His prognosis is still bad, of course, but he's so much better now than he had been for the past few days. Although he handled the chemo well, he did start feeling nauseous the following day, so I got him a prescription for that, and those helped a lot. Also got some Xanax to help ease his anxiety, and it seems to help, too.
But the three things that have helped the most are:
--The new chair. We got him one of those electric lift chairs that rises up very slowly to help bring you to your feet, and lets you lean back into it as it eases down again when you return. It almost completely eliminates the physical strain of getting up and down, which had become almost impossible for Papa, even with our help. I wish we'd gotten the chair long ago.
--Omar. Omar is the physical therapist who visits twice a week to help Papa maintain his mobility... and he's a walking angel. He is so kind, so patient, so gifted in what he does -- and he also has come to truly care for Papa, and they've really become friends. Omar's visits are one of the happiest things in Papa's life, and we are all so grateful to him for that. We've had physical therapists for Papa before, but Omar is one of those rare people who just radiates love. We're so lucky we found him.
--The vision. You may recall that, on the same day Papa learned he has an almost certainly incurable cancer, he also got a call from his closest siser (who has lung cancer) telling him that his closest brother, Bobby, had died. It was such an awful lot to hit him at one time, and he was so terribly sad and withdrawn... we were terrified that he was just going to slip away, too.
But two days later, Papa told me he'd had a vision during the night. He said, "I saw Bobby. He looked the way he looked during World War II. He was tan... he smiled at me... it was just beautiful, and I'm so glad I saw him."
I said, "Papa, that wasn't a vision. That was a visit. Uncle Bobby came to tell you that he's all right, and you will be, too."
Papa nodded. "I think so. I hope so."
But the three things that have helped the most are:
--The new chair. We got him one of those electric lift chairs that rises up very slowly to help bring you to your feet, and lets you lean back into it as it eases down again when you return. It almost completely eliminates the physical strain of getting up and down, which had become almost impossible for Papa, even with our help. I wish we'd gotten the chair long ago.
--Omar. Omar is the physical therapist who visits twice a week to help Papa maintain his mobility... and he's a walking angel. He is so kind, so patient, so gifted in what he does -- and he also has come to truly care for Papa, and they've really become friends. Omar's visits are one of the happiest things in Papa's life, and we are all so grateful to him for that. We've had physical therapists for Papa before, but Omar is one of those rare people who just radiates love. We're so lucky we found him.
--The vision. You may recall that, on the same day Papa learned he has an almost certainly incurable cancer, he also got a call from his closest siser (who has lung cancer) telling him that his closest brother, Bobby, had died. It was such an awful lot to hit him at one time, and he was so terribly sad and withdrawn... we were terrified that he was just going to slip away, too.
But two days later, Papa told me he'd had a vision during the night. He said, "I saw Bobby. He looked the way he looked during World War II. He was tan... he smiled at me... it was just beautiful, and I'm so glad I saw him."
I said, "Papa, that wasn't a vision. That was a visit. Uncle Bobby came to tell you that he's all right, and you will be, too."
Papa nodded. "I think so. I hope so."
