In case you havn't heard, at the beginning of December, my mom's dad, Grandpa LaValle, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Not just any cancer, but metastatic small cell lung cancer. The cancer is living in his right lung, in the lymph nodes around his heart and other lung and in one of his hips. We have been told lots of things about his particular brand of cancer, but the words that stick to you are "extensive," "fast-growing," "chemo," "non-curative." The weeks leading up to and after Christmas has been a flurry or travel, doctors appointments, chemo appointments, PET scans, and MRIs. All of this is compounded by the fact that grandpa and grandma live 1000 miles from us. So, the back and forth game and Skype calls have begun. Mom and dad paid to have internet put in at Gramps and Grams for Christmas, which is actually quite funny. My grandpa is an expert dumpster diver, as they live down the street from SDSU and college students frequently rent apartments in their complex and dump what they don't want before they move out. He has found video cameras, bicycles, and one day he found an old computer. It didn't work, so my cousin's husband fixed it for him so he could play solitaire on it, but not before Gram said her piece that relegated the computer to the garage! So, long story short.....they have come a long way. We have also been told that because of the type of tissue Gramps cancer is, that it grows quickly, but it can also can be beat back easier. So grampa has just finished round two of chemo and he felt quite good through it all, until the day after. His hair has also started falling out, which they had made into a crew cut, a look he hasn't sported since he was in the military. His shortness of breath at night is getting better, which is encouraging. We shall see how well the chemo is working when Tyler and I head up there and they do the next scan, which they moved up to coincide with our trip as mom and Lynelle are here in Texas for at least the next two months. Grampa is in remarkably good spirits about all of this. I wish I could take a cue from that. I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't struggling with all of this. Sometimes, I hate being the medically knowledgeable person in the family. Sometimes, I hate working as an ICU nurse in the heart and lung unit. Particularly when we are coding a lung cancer patient. It's hard. Luckily, I am blessed with wonderful co-workers who know what's going on in my life and give me the moments I need to re-group, shed my tears, and move on to the next thing. My husband is wonderful too. He listens and routinely gets frustrated because he is a fix-it guy and he wants to fix this so badly so that I don't hurt, but he can't. But he makes me laugh and takes my mind off of things. I believe God's gift in Tyler is that he is the Court Jester of our house. He always has something clever or witty to say. The big blessing of December is that my other grandpa, who had a small stroke in November, was cleared to drive again! I know he is excited about that! I'm still nervous, but I know that the doctors wouldn't give him back his license if they thought he was a threat on the road. That is all I know for now. Stay tuned, I'm almost done with the stocking cap I'm making to keep gramps bald head warm and I'll post the pics when it is!
