One year ago today, Mel had an appointment in Denver with his oncologist so they could check the stent that was put in his colon and to start a new chemotherapy regimen. Mel had not been feeling well at all for a couple of weeks. He was in a lot of pain and was very weak. He had fallen several times. I don't know how I ever got him up after he fell. He was so tall.
We were excited to go, though because we thought he probably just needed a couple transfusions and some fluids, and we would go on our way like before. We also had a room at a very fancy hotel that the American Cancer Society had paid for us to stay at since we had to have tests done overnight. Nicole was excited because she had invited Jacia to go with us. We didn't usually take Nicole to Denver with us, but we thought it would be a treat for her and extra fun with Jacia.
That morning before we ever left, Kelly (Jacia's mom) called to tell us that Jacia was sick and wouldn't be able to go with us. Nicole was very disappointed, but we told her we would still have fun. Mel got up and told me he didn't think he could make it to Denver. I told him that we had to go. He was so weak, it took him probably 20 minutes to get from the house to the car. We had to take Daniel to my mom and dad's house and our old assistant pastor and an elder were going to meet us there to pray over us before we left. When we got there, I could see in their expression that they were shocked to see how Mel looked, then when I looked at him through their eyes, I was appalled. I guess just being with him every day I hadn't noticed the dramatic change in him. After they prayed over us, I got Mel back in the car so we could go. He was very ill (nausea and vomitting). When we got out of town, he told me had to stop at a rest stop that was between Pueblo and Colorado Springs to use the bathroom. When we got to the rest stop, I had Nicole go with him so I could stay in the car and keep it warm for him. It was so cold, and he was freezing. After he had been gone for over 10 minutes, I locked up the car and walked up to the restrooms. Nicole was standing outside waiting for Mel, but he never came out. I called to him and went into the restroom to see what was wrong. He looked at me and told me he would never make it to Denver. I told him we would get him back to the car, go back to Pueblo and go to the local ER. I don't know how I ever got the strength to get him up on his feet and back to the car. He could barely support his own weight.
We got to the ER and I called our pastor. Hal and his wife Sharon came right away to the hospital to be with us. They were so good to us and always there for us the whole time Mel was sick. When they got there, I could tell they were shocked at how ill Mel was. I kept thinking to myself, "why hadn't I seen this". I kept thinking man I should have gotten him to the hospital days ago, but I just didn't see it then. After the lab work came back on Mel, the ER doctor told us she was transferring him to Denver via ambulance. They didn't think it was safe for him to ride with me as he needed IV pain meds and fluids. He was very dehydrated. Hal and Sharon took Nicole to my mom and dad's house for me, and I followed the ambulance to Denver.
When we got to Denver, Mel was admitted on the oncology floor. The oncologist on call was a Dr. Lam, whom we had never met. I didn't realize it at the time, but she would become a great source of strength and comfort to us in the coming days. Towards evening they took Mel down for a CT scan of his abdomen. Somewhere between there and his room, Mel's wedding ring had fallen off. He had lost so much weight that it was very loose on him. I was so upset. Mel never took this ring off. The only time I remember him taking it off was when he had his kidney surgery. I walked back and forth in the halls to and from CT scan and his room searching and searching. I was almost frantic to find his ring, and I never did. I was so sad, and so was Mel. He kept telling me I miss feeling my ring on my finger. Mel also wore a cross on a gold chain that Nicole and I had given him a couple of years before for Father's Day. He made me take it off of him and asked me to wear it so it wouldn't get lost along with the ring.
That night, when the doctor's made their rounds, they came in to tell us that the CT scan had shown that the stent that had been put in Mel's colon had actually perforated the wall of the colon and that his colon contents were leaking into his abdominal cavity, and he was basically full of infection. His creatinine level (the kidney function test) was sky high. They told us then that the plan would be for Mel to get well enough and for his creatinine to go back to normal with IV fluids and IV nutrition so that they could operate on him and remove the colon and the part of the tumor that had eaten into it.
I kept thinking to myself "why didn't I see that something was wrong". When I looked back to that morning and people seeing him and commenting on how sick and bad he looked, I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen it myself. I couldn't believe that I hadn't taken him to the ER sooner, and I kept thinking if only I had, we would have caught things much quicker and maybe his kidney wouldn't have been so damaged.
That night after Mel had finally fallen asleep I went down to the hospital chapel. I remember being on my knees and sobbing and praying for God to heal Mel. I kept telling Him "don't you see how faithful we have been, how much closer we have drawn to you, and most of all how much I (and the kids) needed for Mel to be well.
This was one of the longest days of my life, but I would soon find out how much longer the days could become. I stayed awake most of the night, lying on my cot in Mel's hospital room just watching him breathe. By then I had become accustomed to functioning on little or no sleep. I just sat and watched him breathe, and with every breath he took I would whisper "please God".
Jeremiah 33:6 Behold, I will bring you health and healing, I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
Jeremiah 30:17 For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds, says the Lord.
We believed in Miracles.
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