Dad called me just before with an update on his health, having now seen the urologist. He definitely needs to have the kidney out, so surgery’s scheduled for November 2. Once they remove it, they’ll be able to test whether the tumour inside is cancerous. They did ask him to get a chest X-ray, in case it is and has already spread there. He was able to get the X-ray done almost immediately after the urology appointment, thankfully, although the results’ll take a day or two.
He sounded pretty stressed on the phone, understandably. I think the gravity of the situation is sinking in. However, he keeps saying that he wants to keep up as much “normalcy” as he can, and keep his mind distracted and focusing on other things as much as possible. That approach makes sense to me – dwelling on the issue constantly isn’t going to make it better, after all. I need to try to do something similar myself, because there’s even less I can do to help. It’s just so nerve-wracking, though.
