Health Update

So much has happened and finally I am on the blog with good news to report! Dad is doing quite well. Here is a list of things he can do that even 1 month ago seemed pretty impossible:

• Breathe without an oxygen machine.
  
• Breathe deeply without extreme pain.
  
• Walk with a cane (we have graduated from the walker).
  
• Socialize with his family - he joined us for Thanksgiving in his glider rocking chair. Then he impressed all of us when he watched us play frisbee dodgeball for a few hours. 
  
• Stand up (but still not straight up - but he is standing). 
  
• Join us for dinner at a noisy burger joint and have him insist on paying for dinner - it's a Christmas miracle! 
• Telling more jokes and stories than usual. 
• Laughing harder at his own jokes than usual - I saw him throw his head back a few times! 

Most importantly Dad is in good spirits. He was in the hospital then a rehab center but as of right now - he is at home.  He had a list of infections from viral to bacterial. The latest infection was on his foot. BUT right now he is infection free. His immune system seems to be working again. He recently met with his oncologist and was told that he responded to the treatments "better than expected." His protein levels are low (which is good) and the doctor said, "You are in remission!!!!!!!" 

Round 1:   Cancer vs. Phil = PHIL WON!!!!!! WHOOOEEEE!!!!! 

Turns out he has more Whiting blood in him that we initially thought. This makes Dad our little miracle. He has had prostate cancer, a heart attack, spinal surgery, multiple myeloma - he is one heck of a fighter. 

We are grateful for the prayers and faith from all of you. Dad current health is proof that prayers can be answered.  It certainly was a little scary for a while but as of right now we are all taking a sigh of relief. Phew. 

And again - thank you to the siblings in Utah who all take turns making sure Dad has the best care possible. They are washing laundry, cleaning, cooking and administering medicine to Dad. It is a full time job and they have worked tirelessly. Dad is well. We are safe and sound and grateful for the holidays, grateful for family, blessings and most importantly the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. 

Broken ribs are a pain (in every sense)...

Here is an update from Jeremy: 

Well here is the update on Phil Brown. Dad managed to tear a hole in his left lung after the bronchoscopy. So this means that they have to put a tube in his lung cavity and suck out the air to fix the collapse lung. This most likely happened as he was coughing and he has a broken rib on  that side. The bronchoscopy was on the other lung. He is still having problems breathing and has moved up to the maximum amount of oxygen until the morphine wears off. So hopefully he will start breathing better and move from the mask back to the canula. 
The respiratory doctor came by to talk about the results from the test. They won't know until the cultures are complete on the pneumonia. So we are waiting for more information about that test. 
The doctor did give another possibility that there might be myeloma in his lungs so they are also sending out a sample to ensure it isn't present. (This is just a possibility - this is not certain). They might need a larger sample to check for they may have to do another bronchoscopy to gather more a sample. So that leaves a little more excitement for tomorrow. They don't want a biopsy into the lungs because there is a chance of infection and another collapsed lung with a biopsy. So I am praying that this won't be the case and it is just a matter of pneumonia that can be easily treated. 
It is more information but we honestly don't know anything until the results come back on the pneumonia and myeloma. Sorry for not alot of definite information about anything. Dad says hi and isn't enjoying the hospital much.

Love,

Jeremy

Newest Development

Dad finished his radiation about 2 weeks ago. Over the last few weeks, he has suffered a few set-backs unrelated to his multiple myeloma (ie - broken ribs, yeast infection in his throat) but we were hopeful that he would return to the joke-telling, easy going, paperback-book-reading Grandpa Brown in no time. 

We moved Dad into his new room downstairs (which looks great!) and due to fantastic organization on our sister's part, helping Dad with his medications is a breeze. He has a new flat screen TV, a padded reclining glider, a mini fridge and a fancy smancy new hospital bed to help make him comfortable. The best environment for a recovery and the best way to keep Dad away from the stairs :) 

However, his recovery has been slower than expected. His tumors have shrunk, but he developed a blood clot in his calf and in his lung over the weekend. His appetite has decreased, and it is still difficult for him to take a deep breath (not because of his tumor but because of his broken ribs).  

Our newest development? Today Dad checked into the hospital with a bout of pneumonia. The pneumonia is affecting the upper part of his lungs and he needs IV anti-biotic therapy but he is expected to be home by the weekend. We are hoping there will be no additional complications and a special thanks to Misha who waited at the hospital for 5 hours until they managed to find a vein to give Dad his antibiotics. 5 hours? What type of needle were they using? A straw from McDonalds? Thank you Misha!!!!

Dad Update

I finally saw Dad. With my own two eyes. I saw him and his chest tumor (which is still visible, if it has shrunk 80%, it must have been huge).

This past week every member of the Phil Brown family gathered together. We had our own reunion of sorts. The purpose was two-fold. 1) Have a family picture. 2) Get all of the siblings away with Dad to go over matters of family business. It was the first time the siblings were alone in almost a decade (without kids and spouses). Buffy had a wonderful friend who let us use their beautiful cabin for 2 days.

We accomplished both nicely. It was so fun to see all of the family. It was a little bit harder to see Dad. Although he has improved somewhat because of the initial treatment, he is still in a great deal of pain. He has a nurse that checks on him weekly. When she asked him about his pain level - he said his chest and leg feel better but his back was still at about a 9. This is with him taking Oxycotin and Valium every 4 hours. WHAT?????

He is needing a lot more help everyday. It is hard for him to climb the stairs and he needs a walker or cane. Dad is grateful for the help but I think it is hard on him to physically deteriorate. If you think about it, he has been pretty independent for 72 years of his life - this would definitely be a change.

Sorry to end this post on a sad note. I will post some pictures of the family and events at our mini-reunion. And if you are lucky - you can see some pictures of our sibling retreat.

Grandpa and Arden

For any of you that know Dad, you know that one of his best buddies is Arden (Misha's little girl). If she had a choice to play with anyone, it would probably be her Grandpa Brown. Which makes sense because she sees him almost every day. They have a fun little bond that is so sweet to watch. Dad is actually a superb Grandpa to all of his grandkids, but the story between Arden and Dad is the focus here.

Here is a picture with Grandpa and Arden at her birthday party.

When Misha took Dad for his biopsy, Arden came with them. Misha took Dad to the receptionist who asked him, "What are you here for?" At this point, Arden felt like it was her duty to inform the receptionist what the problem was and declared loudly, "He has OWIES. He has CANCER."

The response from everyone was laughter. Could they get any cuter than that?

One in a Million

I was talking to a doctor and someone in his office mentioned cancer treatments. I told them that my Dad had recently been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and was starting treatment. I then told them that he had prostate cancer 8 years ago and now had an entirely different form of cancer.

Then I asked - what are the odds of getting a different cancer twice in a lifetime - not just prostate cancer returning? The doctor was not an oncologist but told me that it probably similar to the odds of getting struck by lightning - one in a million.

Well meet Mr. One in a Million.

Phil as a boy - before this cancer nonsense started

Should we have him buy a lottery ticket if he is that lucky?

Still Strong

The title is referring to Dad's sense of humor. Still going strong. His body is a little weaker but this was our conversation the other day:

Me: Dad - how are you feeling today?

Dad: Well the doctor is going to tell me if I will get better or if I will die. If I die and go up to heaven, I suppose that will be alright. But if I go down, I will be so busy talking to my friends that I don't think I will notice where I am!

***This joke was followed by about a full minute of him laughing at his cleverness. Okay, I chuckled too. You just have to admire his sense of humor.

When he stopped laughing, the jokes didn't stop.

Dad: Did you remember to get my black pants I left at your house? You forgot to send them up with Tim.

Me: I know, I will make sure you get them soon.

Dad: Well, I don't think I can wear them out now! I can hardly walk! (another pause for him to laugh at himself)

Because we can all need a little bit of laughter - her is another link to one of Dad's favorite stories. Complete with the sound of him laughing. (I think he has a laugh that is infectious. I always laugh when he does.) It is the story of Milo Wiltbanks. If you don't know, you need to listen:

The Milo Wiltbanks Story

PS- let me know if the link does not work.

07/21/08

Today's conversation was a little rough. Physically for Dad and emotionally for me. I called his cell phone and he answered in a series of short breaths and grunts. Turns out he has a hard time sleeping. Sleeping on his back is impossible with tumor on his sacrum and along his spine. Sleeping on his stomach is impossible because of the tumor on his chest and the tumor in his ribs. He can sleep on one side. But he is exhausted and moves in his sleep. And he slept on his bad side for part of the night.

The result? Intense pain when he gets up to face his day. Intense pain that makes it hard to take deep breaths. He was at Jeremy's house, trying to carry on a conversation with me and give candy to Jeremy's girls. He told me he thought he would be okay this morning but it was getting worse as the day went on. He came down to have lunch in Provo and true to his optimistic self, he thought the pain would get better. It didn't. He said it felt like "someone broke all of his ribs." And since Tim was the only other person in the house, I feel like we can blame him for Dad's rib pain. (Just kidding Tim - we are glad you are there!)

At this point, we cut the conversation short because it sounded painful for him to talk and he seemed to feel OBLIGATED to carry on a conversation with me! I also managed to get off the phone before Dad told a joke - who knows what kind of damage that would cause?

As an update - Dad is scheduled for a biopsy tomorrow - we will be one step closer to knowing what we are dealing with. Hopefully we can know by the end of the week.

Learning to Wait

I don't think I am out of place to say that the whole family is anxiously waiting. Waiting for results. Waiting to know what to do next. Tentatively planning family pictures and reunions - all dependent on what we find out in the next few weeks.

Each doctor is giving us a new piece of the puzzle. What Dad has, how to treat - these are answers we are getting slowly. We hope and want to have an overall picture to know where to start.

Until we know, there are 11 children waiting at the starting line. Waiting to start a race. Waiting to take time off for treatments. Waiting to schedule babysitters. Waiting to take care of Dad. (Well, we are already doing that).

So because we are waiting for more, I am going to post 11 things we are grateful for:

1) Dad - he is a good man, husband, father and grandfather

2) Family History - Dad has always told us so many stories about where we come from - it is our heritage.

3) Sense of humor - when I talk to Dad, I laugh. Hard. He finds the "funny" silver lining.

4) Family Conference Calls - How else to you make a decision with 11 kids? With 2 hour conference calls

5) Sisters - especially the ones who live close enough to care for Dad. Appointments, dinners, laundry, cleaning - they help with everything.

6) Brothers - They help too. A lot.

7) Attitude - Everyone is willing and ready to do what it takes.

8) Modern Medicine - We are lucky to live in a day where medicine has so many alternatives.

9) Eternal Perspective - Dad is still our good example. Helps us focus on the big picture of trials.

10) Reunions - Those Whitings knew what they were doing. We know our family. All of them.

11) Our Savior - last but not least - we are grateful for our Savior. Though him and through his Atonement, everything will be fine. Regardless of the outcome.

Who knew Dad was photogenic?

Here is a picture from Dad's photo shoot with my sister in law Elizabeth, a very talented photographer. I love it! Thanks E!
PS - I think it looks like Dad just told one of his jokes and is laughing at himself - the perfect Phil shot.

07/16/08

Here is my conversation with Dad today:

Nikki: I heard we had some kind of good news today.
Dad: I know, but we still don't know anything. These girls up here had me already buried. I took them out to dinner tonight and said, "Before we started this all this cancer business and I used to pay for your dinner and you would say, thanks Dad. Now you look at me and think, you are spending our inheritance money."
Nikki: That is pretty messed up, but I respect you a LOT.
Dad: Well, maybe we will know more next week. Did I tell you the joke about the doctor?
Nikki: Tell away.

A man calls a doctor and said, "Doctor, doctor - there is a guy here who is really hurt and may be dead."
The doctor told the man, "Well make sure he is dead." The man puts down the phone and the doctor hears two loud gunshots. The man picks up the phone and says, "Okay, now what?"

07/15/08

I call Dad everyday. Our conversations haven't changed. He talks about volleyball and how Lexi is the world's greatest volleyball player. He also talks about how he meets people and makes connections. He met my sister-in-law Elizabeth this weekend for a little photo shoot and made about 3 connections during that time. She told me that there should be a game called, 7 Degrees of Separation to Phil Brown (not Kevin Bacon), which I think is the truest statement ever made. He also managed to tell a few of his jokes to help loosen up the atmosphere at his photo shoot. :)

Today our conversation went something like this:

Nikki: Hey Dad - how are you feeling today?
Dad: I am in a little bit of pain. My bones just hurt today.
Nikki: I'm sorry Dad.
Dad: This is what I signed up for. So I suppose I will just have to deal with it (his attitude seems to be consistent with his personality, very accepting).
Nikki: What are you doing today?
Dad: Gives me details about the day which somehow becomes a family history lesson involving Berry brothers and Brown brothers. (I wish I could follow, Dad actually makes connections faster than I can follow sometimes).
Nikki: Dad, wait, I can't follow you.
Dad: Well you had better start writing this down, I'm not going to be around for me to tell you.
Nikki: Duly noted. (as I get paper and a pen to start writing the family history). So tell me about the Berry brothers.

In honor of Dad's desire for us to know this story (and the 7 others he told me about), I am going to relay the story of the Berry Brothers - Robert and Joseph. And how Grandpa Joseph Albert Brown (Dad's father) got his name. The other stories will come later. With that being said, if there are any inconsistencies, this story is told to the best of Dad's recollection. Which is pretty dang good.

** Mandy remembered some facts - so they have been added. I confirmed it with Dad. If anyone knows of any details that have been left out, please let us know.

The Berry Brothers (with a few Brown family facts)

There were 4 Berry Brothers - John, Robert, Joseph and William. They were very close. At one time, Robert and Joseph went down to southeastern Utah to establish a community under the direction of Brigham Young. The community was called Berryville (now called Glendale). Robert and Joseph wanted to visit Spanish Fork where their brother John (our Great-Great Grandpa) was the mayor. So Joseph, Robert and Isabelle (Robert's pregnant wife) climbed into a buckboard wagon for a trip up north.

At this time, there were no established roads to Spanish Fork so the path was down towards Kanab to the desert in Arizona and up through Hurricane, UT to get to the main "road". They made it to Spanish Fork in safety but did not return home. When they failed to return home a search party was sent out and their bodies were found 1/2 mile from Colorado City. They were filled with arrows and it was presumed that they were attacked by the Ute Indians in the area. They had a dog with them that had survived. He was a loyal companion and they were not able to get the bodies of the Berry family because the dog was guarding them. They were finally able to lure the dog away from his masters by filling a hat with water because the dog was so thirsty. The place that they were discovered is called Berry Knoll, about 10 miles away is Pipe Springs Monument.

They took the bodies to the town Grafton (where they filmed Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and buried them there. Grafton is located right across the river from Rockville which is right at the entrance to Zion's National Park. I have included that part because Dad has taken me there and just in case anyone else wants to visit the Berry brother's monument. They were considered the first Mormon settlers killed by Indians in Arizona (Berry Knoll is technically in Arizona, right by the Utah border).

After the Berry brothers were killed, Brigham Young moved their settlement back to Kanarraville, right below Cedar City, UT.

We are descended from John Willliam Berry (0lder brother in Spanish Fork), who had 2 daughters - Cynthia and Thurza. Cynthia married John William Brown (the John William name was just a coincidence). Later, John William Brown married Cynthia's sister Thurza as well and they moved to St. Johns, AZ. They lived a few blocks away from each other and were very close. Dad (Phil) said that there is a story that is frequently told that indicated they had a bad relationship. But Dad said that was simply not true, he figured one story didn't define their relationship. They raised their children together. Cynthia had a daughter named Thurza and Thurza named her daughter Cynthia.

When Cynthia and Thurza had sons within a month of each other, they decided to name their sons after the Berry brothers that were killed by Ute Indians. Cynthia had Joseph Albert Brown (our grandfather) and Thurza had Robert. Grandpa Brown always maintained that Robert was his "twin" because they were born a month apart.

I hope this account was easy to follow :)

Nikki

07/14/08

We had a siblings conference call and were able to conduct it in less than 2 hours. We discussed a lot of matters of business, most importantly a Phil Brown reunion for siblings following the Whiting Reunion in Utah.
As a sidenote, I think that if anyone has first picks of Dad's pocketknife collection - I nominate Tim. He and Dad have a long complicated history involving watches and knives, as demonstrated by the stories below:

Tim and Dad


:) Nikki

Laughter IS the best medicine

Last night, Joe and I talked about creating a blog that would allow us (Phil Brown children, and Phil himself) to post stories and updates. So following the news from today, I went ahead and started it. (Btw - this is Nikki)

Our news today was devastating. So let's focus on the positive. Dad is still alive. I talked to him on the phone and our conversation went something like this:

Nikki: Hi Dad, how are you? (I wasn't sure what to say to someone who just found out they have cancer - AGAIN)
Dad: I'm doing about the same as I was yesterday.
Nikki: What is that supposed to mean?
Dad: Well, I wasn't doing so well yesterday and I am not doing so well today. So about the same as yesterday.

Then Dad and I started laughing. Because that is such a Dad way to react to something. Not because it was funny but his whole attitude is. Maybe we should bank on laughter is the best medicine? Hmmm, we might have something there. In honor of a lifetime of jokes, I am attaching a sound bite I recorded of Dad:

Dad Joke - Streaker in the Tabernacle

Tcahu,

Nikki