"Lighten Up Dutch"

I am sad to say that Dad passed away last night. I'm pretty much at a loss for words this morning. The phrase 'Lighten up Dutch' has been in my mind all morning. Dad told me that about a million times over the last 35 years. Apparently, I got the lionshare of his stubbornness. It is one of my favorite 'Hankisms.' Although I didn't appreciate it most of the times he told me that :)

I'll post the wake and funeral details here when I have them. But, I'll leave you with a few Hankisms. The first is one I'm sure he has thought recently...

Who signed me up for this shit?
I'm just a kid from Dogtown, what do I know?
Don't let the bastards get you down.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

In typical Dad fashion his 4 day hospital stay has now turned into 9 and the end to the stay is not in the immediate future. He has had a roller coaster week, with ups and downs coming in his blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, but never in his attitude. Even when he was in ICU last Saturday he said he felt fine. The good news is, he is not in pain.

The story is very long and involved for what he's been through in the last week, so we'll just play the highlight reel...lots of fluids in...2 gallons of fluid drained off his stomach...started chemo...ICU for 24 hours because of low blood pressure (ironically, this was at the same time the Cardinals lost the series, which would make you think his blood pressure would have gone up)...liver not functioning correctly...had to skip chemo this week because of low platelet counts. The bad news is the fluid from his stomach cavity contained lots of cancer cells, which means it is 'everywhere' according to the doctors. So, what next?

Dad's friend Fr. Anderson came yesterday and gave Dad the sacrament for the sick. Father guaranteed him this doesn't mean the end and he can even get it more than once. When he was finished, Dad asked how long it was good for. Even in his weakened state he is cracking jokes. They hope to get another round of chemo in him soon, to fight off the cancer and get his liver to start functioning properly.

The book signing is still on for Monday night. Dad will be there, although it may be through modern technology. So, come join us and raise a pint to Dad on Monday, October 19th at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood at 7:00 p.m. He will either be there in person or via Skype. While you are there you can pick up a copy of this book Dad co-authored called 'St. Louis Brews.' It is really a great book (I'm truly not biased) and you can see the cover and a description here: http://www.reedypress.com/

On another note, that is so ridiculous it's almost funny (almost)...Mom torqued her knee and had to make a trip to the orthopedic surgeon and get an mri. They think she tore her meniscus - we'll find out more next week. In the mean time, she stole Dad's walker since she can't bear weight on that leg. Sue's husband Jeff suggested they get a double-walker, similar to the double-strollers for twins. I took a picture of Mom with the walker, but the gesture she was making at me made the photo rank above a G rating, so I didn't post it here. When it rains, it pours....and I'm sitting in the middle of a tsunami. (Did I mention my niece has swine flu...my car broke down...Amy's car broke down...and the list goes on and on.)

Much has changed...

It has been several weeks since I have updated the blog and much has changed especially in the last few days. Dad has started at an oncologist and the first test they did was a PET scan. This scan shows the location of cancer in the body. The results came back today and were not good. The cancer is spreading very quickly and is now in Dad's liver and lymph nodes. His stomach cavity also has a lot of unexplained fluid.

They admitted him to Missouri Baptist Hospital (Room 1356B) this afternoon to try and resolve a number of issues including the fluid in the stomach, edema in his legs, his lack of strength, and a couple of other general things that as Dad said are 'fu#&ed up' (that's a direct quote). He will probably be in the hospital about 4 days and they'll start chemo while he is there.

We're trying to stay positive, but this news came like a punch to the gut. Dad's internist called to discuss his options and noted that he had quite the battle ahead of him if he chose to fight. Dad said, 'Laying here and doing nothing is not on my to do list, so let's start chemo.' His stubborn nature may just be the key. I guess we're back to hogging up some of the lines to heaven, but if you can throw a few extra prayers Dad's way we'd appreciate it.

On a good note...Dad got to see the final book today (he even signed 100 of them before they took him to the hospital) and he was ecstatic over the final product. Book signing at Schlafly Bottleworks on Monday, October 19th at 7:00 pm - still on tap. I have noticed that in between his major beer events, Dad fills his time at hospitals. I'm wondering if he has a nurse-fettish or if we should just schedule beer things every weekend to keep him on the up and up! Hmmm...

The King of Hop...

Forget the King of Pop, he is old news. The King of Hop is where it's at! It's been a couple of weeks since I've added any info, so we have a few updates...CANvention, ER, Hop in the City. At least his latest trip to the ER was surrounded by fun beer events! First, the minor setback...2 weekends ago Dad had to go to the emergency room. He was running fever and feeling lousy. Turned out to be a couple of infections, but nothing too serious. They released him from the ER, put him on antibiotics and within a few days he was much better.

Friday, September 11th, Mom and Dad, with my Aunt Mary as their personal assistant, drove to Springfield, IL for the 39th CANvention. Dad made it to the Tontine Luncheon and signed in. Thereby keeping his name on the coveted list of those who have attended every CANvention and still in the running for the cans they all contributed the first year. They sadly told me of a friend who didn't make it this year who was in the hospital. Dad was feeling very lucky and was so happy to be there. I believe there are 16 Tontines remaining. Like I said before, it will take more than pancreatic cancer to scratch off his name!

Yesterday on September 19th, Dad was the Honorary Chair of the Hop in the City event at Schlafly Tap Room. This was a huge spirit lifter for him and he did great! They named him The King of Hop, which of course included a crown, sash, and scepter. I've included his picture when he arrived (at the top)...looking good!!

Here's another with the crown. This one cracks me up, because the man has not butt and I caught him while he was pulling up his pants. When they did the whipple procedure and took out a good portion of his insides, apparently they did a buttectomy! Wish I could get that done, only without the cancer ;) Genetically, I didn't get his lack of tush!!

Anyway, the day was great, Dad made it about an hour and had good friends, like Beer Dave and the Ohlendorfs, along with the Schlafly crew there. He also had a good family showing with my 2 cousins Roberta and Regina coming along. My friend Jackie Billet went to the wrong Schlafly location or she would have been there too...her luck continues, like the day she got stranded on the side of the Boston Turnpike, but that's a story for another blog entry!! So the King of Hop had lots of love along with hundreds of others cheering for him. It was a great day!

One of the highlights, in my opinion, was the bottles of 'chemotherapy ale' the good people at Schlafly gave to Dad. These were custom labels made just for him. Seriously, can you think of a bigger honor than having your own beer?? I'm totally jealous! Troika did a fantastic job on creating the labels. Troika we think you are amazing!! Here's a link to a picture of the label: http://stlhops.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Henry-bottle.jpg

Thanks again to Tom Schlafly and everyone at both Schlafly locations for showing Dad the love. He was truly honored. Next big beer event...the book release!!

Home Sweet Home...

Mom and Dad made it home on a, thankfully, uneventful flight on Saturday night. They are both so glad to be back at home. Life is getting back to 'normal' and they are happily visiting with friends and family. In fact, this Thursday night, Tyler (my son) and I get the honor of 'babysitting' the old guy. We only agreed to let Mom go out to dinner since Dad now takes his medication by mouth :)

Most of the time, they are both at home and are gladly accepting visitors. If you call ahead, Dad works at planning his naps around his visitors. He loves having a purpose to his day and formulating a good plan. Gives him something to think about besides bugging my Mom for crazy stuff all day. So, for the sanity of both of my parents, please feel free to stop in. Although, Friday they are heading to the CANvention so Dad can sign in at the Tontine luncheon. It will take more than a little pancreatic cancer to eliminate his name from the original list.

36 Hours to Takeoff...

While Mom and Dad are counting down the hours until they come home (about 36 from this posting) big things are happening. First, Dad has not only been released from the surgeon, but he is finished with all treatment in CO. Which means he is coming home tube free! What an amazing feeling after having stuff stuck in him for 2 months. Family here is scrambling to get the homestead ready...things like cleaning up the evidence of the last party the neighbors and I had at Mom and Dad's house...I'm suddenly flashing back to high school when they'd go out of town...hmmmm....

The biggest news is thanks to Tom Schlafly and all the other great people at Schlafly, who if I tried to name them all would fail, so we'll lump them all into Schlafly's Greats, Dad has been named the Honorary Chair of their annual Hop in the City event this month. What an incredible honor!!! Come hell, highwater, or being carried in on Denny's (my husband) back, you know that Dad will be there. In Tom's monthly article on the Schlafly website he writes about Dad and this amazing thing they've done for him. I'm a little afraid that when Dad reads the article his head will swell so much that he'll blow his stitches out of his scalp, but it's a risk worth taking. Tom has a way with words. Here's a link to his article: http://schlafly.com/topfermentation.shtml. Thanks from all of the Herbsts to Tom and the Schlafly Greats! We will definitely see you at the event in a few weeks.

Homeward Bound!!!

Finally, the post I've been waiting to write...Dad is coming home. That's right, Mom and Dad are flying back to STL on Saturday night. Dad was released by the surgeon today. He also removed almost all of his bandages and took him off the oxygen. No more carrying his own trendy oxygen bar with him, he now has to breathe the same air the rest of us get. He has his final antibiotic infusion tomorrow and then he will be a free man.

Since he and Mom left for vacation on June 28th it has been quite a trip to Denver. It will be great to have him back home. While the road in front of him is a long one, he will at least be looking at it through his own window in a few days.

Thanks again for everyone's prayers and support! You all are what have gotten he and Mom through the last few months. The blog will continue...I'm sure we'll have some hilarious chemo stories coming your way soon (or something like that)! Let's all pray for an uneventful flight home.