Thank God for Friends

The past two days have been full of friends and fun! Yesterday we had cake for one of the shuttle drivers (Moussa) who is the nicest guy. Unfortunately, he took a job with higher pay, and we will really miss him. We were then invited to dinner by some friends on the 4th floor. We played yahtzee and had a great time. Today, Ralph and Kathy Swanson came over and Kathy and I went to Bell Square and roamed around and Ralph and Dave relaxed here at the hotel. Tomorrow should be quiet until evening when our daughter, Rachel, and her family come. Today it actually felt like we are on vacation, but Monday will be here soon and then the real "tough" stuff begins. It was nice to have these fun-filled days.

Emotional Rollercoaster

We have our ups and down, that's for sure. Thankfully, there are more ups! Today, Dave's prostate ultrasound didn't show any abnormalities so, again, we are thankful for that report. We met a physician from Oregon that received a stem cell transplant 3 1/2 months ago and gets to go home on Saturday. He was so good for Dave to talk too, and answered a lot of questions. There are also two other "friends" that get to leave Saturday too; we are so happy for them, but will miss them. One of them is from Saudi Arabia. We are really looking forward to our daughter , Rachel, and son-in-law, Bob, and grandchildren, Jourdan and Grif, coming to visit on Sunday. They will be here until Tues. and I've got the roll-away in place! These last two days have been hard for me as I really miss Whitefish, my family, my church, and my friends. Missing my granddaughter's (Stella) 3rd birthday is taking a toll too! Many of you met her at the benefit - she keeps us "hopping". We look forward to having them come visit too. Being in this situation sure makes you realize what is important in life and, believe me, it's not who you know, what you own , how much money you have or how "important" you think you are; there is nothing more important than your family and friends.

Changes Ahead

We met with our transplant doctor, Leona Holmberg, this afternoon and it wasn't actually what we had wanted to hear. The good news is that Dave's mass is 47% smaller than when he had the last PET scan done in Kalispell. The not-so-good news is that David's bone marrow revealed that he has some clonal abnormality which is a red flag indicator for leukemia in the future. Because of that finding, treatment has changed. Dave will still have his own stem cell transplant, but then after 40-80 days he will receive a stem cell transplant from his brother, Richard. It looks like we will be here for awhile! Things have gotten a little more complicated. Dave is doing good and still has a positive attitude. We are very thankful for the opportunity to be treated here - it's the best, but we sure miss our home, friends and family. I believe his treatments will start right after the 4th. Keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming. We thank God for you every day.

Easy Walking

The day started out busy and ended busy! First appointment was with lab at 9:00, appt. with an orthotics specialist at 9:15, a physical therapy appointment at 11:15, and then up to the clinic at 6:30 p.m. to have TPA instilled in one of the lines on Dave's Hickman catheter! The lab had a difficult time drawing blood through one of the lines, so they put TPA (an anti-clotting agent) into it. That has to remain in for at least 2 hrs., then they will draw it out, so we will go back to the clinic at 8:30 and have that done. Ripley and I will walk up with him. Dave will begin taking Coumadin (a blood-thinner) for awhile. Great news is that the brace they gave him for his foot has really helped a lot; it is much easier for Dave to walk and, believe me, we do a lot of that! We had a wonderful visit with my sister and brother-in-law. Dave and Gary sat for 3 hrs. people-watching while Dawn and I spent 3 hrs. in Macy's just roaming around. Tomorrow is our conference with the transplant team to discuss what the next step is. We will receive the results from the PET scan and other tests. We are a little bit anxious, but that's to be expected, and we pray that things look good. I know your prayers help too - thank you.

Dave had his PET scan today at the University of Washington Hospital; it was a 3 hr procedure, but went well. We won't have results until Wed. when we have our conference with the transplant team. Not much else happening today, but this evening we are both pretty tired. Tomorrow he has a PT appointment, lab, and fitting for a brace for his foot. My sister, Dawn, and brother-in-law, Gary, are coming to see us and we will be able to spend the day with them. We are looking forward to that. Berniece, would you send me your e-mail address? Thanks

Nice Day

It is so nice having a weekend of enjoyment. Ralph and Kathy Swanson picked us up and took us to a Mariner's game and we had a blast! The Mariner's won and had 4 home runs (one grand slam). We had great seats and great company. Dave was tired today so we just stayed home and relaxed. Our nephews, Brandon and Austin (son's of Dave's brother, Craig) came over for a few hours this afternoon; it was great visiting with them. Tomorrow is Dave's PET scan and we are praying for good results so treatment can get started. Once treatment gets started I'm afraid there will be no more Mariner's games and, hopefully, we will be home before the Seahawks start their season. If all goes well with treatment, we are shooting for the goal of end of August to get back to Whitefish. There are so many unknowns that it impossible to know for sure. Keeping Dave free of infections will be the challenge, but we will do all it takes. Please pray for good results on the PET scan. We are so thankful for your support.