Hello All,
Well dad slept pretty well last night but may not sleep as well tonight as it will be back in the hospital. His platelets dropped back down to a 2, which is not good considering he had a transfusion yesterday; his red blood held its own- which is not bad and his white count increased by 0.2........... he was able to get a big bag of single donor platelets today which we found encouraging..... then, he discovered blood in his stool while still at the hospital - that is of course a symptom that they take very seriously! So, as a result he is being re-admitted to the hospital as an in-patient and they are going to give him a 2nd platelet transfusion tonight and a unit of blood. He is still carrying a lot of fluid even though there has been some reduction, his stomach area is really bloated. The sores in his mouth have improved some, and the blood in his nose has gotten a little better as well. We still do not have the rest of the biopsy, antibody, or DNA testing results back, and probably won't until mid-week next week. PLEASE PLEASE say prayers that they quickly figure out what is going wrong and that the find it easy and fast to fix! We are all pretty emotionally exhausted with all of the ups and downs......so, please pray for us to all feel encouragement from the BIG GUY in the SKY! Also, please pray for mom specifically - she has been so steadfast and strong at his side taking the best care anyone could of him! Love to all and more as soon as we know more!
Jesssica - I can feel your exhaustion, disappointment and utter concern. All that I can say is to have faith and absolutely keep fighting. Dad is in the best hands and they are right there following everything. I was told this summer that my father would recover only to need full time sitters. Well, darhlin', I didn't accept and now he is almost ready to go back to the health club to work out. There were those "days" believe me. And, (25) days and two admits in the hospital on a cot sleeping in my clothes was not fun, but paying off now. Just keep tough, strong and fighting everyday. God will protect and provide. He only gives us what we can handle. But, sometimes I think ,"OK, you (God) know that I can handle this, so no more tests". And yet, another one. And yet, we forge ahead succcessfully. I pray not only for Melvin, but also for mom, you and Dan. I pray for Melvin's recovery and for strength and fortitude for mom, you and Dan.I know that everyone is praying for good news now. Let us know if there is anything that we can do. Claudia S
ReplyDeletethank you so much claudia - we really appreciate the encouragement, prayers and support!
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the updates. We check them several times a day, say a little prayer each time.
Tell Pebble I had lunch today with Dr. Dave (Lanson, our friend all the way back to 3rd grade). We discussed Pebble's struggles and Dave said, while we'd rather see more progress, it's not unusual for the process to take three or four months before the doctors figure out the right meds and dosages, and the body fully accepts the transplanted stem cells. I'd already heard from somewhere that this is a 100 day process, so Dave's timeline is consistent with that. (BTW, Dave's a GP but he knows EVERYTHING. Twice I've had specialists give me somewhat dire diagnoses/prognoses for unrelated conditions, and both times when I called Dave in a panic he almost laughed at them, told me what was really happening and properly called both the diagnosis and prognosis. So I put alot of creedence in what he tells me.) Dave said the most important thing at this stage is to keep Pebble's spirits up, make sure he understands this is part of the process. He's scene too many cases where patients get frustrated and give up emotionally, which actually hampers them physically, retards the recovery. So tell him that, I said to "Maintain, Bro!" And tell him that Danny, Greg and I will be making a road trip his way in the very near future. Bringing pine trees and other various articles. That should brighten his day.
Finally, take care of yo momma. She's been a rock and needs to stay that way for Pebble. (Pardon the pun.)
We love you guys. Let us know if there's ANYTHING we can do. Besides pray.
Kory
Hey Kory!
ReplyDeleteThank you SO SO SO much - i will make sure that mom reads your comment to dad - it will definitely lift his spirits - it is SO nice to hear when people believe in the ACTUAL power of positive thinking and staying uplifted :) thank you for the kind and ENCOURAGING words - we treasure them!