Unfortunate Turn of Events

Good Evening Everyone,

I had hoped that my next update would be filled with rosy language describing just how much Chad had improved since he entered the hospital but sadly that will not be the case. Chad is still an inpatient at The James and there is no time frame for his release. The ascites is wreaking havoc on Chad's body and there have been no improvements in any of the areas that are being monitored, in fact all areas are declining and each day there seems to be a new area of concern. I will give you a cheat sheet of the main issues that we are dealing with here.

Ascites-the cytology testing revealed that the fluid removed from Chad's stomach on Monday was cancerous. This was not a totally surprising discovery but saddening all the same, discovering more cancer is never what you want to hear. There were no indications of infection or virus so the belief is that the fluid build up is cancer related and not being caused by any outside source. Since his cancer is currently not being treated he is continuing to produce the fluid and it is continuing to accumulate in his stomach and more recently in his legs and feet. It was decided today that another paracentesis needed to be done right away and an additional 5 liters of fluid was removed from his stomach. The hope is that Chad will be able to have a peritoneal indwelling catheter placed in his belly on Monday so that I will be able to drain his fluid at home and keep the fluid down to a manageable amount.

Carcinomatosis-there are a number of new nodules in Chad's peritoneum. They were not visible from the last cat scan but upon closer review it was confirmed that there was in fact new nodule growth. 

Kidneys-Chad's kidneys have suffered the most this week. His kidney function has steadily declined and as of this morning presented a real fear of overall failure without more drastic intervention. For this reason it was decided that Chad needed to start dialysis today. A femoral catheter was placed and he received dialysis treatment for about 2 1/2 hours this afternoon. He will receive dialysis again tomorrow and will then be reassessed to determine the frequency of future dialysis treatments. We are also hopeful that the dialysis will aid in the disruption in bladder function that Chad is experiencing.

Sodium-Chad's sodium level had continued to drop over the week due to the fluid buildup. We were told the low level was a direct contributor to just how cruddy Chad has felt as far as his headache, nausea, fatigue and somewhat disoriented state at times. There have been a few different medication attempts via IV but there was no improvement. After the dialysis this afternoon his number rose by 3 points and that was our bright spot of the day. The hope is that after tomorrow's session the sodium level will rise again.

Liver & Bowel-the liver and bowel function concerns are not at the urgent level of his kidney function level but the numbers on both are not where they need to be so they are being closely monitored. 

What does all of this mean?  Chad is in a serious situation right now. His body is not strong enough to handle all of the complications that it is going through and he is struggling. He hasn't eaten or had much in the way of fluids during the past 7 days and he is extremely weak and is visibly having an extremely difficult time fighting these issues. We are hopeful that the outside intervention of the draining of fluid and dialysis will give him a chance to gain strength to turn his situation around. He is trapped in a vicious cycle where his cancer is causing the fluid build up and the fluid build up is carrying cancer to more areas and causing organ disruption but he can't treat the cancer until the organ disruption is corrected. Chad has to improve his overall health in order to discuss the next move in treating his cancer. If we can't get his organ function back on track he will not be able to return to treatment and we will only be working on symptom control.

I have asked you all many times to pray and I've always meant it. Tonight I beg you all to lift Chad up in prayer in the hope that he will be able to keep fighting to move past this critical point in his journey. If you don't pray I ask that you hold him close to your hear with love and light. Thank you for all that you do and continue to do to support us everyday.

I will sit with him tonight with a heart full of love and hope, holding fast to my belief that Chad is not done yet. People get better and defy odds everyday and there is no reason that Chad can't be one of them. 

Love, Aja