Prayers needed

About 2 months ago or so, I found out my uncle has cancer. We were told there were tumors in his esophagus, stomach and possibly bone involvement. Right before the diagnosis, he fell and banged up his ankle pretty badly to where he was having a lot of difficulty with mobility.  I've been calling every week for an update. He and my aunt are fiercely independent people---I've offered many times to fly out and help. My aunt always says they're managing ok.

A few weeks ago, my uncle lost the ability to walk. His legs were just too weak to support him. Last week, the doctor told them that, thanks to the radiation, the esophagus tumor was gone, the stomach tumor was greatly improved and he thought there was improvement in the bone as well. Through all this, my aunt's health has been declining. With his improvements, she finally went to the doctor for herself.

It's been very frustrating being so far away, with no real way to help. All my info on how he's doing comes through my weekly phone calls. My aunt was sounding fairly positive and optimistic for how things were going health wise for him, so I was optimistic as well.

Till last night. She called me from the hospital. She has pneumonia and fluid retention so bad "her insides are swimming in fluid" (the words of her doctor). She also has not been able to be truthful on the phone. They live in a small house, and my uncle listens when she talks on the phone. He gets upset when she says anything negative...feels she's giving up on him. He's much, much worse than we were led to believe. She honestly feels he has about a week left.

Not that this is easy for them....but this has been a big blow for me. Last summer, they took me to casinos and thrift stores, he grilled burgers for dinner and he worked on his truck. To go from that to the reality of who is now is hard. Very, very hard.

If you are a praying person....please pray. I don't want to lose either of them. I can't imagine losing both.