For a cancer that lurks within the bones, the spine is an inevitable conquest.
This past weekend, my father began feeling weaker than usual. Eventually he couldn't get out of bed. He went to the hospital where they discovered that a tumor had grown in the spine and was pressing down on the spinal cord. He's now basically paralyzed below the waist. The current plan it so blast the tumor with radiation to see if they can get it to shrink. Multiple myeloma typically responds well to radiation but it isn't the most pleasant treatment. If it works, he may be able to regain control of his legs; however the tumor will still remain lurking there.
For the first few days my dad was in a room on the neurosurgery floor of the hospital because they were considering surgery. This floor was very much like the one we spent much of our time back when he was first diagnosed. When they finally choose to go with radiation, the doctors relocated him to the new Lacks Cancer Center. This place it more like a hotel than a hospital. Each room has a private bathroom with shower, a flat screen TV with internet access, and furniture that turns into a bed. Instead of cafeteria food, they have a chef who will whip up whatever is on the menu. Of the five floors, only one has patients on it. The fifth floor has only a healing garden and conservatory. Even the nurses are more attractive in this building. If you're going to suffer from a painful, debilitating disease, this is the place to do it. It makes you realize just how much money there is in the healthcare industry. i just hope there was money left over after purchasing the granite counter tops of the family gathering room to fund some actual cancer research.
The family is doing well. We're all a bit tired. Nurses pop in to poke and probe my father at all hours of the night. My mother is sleeping in the reclining chair in the room. My sister has been jumping back and forth to take care of the animals back at home. I've been going to school, then the hospital, then home late to do homework. We're tried of waiting to see what happens next.
Posted by Matthew at September 30, 2006 12:02 AM