Saturday, February 28, 2009

Day 38 - Back to LGH for a few days

OK,

After Wed night's episode, we were at the Cancer center Thursday @ 11:15 with a doctor from the oncology group. She added some blood work to the Friday testing and checked out some other items. Friday's cultures (the extra work) were to take 24 hours, and this morning, Saturday, the doctor called and asked Adele to check in to LGH for an immediate round of antibiotics.

We got to the hospital around 10:30 and as of 3:30 she has yet to get any antibiotics, but she is being looked over by many competent nurses and doctors. The oncology doc says that the catheter is probably the cause of the infection. She also said that they still were looking into what type of (Staph) infection it is, and this will be determined Sunday after more cultures are grown. Then an Infectious Disease doctor will determine what antibiotic will be used. Until then they will give her a standard IV version.

She finally got some lunch and an IV nurse put an IV in her arm. We also found out that she will be moving back to 8 Lime instead of 4 Lime where she is right now. So she will move up 4 floors sometime tonight.

I will be visiting Tom, Shannon, Kaelyn & Mason tomorrow noon time, taking some broasted chicken with me for lunch. Then I will get back to Adele tomorrow later in the afternoon. I believe Bob, Bobbie and Debbie will visit her in the afternoon, and she will be happy to see them.

She is feeling good right now, no fever or aches or pains. A bit wiped out, but is that because of the stem cell transplant or the infection? The doctors do not seem worried about her condition and say this happens with catheters a lot.

Thanks again for all the prayers - Rick

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Day 36 Post Transplant

What a night!

Our Wednesday evening started with Adele not feeling very good at supper, after sleeping since she got home from the rituxan treatment. The benadryl they give before the treatment wipes her out for the day. After I made and cleaned up supper (she was in no shape to do either) we watched "KungFu Panda" by Dreamworks. Good movie, light and very funny at times. I noticed she was more and more uncomfortable while watching and made no effort to enjoy the movie. Something was bothering her, and she could not let it go.

Finally she disappeared for 10 minutes and after coming back downstairs, announced that she had a fever of 99.4F. She also felt chilly all night, even though I keep the house at 73F for her, and she was covered in wool blankets. She decided to take her temp every 15 minutes or so, and watched as the temp went up and up. After calling the on-call oncology doctor, she was told to take her temp every 3 hours and if it stayed at or above 100.4 for any 3 hour period, get to the LGH emergency room. A fitful night, as she decided to take her temp every hour or less, and finally called the doctor again around midnight, with a temp of 100.3F. He again asked her to only take her temp every 3 hours, not as often as she was doing, and we finally got an hour or so of sleep. At least I did.

Around 5:30 she took her temp and it showed 101F, so she called the doctor again, and he said to wait until the office opened and come in to see the doctor. Since I was already up - and dressed to go to the emergency room, I stayed up - kinda - and laid out on the recliner in the den, while listening to news (you did not expect me to watch - did you). At 8:30 she called the doctor's office, and finally got a call back for her to come in at 11:15 this morning.

So she is back in bed, and of course I need to work. I do hope and pray that she stops the worry cycle that she is in, and enjoys what she has been given.

We need prayers again for strength and allowing us to keep our minds on Jesus through out this time.

Thanks - Rick

Monday, February 23, 2009

Day 33 - Monday morning

Weekend over and day is started. Adele is in the shower, so this is a good time to blog. Saturday she received a bag of platelets again, at LGH. Once again she had to stop the nurse from sticking her to get a sample of blood, and request a nurse that could take the sample from the hickman port. That took a 1/2 hour longer to get someone there to do that, but it is worth the wait. We were able to get home by about 1:30 Sat afternoon.

Adele just lays down when getting the platelets, but the stress factor wears her out. She knows she needs them, just hates having to get them because she is tired of waiting for her body to be making its own platelets. She took a 2 hour nap after we got home from Lancaster. Last night she said she was tired of the "prison" she was in. Not being able to visit grandchildren since last early fall, being so careful about what we did, etc.

We did video chat with Eric and Julie (and Ruby of course). That is, after I found out why we were unable to get any sound in either direction with the video. Long story - short = my wireless internet router has firmware from 5/2005 and when updated to the 10/2007 version, everything worked. Didn't think the router was that old, still works anyway.

After the video chat we watched "Fireproof" - a movie anyone who is married should watch. Our church has 2 or more copies, so we borrowed one for the weekend. Somehow I wish I had seen it about 35 years ago and not had to learn in such a hard way what Love really is. No matter, I do cherish all the memories Adele and I and our children share together.

OK, time to work sometime, today is PA Breast Cancer Coalition right after dropping the video back to the church. It is about time I enjoy working with all the wonderful girls at that office again. They have been more than supportive - and I plan on keeping up my promoting of their services to anyone I meet in PA that has breast cancer.

Thanks go out to all, and prayers are always welcomed.

Left to right - Somsavath in bed, Thip his wife, and Khun Tuk from the hospital
Somsavath, in Laos, is getting better and that is good - thanks for all the prayers there, he still needs them along with some financial support for hospital bills.

Rick

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Day 31 - The weekend

Dr Balepur called this morning, just after we got out of bed at 8:30. Yes - we were bad to the bone and slept in. Now I am glad we did that, as we are on our way to LGH for more platelets. Breakfast at LGH today.

Thanks for prayers - Rick

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Day 27 is Over at last

We went to Dr Balepur this AM and found that he indeed wants to transfuse platelets into Adele. From the Cancer Center to the LG Hospital, over the bridge to the new section and the lab test for platelets. Then back to the oncology out patient section for the platelets. It took almost 2 hours for the platelets to arrive and then another 1 1/2 hours to transfuse them. We left the house this morning at 9:30 and got back at 3:30 this afternoon.

Now Dr Balepur said we could not get Bathry back until platelet counts were 50K or above, and for Adele to refrain from needle work for the same period. What did they do to get the test for platelets done?, but stick a needle into her arm, the person with low platelets and has a problem clotting! Duh - I guess I really need to be by her side 100% of the time.

Adele also set up appointments for blood draws every Tues and Fri through March 6th. That way Dr Balepur can watch the platelet counts closely.

Adele also will have Rituxan every Wed morning. So every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday morning for the next (almost) 3 weeks, we will be going to Lancaster to either the Health Campus or the LG Hospital for platelets.

Drivers needed for Tues & Fri, only takes a small amount of time - please. With appointments, she can get there and back in 1 1/2 hours. Wednesdays are a need to drop her off sometimes, and pickup about 4 hours later, as she tends to read and sleep during this treatment.

Again - Thanks for all the help - Rick

Pray for Somsavath - It looks like he will have another 2 - 3 weeks in the hospital. He is doing much better, keep praying for him and Thip.

Day 27 - Doctor visits today

Monday afternoon the doctor (Lancaster oncologist) called to say Adele's platelet counts are very low. He mentioned that if she is bleeding, or even a bad bruise, we should either get to the on-call doctor at the Cancer Center or right to the emergency room. She would not be able to stop bleeding with that low platelet count. He did say she will need a transfusion of platelets soon. When we were in JH, either as in or out patient, that would be an easy thing to do - they would just get the transfusion into her without any problem. Now in Lancaster it means a trip to the hospital probably - and about 3 to 5 hours time taken.

At 10 AM today we have an appointment with the oncologist, so he said he would go over everything during that time. She also needs a rituxan treatment this week (2nd of 4 weekly treatments) and that is normally at the Cancer Center and takes about 4 hours. Just because we are home - does not mean that we are finished with all the work and treatments.

Meals are coming every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and we are thankful for them. I need to email the team and give them the "What not to do or bring" list. It is long - but as I have said before - it is a necessary part of Adele's getting better. In fact, where we normally can laugh off a brief contact with someone with a cold, she is very susceptible to bad infections from such germs.

That infection could be a very bad thing for her to get, as her body's defences are just starting to get better. Sometime in 2010, her immune system should be almost normal and she will start getting all the immunization shots (yes, the childhood shots) all over again. Until then, she has to stay away from anyone that has had a "Live Virus" shot within 1 month, and anyone that has been sick in the last week or so. We are living with Purell, Lysol and Clorox wipes, paper towels to dry hands (cloth towels hold the germs), masks when she goes outside, masks for visitors and many more ways to stop germs from getting to her. I am sanitizing the kitchen every night, bathroom counters also every night, toilet bowls every day, etc. And of course, keeping my business running.

Pray for Somsavath, who got out of ICU Monday at 5 PM or so - Of course that is 5 AM Monday for us here in the Eastern time zone. Bills are mounting - 400,000 baht so far, more to come.

Pray for a "shield against germs" for Adele

Thanks to all who read this - Rick

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Day 25 at Home

Since last post we have been enjoying being home again and getting a bit organized again. With 3 places we stayed at in the past month - me at Debbie's, Adele in the hospital and us both at the JH apartments - there is duplication on many items. ie. (3) bundles of paper towels, (2) bundles of toilet paper, more plastic bags than you can shake a stick at, etc.

Although it has been great being home, Adele is still over cautious when thinking and worrying about germs getting to her. She took a drink from a plastic cup I was using on Friday, and then again on Saturday she drank from a bottle of water I might have opened for me. Of course she thinks she might get seriously ill from doing this, so the tears flowed during both times. I made mention that she should mark (with a sharpie) any bottle or cup she was using, and always make sure that she had the marked container. She thought it would be better to make sure she always leaves her drink at a special place? She is marking all her cups now.

Bathry (Bathory is my spelling) went to the vet for shots Friday, and we deferred from the partial live virus shot, so she might come home sooner. Dr Balepur (our oncologist) will make the decision if it is safe for her to come back home. Of course this all assumes that Bathry wants to come home. She has been pampered by Bob & Bobbie for the past 2 months and has gained a full pound of weight. Almost 10 years old and 9.4 pounds of fury!

Every day is a great day here and we are so happy to be back. A drive today in the Vette might settle aches to see other people and things for Adele. Her sister visited yesterday and we had a great time with her. Monday is blood work in Lancaster followed up by Tues and Wed appointments at the Lancaster Cancer Center for Doctor and treatment visits.

Pray for strength in Adele.

Our friend Somsavath is also making progress and getting better. He is still in ICU in Aek Udon Hospital. I heard he finally got on the phone to Jim and sounded much better. Pray for his continued recovery - he has a long road ahead of him. Pray also for Thip and Dido, his wife and son.

Thanks to all - Rick

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Day 22 - Night has fallen

Adele gets so tired. She is a trooper and tries to stay awake and do things like wash and such. But she gets so tired and needs to rest, walk and recover first. She was in bed before 9PM and I had a chance to catch up on some CSI shows that were recorded in the last month.

Now time for me to hit the sack, and such a great feeling just to be home again.

Good Night to All - Rick

Pray that Mollie had a good trip to JH today.

All of the IPOP patients are in my thoughts every night - so much suffering and pain and such cheer when small mileposts are achieved. It was wonderful and uplifting to see so many positive patients in such a downer place. Smiles lit up the room many times on achieving that small gain - no more mouth or anal sores for instance. The nurses, Nurse Practitioners and doctors were all the best and always smiling and caring. They could not have been more positive and cheerful - bless them all.

Day 22 - Home again, home again, jiggety-jog


We arrived back in Ephrata by 11 AM today and stopped at Arby's for Adele's first pickup meal (took it home) - since ?? November ??. She enjoyed the entire ride back and got a bit teary as we hit Hahnstown Rd - so close to home. I unpacked the car, went to pick up mail and restart it again, then to WalMart for supplies.

Back home we did a bit of unpacking, while we opened the multitude of cards received since last week. Thank you all, every one was shared and commented on. Such great and wonderful friends we have!

Now off for a rest - I started the day at 6 AM and am getting a mite tired. Reading will surely turn to nap time.

Thank you all - God has been great

Rick & Adele

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Day 21 - And Finished

Adele and I went to IPOP this morning for our 9:30 AM appointment. Adele just got back a few minutes ago - as she had to get her first Rituxan treatment today - and that adds about 4 hours to the time she needs to be there.

She is still weak, and the wind almost blew us away while crossing Orleans Ave. This afternoon is relax for her, I pickup her last prescription around 4:30 or so. Then back to Taco Night at the apartments and a time of talk with others here in the apartment. Later I will heat up some shepard's pie for Adele along with whatever else she wants.

We will pack and start home tomorrow morning.

See everyone then - Rick

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Day 20

We are both ready to come home - and it is showing on our nerves. Last night we got to each other a bit too much and I read til midnight. She could go on and on (as I could) about everything that I am doing wrong - but it is just short timer syndrome...

Everything is taking forever (not really) and seems that it will never end. Just knowing we leave in 2 days is making it seem longer. Oh well - when we are at home, at least there will be 2 levels to get away from each other...

She is doing well this morning, and is ready for her last appt at IPOP tomorrow. We Praise God daily for His help in everything.

Thanks to all - Rick

I am downstairs in the library where it is much cooler than the room.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Day 19 - afternoon

We took a walk to the IPOP Clinic this morning and had a good visit. Blood numbers continue to be good, while our discharge on Wed seems set in stone. The Hickman port will stay, the nurses thought JH had put it in, and they will not take it out if they did not install it. That will be for our doctor in Lancaster to do.

Wed morning is the final appt, Rituxan treatment will be then. This will be the first of 4 treatments, done each week for the next 4, and that should be the final need for the hickman port. So by Mar 15th or so, that should be able to be pulled also.

Feb 17th is our appt with Dr Balepur and possibly the second treatment. This week we should be back on Thursday noon and back in our own house. Whoooo - Hoooo!!

Everyday in IPOP we meet mostly the same people day after day. Many of these people are doing much worse and need prayers. I know God is big enough to know who I am talking about, just pray for their health. I appreciate it. Pray for Molly as she comes to JH for an appt on Thursday - we would not go anywhere else for specialized cancer treatment after this.

Thank You Lord for all Your help and strength!
We love you all!
Rick & Adele

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Day 18 - After Supper

We had a wonderful day today. Visited by Jim, Shirley, Mom & Dad. Everyone made the trip to see Adele and we had such a great time while they were here. We will be glad to be back in our own home and so close to friends.

Adele is getting more energy every day. We walked around the apartment circle (outside - it was about 67 degrees) 3 times - tomorrow she said we could try for 5 or 6 times. Of course tomorrow, we also have to get to the IPOP and back before we try any other walking.

Thanks to Debbie C for tonight's Hot Chicken Salad, adding some almonds and cheese would make it a Paula Deen recipe that I had cooked before. Very tasty and filling - Loved It!

I finished a small puzzle today - getting bored and working puzzles downstairs, since Adele really does not need 24 hour watching anymore. Although she does need to be reminded about some limits, she is doing great and not trying to do too much all at once.

Thanks for all - Rick - Goodnight

Sunday Day 18 - visitors coming

Debbie C visited yesterday and brought gifts of food. We really enjoyed her visit, and she noticed before I did how tired Adele was getting, so she excused herself and left. I guess I need to be more observant. When we are alone - Adele just slips into the bed and naps, but while visitors are here I need to watch for tiredness even more.

Mom, Dad, Jim & Shirley are stopping by around 1 today. They have wanted to visit Adele since we have been here, and now is a good time. The guys might stay downstairs while the girls talk in the apartment. The wide screen downstairs will keep us occupied.

Adele woke at 6 - went back to bed once I got up and slept for 2 more hours. She feels great right now. Soon breakfast for her and a shower for me. Then reading and waiting for the visitors.

More later - Rick

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Day 17 - After IPOP

OK - BIG step here...

Adele rode the wheelchair to the Weinberg Building (we had to get it back somehow) and WALKED back after her IPOP appointment. We needed to slow down on the uphill slope, but she was OK the entire way back. Not out of breath, breathing hard or anything else - even talking with me as we walked! She did not talk while we did the uphill slope - but she made it the whole way!

Her blood work numbers continue to generally improve. One of the liver numbers was up slightly while the other 2 liver numbers were down 10%. The WBC is back to normal at 9860, the Packed Cell Volume (RBC?) is 32.4 (range of 36.0-46.0) and the platelet count is 50K (range of 150K-350K). Her platelet level has always been low, even when she was well without cancer. There are no BLACK marks on the blood work, just some gray (cautionary) numbers, and less of them as we continue on this journey.

Now that I see her notes about appointments, I see we have an IPOP appt on Wed AM, so we will not be driving home until Thursday morning. There is a Thurs AM appt, but again it is for the catheter removal, which has already been done. Back to Ephrata on Thursday morning, home probably by noon and Bathory should be back with us by the weekend.

Visits will need to be scheduled, as Adele energy level goes down quickly - we will not want more than one visit in any 2 day period for the first week or so. She is probably going to require everyone to wear a mask when they come into the house. She is very nervous about infection and rightly so. Hopefully that will abate somewhat in a month or so. Anyone planning a visit will need to call a few days ahead of time to see if there is an opening in the schedule for the visit.

PTL - We are almost Done!

Thank You all for helping in whatever way you have - Rick & Adele

Day 17 - I am back in Baltimore

I got back to Baltimore yesterday around 1 PM. I called both my wife's and Yvonne's cell phones about 2-3 times each and had no luck getting them to answer. I sat in the lobby for 1/2 hour and finally had the girl at the desk call the bedroom phone in our room. As it started to ring, Adele got off the elevator and greeted me. Surprise! They saw me there in the lobby when they returned from the IPOP clinic and she just came down straight from the car. I had sworn I saw Yvonne's car passing me in the apartment's drive, just as I was getting out of the van to unpack. I had even tried (waving and yelling "Yvonne!") to get the drivers attention - but she was thinking about getting where she needed to be.

Adele is much better - again, she was the one to come downstairs for me, not Yvonne. That is a major break through. She is walking now, not shuffling around. She even washed the dishes while I dried them last night after supper (Yvonne's Shepard's Pie). I also finished the wash and folded everything from the past week.

This morning we have an appointment at 9:30 in IPOP. Adele thinks she will need platelets, so she is preparing to have a longer stay today. It still looks like Wed might be the day we can come home. Tuesday is the last scheduled IPOP appt. They did schedule a Wed AM appt to remove the catheter but that was done before her stem cells were implanted in January.

More later today - Thanks - Rick

Friday, February 6, 2009

Day 16

This morning I woke at 3:30 and could not stop thinking about how so many have helped us through this period of pain and suffering. Every day as I write the entries for this blog, I am reminded of what has happened and how God has played a part in helping us through the day.

This is My Testimony.

I cannot stop thinking how:
Our Lord is so Wonderful,
He is there with His arms hugging us when we are hurting,
He is with us in others when we least expect it,
He is with us and guiding us always.

I have been lugging this "Bledso Brace Systems" boot on my left foot since Dec 19th and although it looks awkward, it allows me to walk without much pain. I have known all along that Adele would be OK and get through this stem cell transplant. But it has been very hard to watch her go through all the pain and weariness she experienced. Even so, I have tried every day to keep my smile and cheerfulness and talk with anyone I encounter about how God has played a part in our journey. He has been with us even in the darkest hours. I am reminded of that every day.

Thursday I came home to Ephrata to get some work done and found His love surrounding me as I talked with our friends. He has astounded me in many ways, and showed me that we are loved and cared for by many, not few. He is with us all and wants us to love another just as He loves us. I felt that Love today from all of the people I contacted.

Adele's schedule is more apparent now and it looks like we could be home next Wed or Thursday. Adele was told her catheter would be removed next Tuesday - but I believe they think she still has her pheresis catheter. She will get 4 treatments of Rituxan in the next few weeks? months? and will need her hickman catheter for that. Her pheresis catheter was pulled and is healed already - back around Jan 16 or so.

Adele is stronger every day. It is noticeable since she was so weak this past few weeks. I have watched her go from a "I need to hold on to anything I can to get up and shuffle around" to the current, walking and deep breathing exercises in our apartment hallway. We will work on the walking and breathing this weekend and when we get home.

More when I get back to Baltimore today.

Thank you all - You are Loved - Rick

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Day 15 and a Georgeous Day

I am up at 5 AM listening to Adele breath (somewhat snore) and just so happy to lay there, arms around her and love her. Her breathing and walking are improving each day. Yesterday the Nurse Practitioner said to do walks in the apartment and breath deep as she walks. This will help with getting her breathing back to normal. She tried to remember not to lean left as she walked and is looking better every hour.

The NP also said masks for her are good to be wearing when she is outside of the private cubby in IPOP and going between the IPOP and the apartment. BUT not necessary in the apartment or house. She gave her a quick lesson about what distance people could be before she would need a mask. Closer than 2 or 3 feet and she would need it. We did also get to see Dr Meade and that was great.

Today is an IPOP appointment at 9:30 AM and then nothing else for the rest of the day. I am going home for around 18 hours while Yvonne B is here with Adele. Tomorrow is a sit-in-the-apartment day, no IPOP appointment. Possibly we will need to be there every other day, perhaps every third day? We should find out more today.

My being able to hug Adele for the first time in over a month or two has made this a moving experience for me. We have always been a very close and touchy feely couple. I love holding her hand, sleeping with my arm on her shoulder, etc. That has been something we could not allow for awhile because of the possibility of transfer of germs. My need to touch, feel and hold her is now being satisfied again and I know the end of this long trial is in sight, if not already here!

I Thank God Every Day for allowing me to be with Adele and Love her so much. Without all the support I have had through this blog, it would have been a much harder journey than it was. This has been a very trying and emotional time for us, and we thank everyone for their support. Some home support will still be needed as Adele follows a schedule of what she can and cannot do for the next year.

ie., no cleaning with any chemicals, no cat litter box cleaning (she never did that), no diaper changing, but holding Ruby will be OK, stay away from people with cold or flu or who have had a live virus shot. Many more - but you get the gist. Her immune system is brand new, born on Jan 21, 2009, which is her new
(2nd) birthday and all days are numbered from that day (Day 0). Yes so now I need to get her 2 birthday presents every year, but she deserves everything she gets. This has not been easy for her, but her life is much better for it.

I am droning on at 5 AM, so I will sign off until after I get home tonight.

Pray for physical strength to return and Thanksgiving for all that has transpired so far. We are very thankful Lord and Praise Your Holy Name!

Rick & Adele

PS - Adele movies at youtube.com - search for rstauffer43 and watch her fall asleep while eating lunch - Sunday 2/1/09 - the morphine drip was going constantly and I was very afraid she was too doped up, but she laughed when she saw these.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Day 14 @ the Hackerman-Patz apartment

Today started as any first day in an apartment does... Where is .. Where is that.. When will we have this or that. After a fun time this morning running around to find things and getting showered and dressed...

We went to Adele's 10 AM appointment @ IPOP. We had Flo this morning for our nurse and were actually in HIPOP. After getting her blood and other stats. Flo started Adele on some potassium and sodium chloride IV. Adele was able to lay down and rest while getting this IV. Mindy - The Nurse Practitioner - said something about going home next week, maybe Thursday or Friday! She even went so far as to mention that we should have an IPOP discharge class on Thursday (TOMORROW). This would be in prep to leave JH and transfer care to Dr Balepur in Lancaster General.

I left to get to Safeway and get the appropriate food and other items for the next week. Saved $38 - there were many items on sale, so I stocked up a bit.

When I got back to the hospital, Adele called me while I was waiting for the elevator, to say she was finished with her treatment, could I come over and get her.. What timing we both had! Anyway, she had another 20 or 30 minutes left on the IV before she was ready, so I dropped a prescription off at the pharmacy while she finished up. Back upstairs and with Adele ready - in the wheelchair and back to the apartment. We got back and made lunch for Adele - toast and apple sauce (BRAT diet) and I had some applesauce and a coke.

Anyway - WE ARE COMING HOME NEXT WEEK barring unforeseen circumstances.

Praise the Lord

We also got to see Dr Meade, in HIPOP and made sure he knew how thrilled we were to be getting near the finish of this experience.

Thank you all for your faithfulness in prayer, it has helped wonderfully!
Adele came out of inpatient 1 week early and will get out of outpatient by Day 22! We could not have imagined it would happen so soon!

Thanks - Rick & Adele

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Day 13 - In the apartment

OK - today was a very full and eventful day. I got to JH, Weinberg building, around 9:30 this morning. Adele and I talked about what we would be doing next, I helped with her shower and other morning stuff. Then I got busy sorting and packing everything and transporting it to the car. Now we were on the 5th floor, with 2 of 3 elevators inoperable. First the wait for an elevator took 3-4 times as long as normal, then I also had to descend, using another elevator, to L3 underground. Or 8 floors and 2 elevator trips for each load. 3 loads later, and about 2 1/2 hours, I had most of the things from the room, in the car - or so I thought. I had forgotten her quilt, wool throw and sitz bath. One more trip later, I was ready to roll. Then we needed to wait for lunch, and discharge papers and instructions. We finally left the room (5B-03, Weinberg Building) with Adele in a wheelchair and drove the car to the apartments. Almost 1 block from door to door.

I moved everything into the apartment, even if I thought we did not need it, and unpacked the suitcases and some of the other bags. Adele took a nap and I went searching for food. When we checked in, we found out that the apartment now supplies food on Wed nights, and sometimes other nights. Tonight was one of those other nights, and they had a chicken pot pie and green beans with french onion. I also grabbed a Canada Dry soda and some silverware. Adele and I had a good meal from this. Tomorrow they are serving pizza for the residents. There are 4 nurses doing this for us, we do appreciate everything these people are doing.

I also got to go back to Weinberg and the pharmacy for the prescriptions pickup at 4 PM. Then I was able to snatch a wheelchair for us to use day to day. I will make Adele use it until she is better on her feet and not so weak.

Adele will need to go to IPOP at 10 AM for the next ?? 2 - 3 weeks ?? and then she will be released to her oncologist back home. We are so happy to be at this point. The worst is behind us, and we are being very careful about germs, so it stays behind us. I am hearing from many people, that their wife or husband is back in the hospital because of infection. We do not want that to happen, but if it does we at least have done everything possible to guard against it.

Thank you Lord for being with us every day.

Rick & Adele

Monday, February 2, 2009

Apartment 403 is secured

Joanne and I just had a nice talk. Many things were talked about with the apartment # 403 being secured as the result. Yes there was 1 apartment available, and is now signed up as ours. We move into the apartment, again directly across the street from our current location, tomorrow afternoon.

We are very excited to be able to get this apartment, and the parking that comes with it a such a low cost. Praise to the Lord for allowing us to have the opportunity to get this apartment.

Thank you all for such meaningful prayer help.

Rick & Adele

Day 12 - A Great Day Indeed

Adele called me this morning at 9 AM with the news that "The doctor said she is to be discharged tomorrow, Feb 3rd, Day 13 Post BMT."

We are both excited and praising God for this great news. I stopped at the housing desk this morning and talked with Joanne about getting an apartment tomorrow. She will let us know if there is anything available.

Pray for an apartment to become available for us!

I have Bob C breaking into our house to get a bag of medical supplies and have Debbie C bring them back to the Baltimore area when she returns today. I gave him the secret to getting in - he is not breaking in. Then we will have everything we will need, the rest can be purchased at Safeway or somewhere else.

Great News - still working on how and what we will be doing the rest of the week, but we will finally be together again, that counts for more than I ever imagined. We are both growing tired of having to part every evening.

Thanks to God for everything

Rick & Adele

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Day 11 afternoon

The nurse took the morphine to a on demand only system. She still has the ability to get a shot when she needs it, just no more prophylactic drip anymore. She is still very sleepy and prone to falling asleep while doing something else, like talking with Tom.

I posted some video to youtube showing her sleeping while eating. She falls asleep while cutting the chicken lunch. I will be going in an hour or so, and she is doing great today.

Thanks to all - Rick

Day 11 Post BMT

Today I got to JH around 10 AM and found Adele drifting on and off to sleep. The morphine is doing its job and keeping her from feeling too much pain - BUT she is knocked out from it. She had a good night, blood pressure is low and they gave her plenty of fluids to combat that. Everything else is looking good.

The doctors this morning told her she would be out of the hospital by the middle of next week. We take that to mean - around the 10th of Feb. Then we will have 2 - 3 weeks as out-patient status and she will need a 24/7 caretaker with her. That is when we really need the help to relieve me so I can work a day or two during the week.

Her white blood count (WBC) is up - Praise God - from 60 yesterday to 350 today. That will start to go higher and higher. Normal range is 4500 - 11000 for WBC. Neutrophils are now 245 (they don't show when they are below 50 - so we did not see that count before) with a normal range of 4000 - 9000. The nurse said the neutrophils make up about 70% of the WBC. Platelets are holding while the red blood count (RBC) are up slightly - again Praise the Lord - the RBC is up on its own, she has not had a transfusion in the past day or so.

The nurse thought the doctors meant by Friday or Saturday of this week.. Wow they expect great things from these numbers this week. We might be in the apartment by the weekend!

Praise the Lord

Thanks - more later today - Rick & Adele