Visiting Dad

This past Sunday evening all nine of us went to visit Dad. It had been a very long time since our entire family had gone to visit him, and I knew it would mean a lot to him. Dad has been having extreme fatigue lately and the days and nights are very long. His stereo wasn't working and his favorite television station was no longer coming in clearly. I knew Dale would likely be able to fix both, and he did. Now Dad can listen to his favorite Burl Ives albums and cassette tapes, plus listen to the radio. Channel 21 is now coming in strong and clear on the TV. The antennae must have gotten blown around during last Friday's wind storm. Also while we were there the children cleaned out Pappy's candy dish for him! I plan on replenishing that later this week!

Monday morning Kaden and I met Dad over at the cancer center for Chemo treatment number five. He first had an exam by the doctor. Doctor #1 is who we prefer, but on that day it was doctor #2. Doc #1 had told Dad he would be getting a modified chemo treatment because the others made him so sick. This time it was to be intravenous chemo once a week for three weeks instead of one time every three weeks. He was to get it in smaller doses instead of one big one. Somehow that information didn't get passed to Doc #2 and Dad ended up receiving the same treatment as before. Doc #2 kept saying, "Your blood work looks good! You need the regular treatment." It wasn't his blood work that was determining the modified treatment, it was how sick it was making him. We were all a bit confused. We'll need to clear this up before next time, especially if Dad ends up really sick again. I had to leave at 2 pm. Later Dad told me he was there until 4:30 pm! (We had gotten there at 10:30 am!) I left, went home, ate lunch then headed back to Gettysburg for Brady's orthodontic appointment. On the way we stopped at Wal-Mart to drop off a prescription for Dad. After Brady's appointment, I stopped back at Wal-Mart to pick it up, then went over to Dad's. My brother Tim and his family were there. They brought supper for Dad and were all going to eat together at Dad's house. We chatted awhile before heading back home.

We are still trying to figure out why Dad is so tired ALL the time. The doctor ordered a brain PET scan. I think it could be depression and Doc. #2 agreed. Dad is hoping to make an appointment with the doctor he was seeing for his anxiety and panic attacks last year during Mom's illness. Perhaps he needs medication. I just want him to feel better, to be able to do something besides eat and sleep.