June 26, 2009

Good Evening,

Mom and dad are both doing well. Mom shook her cold and dad seems to be gaining a little strength . Dad's starting to get out some. They went to see Kenny Rogers earlier this week in Sikeston and yesterday they celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. Dad's continuing to work in the garden and around the house. They'll be around town this weekend. Dad's scheduled for another treatment next Tuesday. Mom was talking today how dad has had 21 treatments so far.

Have a good weekend,

Back at the House

Dad was discharged from the hospital this afternoon. The infection in the colon has healed but they're going to keep him on antibiotics for a couple of weeks. The doctor said it may take a month or so to get rid of the pneumonia. Dad still has a cough, but has quit coughing up blood. His white blood count is back to normal. He's weak. As weak as I've seen him, but I'm hoping he'll start getting his strength back now that he's out of the hospital.

Thanks to everyone who called, sent cards, and stopped by while dad was in the hospital. Thanks for checking on mom as well. She's feeling a lot better.

Well, got to go, Ribeye's tonight!

Still in hospital

Dad's still in the hospital. He still has the infection in his colon, pneumonia, low blood counts, stomach and back pain (which may be caused by the shots they're giving him to raise his white blood count), etc..

The doctors seem to think he's going to pull out of this. If the blood levels rise over the next couple of days they may let him come home. If that's the case, he'll be on antibiotics for a couple of weeks.

We did go outside for a bit yesterday. He wanted to see how hot it was outside so the nurses let me take him. We thought about trying to escape once they let him out, or at least go to Andy's, but we settled for a stroll around the hospital instead.

He's about as tired as I've ever seen him. I guess it's to be expected.

Mom is still sick but may be feeling a little better.

Have a good day

June 16, 2009

Mom called this morning and said dad has pneumonia. Mom's sick and can't go visit because his white blood count is so low (although it's starting to increase a little because of the shots). I'll probably head back home to check on things here in a day or two.

Dad just called as I was writing this. He sounds a lot more congested than he did yesterday but was hopeful that the antibiotics would help him.

I'll keep you posted.

Have a good day.

Back in the Hospital

Dad’s been battling low white blood counts the last couple of weeks. Apparently the chemo wears down bone marrow over time which results in fewer white and red blood cells being produced. As a result, his immune system weakens. A couple weeks ago he had to put off getting a treatment for a few days while he took shots daily to boost his white blood count.

Mom and dad spent last week down at Angie’s. Dad was getting noticeably fatigue while he was there. He got back on Friday and spent most of the day Saturday out at the Relay for Life event. Late Saturday night he started shaking pretty bad and his fever shot up. Mom took him to Southeast Hospital and they admitted him early Sunday morning. Currently, all his blood levels are messed up and he has a bacterium of some sort in his colon. They’ve got him on several antibiotics and when I spoke with mom earlier they were giving him a couple pints of blood. They’re still waiting for the results of some of the cultures. With his immune system being down they’re keeping him somewhat isolated, although family and friends are allowed in with masks.

Dad’s in good spirits.

He’s got one heck of a garden. I went home for a day last week and he took me out to give me the tour. You can tell he’s putting some time in on it. Tomatoes, squash, okra, peppers! He’s got plants hanging from buckets, squash growing out of tree trunks. He’s got the best blackberry crop he’s ever had. When I drove up last week he was in the front doing some yard work and he had blood all over his arms. Apparently he tried to get the riding mower under the apple tree and the tree won the battle. I couldn’t help but laugh.

I’ll keep you posted as we find out more.

Take care,