Grandpa Update

We went to the doctor yesterday, and what an adventure in God's gracious providence it was.

We changed my grandpa's primary care because the doctor is 30 minutes away from us, and also because the doctor treated him for an ulcer for 2 to 3 years with no internal exams until October when he started loosing weight. Since September 2006, my grandpa has gone from 205 lbs to 165 on December 13th to 148 yesterday!

When his new primary care doctor heard this, he was outraged and worried. He immediately tried to get him in to see the oncologist next door, and he succeeded! Sadly, this oncologist didn't take my grandpa's insurance, but while we were waiting I found a magazine about how to care for someone with cancer called Caring4Cancer. This has a lot of good ideas we can use for his diet, a particularly difficult area with him right now.

We went from disappointment to happiness when his new primary told him he got him into see another oncologist two buildings over. When my mom got over to see him, she started to breakdown when they told her his appointment would be next week. The oncologist kindly saw my grandpa.

It turns out that this doctor, Robert A. Moss, M.D., was rated one of America's Top Physicians (as the magazine plaque said on the wall). He told my grandpa of the treatment options and gave him some perscrptions for his digestion and appetite, both of which aren't working well. My grandpa agreed to the chemotherapy, which may start late next week.

The amazing thing about all this: He wasn't taking anymore patients after noon because of the holiday. He told my mom later that this is the only day of the year his office is empty after noon. We just happened to walk into an empty office of one of America's Top Oncologists.

God, in His smiling and gracious providence, worked wonders yesterday. This is so encouraging. Please continue to pray for him, for us, for the medicines and for the doctors. My grandpa is taking medicines and pills and drinking teas to slow the cancer's spread. However, he is quite weak. He's not eating much because eating makes him feel nauseous. He is sweating a lot because the cancer has spread from his stomach to his liver. These are not good signs. My mom is worried because it seems he's not doing what he needs to do, as if he's giving in to the cancer. When I prayed with him tonight I asked him what he wanted me to pray for, and he said that he would pull out of this.