Help Our Dad as He Battles Pancreatic Cancer

 

 

Around Father's Day 2021, our dad, Joe, went into the emergency room with an unknown origin of pain. The doctors thought that it could be pancreatitis or gallstones. After a night in the hospital, the doctors sent him home. At the end of July, our dad went in to have a procedure done to figure out what was happening with him. The doctors regretted waiting when they told our parents they thought he either had bile duct cancer or pancreatic cancer. Both are very serious.

 

This unexpected news has shaken our parents' and family's world, and the last six months have been the most difficult for our dad and mom. The initial shock reminded us of our mother's breast cancer diagnosis in 2008, but this is a very different situation. The treatment, experience, and toll it takes are much more intense. Our dad has seen countless specialists, has had numerous scans and has had multiple biopsies. He has been in and out of the hospital every week since his first procedure. After much deliberation, the cancer board diagnosed our dad with pancreatic cancer in August.

 

Since then, our dad has moved his treatment to Froedtert Medical Group, specializing in Pancreatic Cancer. He is currently two months into his chemotherapy treatment. They thought he had developed pneumonia right after Thanksgiving but realized it was chemo lung. The chemo has been tough on his lungs. Given that he has aggressive asthma, they switched him to a different treatment that causes him hypersensitivity to the cold. He will have a few more months of chemotherapy before six weeks (5 days a week) of radiation. Following his chemo and radiation, he will have a Whipple Procedure. The surgeon will remove parts of our dad's stomach, pancreas, small intestine, gallbladder, and bile duct—all crucial body parts. The hospitalization for this procedure is at least two weeks with a lengthy and intense recovery period.

 

Winter in the midwest is here, and COVID cases are surging. Traveling, heating, maintaining the house, buying multiple medications, and simply living are adding up. Health and safety are a necessity and priority for our dad and our mom. We are not trying to live in fear during this time, but we know that it is essential to support them now more than ever. As their children, we are trying to help as much as possible. Still, with job changes, school, family life, and many other responsibilities, we realize the time has come to ask for more significant assistance. We see there is a need in the day-to-day living of our parents. We have no words for our gratitude for our parents and their siblings. The visits, love, and support have kept them going throughout this time.

 

Many, if not most of you, know our parents. Helen is an amazing wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandma, and friend to everyone she meets. She will knit you a scarf, make you a towel monkey, or talk to you on a hard day. She is playful, strong, and our father's rock. Helen is making sure Joe takes his medications, prepares his food, gets him up to walk, drives him to his appointments, and is more than just his wife. They are soulmates. She is in the thick of it and taking care of everything. It is an honor to call her our mother. Our dad, Joe, is probably one of the kindest men we will ever meet in our lives. He has always been a sweet, soft-spoken, devoted father and husband. Our parents love spending time with their siblings, doing karaoke in their backyard at their Hot Bongo's patio, going to the lighthouse on Lake Michigan near their house, obsessing over their fur children, and stopping at Kwik Trip. They celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary in August. Our dad wants to make it to their 50th. Our parents have a steadfast faith in God and their love for one another.

 

We would be forever grateful if you would consider thinking about our dad.

 

With deep gratitude and love,

 

Steph and Karissa