BETTER DAY

We've made it through another week here in Seattle. It has been pretty tough at times, but along with the bad comes the good. Today was a good day for Dave. He started feeling better yesterday and actually sat in a chair for an hour and a half. That was a huge accomplishment. He also has been eating better. He said that "goolosh" (?sp) really sounded "good for some reason", so I took a hike to Whole Foods and bought the ingredients, came back to the SCCA House and got to work. Being very pleased with myself, I headed back to the hospital with a nice hot dish of goolosh. However, by the time I arrived in Dave's room, he was so nauseated he couldn't even think of eating. So much for that. Oh well, it was a good hike.

Today, Dave was taken off oxygen and has an 02 sat of 97% on room air!! He is breathing much better and actually slept off and on most of the day.

Tomorrow, Rachel and family will be arriving and Dave's brother, Mark, will be here Sunday night. This past weekend Emily Kew-Shagren and her husband, Eric, also stopped in to say "hi". It was so great seeing them and it was nice that Molly and Emily were able to spend some time together.

I hope everyone has a meaningful Easter and, remember, God is Good!

CHEMO

Dave finished his chemo yesterday - hooray!! Over the last couple of days, he has developed more shortness of breath and, of course no calorie intake. 4 a.m. today, his oxygen saturation dropped to 70; not good. They were finally able to get the oxygen level up as to avoid him being intubated and moved to ICU. The levels have held pretty good throughout the day. He has a large pleural effusion (sac of fluid) in one lung and are treating that with Lasix. That seems to be helping as he is now breathing better and peeing a lot!

He also ate today. I think it finally sunk in that food is a must if he wants to get better. He had a quarter of a egg salad sandwich, about 1/2 cup of split pea soup and half a piece of cheesecake along with two cartons of milk. Not bad considering he hasn't eaten in 6 days.

Because of a huge bed sore on his backside, he is now on an air bed, which should also help with the healing.

As for me, I'll be sleeping in his room tonight for peace of mind. Oh, by the way, it's a beautiful sunny day in Seattle.

MONDAY

Sometimes it is difficult to blog; not because I'm too busy, but because the days seem to blend together, or because there are days I want to forget. When I came into Dave's room today he was feverish and didn't know if it was morning or night. He has been without fevers for days now, so they will be investigating the cause. He had a swallowing evaluation this morning and did okay with that. Swallowing doesn't seem to be the issue as to why he won't eat. I, as well as the nurses, are encouraging him to be more diligent. He is, otherwise, tolerating the chemo treatments quite well. He still never complains and only gets upset with me when I get upset about his eating.

Blogs are great to keep everyone informed, but I do tend to use it as a journal for my own benefit. It's hard to know where the line is between what people need to know and what is coming from my own emotions. I do know that Dave has tremendous strength. There is no way I could go through what he has. He said this was going to be a "bumpy ride", but he never mentioned the "finish line", because he isn't going to give up.

We had a great weekend with Molly, Jeff, Sully and Stella. Dave perks up when he sees family and friends. Dave loved the foot massage, compliments of Molly. This coming weekend, Rachel, Bob, Jourdan and Grif will be back and, possibly, Dave's brother, Mark.

PLAYING IN THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS

WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY

Today was brightened with the presence of Stella, Sully, Molly and Jeff. Dave enjoys seeing the grandchildren! Of course, I don't seem to mind too much either!

BETTER DAY

Today, we laughed. Dave hasn't run a fever for two days now and he is out of atrial fibrillation and has no shortness of breath. Occupational therapy and physical therapy both worked with him today. It tired him out but he felt like he accomplished a lot. He had three evenings of chemo and then will have two days off, resume on the 27th for four 24 hr. days. These next four days will be really hard on his body. Please pray for strength to get him through this.

We laughed because all of a sudden he wanted Jones Soda and a lot of it. He drank 4 bottles of that stuff. I now have to go to a store and buy some more, as it is too expensive in the cafeteria. He also drank some Instant Breakfast after one of the nurses insisted on it.

D.J. and I went and saw Alice in Wonderland at the IMAX this evening. It was a great movie and got to spend some time with D.J. He will be leaving on Saturday and Molly and Jeff and the kids arrive tomorrow. We are so excited to see them. We miss our "babies".

FEELING LESS STRESS

Thanks to Belinda, our babies are happy and so are we!

FIRST DOSE DONE

Dave received his first dose of the "big guns" yesterday evening. He's relieved and not having any side-effects yet. He will receive the 2nd one this evening. He doesn't have much of an appetite due to the mucositis in the back of his throat; it's painful to swallow, but he's getting a little down in the form of fruit smoothies, carnation instand breakfast shakes and some warm cereal. Right now he is receiving a unit of blood. If anyone wants to help and doesn't know what to do, be a blood donor. Your blood does help others; Dave is an example of that. Thanks everyone. Special thanks to the Whitefish Animal Hospital for taking care of Ripley and Penelope. We feel better knowing they are being spoiled and loved. Thanks, Belinda for taking them home with you when you aren't working.

Grif giving Grandpa Dave a Shave

FAMILY

Yesterday was actually a blur. After six nights of sleeping here in the room with Dave, sleep deprivation definitely showed. I am now spending nights at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) house, and days here at the hospital. Today I feel much more rested and able to keep it altogether, so to speak.

Dave got through the bronchoscopy smoothly, but then developed atrial fibrillation (irregular heart beat) after the procedure. His rate was not alarming and his vital signs remained stable. He is still in afib but stable. As I write, he is just returning from a chest x-ray. We do not have the results of the bronchoscopy yet, but should shortly. The plan stands the same for chemo tomorrow. It's important that gets started; hopefully, it will help with his shortness of breath.

Rachel, Bob, Jourdan and Grif arrived yesterday, which brought lots of smiles all around. They will be leaving today but, hopefully, will be back next weekend. Although company makes Dave worn out, it also perks him up.

Again, thank you everyone for your prayers, positive thoughts, and comments.