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EDD


Posted April 17, 2002
My husband Edd is 58 y/o, in the 20 yrs we have been together the first time I saw him in a hospital bed was March 11, 2002. Never sick with anything more than a cold and took no medicines, had to force vitamin C and echinesea on him when he did have a cold! He turned jaundice (yellow) over Valintine's Weekend, he had taken me to Jamaica for the long weekend. I noticed the whites of his eyes being yellow and then when he took his shirt off his chest was yellow also. When we got back home I made an appt. with Dr. for that Weds. Dr. ordered blood tests and a 24hr urine. (Follow-up appt. a week from that Friday) He was even more yellow so Dr. questioned if in pain, none, but ordered an ultrsound of gallbladder incase it was a stone in the bile duct. It wasn't, tumor on Pancreas!! My husband called me at work to come to hospital because he would not be able to drive home after they did the next test, ERUS?. Anyway to make a long story short, the biopsy came back PC ! After many tests, more ultrasounds, angiogram, etc; it looked good for resection and surgery was scheduled. March 21st surgery was over in 1hr!! This told me Whipple Procedure was not done. Surgeon stating cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in the arterial bed around aorta. Double bypass performed in lieu of Whipple. He is now almost 4 wks post surgery, on second week of 5FU chemo, and has had 5 of the scheduled 25 radiation txs. So far so good, no nausea or diarrhea, fair appetite. He had lost 25 lbs but up 6.5 lbs as of today!! We are grateful for this site and will continue to visit frequently. We have put our trust in the Lord to guild us to the right physicians and to make the right choices along the way. We also trust that He will give us strength for whatever lies ahead for both of us. I pray God will guide all who are journeying down this path!

Nov. 2002 — Update on my husband, Edd.
Dx. March 12, 2002 had an aborted 'Whipple' March 21 (double bypass, hepatic and gastric done in lieu of Whipple) Had 6 weeks of 5FU/radiation then 6 cycles (2 weeks on 1 off) Gemzar/CPT11. CT scan July 31 had tumor no longer visible and no abnormality noted liver or lungs. Window of opportunity open, so sent all his record to Dr. Yeo at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Janet, his receptionist called with list to send, then called back stating that the Dr. wanted a Pet Scan done. It took a while to get scheduled, but finally done Sept 16th-no vein involement!! Dr. Yeo called us up to Baltimore for surgery Oct 7th. Edd had a pyloric-saving whipple done. Did very well, discharged from hosp. Oct 14th rode back to North Augusta, SC Oct 17-18. Edges all clean, but 3 of the 9 lymph nodes taken were cancerous. Was told he was stage IV in March, now told he is stage III (this is better!) Even though cancer found in lymph nodes, his prognosis is improved from the 3-6 months originally expected. He will start chemo again Nov 11 with the Gemzar/CPT11 since it worked so well for him before. We go on, one day at a time' with God's help.

Posted May 15, 2003
We lost out battle with PC April 29, 2003. To update you from Nov. to now; In Dec we went on a 10 day cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. Edd felt pretty good the entire trip. We Parasailed in Kona, I rented a Mustang Convertible for him to drive the road to Hona on Maui, took a helicopter trip over the Volcano in Kilo. Walked on a black sand beach and on the beach at Waikiki, Got up at 3AM when ship approached the Big Island to see the red and orange fiery lava flow into the ocean. We enjoyed our time on board ship eating ice cream and watching beautiful sunsets. January we traveled to Va where Edd reunited with his 2 half-sisters, now 37 and 38 (Cindy and Wendy) they had not seen each other in over 20 years. March was spent mostly in the hospital, stomach obstruction, continuous vomitting. A wonderful Dr. who trained at JHH was introduced to us (Dr. Crist) and he did surgery. Edd's tumor had not spread, however cancer spots were noted throughout his lower GI tract. The chemo Edd was on was effective because there was scar tissue around the spots. Edd got to come home for 2 weeks then he turned yellow (the biliary bypass opening scarred shut as did the gastric one in March). An external biliary drain was inserted and his bilirubin started coming down. We planned on coming home after the weekend on April 12-13 but Edd started getting very confused, halucinating and much weaker. We both still wanted to go home. Family was called to advise them on Edd's weakening condition. We got to go home April 17th with all of his children and 5 of the grandchildren plus one of his half-sister's and her family visiting the the week of Easter. Edd had special time with each one on his children. I spent most my time in bed with him just to be close. One of our kids would lay with him if I had to go out for anything (did make a point to go to my water therapy for my knee). Easter Sunday Edd sat up in bed and said he had to pray, moving himself to the floor kneeling with his head on the bed, he had me kneel with him as he asked God to forgive him of his sins (I reminded him that his sins were gone forever never to be remembered when he asked Jesus into his life in March 2002 and again July 2002) He proceeded to ask forgiveness for his evil thoughts and then stated "I love Lynne so much I can hardly stand it" Lynne, that's me, he ws telling Jesus how much he loved me! That night he laid his hand on his chest and again thanked Jesus for giving him another day with his children and his lovely wife. The last of the family visiting left the Saturday after Easter leaving Edd and I alone Sunday, Monday, and Tues. I was unable to get Edd to eat much but he was drinking alot asking for water, Mountain Dew, and juice. He was lucid off and on but getting weaker and weaker. He was in little pain, I gave him his Roxinol and Ativan anyway due to his labored breathing. Tuesday evening his breathing was the worst it had been, I gave him his medicine then laid with him in our bed. I put on our "Voices of Victory" CD playing wonderful sacred music. I was stroking his head and telling him he did not have to fight anymore it was time to rest. By the time the first song finished he was breathing much easier then before the second song was over he was gone. (glancing at the clock noting the time of 7:30PM) I called Hospice (who had been helping since we got home) then a friend and a church couple, who all came for support. I cleaned Edd up and laid the disposable blue pads over the area where the dark coffee ground fluid he had been vomitting and that pooled in the back of his throat, drained after he drew his final breath. I washed the dark blood from his face and arm even cleaning what had remained in his mouth.(I did not want anyone to see him until I had him cleaned and looking as peaceful as I could). We had already decided on direct creamation and taking his ashes to the Martin family cemetery in Tenn. Memorial Day Sunday, we will be placing Edd's ashes with his mother's ashes. As many of the family and friends that can make it, plan to attend the informal memorial. Edd wanted a verse that was given to him by a friend when his mother died, to be printed on beautiful seashore paper. I will be giving the printed sheets to each attending along with a purple ribbon and envelope for donation to PanCan in lieu of flowers. Now I have the job of trying to go on without "my love". But as we have done for the past year, I will be living "One day at a time". Edd was diagnosed March 12, 2002 living until April 29, 2003. His age, sex, and treatment history are all in the previous postings. God Bless all who find yourself fighting this beast.

Posted 04/17/2002 05:32 pm by Lynne
E-mail Address: Karaoke51@yahoo.com

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