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For months my husband Clay was in constant pain, and
each day seemed to get worse. He was unable to put any weight
on his right leg, couldn't sleep at night because of the pain,
and had lost his voice. Each doctor we went to had different explanations
of simple ailments, and as such gave him simple remedies that
did not work.
On August 11, 1999, after endless doctor appointments, we finally
learned why my husband was in constant pain. His body was riddled
with tumors - on his brain, larynx, lungs, kidney, liver,
and spleen. His hipbone had been eaten away by cancer and the
bone was now the width of a toothpick! How could he just now be
diagnosed with stage IV cancer? He was hospitalized immediately.
We were stunned and overwhelmed, to say the least. Surely there
was a mistake in the MRI reading. How could this happen to a 34
yr old man, and no one could figure it out before now? The type
of cancer, adenocarcinoma, is a very rare form that they don't
know much about.
I drove my husband and our two little boys to the hospital admissions
at Seton Hospital on 35th street in a daze. We checked him in
and were escorted to the oncology wing. Dr. Fain, a local oncologist
was called, and he came to meet us. That man was a saint!
He calmly and compassionately explained adenocarcinoma to us in
detail, and the nurses were amazing. Dr. Fain talked to us as
if he had nowhere else to go at 6 pm on a Friday when he was off
duty. At this point, I also realized how many friends my husband
and I had.
… he was the most amazing, compassionate
physician…
Back then, we didn't have any family locally, and my friends
were wonderful about helping with our two kids. I moved into
the hospital with Clay, where we lived for 3 and a half weeks.
He passed away suddenly at 1:15 am on 6 September, and Dr. Fain
came to see me as soon as I called him. It didn't matter to him
that he was not on call - he got out of bed and came to the hospital
to see me. He was the most amazing, compassionate physician
I have ever been in contact with, and I am sorry that I never
told him so. The staff at the hospital was incredible, too.
No matter what, they attended to my husband with a smile, and
a kind word, which was hard because my husband was not always
the best patient, nor was I the nicest visitor!
That time in my life was incredibly difficult, but so many people
were so wonderful: my parents quit their jobs in New Mexico and
moved in to my house to care for the boys, our employers continued
to pay us even though we weren't there, the daycare sent food
to my house daily for two months, our co-workers supplied a steady
stream of visitors to keep our spirits up, and our friends took
turn with the kids to give my parents a little break. I don't
know what I would have done if Clay didn't have such a patient
doctor, or the nurses and aids weren't so nice, or if so many
hadn't filled in and helped us out.
Thanks to my parents, the daycare, our co-workers
and our friends!
And special thanks to Dr. Fain, and the nurses and aids of Seton
Hospital in Austin!
Melissa Sparks
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