A CaringBridge Prayer Request

Six or seven months ago, one of the program managers at my work (at one of our offices at Cape Canaveral in Florida), a guy named Dan that I've had the privilege of working with a lot over the past seven years, was diagnosed with a type of clear cell cancer that doesn't respond well to chemotherapy. He had surgery, where the doctors took out part of his intestine and bladder, I believe, and they hoped they'd gotten it all. A week or so ago, July 24th, he had been having some fluid build-up around the intestinal region, and he went in for a procedure to remove the fluid. When he did, he was informed that the cancer had returned.

Since that time, his wife, who is a fantastic writer with a background in English and teaching, has been giving updates through the CaringBridge website. She's updated the journals seventeen times, and I've gotta say, these have been some gut-wrenching, tear-filled entries. I have no clue how she's held up enough to write these updates. From what I heard, she has had one breakdown, and I think people need that every once in a while for their own mental health and to be able to function going forward. What I'm writing here doesn't do the story justice, but I did want to summarize their story and ask for prayers for this family. I know a couple of this blog's readers/lurkers have read some of the journaling, and really I wish everyone reading my lame attempt of an update could read her words, because what she's written is remarkable.

And what she's done is tell Dan's and their family's story in these last few days. Hearing these journalings, it's hard not to put yourself in their skin and just totally empathize and sympathize with them. Hurt for them. At first Dan tried to go back to work - I even e-mailed back and forth with him during those couple of days - but that didn't last. It's amazing how fast one can go from feeling "healthy" to being basically bed-ridden because of this disease. In the last couple of days, they met with a doctor from MD Anderson, and he essentially told them there was nothing they could do. Any chemo treatment would have Dan out of commission full-time instead of the part-time he's "enjoying" currently. Basically, it's a quality of life point he's at now. All this in just over a week.

They have a daughter who is scheduled to go to college in the Northeast, but now she has to decide whether or not she should put that off. What a huge decision for a seventeen or eighteen year old. You don't go, and you may regret that decision for years to come, but leave and it might be the last time you see your father. Man oh man. Also, he has a couple of boys who aren't sure during this time how to approach their father, who probably doesn't seem like the same person anymore. They see him on the couch or floor, curled up and hurting, not really able to respond. I can only imagine what it's like for them. Dan's parents have been informed and have been prepared, but she wrote that Dan's not prepared to face them. Every single thing they have to go through, it feels like another punch in the gut (at least to me reading it). And these are just a few of the multitude of issues facing their family at this point.

Reading the guestbook and just from what I know myself, Dan's such a great person, a great boss, a great friend, and a great worker. In my business, I wish there were a hundred more Dan's. Please, please, please pray for Dan and his family.

And if you're hanging in with that, please also pray for these other cancer patients and their families (and THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!):

my Aunt Patsy, my mom's sister
Millie's sister
Becky's sister-in-law

Lastly, I don't expect this but thought I'd offer it anyway, if anyone else wants to add someone they know to our Realm of Possibility prayer request list, please let us know in the comments. Cancer's a killer, but there're other killers out there, too. Not everything's life and/or death, but if you have something troubling you that you don't mind sharing, we will pray for you. And hope with you.