Current news on my Dad is the PET/CT scan came back clean.. but the mass on the liver is cancer and according to mom it’s “all over” the place. Not good.
I never really consciously though about how I would handle news like that and after thinking about it I don’t know that one can ever be truely prepared for news about the frailty of life. I’ve cried – held off as long as I could. Weeping would be a better word since I can’t bring myself to just let it all hang out, at least right now.
Granted, there’s not an official treatment schedule or prognosis yet, but from the reading I’ve done it doesn’t bode well in the near term. He could be in this plane for a number of years yet, or just a few months and I don’t mean to sound pessimistic about the approach of the end game, but as I said you’re never prepared for the news.
Mom is my other worry. She’s 45 – 60 minutes from the Johnson City hospital and the driving back and forth is going to add to the emotional toll and strain she’s under. She needs to keep her strength up. On the other hand she’s been through this 4 times with her parents and also with dad’s. It’ll be different but she’s got her strengths about her from a variety of angles.
I’ve got to think about going down to visit soon for a number of days if for nothing else to give mom some rest from the schedule she’s keeping. It’s 18+ hours down so if I’m going down I’ll stay for a bit. Flights are out of the question. Simply too expensive to fly into JC or K-Town or anywhere close. Perhaps a train..
UPDATE: Flying from Albany, NY to Tri-Cities on Delta and US Air is reasonable. Only 2.5 hrs to Albany from where I live. Like driving to Boston only with less traffic.
