These are the letters Sandy
Anderson has been sending out with updates on Shorty's and Linda's fight
with Shorty's cancer.
From all of us, Thank you
Sandy !
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 9/10/2004
We went to see Shorty and Linda last night. Shorty's spirits are really
good. He looks good, although thin and his color isn't real good. He has
a back ache which he said bothers him more at night when he is trying to
sleep. He and Linda were going to Litchfield today. Someone had recommended
a doctor there that believes in herbs and alternative medicine to rid
the body of toxins. He said he would listen but doesn't want to spend a
fortune on something that might not benefit. He goes back to Rochester
on the 20th to hear what they have to say about the benefits of
radiation and chemo. The doctor in Springfield says unless they
guarantee you that you won't get sick from the treatments, he wouldn't
recommend them. He said he could get sick enough that he would have to
be in the hospital and didn't know if he wants to sacrifice quantity for
quality of life. He is enjoying hearing from you via card or phone
call..
Keep Linda in your prayers too as she is having a hard time. She said
she can finally talk about it without crying but it isn't easy for her.
They are looking for a house for her in Lamberton but haven't found one
yet. Linda works at the nursing home in Lamberton 3 days a week and is
continuing working for now as she can only take off 3 months without pay
to keep her benefits and she wants to keep those for later.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 9/22/2004
I called Shorty today. He got in to see both doctors at Rochester, had to
wait but at least got in. He is going to take chemo. He goes to see the
doctor in Springfield on Thursday & he will set up an appointment for
him either in Marshall or Mankato. They will install a pump so he will get
chemo 24 hours a day. Each pump lasts a week which he will have to get
refilled at that time, then after 3 weeks, he will take a week off and
then start in again. He sounds hopeful that this will work. We can pray
that it will.
He said again how grateful he was that you came to see him.
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 10/04/2004
Hi everyone,
I just talked to Linda. Shorty gets his chemo
pump tomorrow, Oct. 5. She said three different doctors have told them
differently how it is going to work, but the doctor that is putting it in
says he will have it in for 96 hours then off for 2-3 weeks, then back on
again. Last Friday, Linda said Shorty had a very bad day, just sat in his
recliner and slept or watched TV, and hadn't eaten anything for 4 days, just
water to take his pain medication. Saturday was a complete turnaround. She
got him some medication to stimulate his appetite and he started taking a
supplement a cousin sent (a soy based product). He started eating and is
feeling so good again. He combined all day today. He has been combining a
little off and on. Linda said one of their daughters is home today, packing
up some things to help with the move, and he even discussed politics with
her at dinner today. That's a good sign because he hasn't had an interest in
that for a while.
She asked that we keep them in our prayers. She
said she feels the strength coming from prayer to keep her going.
I'll try to keep you all informed as I learn
more.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 10/22/2004
Hi everyone,
I stopped at Shorty & Linda's house in town
today. Prayers were answered-they got possession of the house on Monday. Their
son-in-law( son of Dick & Uvonne Van Hecke) came down and tore up all the
carpets for them and put three of them downstairs in the basement; one in the
storeroom and one in what you might call a second kitchen (they have a set of cupboards
down there). I thought I was going to be able to do some work there as
long as it was too wet in the field for me to do tillage work, but two ladies
just finished up washing all the cupboards. One daughter was there putting in
shelving paper in the linen closets. The kids had painted their bedrooms and
bathrooms and they have friends coming in tomorrow to paint the living and
dining room. She said she didn't dare let me do that because they had planned
on doing that . Shorty had taken off the handles on the cupboard doors and
polished them and was putting them back on when I was there. Linda said they
ordered carpet and it should be here in a couple of weeks and then hopefully
the installers can get that put in. Shorty is thin but said he had helped
paint a little and could do some jobs where he can sit. He can't stand for too
long. Linda said the pain in his back and chest is gone, he can swallow better
so they are hoping the chemo is shrinking the tumors. He is scheduled to go
back for chemo on Monday providing his blood tests come back okay. He had
taken some earlier in the week and they said they weren't good enough but they
took them again and were hoping to hear back today that they were better. Keep
the prayers coming, they must be helping.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/02/2004
Linda
called today, Shorty is in the hospital in New Ulm. He got quite sick from his
last chemo, which was Oct. 25. Even with pills to help with the nausea, he
couldn't keep anything down and had diarrhea. On Thursday, he passed out,
knocking his shunt out so they had to go back to New Ulm and have it put back
in. He was dehydrated so they gave him a bag of nutrients. He went back
again and got more because he was still so dehydrated, this time he was given
two bags. On Monday, they took him to the hospital because his blood pressure
had dropped because of dehydration. He will be there for a couple of days yet.
We are going to New Ulm to see him tonight so if any more news, I will forward
it. Keep those prayers coming.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/02/2004 (Late)
We just got
back from visiting Shorty. He is feeling much better; he gets a shot into his
bag of nutrients every 6 hours to help with the nausea. He said he ate some
broth for breakfast, chicken noodle soup for lunch and broth for supper. His
hair was falling out by the handfuls so one of their daughters shaved his head
last week-end. He has lost more weight-down to 160 now. His spirits are good
and he visited the whole time we were there. The doctor said he will probably be there until Thursday. They are planning on doing one more round of chemo and
then do a cat scan to see if it's helping. Shorty is not looking forward
to another round and asked the doctor if they could delay it a week so he could
feel good for a week before going through this again. The doctor said he would
see but I don't know if he was just stalling because I think they have to
pretty much stay on schedule unless their blood work isn't where it needs to
be.
Linda is
hanging in there like a trooper. Said she had a good cry all the way home from
the hospital last night plus after she got home but she was feeling better
today. She said their carpets came in and the installers are planning on coming
next week so their target date for moving is the 20th.
Shorty is
grateful for all the prayers, notes, etc.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/13/2004
Hi to
everyone,
I just
talked to Linda. They got the carpeting in the house and plan to move the 20th.
Shorty isn't doing the best right now. He has a hairline fracture in the top
part of his left foot and his right knee is weak. He fell and has fallen since.
He is using a walker part of the time. Linda doesn't like to leave him alone
because of this. We are planning on moving some boxes on Monday. I think
Kenny will go over and keep him company if he doesn't feel well enough to come
along into town, unless he doesn't feel up to company. Linda is hoping
for a miracle soon.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/17/2004 (7:00 PM)
I was up helping Linda on Monday, Shorty
can't get up from a chair by himself now because of the fall he took. He went
out in the garage to put some tools away and fell and then couldn't get back
up. He is now back in the hospital with an infection that they think may be
staph infection. He has gotten so thin. I feel so sorry for both he and
Linda going through all of this. We are still planning on moving them on
Saturday so hopefully the weather stays nice so we aren't tracking in. The
street on the side of their garage is all tore up because of putting in new
sewer pipes so we don't need rain to really mess things up.
He said he appreciates your notes and prayers.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/17/2004 (8:00 PM)
I just got a call from Shorty's brother, Don,
he said that they think he has a blood clot in his arm now and are seeing if
they have to maybe send him up to the cities or back to Rochester. I will
try and keep you informed.
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/18/2004
They transferred Shorty to Rochester this
morning. Linda called Don and had him call me to say that Shorty was feeling
some better today. He didn't like the ambulance ride, said it was pretty
rough. Linda is staying at their daughter's in the cities tonight, going
back to Rochester in the morning to see Shorty and then if he is feeling
okay, she will come home to get ready for the move on Saturday. The prayers
must be helping some that he was feeling better today. Thanks for all the
prayers.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/20/2004
Shorty is in the Methodist Hospital in Rochester. They did surgery on his knee
with the staph infection on Friday. The surgery went well. They cleaned and
flushed it out and put in antibiotics. They also removed the shunt in his
shoulder for the chemo as they were worried about that maybe having infection.
He still had blood clots in his shoulder and arm but as of Friday night they
hadn't done anything with those. Linda said they were supposed to do a
ultrasound and MRI but she hadn't heard yet as to whether they had done those.
Linda got home from Rochester late Friday night, stayed up until 3:00 am
washing bedding to be ready for the move on Saturday. We got their things
moved. There were only 3 of us that made 2 trips otherwise there were enough
vehicles to make the move in one trip. We got the beds made, things put in the
cupboards, blinds put up on the windows, rooms arranged. It went well. Linda
may not be able to find a lot of things but for the time they are put away.
There are still things to be done but she said she wants to go though some
boxes and see if they are things she wants to keep. We had lots of help, lots
of food brought in. It went well. Linda is going back to Rochester tomorrow.
Will let you know as I hear more on how Shorty is doing. Linda had to quit her
job for now which is too bad as she liked it and wanted to keep it but Shorty
needs her full time for now.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 11/27/2004
Hi everyone,
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.
I talked to Linda today. Shorty is still in the hospital in Rochester. He
had hoped to come home today but it doesn't sound like that is going to be.
There were a lot of developments since the move. I told you Shorty had staph
infection which was in his knee. They cleaned, flushed and put antibiotics
in that. Then the staph infection went into the valve on his heart. I waited
to e-mail you on that as I hoped it would clear up soon. That is still there
but they plan to send him home with it and he will have to have a shot
of antibiotics everyday for 6 weeks. The shots are $100 a shot but his
insurance should cover them if they are done in the doctor's office. Linda
was going to check and see if home health coming each day and giving them
would be covered but if not they would have to take him to the clinic each
day. Because of the antibiotics, he can't have chemo until they are done, so
no chemo for 6 weeks. Linda is hoping the cancer won't flare up in that
time. The blood clots are also still there but she said they don't seem to
be worried about them because they are all located in secondary veins in his
shoulder and arm. Linda came home yesterday and their son and his wife went
down to see Shorty today and were hoping to bring him home but as I said,
Linda said it didn't sound good for that. She did say that on
Thanksgiving they got to go down to the cafeteria and have lunch and there
was a piano player there so they got to stay for an hour to listen to that
and she said that lifted his spirits a little. She said he is real tired of
looking at the four walls.
We plan on going in to visit after he is home for a couple of days. Will let
you know if there is a change.
Sandy
p.s. I forgot on the last e-mail to put in Shorty's new address which is: P O
Box 152, Lamberton, MN 56152
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 12/01/2004
Shorty got home on Monday. He has a stint in that gives him antibiotic every
4 hours for the staph infection. He gets the shot in his stomach every day
for his blood clots. He was feeling good to get out of the hospital. Linda
said he was eating good and could walk around with his walker. I guess he
talked most of the way home, just glad to be visiting. Don and Margie went
to get him. Linda said with no chemo for 6 weeks at least he should feel
good at Christmas. We plan on getting up to see him soon and will let
you know then how he is doing.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 12/09/2004
We went to see Shorty and Linda last night. He looks better, he is eating good
and feeling pretty good. Since the last stint or pik was put in for
antibiotics, he had some trouble. They had trouble with the first one, put in
a temporary and then when they put in the new one someone didn't tell the
surgeon that Shorty was one blood thinners and when they got home it started to
bleed so they had to go back and he ended up in the hospital overnight. Then a
couple of days later his hand swelled up and they went to the doctor who sent
then back to Mankato for an ultrasound thinking it might be a blood clot. It
wasn't and they came home. Since then it has been going pretty good. When we
went last night we thought we would just stay a while but ended up visiting
for a while and then playing cards until 11:15 pm.
Shorty said he is even driving some-he drove to Mankato the last trip and it
went well.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 01/02/2005
Sorry I haven't updated for a while. I tried
calling them a few times and they weren't home and then over Christmas I got a
cold and completely lost my voice for 3 days. Anyway, I called and talked to
Linda today.
Shorty had trouble on Christmas morning with
his tube plugging up with his antibiotic. They called and told Linda to switch
it to a different line and that worked. They said not to try and unplug it
because it might be a blood clot. Tomorrow is his last day for the antibiotic.
He goes back to Rochester on Tuesday. He had a cat scan right before
Christmas. They didn't have the cat scan from Rochester to compare it to but
the doctor told them to look and see what they thought. They both thought the
mass in his lung was maybe gone. There is still a mass in his abdomen, a spot
on his liver and a mass in his esophagus. He is having a lot of trouble
swallowing now, even milk sometimes. The doctor said that in one spot in his
esophagus there is only the opening the size of a pin hole. Shorty asked if
they could stretch it but the doctor said with the mass in there it might
rupture that or cause bleeding so they couldn't. They are hoping the doctor in
Rochester will put him back on chemo right away. Shorty is also having trouble
sleeping at night. Linda said she talked to a nurse from their insurance
company for an hour one day and she gave them some advice on things. She said
to get Shorty some sleep medication because his body won't heal if he doesn't
get some rest, as a body heals while you sleep. Linda talked him into getting
some. The first night he slept really well, but last night it didn't work at
all and he didn't sleep. Linda said he is sleeping in the guest room now so
that she can get some rest. Otherwise she was waking up every time he was
restless or up and they can't take a chance on her getting run down now
either. They celebrated their family Christmas today.
I will try and update you again after I talk to
them after they come back from Rochester. Meanwhile keep the prayers coming.
Happy New Year to all of you!
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 01/05/2005
Marvin called today to let me know that Linda had
called from Rochester to say they wouldn't be able to make the Legion meeting
(Shorty was supposed to give the treasurer's report) They found more infection
in Shorty's knee-he has to have more surgery on it. I don't know if that means
more antibiotic treatment so that he won't be able to have the chemo. I'm
hoping to get in touch with Shorty's son and see what he knows. Marvin said
Linda really sounded down and you can't blame her. This has been a long haul.
I'll let you know when I find out more.
11:00 PM
I called Todd (Shorty's son) tonight. Shorty had
surgery on his knee at 4:30 and was still in recovery when Todd called down to
Rochester at 6:00. He had quite a bit of infection in his knee. They couldn't
understand why when he was on the antibiotic but thought it must not have
worked. They took another cat scan and compared it to the one in September.
His tumors have grown. Not good news at all. Pray for strength for them.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 01/09/2005
I talked to Linda yesterday. Shorty made it home
late Friday afternoon. She said he is getting around better now than before,
even without his walker, since the surgery on his knee. She said they asked
the doctor about the cat scan, wanting to know if the mass in his lung was
gone. She said the doctor looked on the chart and said there was never a
mention of a mass on his lung. Evidently, they had misunderstood; so that
hadn't cleared up, it hadn't been there. There is still one on his liver that
has grown, so if that is the one they thought was in his lung-it's hard to
say. And I'm sure when you are hearing all this from the doctors, it's pretty
overwhelming. Linda said Shorty is in good spirits, glad to be home. He
will be on antibiotics for 4 weeks and then hopefully can start back on the
chemo.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 01/20/2005
Shorty is headed back to Rochester. He left today,
has an appointment tomorrow morning. He has a lot of trouble swallowing now
and they are looking into inserting a tube to feed him. Will let you know more
when I find out more.
John Stiles has Plum Creek Crafts in Lamberton-he
builds pine furniture, book shelves, etc. There was a fire night before last
and it burned. They haven't found out what caused the fire yet. I guess it
started in the front of the store and his varnishes and so forth were in the
back of the store, so they were wondering about an electrical fire.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 01/23/2005
I called and talked to Linda tonight. They got
back from Rochester this afternoon. They put a stint in Shorty's esophagus.
They said they would try it and didn't know if it would work and they didn't
get it as good as they would have liked. Linda said it helped though because
now Shorty isn't choking all the time-she said he was even choking on water
before. She said the doctors burst his bubble-they said the previous chemo
hadn't done any good; the tumors have all grown. They are going to try one
more kind where two kinds are mixed together. It will be more mild so
shouldn't make him sick. The first that they gave him was the strongest one hoping
that it would do the trick. They are hoping to hear from the hospital in New
Ulm tomorrow to tell him to come so he can get started and Linda said if they
don't hear, she will call them. Linda said Shorty is so tired and sleeps a
lot. Keep your prayers coming-Linda needs them too. She is so strong but it is
so hard on her too. She said tonight she is thankful to still have him because
this fall she didn't think he would make it until Christmas.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 002/03/2005
Sorry it took me a while to get back to you-we
just had a new grandson-that's 8 grandchildren for us. Naturally, he's a
cutie. We stayed with them for a few days to help out and babysit while they
were in the hospital.
I talked to Shorty tonight; he said he is feeling
good. He started the chemo last Thursday and hasn't gotten sick at all. He
said he asked them if they were sure he was getting anything because he felt
good. He has it again in 3 weeks. He sounded good over the phone.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 02/13/2005
I talked to Linda today. Shorty goes back in on
Wed. for the second round of chemo. He has been having a lot of pain in his
back and side again and has been sleeping in his recliner again. She said he
has to take his pain pills every 4 hours to relieve the pain. Last time the
pain was so bad in his back and side they said it was from the tumors wrapping
around his intestine.Last week he went to the doctor and said he was feeling
fine on the way to New Ulm. She said they stopped at Perkins and had a late
breakfast before the appointment and then when he was in the doctor's office,
he felt a little lightheaded. They had him lay down, took his blood pressure
and it was 60/0. They sent him to the hospital and he was just dehydrated.
They took care of that and he was able to go home the next day. He now has to
drink lots of liquid and drink 3 cans of Ensure each day. Linda said he was in
heaven yesterday. Their son, Todd, had to take a truck load of hogs to Sioux
Falls and asked Shorty to ride along. Then he let Shorty drive all the way out
there and Shorty hadn't been able to go in the truck since August so he was
really pleased. Amazing how we forget about our small blessings each day. They
still have a postive attitude about getting these tumors reduced from the
chemo so keep the prayers coming.
Happy Valentines Day!
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 03/02/2005
We had Shorty and Linda out to the house this
afternoon. Shorty's spirits are still very good. He gets tired fast. Linda
said he sleeps a lot during the day and goes to bed early most evenings.
He can sleep in his bed again which is good. He has pain in his back. He will
go back for the chemo again next Wed. His hair is starting to grow back in.
Linda is going back to work; Thursdays for now and some week-ends. If all goes
well, she will start again on Tuesdays too. She said Shorty sleeps so much now
that its hard not to have something to do and Shorty told her to go for it.
Shorty said he can even bend his knee some now and is getting around pretty
good. He went to the bullhead feed at Walnut and Revere and really enjoyed the
fish plus seeing everyone and getting to visit. Shorty has gotten awfully thin
but so glad that his spirit is good and he still wants to beat this. Keep the
prayers coming.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 03/28/2005
I talked to Linda today. Last week Shorty had a
good week; they went up to their lake cabin and spent 3 days. He felt pretty
good. One of their daughters came up with the kids; they had a bonfire-roasted
marshmallows & hot dogs. This week not so good. They went to early church
on Easter, but left right after because he wasn't feeling well. Two of the
kids were home with their kids but she said he spent most of the day in bed.
Today he has been in bed most of the day too. His back pain is really bad; the
morphine isn't controlling it. He goes back for chemo on Wednesday. Linda said
this week is usually his good week because it's been 3 weeks since chemo and
that makes him tired but she said this isn't good.
Their son Todd moved out to the farm. Don &
Shorty's farm sale is on April 11th. They are selling their farm machinery.
Hope you had a nice Easter. Feels like spring
today.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 04/01/2005
Linda called last night to let me know that Shorty
was in the hospital. He should be able to come home today (Friday) She took
him to the hospital in New Ulm because he was in so much pain. They were full
but since his blood pressure was very low, they put him in the emergency room
and gave him saline solution by IV so he could make it back to the Springfield
Hospital. Once there, they hooked him up to an IV with sugar water because he
was so dehydrated. He also had to have a blood transfusion. He started out on
10 mg of morphine twice a day, then up to 20 mg twice a day to help with the
pain. It wasn't handling it so he is now on 30 mg 3 times a day. She said he
has so much pain in his back and side. LInda said his speech is garbled now
and he isn't real sharp because of so much morphine but at least it's
controlling the pain for now. It doesn't sound so good. He was supposed to
start chemo again on Wed. but I'm sure with all the rest, they didn't. Pray
for the pain to go away.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson
04/01/2005
I just talked to Linda, Shorty didn't get to come
home as expected. He has a blood clot in his left arm again. The doctor can't
understand why because he is on blood thinners. They aren't able to get his
pain under control yet either so they are continuing to work with the
medication. They hope now maybe after the week-end he'll be able to come home.
It all depends on the blood clot and the pain.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 04/02/2005
Bad news. Linda called this afternoon, they took a
scan. It isn't a blood clot in Shorty's arm, it is a tumor. The doctor said no
more chemo, it isn't doing any good. He has a tumor wrapping around his aorta.
The doctor, along with Linda and one of the daughters are going to tell Shorty
tomorrow. The doctor would like him to do a living will. We went along to the
hospital tonight with Linda. She didn't want to go alone and try to keep a
conversation going by herself. She is worried about him when they tell him
because he still wants to think he can beat this. He visited but would get
mixed up sometimes because of the medication for pain. Keep them both in your
prayers. Linda is strong but she had hoped for more time.
Sandy
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 04/04/2005
I talked to Linda today. They gave Shorty 4-8
weeks. She will try to get him in to a hospice house after he is dismissed
from the hospital. They were giving him oxygen this morning when she was over
to see him.. Linda said maybe we should change our prayers now that he goes
quickly and doesn't suffer from pain.
Sandy ( Sandy's
computer will be down for several days ) :o(
From Sandy (Nelson) Anderson 04/08/2005
I finally got my computer back.
I talked to Linda last night. She is bringing him
home and having hospice come in once a day. They do have volunteer hospice
people that will also come in if she needs to go for groceries, get a hair
cut, etc. They put in a catheter so he is completely bedriden. She said last
night when she & Don were there that he didn't even acknowledge that they were
there. He is still in pain. He can't swallow the morphine pills anymore, the
tumor has grown in his throat. He is on a morphine patch but she said it isn't
doing the trick. They think he will probably have a stroke because of the
tumor wrapping around his juglar. Linda said his blood pressure was low last
night and his breathing rapid. Their farm sale is Monday. Hopefully, he will
go soon after that rather than being in pain.
I will let you know as soon as I hear anything
new.
Sandy
From Sandy this morning (04/09/2005):
Today is Saturday, Shorty passed away
early this morning at home.........