Banner Ironwood has been so good to us.  In fact, Amos was initially diagnosed by his friend, Sean Barney, who happened to be the ER doctor at Banner Ironwood when we went there Sunday night.  They have taken care of us so far and they are now sending him to MD Anderson Cancer Center (ranked #2 in the country we hear) for specialized treatment.  Amos meets with the oncologist there today.  Yesterday he had surgery to implant a port for his Chemotherapy and is recovering well.  He is sore and I can’t get him to relax or turn his neck since the implant is near his collar bone.  He can’t shower for two days since infection at the port site is a concern and he can’t get the bandages wet.  Some food was able to pass through his intestines this morning, finally.  We are so grateful for that.  The main tumor is 18 by 21 cm and is located where his large intestine meets his small intestine.  It has blocked most food from passing through so he doesn’t eat or sleep much.  The Cancer has spread to the liver and peritoneum.  The craziest part about all of this is that they put him on a “soft diet.” I have never heard of this, but it’s basically a junk food diet.  They don’t want his intestines working to process any nutrients so he can’t eat fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts or whole grains, but he can eat meat,  ice cream, cookies and ding dongs.  He thought this would be amazing but is already starting to feel weak from the lack of nutrients.

Tonight, with permission from his oncologist, we are taking Amos to the Red Mountain Carnival to see our girls perform.  He missed them win their school talent show last night.  Thankfully Phoebe and Grandpa recorded it.  Amos serves as Bishop of our ward and had appointments with church members last night.  We all know that blessings come to our family when he puts his calling first and we definitely need the blessings. #teamamos