Big day on Tuesday – Update

Posted on January 30, 2009 by richard

Hello friends and family,

I hope this finds you all doing well.

Many wonderful as well as some challenging things have taken place since my last update. Maria and I got married and had a perfect wedding that was miraculously put together in 45 days, we had an amazing and relaxing honeymoon in Miami & the Keys, we got painted almost every room in the house, had a fun wedding reception celebration for almost 200 friends and family, had a full and special first Christmas, made major progress on my 100 gallon salt water aquarium, got Maria moved out of her apartment she had been at for almost 10 years, and completed my 6th (and hopefully final), post-op chemo treatment on Jan 13th.

I don’t believe in mind over matter, but the mind is surely a powerful factor on our emotions and feelings which can surely effect our physical condition. On several occasions I experienced what is called anticipatory symptoms. Several days prior to a treatment the anticipation or even the thought of the chemo treatment would cause the same side effects such nausea and even vomiting. I have been trying the same principal to my height and already good looks, we will see if they work. One nurse told me that on several occasions some of the nurses have ran into previous patients at the grocery store and the mere sight of the nurse would trigger this and they started vomiting. I have a bucket next to me even as I write this, not really. The treatment before the last was one of the toughest before and after. For this past treatment my Dr. gave me an additional anti-nausea drug called Ativan, (Maria calls it truth syrum). It made me loopy but entertaining for Maria and overall very helpful for considerably less intense nausea. So besides some chronic bad memory, and a new concern I just heard about called “chemo brain”, this medication has totally given me an out for some of those; “oh, I said that ?”, or, “oh, you already told me that ?”. I am still having bad back pain which we believe might be from the epidural, numb & frozen feet, and frequent minor nausea. I finally have an appetite but eating each meal, (actually the after eating part), is a whole other deal. I will be seeing a professional dietitian for some direction.

We will be meeting with my Oncologist tomorrow, (Tuesday), to go over the results of the PET scan I had done last week. We will find out if I am cancer free and can close this extraordinary & adventurous chapter in my life. I don’t believe in worrying because as the bible says that worrying gains nothing and can not add any days to your life. But I have felt to take a good look from an emotionally and spiritual perspective of the possibilities and “what if’s”. This has been heavy and has encouraged some amazing conversation with Maria and some profound conclusions for myself. All of the affirmations, love, care and concern of so many, and learning to receive them, has been an incredible thing. At first I was saying; “, but I am soooo tired of feeling this way, I don’t want anymore treatments and I don’t even want another needle to poke me”. And of course the thought of my mortality and, “what if I fell into that 75%-85%” category that didn’t beat this”. I really think that our mortality is a very healthy thing for all of us to look at that, because along with taxes, it is the other big ‘for sures’, and it helps us be thankful for each and everyday.

So some of my conclusions are; I have no fear as I will negotiate any bridge or circumstance only if it arrives. I am not afraid to die as that is when the core of all my faith will be revealed. The foundation of my hope is in eternity first, and my life secondary. (of course there is plenty of emotion of the idea of leaving my spouse and son). But the bottom line conclusion is that however I can bring my creator, whom I know loves more then I can fathom, the most honor and glory. And that being in life or death, or in good health or in continuing this adventure with treatments, I know that my Heavenly Father will give me all the strength and grace I need, because He has done it before. Plus I am blessed with an army of family and friends that are in my corner. My desire is to have a continuous foundation and perspective of “whatever come what may”, whether it is a sunny day or hurricane, knowing that God has not moved even one inch off His throne and has my best interest at heart.

Our faith is strong and our hope is full of confidence that we will get some good news tomorrow. In my next update which will be by Wednesday with the results, I want to share some revelation and understanding I have received this past year that has greatly impacted my life; about Hope (desire with confidence), Faith (evidence of things hoped for but not yet seen), and where we invest our security. I will also have some wedding pictures up too.

I welcome and tremendously appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks for reading and God bless you and yours.

(visit richardfelipe.com to view past updates and more)

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Prayer Request for Richard Felipe on Tuesday (Jan 20th)

Posted on January 30, 2009 by richard

Hello family and friends!!

Once again, Richard and I are reaching out to you for prayer & fasting TOMORRROW, Tuesday @ 12:30, as Richard gets a full body CAT scan (CT). This is his first body scan after his six post-operative chemo treatments to determine that that all of the tumor was removed during surgery and that there has been no regrowth since then.

PLEASE agree with us in prayer that:
a) Richard will be able to hold down the barium liquid that he has to swallow for the scan, as he’s had a hard time with this in the past.

b) that the results will come back clean. We pray that his body is clear of any tumor and that there is no microscopic trace of tumor lingering in any soft tissue and/or lymph nodes.

Thank you SO much for your prayers and for taking this journey with us! There is an immense amount of peace that comes from knowing that we are being covered in prayer.

God bless!

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I am Ironman – Update

Posted on November 7, 2008 by richard

Hello friends and family,
I hope this finds you all doing well.

Many things in life that we have not done in awhile and then return to can be “like riding a bike”. However, there is one thing I have found not to be true for me and that is eating again. On October 6th I had my Barium, (I think Barium that is Latin for liquid chalk), swallow test and passed with flying colors; therefore, I was able to drink and swallow water, juice and even a cup of Jello. It was absolutely glorious as you can imagine. The small Jello pack did make me full and yet very satisfied. Since then I slowly graduated to a variety of other things and some have even stayed down. There are still many thing I don’t attempt to eat but I am certainly pushing the envelope with more successes then failures (not fun though). I can only consume the volume of about my fist, maybe a little more I take small bites and chew a million times. Much of my stomach was removed and it is now the shape of a banana which starts a few inches below my collar bone. I am still utilizing my feeding tube and machine each night to maintain my weight but my sutures keep pulling through which is quite annoying. I am leaving now to go to my clinic to have two of them re-stitched.

Two weeks ago I had my first post-op chemo treatment which involved a 4hr drip and a take home pump for 48 hrs. It really kicked my ______ in any ways and made me very nervous to eat anything at all. I was pretty much out of commission for 10 days. Maria and I are getting married on Nov 15th and my next chemo treatment was scheduled for Nov 4th. I was extremely apprehensive with still so much to do and wanting to feel at least halfway descent for the wedding and honeymoon. I told my oncologist I wanted to postpone the treatment which I could not fathom having. He was very compassionate and totally appreciated our situation. At the same time explained that in the event there were any cancer cells floating around, (which we believe are all gone), that we would not want to wait several weeks without them being dealt with by the chemo. We worked out a compromise of only one of the 2 chemos which should only have a small portion of the side effects. As much as I didn’t want to do it or even have another needle stuck in me, I knew is was wisdom to continue and to do all we can to fight this so it doesn’t come back. I don’t want any should of’s or what if’s down the road.

So yesterday I got my 48hr portable chemo pump taken off and only a few times of nausea, Thank You Lord. I have plans to go go-carting this Saturday for my bachelor party. I may be just watching ????
Any of you guys want to go, let me know ?

The adventure is not quite over, chemo treatments may go through mid or end of January, but besides this whole cancer thing, life couldn’t be better.

Thanks for reading and God bless you and yours.

Faster that a speeding bullet right after surgery – enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0iPkFVfqt8

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My Vacation – Update

Posted on October 3, 2008 by richard

Hello friends and family.

I have been home from the hospital for almost 2 weeks now and just now getting this update out, I am such a slacker I know.
Many of you received updates from Maria with some of what took place during surgery and my time in the hospital. Those 4 updates along with all the other updates are on the website www.richardfelipe.com

Due to aspirating during surgery, I was sedated and placed on a respirator for 5 days, a different kind of vacation. I only have a couple vague memories; one was I thought at the time I was in some type of capsule at a Dodger game and I saw Maria taking care of me with some others in the background. The other was Duke telling me that he had made the football team – I thought it was a phone call at the time. I am so thankful for Maria who stayed by my side the entire time, my mom, Duke and his mother were there most of the time, and for many friends that stopped by with food and to show support.

The aspiration pneumonia was caused by some pizza I ate the night before surgery, (the last supper), it was the pizza that almost took me out. It didn’t digest as fast as it was supposed to. When I woke up on Sat with a hard plastic tube down my throat, which was removed later that morning, plus I was soon to find around 14 other tubes, IV’s, drains, etc… connected to me, I felt very well connected. Day by day they would remove some of the tubes and/or connections. I did feel kind of like IRON MAN before he got his iron suit. I was up for over 2 days straight once I came to.

I think I had most of the hospital staff convinced that I was a Super Hero that was just effected by a little Kryptonite. We had some fun with a red cape as I literally flew around the ICU unit floor, setting all kinds of speed records. (see photo link below)

I got out of the hospital after collecting and tying bed sheets together and lowered myself out of the 7 story window, not really, I felt like I was a king at a spa and I was in no big rush to leave. However; my surgeon, (who was absolutely amazing in so many aspects), kicked me out just like a mother bird pushing her baby out of the nest. I was released on day 10 of my “vacation” , Sept 18th. I did have to go back to my surgeon’s clinic the next day as my neck and face became tremendously swollen due to air seeping in where the stomach and esophagus had still not yet fused. It was like I had bubble wrap crackling in my neck and half my face. I looked like a mean tuff linebacker that you didn’t want to mess with. They went ahead and opened up my neck and released the trapped air. Let me know if you want more gooey details and I can send you a picture.

It has been an interesting challenge, adjustment and learning curve to get used to the feeding machine and tube, pain meds and so much more like a limited energy level. It is interesting what can become the highlights of your day when you are in a situation like mine.

I have been able to get out a little bit and may have learned my limits ?????, (after pushing them too much – church, BBQ’s, concert, boating, etc…)

I did have a moment the other day when I just kind of stopped and had an emotional reality thought that all this has not been a dream, I have dodged a bullet, God has spared me. Very humbling. I am off the summit, down from the mountain, the worst is over and behind me. Now I am on a clear road to recovery, maybe a long road, but I know I will soon see some light coming through this tunnel.

I am not hungry despite not having put any food in my mouth now for over 3 weeks. Sometimes the smell of certain foods gets to me a bit. I do day dream of guzzling cold bottled water or diving into a clear cool swimming pool. I am not allowed to swallow any liquids either, a dinning experience for me is chewing on ice and spitting it out.
The next step is that I have a barium swallow test next Monday the 5th which we hope will show that stomach has fused and is air tight. If so I will be able to drink clear liquids and a week or 2 later be able to take in some specific soft foods. I wonder if I will be able to belch like I used to ?

Here are some vacation pics, enjoy.
www.flickr.com/photos/richardsvacationpics

Thanks again for following a long and for all your prayers and thoughts, they mean a lot to me and I know that move the heart of God. I pray that each time you pray and petition on my behalf, that He meets you in a very special way .

Richard Felipe

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RICHARD FELIPE Update #4: OUT OF ICU!!

Posted on September 17, 2008 by richard

Dear friends and family-
So sorry for the delay of this update. The last 2-3 days have been non-stop and the sleep deprivation finally caught up…

…but, I have AWESOME NEWS TO SHARE!

As you know, Richard was taken off the respirator on Sat. morning.
Since then, his progress has been phenomenal. He started out with a
killer soar throat (for obvious reasons) and could only talk in whispers. The first two days off the breathing machine were filled with his desperately trying to cough up his own mucous/flem, which was previously being done by the nurses through the respirator. As you can imagine, the throat pain coupled with back and chest pain made coughing a dreaded process.

The next milestone was walking. Though his knees were pretty wobbly, he made his first lap around the nurses station on Sunday late
morning. He was definitely winded, but he had many of the staff
cracking up with his “Superman/faster than a speeding bullet” jokes.
We took Superman joke literally for his second walk of the day, making a red cape out of the red trash can liners that have *bio hazard* printed all over them. It was a classic moment for sure.

On Monday night, he was officially moved out of ICU and into the general cardio-thoracic care unit. The room is quite ample and allows plenty of room for visitors!

Richard, his mom & I have started receiving instruction on how to administer medication and food through his feeding tube. He’ll most likely need the feeding tube for the next month or so, until he can begin to eat enough orally to keep his calories up. At this point, however, his stomach incisions are still healing and he’s not allowed to swallow ANYTHING for the next two weeks; everything must be administered through the feeding tube. Fun times!! 😉

It’s Wed. morning and Richard just took his first real shower since Monday of LAST week! He’s a very happy man.

GREAT NEWS is that the doctors are planning to send him home tomorrow morning. At some point tomorrow afternoon, a home health nurse is supposed to meet us at Richard’s house to go over home care instructions/feedings/etc.

I can’t believe his progress, considering he just came out of total sedation on Sat. morning!! His humor has been incredible and we don’t take his progress for granted for one second!! God has been so good and so faithful.

ANOTHER PRAYER REQUEST: For those of you who remember Daren and Krista Moorman: Krista’s father, Charles Van Kirk (Pastor of the Rim of the Work Community Church up by Lake Arrowhead) is two doors down
from Richard, recovering from a 14-hour cancer surgery!! Please keep
his recovery in your prayers as his well. For Richard, it’s been great reconnecting with Daren & Krista, and it’s been awesome for me
to meet them for the first time. What a totally unexpected blessing
at this time.

God willing, the next update will be from Richard’s home. In fact, it will most likely be coming directly from him.

Thanks again for all your prayers, visits, offers to bring dinner and to transport Richard’s mom back and forth from the hospital. I can’t tell you how much that has meant and it gives me a better perspective of exactly what’s needed for the family members of people in the hospital… looks like a ministry opportunity in our future! 😉

All our love and appreciation!

Richard and Maria

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