All About Bob
Bob's Journey
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However, i am able to write about the tough health journey he went through.
Rey
**Bob’s Final 40 Days**
Answering the question of how he passed away cannot be accomplished in one or two sentences. It is uneasy for me to explain how he passed and to provide someone with a quick answer. They might just be curious, but I give the benefit of the doubt that they genuinely care, and knowing why he passed would connect their emotions to him.
So here goes…
Many assume that Bob passed away from cancer. They are not completely wrong, as we had shared in the past that he had cancer of the tongue 22 years ago. In essence, the cancer treatment he received back then became, shall we say, the foundation of the health issues that led to his passing.
Almost immediately after we moved into our home in Maplewood in 2003, Bob underwent a tongue resection on the right side of his face, followed by 7 weeks of radiation to the same area to treat the tongue cancer. It was stage one, but the oncologist opted for a very aggressive form of treatment to reduce the risk of it returning. After the first week of radiation, it became difficult for Bob to eat, and his weight dropped from around 200 pounds to about 130. Despite this, Bob continued to go to work every day, perhaps missing work only one or two times during the course of radiation. The treatment took so much out of him; the nurse practitioner didn’t titrate him off the Fentanyl patch, and he went cold turkey. It took several months before he was able to regain the weight.
About 8 years ago, Bob had to visit an orthodontist to remove a decaying molar. The oncologist radiologist who treated Bob had warned us that he might have tooth decay issues as a long-term side effect. The tooth was extracted, but two weeks after the procedure, Bob experienced excruciating pain. A scan revealed that his right jaw was on the verge of breaking due to the blood supply to the bones slowly degrading over the years. This condition is called osteoradionecrosis, or bone death due to radiation.
On a cold day in February, he was the first one to enter surgery and the last one to finish. They removed his right jaw and replaced it with a bone from his shoulder. They had to take out all his upper teeth as a result, leaving only a molar on the left side. He spent nearly a week in the hospital for that surgery. A few days after returning home, we noticed that the surgical site wouldn’t close. Due to the previous radiation treatment, his skin's ability to heal was affected. They placed a wound vacuum to promote healing, and he was restricted from drinking or eating. A feeding tube was then provided to receive nutrients and medications, remaining in place for a few months.
Recuperation was a long and arduous road for Bob. His face was very swollen, with draining tubes and a wound vacuum attached to him. Walking around with his IV pole on the Mt. Sinai floor was therapeutic for him, and he would explore different floors to cover his walks. Hospital visitors can be unconsciously callous; they would often fail to acknowledge him in the elevator when he was present. Little children would cling to their parents' legs upon seeing him. The fact that we had been together for 22 years by then allowed me to sense his sadness at the reactions he received from people.
With his jaw transplant, replacing the extracted teeth with implants proved to be more complicated than expected, and there was only one orthodontist willing to take on his case. The process took close to a year and a half to install the implants, leaving him without teeth for an extended time. The implants never restored his ability to chew as he once did. Bob had to make sizable adjustments when eating, slicing food into tiny bits before he could chew and swallow, which extended the time needed to finish even a small portion of food. His speech was affected as well. In his youth, he had modeled briefly, and the surgery left his face asymmetrical.
Three years ago, he broke his collarbone, which required hardware to keep it in place. Soon after, his throat began to close; another side effect of radiation that resulted in scarring in his esophagus. One day, he couldn’t even swallow water. For the second time, a feeding tube was placed in him to provide nutrients from an unflavored formula. Throughout this time, his overall condition contributed to the decline of his kidneys, though dialysis wasn't necessary. Numerous procedures followed to dilate his esophagus with very little success, but Bob always remained optimistic and maintained a great attitude.
40 Days is the next installment.
