Fri 9 Feb 2007
Unfortunate news today from the Associated Press: Rep. Charlie Norwood of Georgia is leaving Washington D.C. and returning home to Augusta, GA for hospice care.
From their story:
Rep. Charlie Norwood said Wednesday he is leaving Washington to receive hospice care at home in Augusta, Ga., declining further treatment for lung cancer that has spread to his liver.
Norwood’s spokesman, John Stone, said the seven-term Republican is not resigning his seat in Congress, but he said Norwood has decided to be home with his family and “put it in the Lord’s hands.’”
“He has spent three months just sick as a dog and finally just said, ‘That’s it. I’m going home,’” Stone said. “The goal now is to make him as comfortable as he can be … for as long as the Lord will let him stay with us, and nobody knows how long that will be.’”
Stone said Norwood would re-evaluate the situation after returning home and that he was not ruling out further treatment if he feels better. Norwood’s congressional office will continue operating “as if he’s sitting in the next room,'’ Stone said.
Norwood, 65, is fighting his second bout with cancer since receiving a lung transplant in 2004. He suffers from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease.
The cancer is believed to be a side effect of immune suppression drugs he takes as a result of the transplant.
Last year, doctors discovered a small cancerous tumor on his non-transplanted lung. They removed the cancer with surgery, but then discovered more cancer on his liver when Norwood returned to Washington after the November election, in which Norwood easily won re-election.
In a press release, Stone said Norwood will leave Washington as soon as an air ambulance flight can be arranged, possibly by Thursday. The family requested continued prayers.
This is obviously not a case where one can hope for an improvement, but I hope that he and his family find peace in this time. God bless.
