My dad

I guess I can start from the beginning....warning, it's a little graphic.
Back in late October, my dad went to the doctor because he was having a lot of bleeding and pain in his backside. They did a colonoscopy and discovered that he had a tumor right at the edge of colon. The tumor was about the size of his first finger. Because of the location, his doctor said surgery was a must and he would have to have a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. Kinda sucks.
So when he got back from the doctor, my whole family went over to his house and prayed over his body and also just prayed for each other. It was a really great night! It had been a long time since my whole family had done that together.
He started his chemo/radiation treatment in early November. Radiation was Monday through Friday and he took chemo pills in the morning and the evening. Because he was taking chemo pills, he never lost his hair, but having that go through his digestive system was really difficult. Every bathroom trip was quite an ordeal with extreme pain, no matter what he ate, it felt like jalapeno juice. Not fun!
He did his treatment for 6 weeks and I'm sure he is glad that part is over.
So yesterday he had his surgery to remove the tumor and fit him for the colostomy bag. Basically, a colostomy bag means he doesn't use the restroom through his rectum anymore, it goes through this bag and he just empties the bag. During the surgery, the doctor accidentally nicked his urethra and they had to call in a urologist to come repair it. That was an extra two hours that he was in surgery yesterday. So now he has to deal with a catheter for about three weeks while the injury from his surgery recovers. It has been quite an ordeal for him to get the pain under control after the anesthesia wore off. My sister, Julie said he was waking up every 30 minutes all night because he couldn't get the pain under control. They now have him on a different medication that seems to be working much better. So hopefully he will be able to leave the hospital on Friday.
When he leaves, he will be staying at Julie and my mom's house to help him recover.
Please keep him in your prayers for continued strength to get him through the transition of having a colostomy bag and all that it includes!
As of 3/4, I went to see him last night and he was doing much better. His pain is finally under control. He was cracking jokes and in good spirits! Today, Julie will be getting him out of bed to walk around so he can hopefully be going home on Friday!!