Les Fountain's Cancer Experience

Wednesday 4/30/03 1:00am Wednesday morning Les woke up. He was back to his normal self mentally. He asked clear, though tough questions. He asked “why am I in this position?” Cillia clarified with him if he wanted to know about his physical position on the bed or the position of being in the hospital with and “owie” on his head. Of course, Les wanted to know the answer to the latter. Cillia reminded him of the tumor and the reason it need to come out. She expressed her sympathy and tried to offer as much comfort as possible. He was calm and seemed to accept the answer. He then asked why he was in the position he was on the bed. That made Cillia smile and confirm that there was nothing wrong with his mind. Les’ neck is sore. He doesn’t want to move it at all, which is understandable. They will start to give him some pain medication today so that we can start to move around better. They didn’t want to give him pain medication until now because it would have impaired his neurological...

Tuesday 4/29/03 Tuesday morning Jason and Cillia ate breakfast at Grandma’s and then left for the hospital. They unfortunately were stuck in traffic on the freeway because of an accident ahead of them. Because of the delay, they were not there when the morning rounds were done. A speech therapist and occupational therapist did a swallowing study with an ice chip and a sip of juice. Les is NPO until Wednesday 4/30/03 – that means he can’t have food or drink. His nutrients are being fed to him through an IV. The reason for this is because the tumor was very close to the nerves that control swallowing, speech, breathing and other critical functions. They want to make sure that all nerves are working properly before they allow him food or drink. Les slept most of Tuesday. There were a few more visitors on Tuesday. Only 2 people are allowed into the ICU at a time, including parents, so while Jason was out, Julie Northway and Lori Kestle took turns coming in and visiting with Cillia. Afte...

Monday 4/28/03 Monday morning Les was still sleeping when they came to transfer him to the Operating Room. It went rather smoothly. Grandma Sue arrived to walk down the hall with them to the Warren Surgical Suites at Children’s Hospital. They waited for about 25 minutes in the waiting area and had a chance to talk to the surgeon prior to surgery. He was very professional and arrived in a suit. It was only after the surgery that they saw him in his scrubs. Cillia and Jason each had their own way of passing the 4-5 hours during the surgery. Jason chose to stay close and wait in the waiting room. Judy Kentish, the assistant pastor at church and a family friend, was with him the entire time and offered a much-needed sounding board as Jason expressed his thoughts. Later, Jason’s mom (Gammie) and another friend, Tammy Wedberg came. Cillia’s cousin walked over during her lunch hour to check on the status. She works across the street from the hospital. Cillia chose to leave and go to Grandm...

Sunday 4/27/03 Cillia helped Les eat a good breakfast. A little while later Grandma brought Jason back to the hospital and then stayed with Les while Jason and Cillia went out to breakfast. Gammie and Papa Barry arrived while Cillia and Jason were out, so Les had many familiar faces around him. Cillia and Jason returned with crayons and a Buzz Lightyear activity book, which provided a much needed distraction for Les. He was exhausted still and soon took a 3-hour nap. While napping we had several other visitors. The Frink’s came by with their daughter who had undergone a brain surgery with the same surgeon that Les would have. They were a great encouragement. Rod Whiting came to visit also. He is the worship leader in Sunday School and Les has grown fond of him. Jason and Cillia regret that they did not take Rod back to see Les while he was sleeping. That group of visitors, as well as the grandparents left in the afternoon while Les was still sleeping. Jason and Cillia had a brief ti...

Saturday 4/26/03 8:45pm Friday (4/25) they checked into the ER. At 11:45pm they were shown to an examining room and by 12:30am (4/26) the doctors were expressing the need for an image of Les’ brain. A “CaT”Scan was performed at 3am and Les was so tired they didn’t need anesthesia for him to hold still. By 4:00am the doctor had informed them that a tumor had shown up on the scan, and that they would be admitted to the hospital with plans of a surgery soon. Les finally fell asleep shortly after 4:00am. He had only 2 hours of sleep in the previous 21 hours. By 5:30am Les was moved to an ICU (intensive care unit) room. After a brief consultation with the neurosurgeon, an MRI scan was done at 10:15am. They were checking his head and spinal column to see if there was any spreading of the tumor through the spinal fluid. Les had anesthesia for the MRI scan and did well. Grandma Sue had arrived shortly before the MRI and she was able to stay near Les while Cillia and Jason returned to the Ch...

Friday 4/25/03 Getaway weekend for Jason and Cecillia while Les was scheduled to stay with Gammie and Papa Barry. Cillia called from Gammie’s house in Wildomar to Paramedic Todd and Murrieta Station 2 and discussed whether or not to call 911. Todd felt that it was worthy of a 911 response. Cillia called Jason who had just arrived home to say that she was going to bring Les home in Murrieta and then call 911, hoping that the Fire Department could push Les to the front of the line at a hospital emergency room. As Jason and Cillia talked, Jason stood in the garage. Just as Jason was going to tell Cillia to wait to call 911, the Murrieta Fire District Engine 631 (station 1) pulled to a stop in front of our house. Two firemen and a Paramedic jumped from the vehicle and approached Jason. Forrest, the Engineer, said to Jason, “You don’t look so hurt.” Jason explained that he wasn’t, that Les was our concern. Forrest indicated that Todd had called from Station 2 saying, “Barry’s son is...