TGIF & 7 more to go

Well I posted earlier that I would catch everyone up when we made it back to good ole LP. Well we made it, later than we had hoped, but safely. We had gotten some good news yesterday evening that Pops appointment would be moved up to a little after noon so we might get a chance to get back to LP early. God knew what He was doing as the earlier time slot enabled us to take care of some "issues" that came up this morning. I posted earlier that Pop had a rough morning .... and you guessed it .... it didn't get any better. Quite simply, today was rough. Pop tried to force down a carnation as he hadn't had anything to eat or drink that had actually stayed inside for a couple days now. He only managed to choke down half the carnation breakfast drink and it hung with him approximately 10 minutes. I encouraged him to drink some gatorade or boost but he just couldn't get it to go down, much less stay down. But like a trooper Pop got ready for his radiation treatment and we headed over. I wasn't sure he was going to make it but he pushed on. When the treatment was over we had the weekly scheduled doctors appointment. As we were meeting with the doctor (and Pop looked bad) Pop had to excuse himself to the restroom to get sick. I chatted with the doctor about the last couple days and when Pop got back he arraigned for a dehyration test which Pop failed easily. Things kicked into high gear at that point and he immediately arraigned for a trip upstairs to get a couple liters of fluid IV and wrote a presciption for a very strong and expensive anti-nausea medication. I could see the concern in the nurses and doctors and one doctor even skipped out of a physics class to check on Pop at his visit. (I think he had asked the nurse to give him a page when Pop came in) Cayman met us in the lobby (actually he was waiting in the lobby for us)when we headed upstairs and he stayed with Pop while I visited the pharmacy to get the medicine coming. Once Pop was in the infusion chair with the IV, Cayman and I left to visit the lunch room to get Cayman his daily bowl of chili to go. We made our way back to the Hope lodge to take a break and eat. Pops IV was supposed to last 3 hours which it did. Pop was asleep when I made it back to the infusion center and he had a few minutes left to finish up. Once finished he looked better and appeared to feel better....but not much. I offered to stay the weekend at the lodge with him if coming home was too much and he said he would rather be sick at home. We headed to LP. Need I say .... it was a looooong trip. Dark, rainy, and a sick Pop. Miserable to say the least. I have left him in Shannons care tonight. I hope and pray he gets better soon.
As you can see ... a rough day. It was my turn I suppose. In some ways it was one of the easiest and best days of my life in that I had the opportunity to care for someone I love so much. In other ways it was one of the toughest days of my life. The man that had always been able to fix anything, the man that always had words of wisdom and the answer, the man I admired more than anyone on earth, the man that had raised me, taught me, and had always been there for me, the man that was invincible in my eyes as a child was weak, vulnerable, and ill beyond comprehension. Probably should have been admitted to the hospital but wasn't. There wasn't anything he or I could do to make it better. That hurt ... bad. That was tougher on me than i thought it would be. I kinda knew it was coming some time and I tried to prepare myself, but I wasn't. I don't think you ever can. A boy shouldn't have to see his dad in that situation. It just isn't right. I just know we have to press on. 7 more to go. Pop is tough, I found that out today too. In fact, I have met a bunch of tough people lately .... I know where they stay during the week. I just have to stand by the faith that there is something God wants us to see or experience through all this suffering. And His promise is that it is for our own good.

I leave you with this thought that occurred to me today. Today, I saw a lot of suffering, by a lot of folks, not just Pop. With all the suffering we have seen lately, all rolled up into one, it still is nothing compared to the suffering Jesus experienced in bearing the punishment for all our sins. That hurts too ..... bad. So lets honor that by doing what Jesus himself said pretty much sums up the commandments; love God , love people. It just seems it might make all that suffering just a little more bearable.
Thank you for all the prayers please keep them coming.
TW