Endoscopy Complete

Chad had an upper endoscopy this morning. For those who follow this blog, you know that Chad has had on-going stomach issues pretty much since surgery a year ago. Nothing showed up in the CT Scans in December and the colonoscopy was clear. All the blood tests he ever has, shows zero indications of anything 'out of the normal'. The upper endoscopy was one of the last things we could try (aside from a digestive track test, which we're pursuing)

Fortunately and unfortunately, the doctor did see some areas of concern. I say fortunately because - God willing - this is something they can address and hopefully treat to give this man some relief. I say unfortunately because - well, we don't know what it is.

The best I can gather based upon what the doctor told me and what I could confirm on Google is the endoscopy showed reddening toward the bottom of him stomach and in the upper intestine called the duodenum. He believes Chad has Gastritis and has taken samples to have them biopsied.

Cancer? From what I gather and what I read; cancer is not the concern at this time. I asked specifically what they were testing for and the doctor said; inflammation, infection, parasites, etc, He did not mention cancer. According to google stomach cancer would present itself with tumors, ulcers or at least some visible sign of a cluster of cells. So unless the doctor was leaving that bit of information out, I am going to try my best to push that concern out of the picture.

Should this turn out to be Gastritis, there are two types. Acute and Chronic. Both are usually caused by some type of irritant. Chronic has an underlining element of Helicobacter pylori. This wouldn't be great because it destroys the stomach lining and increases the risk of gastric cancer.

In conclusion: We'll know more in a couple days. I am praying for a best case scenario again which would be this is something not-so-serious that can be treated by either tracking down and removing the irritant from Chad's diet and/or taking antibiotics or whatever else is required to give him comfort.

While the concern is not removed completely, I do feel confident that the doctor didn't indicate there were any tumors or anything of concern in that domain.


Quick Update on Spinal Issues: Chad is still stiff and sore. The VA is screwing up in their usual method with the Veterans Choice program. He was supposed to see a Neurologist and they made an appointment for a chiropractor, so we're back to working on that to ensure we see the correct type of doctor.



The job search continues. We're just trying to take everything one day at a time. He isn't physically able to work right now in most jobs he is qualified for but I have faith that this (seemingly never ending) road will lead us in the right direction.

Continued thanks for your love and support! I know which of you out there are genuine and my heart will never be able to say thank-you enough xoxo <3