We know it is not normal to share all these grueling and perhaps morbid details but we want to be open and share because the human tendency is to hide from suffering, hide from death, hide from pain, and hide from one another. Hence this honest telling to bring into the light how challenging it… Read more

Hello all! I have to admit it has been a crazy couple of weeks! Here is a way through, my motto perhaps: Prayer is paramount and Prayer prevails…it just does. So, on top of all the nasty bilirubin symptoms Michael was having he developed a fever last Friday and it was still present Saturday morning.… Read more

Hi all! I have to make a correction to the last update. I said the bilirubin was normal and it was normal but back at the beginning of January. What had been happening since then, and why we rushed to get a biliary exchange, was that one of the drains was a bit blocked. So,… Read more

  Hello family and friends. Yesterday we drove to Kaiser hospital in Portland to have Michael’s biliary drains replaced. It went very well. He told me he won the nurse lottery. A man named John who was expert with IVs and blood work. He said the bilirubin was in the normal range. Excellent news. There… Read more

Just returned from our visit with the Kaiser Oncologist. He reviewed Michael’s scans and listened to our description of his current state of health with the frequent infections. Nephew Paul McClelland explained Michael’s situation best. See quotes from his email below. Unfortunately, the two new spots in the liver upgrades Uncle Mike’s disease to metastatic… Read more

Hello! Michael is feeling better, antibiotics appear to be working. We now have a date for the biliary drains to be replaced. Friday February 9th in Portland Kaiser. Prayers, good thoughts and intentions appreciated for a smooth procedure with NO backlash infections. A flow for the whole team involved in the procedure. Blockages of any… Read more

An ice storm was in progress so we didn’t have to drive to Portland for our first talk with the OHSU surgeon, Dr. Enestvedt. We just talked over the phone. That saved us a long drive in bad weather. He went over possibilities with us that sounded hopeful but it was all depending on a… Read more