4 months later...

I am a pathetic blogger! But I finally feel like I have significant news to share about my dad. To cover the last 4 months in a few sentences, Dad has remained at home, his latest PET scan (almost 2 months ago) was clear of cancer (Yay!) and he has continued to feel horrible most of the time. If I remember right, he was about 150-155 pounds when he came home from the hospital and now he is 140. He is able to do a lot of things I guess, but he tires out really fast and his stomach just hurts all of the time. He did have a hernia repair I think in June, and then went in last week to repair the repair...

I am trying to keep this short and it is hard! Anyway, almost 2 months ago, Sam's wonderful Aunt Karen brought to my attention something from my dad's pathology report from his surgery back in February. It basically stated that he had cells that were consistent with Celiac disease! No one had ever shared this with us, but conveniently we were going to see Dr. Sharma (Chemo Oncologist) the next day for the PET scan results. I thought this was for sure our answer as to why he wasn't getting any better. We brought it up with the Doc and he completely blew it off. I won't say much, but this is what he told my dad. "We don't want to restrict your diet. You just need to eat more. And you won't like ANYTHING gluten free" !!!! All I will say is that my dad really trusts doctors.  It was a very painful and frustrating 6 weeks or so as I watched him get worse by the day. Most days he would feel horrible and he would get a day or two here and there where he would feel a little better. 

Long story very shortened... a couple of weeks ago my dad started seeing this doctor in Midway that does some alternative treatments. I am not sure on all the details, but I did know that she ran a gluten test on him. I tried to patiently wait for his results as we all (my brothers and me and our families) were becoming more and more concerned. Last Thursday, August 16th, Dad came to me with his test results asking for help. The lab results said, "You show very servere allergies to gluten. Most likely you have celiac disease. This would put a lot of stress on your pancreas, and would keep you from being able to gain weight. It also increases the risk of cancer. Recommendations; Stay away from wheat, oats, rye and barley FOREVER" !!! Prayers were answered that day for sure. He came when he was ready and now, hopefully, there will be no turning back. He has been eating gluten free for 5 days now going on forever I hope.

Please remember him in your prayers, that he will be able to sustain his new diet and that he will start seeing results that will be undeniable! And, if you have any gluten free recipes that you love, send them my way ;) I have been eating mostly GF for about 4 months now but I am still learning a lot, and my dad has to be much more strict than I am. Thank you for all of you love and support. Sorry I haven't been very good at keeping you all in the loop.