It’s been a hell of a six weeks over at the Jonesie household. Six weeks ago, a week before Christmas to be exact, we found out my dad has cancer. Renal cell carcinoma to be specific. In plain English that means cancer of the kidney. The diagnosis came after my dad started having some serious problems in his neck for an unrelated condition. His doctor ordered an MRI of his spine and alas, there was a large mass. So large my dad had actually noticed it months earlier when he was getting dressed. My dad, who is also a doctor, suspected it was something to take seriously. Thirty-five years ago my grandfather was diagnosed with the same cancer and survived it. Kidney cancer can’t be treated with chemo or radiation so early detection and prevention is key. Understanding his predisposition to this cancer, my dad told his doctor his suspicions. His physician dismissed it as “fatty tissue” and told my dad to lose weight. He followed orders and the mass seemed to disappear. Eight months later, it shows up on his MRI.
Two or three days later we find out the news we didn’t want to hear. Cancer. Rather than spending my evenings finishing my Christmas cards, my brother or my sister-and-law and I were on the phone discussing the next steps. What’s going to happen? What about my mom? What new hospital/doctor were we going to trust with my dad’s life? My parents live in Kansas, isolated from my brother and I, and we didn’t want my parents dealing with this alone.
Everything moved so quickly. Within a week, we had my dad scheduled at the Mayo Clinic only a few miles from where I live. My parents flew down Christmas Eve. A few days later, my brother and his wife arrived after driving 16 hours with my 20 month old niece to surprise my dad and be here for the surgery. On New Year’s Eve, the entire family was at my dad’s side as he woke up from his surgery. His kidney was removed.
Luckily, my dad’s general health is pretty good. He’s always been psychically active, running or working out weekly. We anticipated a quick recovery and less than four weeks after his surgery, my dad has been released to go home to Kansas under a new physician’s care.
The emotions I experienced these last few weeks were all over the place. I was physically and mentally exhausted. But this weekend, it all came together in a big exhale. We planned and celebrated his 68th birthday with family and long time friends from out of town. It was a surprise party. I haven’t seen my dad this happy in years. On top of his birthday cake we put one giant candle to represent the first year of his new chance at life.
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