Requesting prayers and mojo for my dad :sad:

[Tortuga]

Last week, my mom called to tell me that my dad is having cognitive issues with speech and memory, and appeared to be declining quickly. She was able to get him to the doctor, who ordered up a brain MRI, pronto.

We had planned to have them out for Christmas Day. She called me on Wednesday morning, very upset. The MRI indicated something was definitely going on in his brain, and to get with a neurologist. We were pretty concerned that maybe he'd had a stroke or something, but it didn't make sense because the symptoms aren't consistent, and he didn't seem to have any other indicators like paralysis / numbness, etc. And, his most recent PET scan (melanoma almost took him out in 2006, but he's been cancer-free ever since having surgery and clinical trials) was clean, so we didn't give that much thought.

I went to them in the afternoon and spent the rest of Christmas Eve and Christmas day together, with the rest of my family joining us for Christmas afternoon. I went back home that night, and got another call from my mom yesterday morning, who told me that he seemed to be getting worse. I was already planning to split time between my house and theirs for the next few weeks, until we can get a handle on the situation, and (hopefully) a path towards getting him "repaired".

By the time I got to their house, my mom had gotten a doctor to do further review of the MRI, and was fairly certain that he's got brain cancer. I'm pretty much relocating here to help them out.

One of the many pain points here has been that my brother was diagnosed with covid a week ago, and is still testing positive (even though he's nearly asymptomatic, aside from taste and smell), so we can't afford to have him come visit, as the risk of having to put my dad in the hospital for covid treatment, especially without us being able to be with him, is too high.

We're going to be working on getting him an urgent appointment with a neurologist starting Monday morning. They'd already gotten him hooked up with someone at UCI medical center on the 7th, but things have become more urgent now, so the thinking is we should be able to hook up sooner.

While we're relieved to know what the enemy looks like, we're all concerned about how to kill it (if it can even be killed at this point). Meanwhile, he's trying to remain calm and in good spirits, but he is well aware that something is seriously fucked up and he does *not* deal with that kind of stuff well at all.

I've got prayer, mojo, and thought channels opened up everywhere I can get. My mom is a big believer in prayer, and it gives her comfort knowing that people are pulling for her/them. My biggest fear is having to put him into emergency at a hospital without us being able to advocate and provide comfort for him. He's scared and upset much of the time, and it's really hard to handle.

[Yarbicus]

Praying for you and your family!

[mortatone]

Best of luck to him, you and your family. Even through tough times I hope there’s still a few smiles to go around.

[greatmutah]

Mojo to you and your family, especially your dad. Here’s hoping it’s treatable and the prognosis is good. Glad your dads trying to stay in good spirits also.

[Marc G]

damn bud.... mojo sent

[BroSlinger]

Sorry to hear, man. You’re all in my prayers.

No matter what happens, do everything you can for your mom, and don’t let her get burned out.

I’m still angry about my mom dying from cancer in March 2018. I had to almost force my dad to admit he needed help taking care of her. That was when we called in home nursing. It probably saved his life. And he’s a sensible, smart guy.

Let me know if you need to talk to someone.

[2tallmusic]

best wishes and mojo sent - if it wouldn't already be hard enough to fight a serious illness, these days the additional challenges are unbelievable

[Steinmetzify]

Mojo Steve, we’re all here man.

[Pepi]

So sorry Prayers sent

[JiveTurkey]

Oh man. Mojo and positive vibes sent; Steve.

[Beef]

So sorry to hear man. Hope he is able to get appropriate treatment and recover as quickly and painlessly as possible and I hope you all are able to care for each other during this. It’s not an easy thing you’re going through.

[Diddlybo]

Going through some old folks issues with my parents now so I know the feeling. Prayers and mojo sent.

[linthat22]

Much prayers! I know if that were me, I'd just want some weed and hang loose till the end.

[itchyfingers]

As I mentioned earlier man, give me a ring if you wanna chat. My dad received several different kinds of treatments with his cancer that seemed worse than the cancer itself. All of them except for the brain surgery. That shit made me realize how far medicine has come, and how amazing technology can be. Pulling for your dad, and all the Grimes fam.

[TurboPablo]

Prayers and mojo to you and your family grime. There is nothing easy about these situations. My heart goes out to you.

[GuitarBilly]

I will keep your dad in my thoughts man and I'll ask my religious friends and family to put him on their prayers.
Please also know you have an open space here for whatever you need, whether you need us to organize any kind of help or you just need to vent and let out steam, we're here for you.

[ajaxlepinski]

Major mojo and prayers, coming in from the East Coast, for your Dad and everyone in your family.
I wish there was something I could say or do to help.

[leftyaxeman]

Prayers to you and your family, wishing all the best.

[madkeithv]

Damn man, mojo sent to you and your family...

[neilrocks25]

I don’t know what words to use but I am wishing you and your family the best.

[skybluegary]

Best wishes to you and your family.

[fretless]

Many prayers and a little luck too !

[***1776***]

Prayers and mojo for you and your family during these tough times, not easy but try to stay focused and strong

[Tortuga]

Thanks for the wishes and offers, everyone - y'all are such a great bunch of friends

Me & my dad back in '68

[Ostinato Rubato]

I’m sorry your dad and your family are going through this right now Steve. You’re all in my prayers.