Beginning the Process!!

    It is a rainy night in Georgia as I write this! I am so thankful for the rain!! We are in Augusta tonight in a motel.  We got here today just a few minutes before his appointment. Somehow we left a bit late so we did not have time for lunch. We had planned  to eat at that great Mennonite restaurant in Wrens but did not have time! I have never been to a clinic or office that has a snack bar but his new  facility does! We shared a snack of grapes, cheese and crackers, my fav!!

The doctor  went over the results of his bone marrow and other tests today. The GREAT news is that he only has like 5% cancer cells compared to 85 to 90 % when he was newly diagnosed!! I burst into tears at hearing this news! I shocked  myself because I did not even see it coming!!  He said this early remission is a very good sign that he will do well after the transplant!! However he also cautioned us that the diabetes, pace maker/defib and hypertension puts him in the elevated risk group during recovery but does not disqualify him from having the stem cell. So we are on the fast track to getting this thing completed !

    We go back tomorrow to see the doctor who will place the port, then later he has pre-op at the hospital.Then home for the weekend! We will leave again on Monday (Memorial day )afternoon and early Tuesday he will have the line or port placed for the stem cell collection. They will show me how to flush the line and we go back the following Friday to get it checked. At that visit they will also show me how to give his neupogen injections but he takes insulin so that should not be a big deal. These shots will be to stimulate the stem cells.  The doctor told us a possible side effect was bone pain...Oh NO, he already has so much bone pain most days!

  Ronnie  had some questions for the doctor today. He ask about the 5 pound weight limit and if the bone pain would go away afterward. The doctor told him that he did not want him to anticipate he would be like he was before cancer. He told him he may get back to 65% . He may never be lifting a lot over the 5 and the bone pain might always be present to some degree. The cancer has damaged his bones and at his age it is difficult to rebuild bone.Not impossible just difficult! Ronnie's retina doctor also told him some years ago that all he could do was damage control , his vision would not improve and most likely his truck driving days were over. God proved him wrong! The doctor was amazed at the next check -up. God can do it again!!

   
  

   He will get two shots a day and then on the following Monday, if his counts are high enough they will do the collection. It will be a six hour process! They explained that with most people ,it is a two day process. Once they get enough stem cells all that is left is to be admitted!! He will go in the middle of June and have the chemo one day, have a one day rest, and then receive the stem cells the next.There was really not a lot new that we had not been told, but actually experiencing it may be a bit different. I DO fully expect Ronnie to do very well though!! He has not yet had a surgery or whatever that he did not exceed all expectations for him! I give our God all the credit for that and for our journey thus far!

     The one thing we did not know, was that after his release from the hospital he can not go around crowds for two months!! No church, malls, movies etc... He was not too happy on hearing this news! He then asked the nurse if he can eat out! She told him she was sorry to tell him no! In other words he can not breathe the same circulated air that would be in a crowd of people.No hand shaking, close contact etc. Food warmers in restaurants may not be at the right temperature not to mention cleanliness and prep.  Guess I will be cooking more!! He can not have fresh fruits or uncooked produce during this time either. Education, education... I kept up with Leah Brinson's treatment and though his cancer is not the same, I  remembered some of these things also applied to her...funny how we sometimes don't get stuff until we are in the same shoes!! The good news is that he can have visitors at home, just not the kissing and hugging and sick variety!! I don't really anticipate a crowd!!  If he can see all the grand kids,that will get him through!

      Hope you all have a happy and  safe Memorial day! I will keep you posted on what is happening. Thank you as always for your thoughts and prayers for us! We are so blessed with wonderful family, friends and most of all a great big God!!!

Moving On with the STEM CELL transplant!!

Hey Friends and family   ( sounds like a wireless phone ad!!)

 

   We got THE call this morning, the insurance has approved his stem cell transplant and apparently he passed the physical test so we are relived about that too!  We go next Thursday on May 26 at 1 pm to go over test results, sign yet more paperwork and they will give us the "calendar of events" for the stem cell. The RN has to confirm with the hospital BUT she will  get him back one of these days, Tues, Wed or Thurs. after Memorial day (the next week) to do the outpatient surgery to put his line in for the harvest  for getting the baby stem cells out) . Then we will have to be back that same Friday so they can give him his injections to take home to stimulate the stem cell growth. They will give him one in the office and we will do the other two at home.  Then the following Monday  , he will go back and they will begin the first harvest of stem cells. We will also have to go back a second day so we will probably stay over nights  until he gets those completed..(out patient). They will admit him when they get enough of the stem cells harvested and I don't think they exactly know how many times it will take?? It varies by patient I believe is what they told us. So at any rate, we are about to jump off in to this deep water so please continue to keep us in your prayers!! He will be in patient for at least 3 weeks once he is admitted. He does not like to be confined to the house much less by hospital walls!! All of this for a man who has always had  "white line" fever!!! He always enjoyed his work so this is very difficult for him in many ways!!

 

  We still have other doctors appointments here  to keep so we stay on the run it seems! Never a dull moment around here!

 

 I am so thankful Ronnie's pain has been better since last Saturday!! I could not see him going into this in the bone pain he was continuing to have !  He is outside enjoying this beautiful day right now!!   Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. We love all of you!!    Gail and Ronnie 

 

   God is Good ALL the Time!!!