History

Brief history of the situation...

Dad was just recovering from knee surgery, and Kate (his daughter) was pregnant with Colin.

That was December of 2004. He had been feeling some pressure, trouble breathing and upset stomach for some time. Hard to figure out what was wrong because there were other chronic things --like ulcers in the past--that confused things.

Except for the big bump under his ribcage.

After his knee surgery recovery, Dad went to get the bump checked. Turned out to be one liver cancer tumor. They said it must have been growing for a good year. This is primary liver cancer. Usually, this kind of cancer only occurs in people with hepatitis or cirrhosis (badly damaged livers) or people in countries without much food hygiene. Dad is none of those. Usually, people with liver cancer have it because it is a metastatic site of another cancer; in other words, they have had cancer somewhere else first (breast is common) and it spreads to the liver.

That was removed right away. The recovery was difficult, being an abdominal surgery, and dad with his knee newly healed, and being an antsy, hop-to-it kind of guy.

He was monitored closely...so far so good!

However, just under a year later, they discovered another tumor. He was referred to Henry Ford Hospital, this time, as the oncology surgeon at Karmanos (both in Detroit, MI) said he would be unable to remove this new tumor, as it was even closer to one of the major blood vessels of the liver. Surgery, again in November of 2005. They said all looked good, and they got it all this time. Surgery was actually done by a transplant surgeon.

By early 2006, there were more tumors. Surgery again in February of 2006. This last time, they burned them, instead of cutting the liver. More cutting means more scar tissue. Though the liver regenerates, it needs time and takes energy. Also, as the liver is the body's cleaner, his body has been without a full cleaner! So, burned out the tumors, but they did return, more quickly.

As it was not helping to keep performing surgery, and always a risk, his doctors put him on the liver transplant list in Michigan.

He was to have a therapy called Therasphere, which is localized radiation "beads" which would shrink the tumors while he was waiting. Just as he was about to have the procedure, one of the transplant team nixed it, saying he'd have to wait 30 days after that to receive a liver, and if one came up during that time, he could not take it. So, he waited.

He was becoming more physically uncomfortable. He and the family were just about to head back to the team of physicians (oncologists - hepatologists - transplant docs) to say "What is the long term plan? What are we supposed to do while we are waiting and what happens if we don't get one soon and I'm really uncomfortable...!"

And the liver came.

The call came early in the morning of Tuesday 13th of June.

Recovery, Room #

It is Friday 16 June in the morning. As of last night, Dad was doing really well. He even called us to say he was feeling better than in the morning.

There had been some trouble with his IV that morning (one of the two had been removed, but this was apparently saline) ; his hand was very swollen (and still was by the time of his phone call). The line had not been put in correctly.

By the evening, they still had trouble putting one in, but they got one in. His three remaining surgery drains were removed. His 100 staples in his incision (luckily, they didn't have to cut vertically--up/down--as that is harder to heal) look great. Far as that goes, anyway!

He's now in Room # F331 at Henry Ford Hospital.

He's eating liquid meals on his own, ready to get up and get out of there.

The road to recovery will be good, I think. Your help is needed!

Day #2 after transplant

Day # 2 after transplant, and it looks like Dad is going to be moving to the main floor (non-ICU)! Yesterday, already off of his respirator, he's moving around his bed on his own (wincingly, albeit), and drains are out, stats are good! This is definitely a quick post, but just so you know!

He is currently at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI. When he moves to his room, he'll be able to use his cell phone. The # is 586-524-9797.

Will give more information, soon, on the journey to this point, and afterward!

Many thanks, and love from us all.

PS--If you would like to receive information via email, please email Susan Frikken at sfrikken@yahoo.com. I will add you to a lprivate email list that will update you when we post more information.

Official Mission Statement

Welcome to the official weblog for Friends for Terry. Here, you will be able to find out more information about Terry Frikken, his family and their journey through this adventure in living with primary liver cancer, liver transplant and recovery.

Kate Frikken (his daughter), with the help of Toni Frikken (his sister), created a non-profit fund called "Friends for Terry". Thus, the name of this blog!

"Friends for Terry" was created to find funds to cover the extensive costs associated with recurring liver cancer and liver transplants . These expenses include costs not covered by health insurance such as nutrition consultations, mental health support and various copayments. Expenses also include loss of income post-surgically. Our Dad, Husband, Grandpa, Son and Brother, Terry Frikken is the inspiration for this fund , but your contributions will continue to fill the gap in resources for those facing liver transplant. Friends for Terry is a non-profit, fund and your donations are tax-deductible.

Thank you for being an ongoing part of this journey. It gets harder the longer it goes on, so we appreciate your ongoing love and support!