All I Can Do Is Pray

The year 2025 was a rough one for my parents.  My mom's stroke in June was a game changer for her as it meant a lot of time in the nursing home and hours of therapy to regain strength in her legs and the ability to speak again.  While my mom was recovering, my dad developed a lump in his bicep.  At first, it was thought to be Popeye arm which occurs when a muscle tears in the upper arm.  We all thought that was funny as his arm definitely looked like the famed cartoon sailor man.  

I had visited my parents monthly after my mom's stroke and on my last stay in November, I realized that my dad's arm had grown.  He agreed and made an appointment with the orthopedic doctor and soon was on a waitlist for an MRI.  Unfortunately, the diagnosis that my dad received wasn't what everyone thought it was.  Instead of something funny, it became extremely serious when he found out that the swelling was actually being caused by a rare form of soft tissue cancer called Sarcoma.  Because of its rarity, there were only two doctors in the state of Indiana that could treat him.  The good news was that one was in Fort Wayne; the bad news was that they wouldn't take my dad's insurance after the first of the year.  

While my dad was having a biopsy scheduled and CT scan of the chest, I started researching doctors in our area that would be able to treat a sarcoma.  I found one in Gainesville and all seemed set for he and my mom to fly down in January to begin treatment there.  Then my mom fell and broke her hip right after Christmas requiring immediate surgery.  Since follow up treatment would have to be at a nursing home rehab, my dad had to decide if he would still come down or not.  In the end, he decided that it would be better to work with the insurance to get treatment in Northern Indiana so he would still be able to check on my mom daily.  From the conversation he had with his doctor last week, it sounds like it will work out, and he will be starting radiation soon.  That was really great to hear.  I wish I could provide more help, but with Doug's health issues I am not going to be able to travel north for all while.  Because of this, I have decided that the best thing that I can do is pray and try to be as supportive as possible via the telephone.