Goodbye

The accordion will remain silent.
David passed away on Sunday the 23rd of August at 11pm.
He went peacefully after having seen all the family that could come.
He kept a loving,kind and gentle spirit.
It is hard to think of not seeing,hearing or touching him again.
As he said "life is short"
Many people have been helpful and supportive.Thank you so much from Jeremy,Julie,myself and all his family.

Visitations will be held on Thursday August 27 from 2 to 5pm and 7 to 10pm,and Friday August 28 as of 9am at
La Maison Darche
Réseau Dignité
7679 boul. Tachereau
Brossard Qc.
www.dignitequebec.com

The funeral service will be held on Friday August 28 at 11am at
l'Eglise Evangelique du Semeur
2000 chemin Saint- Jean
Laprairie
followed by the burial at Notre-Dame des Neiges cemetery.

The blog might continue for a while. Keep checking.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles...
For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over in to our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows! 2 Cor 1: 3 - 5

Liette

running out of time

David is not doing well.He has fluctuations in being sleepy,tired and being more awake.The doctor doesn't give him much time... He has fought well.He is going soon but he is going HOME to his father's house,his creator,his savior where there will be no more sorrow or tears or death but a lot of love and music and creativity and I wonder what kind of computer!

Eyes on Jesus

These days,Dave is rather slowed down and sleepy.He is still under the orthopedist care but an oncologist an a pain specialist consult and try to adjust for the best treatment.
He still is not moving much and his left arm seems weaker too.
When we prayed today one of the things he said is" Lord I love you. You are great. Thank you for your compassion.Thank you for those who pray and help me. Bless them."
That made me think of the words of the song "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace"

Back in a regular room

Dave was transfered to an orthopedic floor today for post-op.More tubes off.No air conditoning but we can bring table fans if we clean them regularly,and we do.We also bring fresh fruit witch are not often on the menu, and sometimes other treats...to enjoy.

Now talking

David is recuperating well from the operation.He was glad to have the intubation tube and the naso-gastric tube taken off.He expected to have a sore throat and hoarse voice for a while but it was OK by noon time.He ate and was reading and played twenty questions with Julie and me tonight.He will stay in the intensive care at least till tomorrow.Blood ,platelets etc..to be checked.
There are special beds in the IT unit and Dave really likes them.They nickname them" the transformers."The bed can become a chair and the mattress inflates and deflates in different places at different times so that the pressure on the body is not always in the same areas. How cool is that?

Post- op

David had his operation this afternoon.I did not see the surgeon to have all the details.
Around 7pm.,Dave was out of the operating area to intensive care for close monitoring (The surgeon had mentioned that probability).When I was able to see him, he was conscious , still intubated but breathing on his own. He could hear me and was trying to communicate.We finally had him write things on paper or white board and it all made sense . He even wrote me to" go to sleep".So I will do as I am told...
Liette

Tomorrow?

The results of some tests are in(good enough). Some platelets transfusions given.If they are high enough tomorrow,Dave should have surgery in the afternoon, positive note.He is weak though and has some pain in a new area.
Liette.

Delay

This morning Dave's platelets count was too low to do the operation for risk of bleeding.A test result still to come would point to the cause and best treatment. Maybe tomorrow ... So we wait. New things pop up. The unknown.
We have two plaques in our house, they help to keep our focus, one given at our wedding:"The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you" ,The second painted by Julie at a camp one or two years ago:"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" 1 Peter5:7

Another "Wave"

After 1) another MRI.
2)no improvement with radiotherapy, even some worsening
3)some more answers to our questions with various doctors
4)more prayers,
it was decided that David will be operated on tuesday august the 11th, to try to reverse the compression on the spinal cord at the level of the 4th dorsal vertebrae.
While we didn't know if the surgery would be today,our brother in law Jacques graciously drove Jeremy to his one week teen camp in the state of New-York,and Julie stayed with friends.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks to so many who send us words of encouragements. It is greatly appreciated.Please understand if we don't reply to you individually.

To operate or not

Liette and I saw the spinal surgeon today.
After spending a while looking at the images of my spine,he surprised us by proposing to operate tomorrow.
Basically he had in mind a more straight-forward approach than before. While still a serious operation, it would be standard stuff for him.
The question for us is whether to simply rely on the radiotherapy treatments or not. If we just wait, will things turn out in time to reverse/stop the damage to the spinal cord?Should we have the operation right away and not take any chances even if it is more procedures?
We decided on a middle course: the surgeon will order another MRI to see if there are any sign that the compression is reducing.Then we'll make a decision about operating next week (unless there is a deterioration). This also gives Liette and I a chance to think and pray about it before giving an answer.

Charles Lemoyne Hospital

We often hear of problems with the health system but I have nothing but praise for the hospital where I am being treated.

I am amazed at the number and variety of professions involved in my case: oncologist, orthopedist, radiologist, physio-therapist, ergotherapist, technicians of various kinds, nurses and orderlies, not to mention all the support services. Everyone is friendly and helpful and everything is oriented towards the health and comfort of the patient.

I am really thankful for the quality of care I'm getting here. I'm even beginning to enjoy the food!

The photo at the top is by my son Jeremy. It shows the rays of hope shining out from the hospital. The crane on the right is for the construction of the new Monteregie Integrated Cancer Centre.(Liette calls the photo "The Glory and the Cross").

He showed how He loves me

This is a follow-up to yesterday's entry,"Show my enemies how You love me" so if you haven't done so already, read it first.
I don't want to forget that God's ultimate expression of love for me and for the whole world was his amazing victory over Death and Evil on the cross.
"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV)