hiddenmuse | Another Family Update

It's been a little while since I've updated on my family - but then, things have been rather uneventful, thankfully.

For those that don't know the entire story, here it is:

Last summer, my stepdad was diagnosed with testicular cancer - and yes, he did have the cancer surgically removed. He went through a round of chemotherapy, as well as MRIs, that caused him to almost go into multiple organ failure. There's a horribly long story behind that, and I won't bore anyone with those details, except to say that the biggest problem to come about was renal failure.

The chemotherapy was stopped before he could even complete the first round, and he's been on Dialysis for several months. The dialysis was stopped a little over a month ago, and he's been cancer-free so far...

The past month or so, he's been having trouble breathing, going through serious bouts of chills, etc. At Christmastime, he'd gone to the ER, thinking that he was down with pneumonia due to trouble breathing. Well, that wasn't pneumonia, but was actually caused by scar tissue on his lungs.

Here's the latest ... my stepdad has low thyroid, which is being treated. Recently, he'd been experiencing swelling, trouble breathing, and some other symptoms, which had him almost paranoid and thinking that he'd have to go back on dialysis.

Yesterday, my mom took him to the doctor to get the symptoms checked, and the doctor said that he was either experiencing renal failure - or congestive heart failure - and to get to the ER immediately.

In the ER, they found that he was experiencing congestive heart failure, brought on by the chemotherapy affecting his heart. So, he's in the hospital - first time this year, probably the 5th or 6th time since he was diagnosed with cancer last year.

This does have me worried - as I do worry over my family - but I've been reassured that he is fine, and may be out of the hospital before next week.

If you could continue the prayers, good thoughts, beams, or whatever else, I would appreciate it - and I know that my family would appreciate it, too.

Thank you!