The Improvement CONTINUES - PRAISE GOD!!

Calling all PRAYER WARRIORS - we have a HUGE THANK YOU to deliver!!!!!!!!  Those amazing prayers to our INCREDIBLE GOD and FATHER are working OVERTIME!

ALL of dad's counts have come up!!  His white blood has come up to 4.2, his red blood is holding the transfusion numbers and his platelets are at a recent record high of 16!!!  (50 is normal so we still have a lot of growing to do - but MAN its NICE to see some DOUBLE digits FINALLY!) 

He is currently getting a cat scan and we are still waiting on a bunch of various test results but all in all the docs are LIKING the progress and i think if his numbers hold tomorrow they may discharge him back to the condo - we shall see!  

Also, we are trying to get him moving and exercising more which isn't the easiest when he is feeling tired and wiped out - so, anytime any of you happen to talk to him maybe you can help us by encouraging him to exercise or asking him how the exercising is going etc?  The occupational therapist and docs have re-iterated to him how IMPORTANT it is to push himself in that realm that it will help his overall progress LOTS!

LOVE TO ALL and KEEP UP THOSE PRAYERS!!!!

Doing Better!

Well looks like being in the hospital was just the ticket!  Dad being able to get better access to care and transfusions seems to be agreeing with him!  His platelet level raised to a 7!  (which is still low BUT SO MUCH higher than we have seen in DAYS!)  Also, all of his other counts are on the rise as well- slowly but surely!  So, they are thinking they want to keep him in the hospital while they try a few new things including pumping his platelets instead of gravity feeding them and giving him IV nutrients to hopefully help his body and bone marrow to heal and begin to produce blood and platelet cells the way that it should!  They would like to see his counts rise a bit more and hold before they send him home again - and that is what he and we are most comfortable with as well!  He also got a visit from the occupational therapist today who encouraged him to get more exercise than he is getting by offering a few new classes and ways to go about that!  

We want to thank all of our trusty PRAYER WARRIORS, because we of course credit GOD with the healing and turn around we are experiencing today and that means YOUR prayers are WORKING - please oh please keep them coming - we have a long long way to go but we love celebrating the little victories as we are blessed with them! :) 

Love to all!

Day +36- Being RE-admitted to the hospital as an in-patient....

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!

Day +35 Keeping the Faith

Hey Everyone,

I'm sorry for the brief absence from the blog - but i'm back :) Yesterday dad had a small increase in his platelet count bringing it from 4 to 5 which is still WAY too low but at least moved in the RIGHT direction, all of his other counts unfortunately continue to creep downward.  He received both blood and platelet transfusions yesterday and the day before that.  We also received preliminary results back from the the bone marrow aspiration - it showed no "blasts" which is a GOOD sign :) - we will not however have the complete results for a few more days so we will let you know as soon as we know.... they are also waiting on some blood results that will let us know how much the donor's stem cells have or have not en-grafted so far- which may be very important in figuring out why he is still not producing his own blood and platelets yet..... SO, LOTS to pray for and about and we are doing our very best to stay positive and to keep the faith with and for dad.  Hoping and PRAYING that when i get the text from mom this morning with dad's counts that we find IMPROVEMENT!  As far as his daily symptoms the blood running in his nose and throat have improved slightly with the slight platelet increase which is movement in the right direction, however with his white counts creeping lower each day he has developed mouth sores again which is cause for concern and discomfort :( we are hoping today that they will give him a shot to help his white counts go up, even if it is just superficially to help his mouth heal.  He is also still having fevers off and on most days and just super weak, achy, and exhausted all the time.  So, please join us in keeping his thoughts and conversations positive and encouraging as well as joining us in SERIOUS PRAYERS for his improvement :) Love to all and i will update this afternoon with the latest!

Day +30 - Bone Marrow Aspiration Day

Hey Everyone,

As most of you already know, today is the day dad has his bone marrow aspirated to test to see the state of the disease or HOPEFULLY lack there of!  Lots of you know this because my aunt lisa organized a prayer vigil to carry us all through this pivotal day, and we THANK YOU for the BOTTOMS of our HEARTS!!!  You have all been so amazing for all of us through all of this - today his counts were not what we were hoping for - his platelets slipped back down to a 3 and all of his other counts dropped as well............ they gave him a platelet transfusion this morning to try and get the count up prior to the procedure.  We had some concern over him doing the procedure with the state of his counts, but they assured us that they needed to go ahead with it b/c it is very important for us to have the results as quickly as possible.  So, I just talked to mom and they just took him back to start the aspiration.  Mom is sitting in the waiting room meditating and praying- she has been such a rock through all of this, what an amazing wife and mom!  Please join us in praying during the procedure, for it to go well, and for the results to be GOOD!  I will of course update the MINUTE we know anything- For now we keep the faith! 

Love to all!

Day +29 - well its not bad and not great.........

Hey all!

Well, they just got dad's labs in and the platelets dropped to a 5 from yesterday's 6, but it is better than going back down to a 2........... and his white cells actually went up a little so that is GOOD!  He is retaining a LOT of fluid - nearly 20 lbs of it to be exact..... so, we are assuming they will be giving him something to help with that today along with his platelet transfusion.  He also continues to run a fever every night that is not present during the daytime hours - they ran some extra blood cultures to try and solve that mystery - we don't have results yet.  That's all for now - keep praying for that elusive TURNAROUND we are still hoping everyday will be "THE DAY" ;) 

love to all!

FINALLY some progress in PLATELET LAND!

Good Morning everyone!

Thank you so so much for all your warrior prayers that you have been lifting up for dad!! His platelet count FINALLY saw some improvement today!!  It went from a 2 yesterday to a 6 today - which is still very low but at LEAST it is moving in the CORRECT direction finally!  So we will take the good news!  Dad has been really anxious and discouraged and last night was a really long restless one so THANK GOD for the good turn today!  His blood is still really low today and he will be getting transfusions of both blood and platelets today.  We are PRAYING HARD that things will continue to improve over the next several days so that we can experience that POSITIVE TURNAROUND that we are SO ready for!  Thank you again to ALL OF YOU for all of your STRONG WARRIOR PRAYERS- please please keep them coming!!  I will update again soon :) love to all!

Serious Prayer Request!

Ok - calling all PRAYER WARRIORS!!!  We need some serious prayers .... Dad is still not able to make his own blood or platelets yet and we are all struggling to escape discouragement.  Dad has had platelet transfusions every single day and his platelet count continues to fall- today he is at a mere 2 (normal is 50) - this is a cause of not only worry for us and dad but of discomfort- when his platelets are this low his nose and throat among other things continuously bleed.  They have not been able to figure out why his body is rejecting the platelet transfusions- they even tried switching to single donor bags yesterday but based on his low number this morning that wasn't the solution.  So, please please please pray hard for him today and for us - especially for mom who is being SO strong standing right by him as all of this is happening.

We want everyone to know how MUCH your prayers, support, and love have meant to us through this whole thing and how much they continue to be such a source of strength and hope for us!  I do want to ask however that if you are talking to any of us (me, mom, especially dad! and i don't want to speak for dan but ya know) that you please please rely on these blog posts for info and updates on dad's condition as it is really difficult for us to talk about right now and we are trying to keep our focus strong and positive and talking about the "scary stuff" accomplishes the opposite for us... that said we DO want to keep everyone informed and "in the loop" so i am trying to update lots and PLEASE feel FREE to comment with questions if you have them and i will happily share what i know- or you can email me and i will do the same.  If you want to call dad please do - but share a funny story or happy memory - you wouldn't believe how MUCH he perks up when someone calls and makes him laugh and forget about all the "tough stuff" for a while!! It is such great medicine for him :) His mental and emotional strength are just as important to his health as anything else right now and so we want to minimize the amount of sick talk he has to do - thank you all so so so much with you help with this and for your understanding :) Keep praying please - we need them and they mean SO MUCH! 

Love to all!

Day +22 - Prayers NEEDED!

Hi All!

Well, today things went very smoothly and efficiently at the hospital- which was VERY nice and a NEW experience ha ha - we actually got to eat dinner at dinner time and not bed time ;) so, thank you b/c that MUST mean that after reading this morning's frustration filled entry that you guys all prayed for a better experience today! and it WORKED!! :) 

So, i must request all of you motivated prayer warriors to give us a different "boost" for tomorrow :) Dad had low grade fever during the night last night and it persisted through the day today :( - this is of some concern to the doctors especially when paired with the fact that he has not started producing his own blood cells and platelets yet.... they told us today that they feel like now by day +22, he should be doing that now and there are many different factors that could be the culprit, including but not limited to, some sort of underlying infection that they have not identified- they will be taking some new blood cultures and extra tests tomorrow to investigate that possibility......... so, please please please say SERIOUS prayers that he DOES have a turnaround day and SOON....... like TOMORROW..... so that we and he can feel more confident about EVERYthing - his energy has been SO low due to the lack of blood that our walks have been totally on hold yesterday and today and it is very discouraging to dad to see the people that we were on the transplant floor with (that he used to run laps around!) looking as though they are doing much better than him now...... we are concerned but of course trying to stay hopeful and optimistic that tomorrow could be OUR DAY!  it is exhausting that there are so so many ups and downs throughout this process it is TRULY a marathon and not a sprint!  we love you all and you and your prayers have carried us through SO much - please pray hard for us tonight!!!  love to all and more in the morning! xoxo

Day +22

Hi All!

Well I arrived back in Houston yesterday and Dan and Kay went home; they did a GREAT job taking care of dad and the condo- thanks guys!!

We spent noon till 7pm at the hospital yesterday doing transfusions and labs, got his dressing changed etc... we decided that PART of why did feels SO tired and worn out is that things were a LOT easier to handle when he was in the hospital - laying in a bed for all the techs, transfusions, etc to come to him..... now that he is out they have you running ALL over the hospital only to have EVERY thing run LATE, everything is UN-organized and out of sync - - - they WEAR YOU OUT both mentally and physically....... ah well

Last night dad didn't not sleep very much didn't feel very well - this morning is more of that - please say some "revitalizing" prayers for him this morning as we head into another FULL day at the hospital!

Love to all and more later :)

Definitely DISCHARGE DAY!

Well the news is official!!!  Dad is definitely getting to go home to the condo this evening!!! YAY!!! Thank you all so much for your prayers -please keep them coming to ensure a safe and happy transition!! :)
Love to all!

Could be Discharge Day!

Hey All!

Sorry for the gap in updates - Daniel and Kay arrived in Houston Wednesday afternoon and I headed back to Austin - they will be with him until Tuesday and I am enjoying some time back at home with my hubby!  Yesterday dad still showed marked improvement in his mouth and in his blood counts, still needed blood and platelet transfusions on wednesday and platelets again yesterday but his white count is climbing which is GREAT!  Yesterday he did have one stumble when he threw up his breakfast, but we are hoping that was a fluke.... If he can not vomit today, drink at least 3 liters of water, and still show good blood counts then they could be discharging him from the hospital this evening to go back to the condo with Dan and Kay!!  As soon as i hear word from Dan this afternoon I will of course pass the news on to all of you :) He would be out of the hospital ahead of schedule if he is in fact discharged today - his target was Sept. 2nd - so, all that walking everyday and all of your prayers have WORKED!!!  Once discharged he will still have to go to the hospital everyday for vital checks, blood work, potential transfusions etc but it would start the clock on the 100 days - so all good news!! :) 

love to all and more later!

Dare I say we have made it "over the hump" :)

good morning all!

yesterday was heads and tails better over saturday and we give all the credit to God and all of your loving prayers to Him on dad's behalf! :) dad's white blood cell count went from 0.1 to 0.6 and that is GREAT news!!  we are hoping for another climb today!!  His mouth and throat are far less swollen and beginning to heal :) i think today we may even get back to 3 walks a day instead of just 2 :) i will update again later from the hospital with an update - please keep up those prayers for continued improvement and healing :) love to all!

Improving!

Thank you SO much to all of our PRAYER WARRIORS out there who flooded the "Prayer-ways" to help dad this morning - it is WORKING!!!!  Dad is looking and sounding much better!  We just went for a walk and he is breathing a little easier :) - Also, he is eating a yogurt as we speak - so that is all MUCH PROGRESS from the state we found him in this morning!!  Please keep them coming, let's turn today into that "turnaround day" :) 

love to all!

Just Saw the Doc

Here is the update:

They said the "mucusitis" and swelling in the throat and mouth are yet another side-effect of the chemo.... So, they approved and just now administered a high dose steroid and hopefully within 2-3 hours we will start to experience some reduction of the swelling.  Meanwhile, he spiked a little fever this morning and so they upped the dosage of his anti-fungal and anti-viral and switched them back to IV form... also, they started him on a strong IV anti-biotic.  They were supposed to give him another drug today as part of the protocol post-transplant that they are skipping b/c it could make the mucusitis worse.... So, for now BB and I are just trying to keep him distracted as the time passes by watching movies b/c he can't really speak with his throat like this and HOPEFULLY the steroid is going to reduce the swelling hence making it easier for him to breathe and then we will attempt a walk.  and maybe maybe just maybe he will regain the ability to swallow and get to eat or drink something :)

Please keep the prayers coming - we need them big time today!! I hope i have a great report to send in a few hours :) love to all!