My Father's Fight For Life...Robert Joseph Fraga: February 23, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

February 23, 2010

Today's post will be very short. It is very early and I am working on very little sleep and need to get to the office as soon as possible today. Dad has asked that we take him home and the doctors have agreed to make that happen for him. Our family feels so blessed to have all of the support and love that you have wrapped around us during Dad's time in the hospital. We only ask that you understand that he has expressed to us that he wants only his family with him right now and although he feels deep love for all of you, we must respect his wishes and do everything we can to give him the peace he so deserves. I promise that I will try to keep everyone abreast of Dad's progression, but my only concern right now is my father and his wishes. Dad is so content and he is resting peacefully in his decision to go home and we want to make this happen as quickly as possible. The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and give you His peace. God's peace to each and every one of you.

7 comments:

Karlene A. Huber said...: Good morning to Bob and the family. Harvey and I are so very happy to hear that Bob will be coming home soon. This is another step in your healing process.
We certainly respect all the privacy that Bob deserves. So this is the best way to leave our blessings and love.
We love the family and send all we can for a fast recovery for our Bobby. Stay strong Sandy, lots of love is sent your way.
Sister Karlene and Harvey; February 24, 2010 at 5:59 AM
Unknown said...: As always our prayers remain with you all & God will bless you for doing the right thing for your dad. Please tell him we love him & he is in our thoughts daily. If being home is what he needs, then that will be the best thing you can do for him. please let me know if there is anything our family can do for yours.
Jennifer (for all of us in the Blowers/Gillette family); February 24, 2010 at 9:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Our prayers and thoughts are with you and the entire Fraga family at this very sad and difficult time.

Jana Greenspan
(Including my Father, Mother and Sister, Jay, Diana and Elisa Greenspan); February 24, 2010 at 11:17 AM
Denise Ravazza said...: Our love,prayers & thoughts are with ALL OF YOU at this time. We know this has not been as easy time for any of you, but also must be a very special time for each of you.

We love you - Tom & Denny; February 25, 2010 at 6:25 AM
Amber said...: Hello FragaBob...and Sandy....You guys have been in our thoughts and prayers. My dad and a few friends are going to take a motorcycle trip to Death Valley in the next couple of months, a kind of "bucket list" trip he says, but motorcycle trips always make me think of you guys...and boats and Shasta..we have great childhood memories...I told my dad that we have to pull out some of those old photo albums...Wishing you all the best...lots of love to everyone...Amber Long, and family; February 25, 2010 at 12:18 PM
Karlene A. Huber said...: All of our love and thoughts are circling the family at this time.
I have sent an angel to look over Bob in this transition time.
Love to all,
Karlene and Harvey; February 26, 2010 at 9:23 AM
Denise Ravazza said...: LOVE TO ALL OF YOU AT THIS DIFFICULT TIME; February 26, 2010 at 11:22 AM

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Dad's Story

Dad's Story...Hello everyone. After nearly 10 weeks, I finally felt it was necessary to start a website for Dad where everyone can check on his condition and see what's happening in our lives. I hope to be able to update this often and my goal is to not only provide everyone with information on Dad, but to also allow Dad to see just how many of you love him and care about what is happening in his life. It has been quite challenging to keep everyone updated and our family is so thankful for all of you. We hope that everyone understands that making phone calls to each of you has become impossible and it is my hope that this will allow everyone to be kept abreast of the day to day changes with Dad. Thank you all for your love, calls, letters, cards and especially your prayers. And so here begins Dad's story: As many of you know, Dad was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer in December 2006. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor in February 2007 and the surgery went very well. The surgeons were pleased and since Dad was in such great shape at that time, he recovered pretty quickly. During the next nearly 3 years, Dad underwent radiation and chemotherapy. He suffered as many do with the side affects, but rarely complained. During this time, he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior which was the answer to our prayers. His continued growth in the Lord has been a joy to share with him. We continue to cherish our time with Dad and thank God for every day he remains with us on this earth. Dad followed up with his doctors during the next 3 years and continued to receive positive reports on his remission. He and Mom celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary April 2009 and we threw them a big and wonderful party at their home in June that many of you attended. He had the time of his life that day and we didn't have any worries...except that his weight was low and that caused somewhat of a concern. Following this time, his weight continued to decline, finally reaching an all time low of 109 pounds. He was continuously having difficulty with eating in that he would eat or drink and then would cough the food or liquid up. He met with different doctors and was diagnosed pnemonia and Valley Fever, but things weren't adding up and his energy continued to decline. He scheduled to see his surgeon at Stanford that did his surgery 3 years prior; Dr. Whyte on 12/14/09. He and Mom went to Stanford and had the PET Scan necessary to see what was happening. They stayed at my home that night as they had to return to Stanford the next day to have an Endoscopy done to look into the throat. That night Dad ate a bowl of rice crispies that Ed prepared for him and I watched as he savored every bite. He was so weak that he never left the couch that evening. Whether or not he kept it down, I don't know, but I was thrilled he ate something! I planned to be at Stanford with them for the 12/15 procedure. I arrived just after the surgeons had finished his procedure. They came out to talk with Mom and I and said that there was a leak and that Dad would have to have surgery to repair it. They called it a Fistula. The stomach and lung had actually merged and food would enter his lungs through his stomach, this we were told was the contributing factor to his discomfort and weight loss. The doctors explained that they would schedule the surgery for a later time. I then explained to the doctors that my sisters and I were gravely concerned about Dad's sudden and severe weight loss. They told me that they were also concerned and felt the best course was to insert a feeding tube into Dad and send him home to gain weight. We would be trained on how to feed Dad through the tube. the hope was that he would gain weight and then have enough strength to have the necessary surgery. Inserting a feeding tube meant surgery immediately and I was very concerned that Dad would not agree to this. I was pleasantly surprise when he looked at me with those big brown eyes and agreed. He knew that this was the only option he had. He was just too weak at this point to undergo a surgery, I mean he couldn't even cough! That night Dad was admitted to the hospital and scheduled for surgery sometime the next day, Wednesday, Dec 16th, During the surgery to insert the feeding tube into his intestines Dad went into respiratory failure. The plan had been to insert the tube and send him home to put on weight, but instead Dad ended up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) It is here that we begin Dad's long and painful journey of regaining his health. More than anything we want him home with us.

We ask that you keep Dad in your prayers.

My Father's Fight For Life...Robert Joseph Fraga

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

February 23, 2010

7 comments:

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