Thank you, my Dear Friends.
In early February, when Dad was diagnosed with this rare cancer (perotineal mesothelioma), the doctor said he had about a year to live. About a month after his first chemo treatment caused Dad to go into kidney failure and to be hospitalized for over a month, the doctor said that he had a fifty-fifty chance of living 6 months. The swiftness of Dad's decline after his second, adjusted, chemo treatment (May 22) surprised even the doctors. Monday Dad was found to have a platelet count of 2000 (normal is 140,000 to 400,000 I think). His white cell count was 100, leaving him almost defenseless to infection. A platelet replacement in the Emergency Room seemed to bring marked improvement, and he was about to be transported to a room in the Intensive Care Unit when he developed a fever and went into such a deep sleep that the nurse and we could not awake him to take a Tylenol. He died peacefully, having never experienced the excrusiating pain and loss of bodily functions and dignity which usually accompany this dreadful illness.
This cancer was caused from Dad's having worked with asbestos for many years. Being an insulator (of pipes), rising from being a simple carrier of "mud" to CEO of an insulation company, Dad's primary goal in life was to take care of his family, including his parents, sisters, and brothers, and those of Mom's also. His heart always was concerned with "the underdog."
We go to the mortuary this morning, and I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate all of your expressions of concern. Please continue to pray for us as we pass through this valley of sadness and heartbreak.
