Update on Dad

A C-T scan late yesterday revealed the underlying cause of Dad's intestinal problems.  He has colon cancer.  A roughly doughnut-shaped tumor is creating a constriction, which eventually resulted in a shutdown of normal function.

Surgery is planned for tomorrow, in Hutchinson.   The surgeon is a med school friend of my cousin Leon. Because of the tumor's fortunate location, the surgery will be fairly straightforward.  A section of the colon will be removed, after which it will be spliced back together, and recovery can begin, if all goes well.  The cancer has apparently not spread to the liver or lungs.

An anointing service took place last night.

Transfer from Lyons to Hutchinson will take happen this morning by private vehicle.  

Continued prayers are appreciated.

Late morning (Tuesday):  Surgery is taking place late this forenoon and is expected to last about an hour and a half.  The timing of surgery reflects the surgeon's wish.  He explained that sooner is better than later.

Early afternoon (Tuesday):  Dad came through surgery OK.  The simple splice of the large intestine where a section was removed, however, will have to wait on a second surgery, perhaps in several months. Everyone is glad the surgery happened today since the danger of rupture was very real--which is what the surgeon saw when he looked at the C-T scan.  A few weak places in the intestinal wall needed suturing.  There was no indication during surgery that the cancer had spread beyond the site where it was discovered.

The surgeon our family wanted to request was not the first one available, so proceeding with Plan B seemed wise.  Those family members who were there seemed comfortable with the doctor who did the surgery.

********************

Yesterday we processed 94 1/2 quarts of corn from our patch.  It was a big job, with imperfect ears of corn.  (If you grow corn in Kansas, you know all about every ear having a worm-eaten upper end--unless you've sprayed the daylights out of it--or anointed with oil every silk tuft, or shaken insecticide dust on the silks.)  Shane helped Hiromi and me pick it--or we helped him--till he had to leave for work. Dorcas, Clarissa and her sister Angeliese arrived soon and helped for the duration.  Shane got home from work early and provided a wonderful boost to the process, but Hiromi had to leave for his job long before the work got done. Rhoda helped husk for a while and Diana and Rhoda provided babysitting for Tristan.  I'm very grateful for the help of our extended family.

We're grateful for a corn crop.  Pollination happened during a narrow window of lower-temperature days sandwiched between very hot days.  (Pollen dies when it's too hot.)  We know from last year's experience that we could have worked as hard as we did yesterday with a far lower yield.  Others in the Miller family could attest to this.  They processed the second half of the crop last year while the Iwashiges were off in Washington for Grant and Clarissa's wedding.

*******************

We had .3 inch of rain this morning.  It was worth getting out of bed to watch it rain.  Not a drought breaker by any means, but these splashes of rain are so much better than last year when there was no precipitation at all for a very long time.