What a rollercoaster ride! Daddy made it through Christmas (and seemed to be doing much better than he had been at Thanksgiving). He started going up and down the stairs, building strength. He was able to start going to Maxwell again. His life was starting to get back to some semblance of normal, whatever that may be, and Mama asked him if he would consider going back to the oncologist to check on some type of treatment. He agreed to go - for her.
A couple of weeks ago they did a bunch of blood tests to try to get a read on what was going on in his body. The same tests they had run back in September when he was told that he had pancreatic cancer and his days were very limited. I don't know all the specifics, but I do know that one of the tests that showed markers for cancer were at levels over 280 back then... the results this month came back under 1. That's less than ONE. A decimal point before the number! Almost 300 times less than it was five months ago! Nothing short of a miracle.
Just to be sure of things the doctor ordered a PET scan for this week so they could look inside his body to see if anything was "glowing". (I don't know if the cancer cells actually glow, but that was the term that was used when the process was being described to me.) They found nothing. NOTHING!! My daddy is cancer free! He still has some other issues he needs to take care of, but they are minor after being told to get your affairs in order because you only have months, at most, left to live.
When I shared the news with each of the kids about his miraculous recovery, they each said, "Wow!" with a bit of wonder. What else could they say? That's how we all feel. But then after a moment to think about the situation, all three of them added, "Stubborn old man." They know their Pops! And are all thrilled to know that he's going to be around for some time to come.
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