father's day and today

dad and mom came over for a nice brunch at our new place yesterday. my brother scott came over as well. it was a very nice time for everyone.

today, dad's having his 3rd round of rituxan. there were little or no side effects with the 2nd round so we all have high hopes for these next two.

thanks for all your prayers and words of encouragement. please post a note of encouragement for him as he could still use some. thanks!

home again, home again

dad went home last night and was happy to be there. he is feeling okay, but still has the fluctuation between hot and cold. he is scheduled to have 2 more courses of rituxan in the next two weeks.

please pray that he will be able to come to a father's day celebration this sunday and that he will be able to remain at home!

rituxan today

just a short blurb about today. dr.p decided to keep dad in the hospital and administer the rituxan there while he was already in the hospital rather than send him home and have him come back tomorrow. at 3pm of so, he changed rooms to a floor where there's a chemo nurse and infusion room. at 9:15p the rituxan started up so he's in process as i write. it's a 6 hour infusion process so he'll be there a while. mom is going to stay with him as it's a comfort to them both to be together, especially since today is mom's birthday. happy birthday, mom!

continue praying for elevated spirits and strength of all kinds for them both. thanks for your prayers and good thoughts thus far. they have been a blessing and a hope.

Philippians 4:

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

an extended hospital stay

dad will have to stay in the hospital until monday [or his next round of rituxan, if he has it] because his white blood cell count is so low. they say he has what is called neutropenia. the doctors think he may come in contact with a bacteria at home that his body may not be able to handle. one's white blood cells attack bad bacteria and dad doesn't have enough WBCs to adequately fight such bacterias.... the hospital is much safer, though he hates being there.

and prayers have worked because his nurses have been angelic... :)

tomorrow, brian, the kids and i will be bringing dad a latte because he just wants a good cup of coffee. it will go well with the cookies a dear friend left on their back step... thanks, sue!

the next post will be on monday.... keep praying!

tests and more tests

dad is once again undergoing tests to figure out what is causing his breathing difficulty. they are going to test for emphysema since he was a smoker for many years in his youth. currently he is undergoing breathing treatments to see if that will help to open up the airways so that he can take a deep breath. the chills, fever and sweating are side effects of the CLL and rituxan.

tonight, he also had a CTScan and an EKG to check out his lungs and heart. the EKG looked good, but they won't know the results of the scan until tomorrow.

dad just wants to come home; he's tired of the hospital. please pray that for the remainder of his stay [however long that may be] that he has angelic nurses who treat him with understanding and encouragement and his spirits would be cheered [your notes and words of encouragement have meant so much to him and to mom]. also, a special prayer for his oncologist, Dr. P, that she would answer all of mom and dad's questions [even though they might not know what those questions are yet].

back in the (hospital) saddle again

Rachel took Don to the hospital this afternoon. about noon today, Don's head, neck and chest became extremely flush and he was having trouble breathing; his fever spiked too. evidently the lack of breathing deeply was happening yesterday too but he didn't say anything to her about it.

the doctors are running tests but they all have to be done manually because the machines would be too taxing on his body. Don is also experiencing some confusion [not able to find the words to express himself and being more stubborn than normal :) ] because of his high fever. this aspect of the hospital visit is extremely taxing to Rachel.

please pray that the doctors find out what's happening with Don's body and that Rachel is able to communicate effectively with the doctors and Don.

God answers prayer

yesterday, dad had his first course of rituxan. he got to the infusion room at the hospital by 9:30a and was first infused with saline. the rituxan came at 11:15a and by 12:15p he had intense chills and shaking. he was unable to breathe deeply so he was given an oxygen mask. after another hour, the shaking and chills subsided after they gave his body a break from it. he was ready to go home but his oncologist suggested they try again to do the full course.

so, he completed the full 6 hours of the rituxan infusion and he came out exhausted. when he got home he enjoyed and in-n-out cheeseburger and fries because he was starving and slept the rest of the afternoon!

this morning was remarkable because dad was up before everyone and actually sitting up at the table enjoying his morning cup of joe. that hasn't happened for almost two weeks! he looks good, sounds good and says he feels pretty good. The rituxan seems to have worked and God has heard the prayers of his people!

he is scheduled for three more courses over the next three weeks, so hopefully it will continue to affect him positively.

Thank you, dear friends and family, for your prayers~

monday needs prayer

monday morning at 9:30am, Don will have a new form of chemotherapy to attack the CLL. rituxan is very strong and will be administered intravenously over a 6 hour period. he will be monitored very closely during this period of time because of its potency.

after his last hospital stay, the doctor gave him a five day course of steroids to increase his strength and it has worked somewhat. surprisingly, his sweats, fever and chills have virtually subsided after beginning this steroid treatment. not having this continuing cycle gave him the opportunity to spend some quality time with his kids over the weekend [though they did see the terrible effects of the chills and fever when they first arrived].

please pray for peace as anxiety has been a major mental block for both Don and Rachel, given the intense side effects of the last chemo treatment [even though it was for MCC]. please pray also for Don's physical, spiritual, mental and emotional health and protection [Rachel's too, as they are each dealing with different issues].

photos!

Here are some photos from Dad's visit with two of his sons, Don II and Gregg.

The 2 Dons, Father and Son:

Don with Gregg, Don II and Heidi:

Don and Rachel with Gregg and Don II:

Uncle Gregg with Heidi's kids, McKenna (7), Ian (10mos) and Avery (5):
Dad so appreciated Don's visit (and Gregg's too). Good times. We have always believed that family is important, but in times like these, going the extra mile is so good for the heart, for everyone involved. We are blessed with a loving family.