all hearsay. About a week before I left for Trinidad, my dad started having some stomach pains. He was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in the early 1970s but has had few issues over the past 30 years, and has been taking daily maintenance drugs without any problems. He figured now since his stomach was hurting, and it had been about 20 years, he would have a colonoscopy. The procedure was schedule for the day I flew to Trinidad. The procedure was completed, and the doctor sent the results to several specialists for their opinions. It wasn’t good news.

They decided to send my dad to a specialist in Portland. Dr. Mark Whiteford. I immediately googled the doctor, and found that he has published several journal articles about colon surgeries, etc. The appointment was scheduled for May 14th. My dad asked me to return to Oregon for the consultation with the surgeon. Technically he didn’t ask me, my mom said my dad would like me there. Throughout this time, my mom was doing her own research online, which I totally disapprove of. She was sure that it was the worst possible scenario and he would not survive long. I, on the other hand, figured this was not the case. He hadn’t had any issues with his colon in years, and it was just a slight discomfort, so of course this would be just a simple procedure…a removal of the portion of the colon, and boom, that’s it, back to normal.

My friend Bry had some colon issues earlier this year. My friend Marilyn had a portion of her colon removed in early May. She is great. She has been talking to me about her surgery, her struggles and her strengths. Based on what she said, I was even more sure this would be a simple operation. He’d have a bag for a while, return to work. Take some time off in the early summer and relax – as much as possible.

I fly in on May 11, with a return flight scheduled on the night of the 14th, after the visit with the surgeon. We didn’t do anything exciting that weekend. Just spent time at home, went to dinner, and prepared for the meeting. My dad was quiet and reserved the whole weekend. We met the doctor on Monday afternoon. I was very impressed with this man. He was smart, and articulate, and very calming. He explained the surgery, and that the initial scans did show that there was some cancer in the colon. The procedure was to remove the full colon, give him the bag for several weeks. During the initial procedure the colon would be removed, and a make shift colon would be made out of the small intestine. After he had healed they would go back and remove the bag and reconnect the intestines and he’d go back to a normal life, just having to use the washroom more frequently.

If the cancer had spread there would be a slight change. The bag would remain attached until chemotherapy was completed, about 6 months, and then the follow up to remove the bag. Evidently it is easier on the patient to have the bag during chemo. The doctor did say that if the cancer had spread to the liver, etc the prognosis wasn’t great. There is a 50% survival rate over a 5 year period. Again the doctor didn’t really think this was an issue since the pain was slight, and no other symptoms.

The surgery wasn’t scheduled on the 14th, so I return to Chicago on the Red Eye. My mom begins making arrangements with the hospitals for additional tests, etc. We knew the surgery would be scheduled within a couple weeks. I’m in Chicago frantically making arrangements knowing that I’ll be in Portland for 3-4 weeks helping my dad recover from his surgery.

On May 16 the surgery was scheduled for Friday May 25th. I call the travel agent, get flights and plan to return to Portland on Wednesday May 23rd. Over the next 7 days I talk to my parents almost daily, my dad seemed to be in good spirits, and sure that the bag would be something that we could deal with for a few months.

My boss has been wonderful through this. She is a good friend. Once we knew I would be out of the office for a while, she said I could work from home (Portland), and she’d take care of Lilly (my cat), and deal with anything that I needed to deal with while I was gone. I figured I’d be home for 3 weeks, go back to Chicago for 2-3 weeks, then return for another batch of 3 weeks, and continue this until he was better.

I arrive on the night of May 23rd. We go to Stanford’s for steaks at 11pm. My dad was to stop eating by midnight that night, as his surgery was in 36 hours. Thursday we stayed home, as my dad was taking medicine to prep him for the surgery. He was very quiet. We didn’t talk much about the surgery, but what we did, we were still very optimistic.

The doctor calls. It looks like the additional scans that were taken earlier in the week show that the cancer might have spread, but he can’t tell for sure until he gets in there. There are a couple options now. If the cancer hadn’t spread they would continue as planned. If it had spread, they would remove a piece of the colon, and start chemotherapy then after that was completed, go back and do the original surgery.