# Jim Francis is in the hospital...and hurtin' bad



## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

I received this email from his wife Becky...

This is Becky. Thought I would bring you up to date on Jim’s condition. He has been hospitalized. After increasing his water pills here at home and them not working they decided it was best to put him in the hospital and get a bit more aggressive. Well that seems to be working. The swelling is down. However, we more serious issues. An echocardiogram was done about 2 weeks and the results revealed diminished function on both sides of the heart. That is part of the reason for the swelling. He is in congestive heart failure. But that is not all. The doctor ordered an ultrasound on his abdominal organs. He has a gall stone and a kidney stone. But that is not serious. They then ordered an ultrasound on just the liver. Jim has lost 25-30 pounds since early July. He is not eating much. The ultrasound of the liver revealed lesions. The doctor felt almost certain that it is cancer. They wanted to do a biopsy. It was scheduled for yesterday but got changed to today. When I arrived at the hospital this morning, the surgeon had been in and told him that they would not be doing the biopsy. He is concerned with spreading the cancer.

We are waiting on a PET scan.

Well, there are two types of liver cancer. There is the liver metastases. They are cancerous tumors that have spread to the liver from somewhere else in the body. And then there is Hepatocellular carcinoma. The doctor in ICU feels that it is this one. This one is confined to the liver only. We are trying to find out what Jim’s dad died from. Jim was always under the impression that it was colon cancer, but it is possible it was liver cancer. This second type is hereditary or genetic. I have a call in to his brother, who is off on a camping trip and out of cellular range. If Jim’s cancer is the Hepatocellular carcinoma, the prognosis is 3-6 months if the cancer is not removed. The doctor said that the lesions appear to be spread all the way across the liver. They are not isolated on just one lobe of the liver, which is made up of 4 lobes, which makes dissection impossible.

The normal range for a liver test is 5-56. Jim’s is 1148.

I'm going up Friday to see him. I'll print this whole thread to take to him. He really appreciated the posts on the thread I started the last time he was in the hospital...so post guys.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry to hear this Mike.

Jim and Becky, all of us here at the Armitstead's are sending prayers for you both. So sorry to hear of Jim's health issues.


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## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

Tk's Mike for posting this.. Keep us and all updated from Becky. Noel & Jane


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for posting Becky'y email, Mike. I received notice this morning as well.

Both he and Becky are in our prayers. 

Good seeing you at Marty's!!!!!!!


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

That is not good, we have been missing Jim a lot in the chat room and hope to see his smiling face back soon. Speedy recovery Jim! 

Chris


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## Dean Whipple (Jan 2, 2008)

Becky, sorry to here about Jim. 
May the Lord guide the doctors in their diagnosis and treatment.... 
We will hold both of you in our prayers, and hope for a speedy recovery....


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

Becky , Jim and Mikey
You are all in are prayers

Tommy, Jacque and Grace
Rio Gracie


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Best wishes Jim, get the heck out of that place, we need you back on chat! 

Greg


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Mike

Thank you for posting Becky's eMail to you.

Becky, please tell Jim that you are both are in our prayers, and we hope for the quick return of Jim to good health.


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## Gary Woolard (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim and Becky, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Hang in there, kidz!


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## scubaroo (Mar 19, 2009)

Best Wishes Jim. 
Be strong & get well soon. 
Craig


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## ShadsTrains (Dec 27, 2007)

Jim, Take care.. I hope that they can make you comfortable and help you get better, and may your good days outnumber your bad ones...


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## general1861 (Jan 22, 2010)

Get Well Soon Jim........Travis


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Hey Jim 

You have been on my mind for a long time. I have remembering you during Vespers every night 

Get Well Soon 

JJ


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Get well Jim!! Becky needs you, as do all your friends. Here's to having this stuff cleared up and you back to playing with trains real soon! God Bless you both!


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Hope everything works out for the best with Jim, know it is a stressful time for the both of you take care and heal and get well soon. Regal


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Jim- Get well soon! 


-Kevin.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for posting Mike 

We've really missed having jim in the chat room. 

Our prayers go out to jim and his family


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Prayers and best wishes for Jim and his family.


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## chuckger (Jan 2, 2008)

Get well soon Jim.

Chuck & Gerry


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Thoughts and prayers from Colorado as well. Get well! 

Later, 

K


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Hang in there Jim, lots of folks praying for you


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## TonyLou (Sep 3, 2009)

So sorry to heard the worst news of Jim and Becky. Thanks for your updating, Mike ! 
Jim and Becky, hope you both become well and have a positive recover soon. God bless you !


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## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi

Hope you start to recover get better soon Jim; our thoughts on this side of the Atlantic are for you both.

Peter & Lesley Bunce.


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Holding a good thought for you, Jim! 

Best, 
TJ


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## Bob in Kalamazoo (Apr 2, 2009)

My thoughts and prayers are with you and Becky, Jim.
Bob


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## Dick413 (Jan 7, 2008)

Hope the pet is pos. for good things, Jim and Becky and our thoughts and prayers are with you. 
Dick and Deb


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## John Corradini (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim and Becky 
Our Thoughts and prayers are with you.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim: Get well soon we miss ya. Later RJD


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## GaryR (Feb 6, 2010)

Sure miss you in chat Jim. All the best. 

GaryR


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## GN_Rocky (Jan 6, 2008)

Dang, what you miss when not reading the forum for a while








As with everyone else, Get better Jim !!! You will be in our prayers here too








I hope all goes well and they eradicate all the cancer on your way to recovery !!!

Rocky


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## Duncan (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry to hear of this. 
Thoughts and prayers to you Jim & Becky...


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## lkydvl (Jan 2, 2008)

Am sitting here fondly remembering the ecards Jim & Becky sent me for Christmas. 
Dang it Jim I expect another from you BOTH this Christmas so you better quit lounging in a comfy bed with gourmet meals and get back home! 

Am praying for you both and hope for the best for you. 

Andre`


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

I drove up to Loma Linda today and visited Jim in the VA Hospital. Becky was there with him. When I arrived he was dozing. He said he's got little energy...and that's consistent with having congestive heart disease. The heart muscle just doesn't pump much blood, so you feel tired. They pretty much got him drained of excess fluid and that allowed his heart function to go up to 35. 60 is normal. All that fluid in his body made it harder for the heart to pump...ya know, fluids don't compress. 

Becky said he's not been eating much, but with some encouragement he ate pretty good today at lunch. He grumps A LOT about how crappy the food is...ya know, no salt in anything...tasteless. But, he ate. He needs to eat more so he can develop more energy. Hopefully, they'll get him out of bed next week and let him walk a bit. He needs exercise to work the heart muscle...and his other muscles. 

Jim and Becky are hopeful they'll be able to do some postponed tests on him this coming week. He was to receive a colonoscopy and an endoscopy on Friday...but when he got down to the lab, the doctor felt his blood pressure was too low to be able to take the test. So, it got postponed. These are all tests designed to figure out whether the liver lesions were caused by some kind of intestinal cancer...or not. 

On the brighter side, this hospital stay has really helped his blood sugar levels. They're down to just above normal now that he's on IV insulin. With his weight loss and the improved blood sugar levels, I'm praying he'll have enough energy to do some simple exercises...and from that, improve the strength of his heat muscle.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the up date Mike. Hope to hear more good news as time goes by. Later RJD


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Give him my best next time you see him... 

Greg


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the update Mikey. 

We're praying for you Jim.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

I received this from Becky, Jim's wife today....

"Got the bad news today. 

Jim refused to go through another prep for the colonoscopy and endoscopy. The liver doctor came in to discuss options. With all of the problems that Jim has, congestive heart failure, bad kidneys, COPD and diabetes, the doctor is saying that things can get very tricky with him if they were to go ahead with those test. The other option is the biopsy. That has already been canceled once. This doctor, who is a liver specialist, said that there is just too much danger of spreading it to the chest wall so he would rather not do that. This doctor says that he is doubtful that they would find any other tumors in him anyway. He can’t do the CT scan with the contrast dye because of his kidneys. So based on his education and experience, i\he is 98% sure that what he has is Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). He said that treatment would be a chemotheraphy pill, with would cause vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea and only buy him 2 –3 more months of life. Jim said no. I asked for a prognosis. Now this I already knew, because I had looked it up the night that Jim was admitted on the 20th, but Jim did not know. The doctor said 6 months to one year. So we briefly discussed palliative care. They will be in tomorrow to discuss in further detail. Jim just wants to come home and be comfortable. He is tired of all that he has been put through. So now we get him to continue to eat and give him some physical therapy in hopes of having him home soon.

So your contintued prayers for us while Jim goes through all of this is appreciated. "


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Hoping for the best for you Jim. Prayers here!!! Regal 

Thanks for the updates from Becky and Mike!!!


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## tmejia (Jan 2, 2008)

We will keep Jim and Becky in our prayers.

Thanks Mike.

Tommy, Jacque and Grace
Rio Gracie


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Getting old ain't for sissies - Bette Davis 

Sometimes you just gotta make the most of what time you got. I'll add my prayers to everybody elses


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Thanks for the update. We'll keep prayin'. 

Later, 

K


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

We have put him on our prayer list at church


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim and Becky,

We are still praying for both of you. 

Thanks for the update Mikey.


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## sbaxters4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim and Becky, You are in my thoughts and prayers! Hang in there!


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