Your Prayers Please for Glen and Janice Rice

[ATeam]

Received from Janice today (Thursday). Unbelievable!

Glen is home now. He was probably released a bit too soon, but he has stabilized, all IV's had been removed and medication can now be administered orally, The other piece of good news is preliminary findings of the biopsy indicate the tumor was benign. Thank you again for all your prayers and concern. We are firm believers that the unselfish prayers of others can work miracles - and we certainly have seen many during this latest medical crisis. It's not very often that one survives a tumor of the pancreas, especially one this large! Glen still has several weeks of recovery, but we are both looking forward to getting back to the business of living life to the fullest. Janice

 

[are12]

That is fantastic news!! God Bless you both.

 

[Mcarriers]

That's AWESOME news!!! We'll keep him in our prayers for a speedy recovery. Thanks for keeping us informed on his progress.

Mello
FedEx

 

[jaminjim]

That's wonderful news.

 

[ATeam]

Glen continues to undergo a painful and all-too-slow recovery. A few days ago he became violently ill and had to return to the hospital for a day's stay, where they treated him for the same kind of symptoms chemotherapy patients have. He has not had chemotherepy but the after effects of his surgery produced similar symptoms. He retruned home the next day.

A couple days ago, Glen said he could not stand the sight of food. Eating anything produced harsh reactions. He has lost over 30 pounds. Yesterday, he told me he is eating little bits without the bad reactions he had before. He is not sleeping much as the pain keeps him awake.

Nevertheless, Glen is in good spirits and optimistic about the future. He goes in for blood work today. Next week he will be seeing his surgeon and oncologist. The oncologist will give the final pathology report. As Jan said in an earlier update, the preliminary pathology report was good news.

Glen said he and Jan have received numerous cards and well wishes from people, and some from people in the EO community that they do not even know. They are very appreciatiave of people's good thoughts and prayers.

 

[ATeam]

Glen and Janice continue to work through a slow and painful recovery from Glen's surgery. I asked him yesterday where he felt he was on the road to recovery on a 0-100 scale, with zero being the moment he came off the operating table. He said 20. He said it is especially difficult for him to be relying on the help of others. He has been a do it yourself guy his whole life and always one to come to others' aid.

Glen goes in to see various doctors every so often. His system is going through many changes as it works to stabalize after having his spleen and 70% of his pancreas removed. The tumor was benign but doctors continue to examine him for suspicious areas. None found so far.

He is eating and sleeping a little bit better, depending on the day. Things are improving, albeit slowly.

It has now been about a month since the surgery.

 

[cheri1122]

My heart goes out to Glen & Janice, for having firsthand knowledge of medical care as we know it today: the insurance companies, not the doctors, call the shots. Their policy is to send them home quicker & sicker, which often results in a trip back to the hospital, as it did for Glen. Unrelieved pain is a common occurence too, owing to a lot of factors, but IMO, it's a serious obstacle on the path to recovery that doesn't get the attention it deserves.
I hope that Glen & Janice know that they can count on a lot of EO members, if there's anything we can do to help. And they should know that they've earned it, by being so much help to others, when they were able, and we'd be happy for the chance to demonstrate that 'what goes around, comes around'. They both know the good feeling that comes from being useful to another person, and I hope they can allow others to feel that way, too, should the opportunity arise. We are a community here, and that's part of what we are all about.

 

[jaminjim]

Yeah, what she said.

Best wishes to Glen.

 

[ATeam]

> I hope that Glen & Janice know that they can count on a
>lot of EO members, if there's anything we can do to help.
>And they should know that they've earned it, by being so
>much help to others, when they were able, and we'd be happy
>for the chance to demonstrate that 'what goes around, comes
>around'. They both know the good feeling that comes from
>being useful to another person, and I hope they can allow
>others to feel that way, too, should the opportunity arise.
>We are a community here, and that's part of what we are all
>about.

Cherri,

Those are very kind words and you are right.

Before Glen went in for surgery, he and Jan were building a new house for themselves in the same gated community they live in now. Realizing they would be disabled for the rest of their lives and never drive again, building a more suitable house made sense. The one they had before worked when they were out on the road all the time. Different circumstances called for a different house.

The new house was recently completed to the point that they can now move in and sell their old house. They plan to move between April 9 and 15. Moving day is going to be very, very hard on both of them. They have talked about doing the move with Two Men and a Truck and friends in the retirement community (a bunch of old farts that don't know much about moving furniture).

I hate it that Glen has to worry about a move. He hates it that he will not even be able to supervise for more than a few minutes before he has been at it too long. Jan is concerned about that.

This morning, I called Jan and convinced her to allow some of their expeediting friends do the move. Glen will be much more at peace knowing they are getting White Glove quality work from people who know what they are doing. Diane and I, and one other team will show up at their place later this month to do the move (Edgewater, Florida). We will be deadheading from Los Angeles to do it if we can't get a load east. The other team will be deadheading from Denver.

We might be able to use a few extra hands if some of the good folks on EO are willing. No charge to the Rices. No pay to yourself. No money for fuel or miles. All work done at your own risk. No insurance coverage on you if you are injured, other than any you may have on your self. You don't have to be FedEx White Glove to help.

Please respond to me privately if you wish to help. Depending on the response, we may not need you but it will be good to have your name if we do. For those who can't make it, maybe someone can take up the project of providing house warming flowers or a gift basket for the Rices on the appropriate day.

 

[davekc]

Assuming you will be in LA on the 5th if you aren't already there, that is 9 or 10 days until you would have to be there. Plenty of loads headed east in that period of time. Send me an email and I will find you a return load if Fedex can't.
I can't imagine DH'ing that distance if it isn't necessary.
I am sure the Rice's are more than appreciative with your efforts.
Same goes for the Denver truck.









Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[ATeam]

Thank you for the offer, Dave. I think we'll be fine. On the Rice's end, the move date range has changed to sometime on or after April 11. For volunteer planning purposes, we're now talking about sometime between the 11th and 15th.

The move should be relatively easy. The two houses are just a few blocks apart. As long as it does not rain, Florida will likely sefrve up good weather. Both houses are single-story structures. The streets in this community do not lend themselves to easy 40-foot truck driving. While it can be done with a straight truck, a B-unit or hot-shot pickup truck with trailer would be useful for shuttling items.

We will probably be renting a couple items that White Glove trucks do not carry; such as door frame guards and maybe a ramp to get up the steps in the new house. We will probably be buying some cardboard boxes too. Glen also has a very expensive medical procedure coming up that will scan further for cancer in his system. Insurance covers 80% of that. The other 20% comes out of the Rice's pocket.

A couple people have asked before how they might help out financially. Money for moving equipment and the medical scan present two opportunities.