Friday, April 30, 2010

Good News!

Well, we had a nice visit with Bobbie and Gary and shared some good laughs!  And the REALLY good news is that it is 7:15pm and dad's temperature is 98.0!!!!!!!  This is the first night he has felt ok at this time - GOOD SIGN!  We did get the MRI results back and it didn't show anything except inflamed soft tissue which you can see by looking at it - so the good news it didn't show anything BAD - but the bad news is that the foot mystery is still mystifying .... BUT perhaps the antibiotics are starting to get rid of whatever the infection is since there is no fever yet tonight :) Keep up all the positive thoughts and prayers they are WORKING!
Plus, mom had the GREAT idea to do an Epsom salt soak for his foot and so i asked for the necessary supplies, got them, and had him do a 30 minute soak earlier............ SO, if he is suddenly ok I am giving mom and I all the credit NOT these docs ;) that's fair, right? :)
OH and Bradley and Chachi are on the road to me as we speak so please also pray for them to have a safe and quick drive in from Austin!
Love to all!

Good Morning

Good Morning everyone!
Well, we saw the docs this morning - they didn't have much new to say- we are waiting on the results of the MRI from last night and we expect to get those this afternoon.  Hopefully with that will come some answers and solutions!  So far this morning dad has been feeling pretty good and we are looking forward to getting to take a walk downstairs and around after lunch without having to drag the med pole around with us :) 
We are also looking forward to a visit from Bobbie and Gary! 
I will update everyone again later after we hear back about the MRI results :)
Love to you all!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

and the evening begins...... with fever once again :(

well, earlier dad finished the last chemo drug for this stay in the hospital and it was one he had never had before and it was a one time infusion.  then we got another unit of platelets which is good.  after the platelets he had what we think was a delayed bad reaction to that last chemo round - he had really violent all over body shakes :( we were able to get him some medicine that stopped it fairly quickly thankfully - pretty scary.  the meds however have a super drowsy side effect so he has been in and out of sleep.  then they took him down for an ultrasound of his left leg and when he returned from that, his nightly visit from the fever fairy arrived with a vengeance - he has pretty bad fever and chills right now and they are about to give him tylenol because he is about to get another unit of blood, so hopefully that will get the fever to break soon!  He is due for an MRI of his foot at 8pm tonight and then we are HOPING to keep the fever at bay so that he can sleep tonight.
In the morning we look forward to getting all the various test results back so that we can get to the bottom of this foot ordeal!
Please pray for the doctors to be divinely guided to all the right answers to that they are able to help dad to get better!
Love to all!

YAY we had some VISITORS today!!!

Well, I want to send a HUGE SUPER DUPER thank you to Bobbie, Sarah, and Lenny for all coming to visit dad and I today!!!!!!  It REALLY REALLY REALLY brightened both of our days and we TOTALLY enjoyed getting to see them all!!!  We love you guys and you are all the BESTEST EVER!!!  Please don't be strangers and come back any ole time - we LOVE to have visitors to break our day up!  

Looks like we will be at the Chateau MD Anderson a bit longer than we thought....

Well, dad had fever again last night and his foot still looks really bad... but he did get some pretty good sleep last night which was a good thing!  The docs came in the morning and said that while he is finished with his last chemo drugs as of this afternoon he will have to stay in the hospital till at least Monday or Tuesday.  This is honestly better than them letting us leave prematurely, for us to get settled at Bobbie's only to have to come right back.  So, while we aren't "excited" to stay longer we are looking forward to getting to the bottom of the "foot mystery".  We also saw one of the infectious disease doctors in addition to the ones we see every morning - so far, no one has a clue what is really going on with the foot.  They tweeked his antibiotics once more and he should be getting an MRI of the foot this evening (tomorrow morning at the latest).  So, that is the progress - hopefully after the scan we will have more answers and I will of course keep everyone posted!
As for my arrangements Dan and Mom are taking care of extending my hotel room reservation through Tuesday which is a huge blessing!  Also, I am happy to report that if all goes well my AMAZING husband, Bradley will be coming into town tomorrow evening along with our ADORABLE puppy Chachi and they will be staying with me for the weekend - I have been SERIOUSLY missing my boys and I CANNOT wait to see them!!!!!!!! 
Love to all - keep up those prayers!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Paging Dr. Frustration.....

Well, unfortunately dad's foot is looking worse as the day has gone on today and so I decided to speak up a little louder and have the nurse page the doctor to come and look at it.  She was very nice and was able to get a doc in to look at it - he agreed it looked worse and we told him (again) about the fever spiking every night- which seems to be starting earlier and earlier each night.  His response was to have dad get a sonogram done on it tomorrow and have the infectious diseases doctor consult with us in the morning.  We are frustrated that it has taken so much time and so many questions to get them to do "SOMETHING" but at least the wheels seem to be in motion now.  He mentioned that we may possibly need to have a surgeon drain it - we will see tomorrow.  We will also see how the fever plays out tonight.  I also sent an email to his other leukemia specialist doctor to make sure she has been kept in the loop and to see if she had any further insight to offer us, while she did reply promptly which is nice, she didn't have much different to say other than to note that since his white blood cell counts are so low the antibiotics have a much harder time working efficiently and that the fever may not respond to the medication for 48-72 hours from their beginning (which for this new one was yesterday) so we shall see!
Dad has been REALLY REALLY sleepy all day and is catching some sleep right now- which is a GOOD thing!
Please keep up the prayers for dad's resiliency and for his foot and fever!!  We are really praying for positive progress tomorrow and for some more answers! 
Thanks and love to you ALL!

well.......

Well, I got here early enough today to see the docs and that was good, but honestly they don't talk much... even when asked questions directly!  Dad didn't sleep all that well last night and seems very tired today and just over-all not feeling as well.  The docs looked at his foot this morning and said that they were happy with the progress- that the swelling had retracted some and that there was less redness which they took to be a GOOD sign!  However, his fever did spike again through the night and broke again this morning, and they would like to see him not run fever tonight!  So, please pray for that!!  As far as our check-out date from MDA it is looking like it will not be tomorrow like we originally thought- there is a drug that he has to take at the very end of all of these chemo cycles that he has not taken before and it won't be administered till tomorrow due to the schedule of all the meds and they will need to watch him for a bit after giving it to him.  That paired with the fact that I think they would like to see him make it through a night without fever will mean that Friday is probably the earliest that we will be checking out but we will know much more about that tomorrow when the docs come back and when we see if he runs fever or not tonight!
 SO, please keep up the prayers and please pray specifically for him to feel better and to NOT run a fever tonight!!
Love to all and I will try and update again a little later :)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

back online!

Sorry for the delay - I have had some difficulty with the internet connection at the hospital today but we are up and running now :)   I moved hotels today and want to thank my FABULOUS brother for setting it all up and getting it for us - it is beautiful!  
Dad is doing well, feeling well, still no fever- but his left foot is really swollen and discolored.  The docs aren't exactly sure what is causing it but they switched his antibiotics again to see if it will help - So, please say prayers that we see some improvement in his foot by tomorrow!!  
We went for our daily walk around the floor earlier and that was nice, he will be ordering dinner soon and then we will be watching the dancing with the stars results show ;) 
Love you all!!

Little visit from the fever fairy but in the clear now!

Well, dad ran a little fever last night through the night but still managed to get sleep all night - the fever is likely just a side-effect of the chemo he received at 10pm and 2am since it has broken and not returned this morning :) Please keep praying for God to protect him from infection! Also, pray that the swelling and pain in his left foot would finally depart! All in all he sounded great this morning - I am in the process of switching hotels and as soon as I get that done I will be with him in the room again and will update everyone again! Love to you all!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Stem Cell Donor Drive!

Dad's sister, Lisa, has graciously organized a stem cell donor drive at her church in Destrehan, LA!! So, if you could help us spread the word that would be WONDERFUL!!!
Dad and so many others are in need of a stem cell/ bone marrow transplant to save their life, we are asking you to consider being that match for someone! To be eligible as a donor you must be between the ages of 18-60, be willing to donate to any patient in need, and meet the health guidelines.
There are more details available at www.marrow.org - check it out and please pass this information on!

Here are the details:

Date: Sunday, May 23, 2010
Time: 8:00 am - 8:00pm
Location: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
13396 River Rd
Destrehan, LA 70047
Contact: Mary LeSueur, 662-403-0091

Bye Bye Fever!!

Well I am VERY pleased to announce that Dad is feeling much better and his fever is GONE! YAY! Please keep up the prayers and positive thoughts because they are WORKING!! We had a nice walk around the beautiful and scenic floor ;) - it was the most he has moved around since checking in and I think it did him some good!! Going to try and make a habit of it!
Till next time!

Day 4 at MD Anderson

Hi there everyone!
This is our first day blogging and so here is the daily scoop:
This is now dad's 4th day as an inpatient at MD Anderson. We are in a private room that is very nice- lots of warm wood tones and a nice flat screen tv with lots of free on demand movies to watch. The nurses have been very nice and very helpful. He was having some trouble getting a full night's sleep at first but we are happy to say that he GOT ONE last night and finally got some much needed rest! He did start running a little fever last night, which can be a side effect of the chemotherapy but they put him on some antibiotics just to be on the safe side. He is also having some swelling and tenderness in his left foot still- but we have it elevated and are going to hopefully take a little walk after he gets his lunch and see if that helps at all! He doesn't have a great appetite since the fever started but he is still managing to put away the food ;) you know MEL!
Well, that's all for now and I will try and update everyone again later this evening before I leave! For now we are watching "That 70's Show"! - Laughter is the best medicine after all!
Love you all and please keep the prayers a comin!!