Decision Day

Sheba and I had a late night discussion with Dr. Stephen Alfred last night.

Stephen is happy that yesterday's ultrasound shows that Dad's bile juices are being drained.  He is happy that Dad does not have a fever - other than a single episode of pain and rigors the day before.

At the same time Stephen laid out the realities of what the surgery can entail.  They may open Dad up only to find that the cancer has already spread - since the CT scan only picks up nodes larger than 1 cm in diameter.  In that case they would insert a permanent stent and close him up - and work on palliative care.  Even in a 'successful' operation - Dad may well face multiple challenges in the post-op recovery - and the cancer may well come back.

So the choice is up to us - to go ahead while Dad is still operable - or not to. 

As a family we are at peace that Dad is fully in God's hands.  We know that our Lord Jesus is the author of life - and our eternal sustainer.  We also know that besides adding "days to life" - He also adds "life to days."

As it stands, Dad's operation is booke for 8 AM tomorrow morning - the 23rd of March.  The ICU bed is booked for post-op care.  The surgeon - Dr. Kannan - as well as Dr. Stephen have committed themselves to be there.   Stefan has booked his flight ticked down from Delhi and should be here in Thane at 8 PM tonight.

The one decision point left hinges on Dad's bilirubin level (Dad tells me that Billy is fighting with Reuben).  Dad gave blood for a liver function test this morning - and we expect the results in the early afternoon with a final decision to go ahead with surgery being made at 5 PM.

It's a decision day.  One choice will be made this evening at 5 PM.  Whether to go ahead with surgery tomorrow - or whether to postpone and wait till Dad's liver function improves more will be made at that time.  But in the bigger pictgure we can rest assured that all of our times continue to be in the loving hands of our Lord Jesus.

Thanks for walking along with us on this journey.