Visit and Visitors!

Visit=
We had blood draw and doctor visit today.
Red blood count is rising. It was 24 Sunday before transfusion. It was 30 yesterday and 31 today. We hope it continues, upward bound. (They say that "38 is the low for guys.")
They ran several test trying to figure out what was causing it to be going so low, but nothing was positive, so they are still stumped.
The nurses and doctors got to know Dennis while he was here and occasionally they make a fun comments about him and his blood. Rachel said today that they were trying to figure something out so they could blame it on Dennis, but couldn't come up with anything. They really don't know what to blame it on. So Dennis, you are free and clear on this! ;) It's not your fault! ;) Terry got good blood for sure! Thank you! (again and again) :)
We have talked about how Terry could pass for Dennis and maybe could eventually take a blood sample to prove that he was Dennis. Does that work??? :)
Brandon decided they were going to have to call Terry "Uncle Dad". Cute huh! :)

About heading home for graduation - our doctor is not anxious to let us go. Doctor Maloney didn't want to say yes, and doesn't want to jeopardize things. He was quite hesitant but agreed to let us come in for a blood draw early Friday morning, wait the couple hours for testing and call in to see how things are going. If all is good, or good as can be at the moment (it's all relative), he will give his okay. The doctor is from Yakima, so he has an idea where we live. When we explained that we lived 10 miles from the Columbia River he was a bit more comfortable. He doesn't like the distance, but it's not as far as he was originally thinking. We will have to be back early Saturday morning and there will be an added blood draw on Sunday to make sure that all is well. We are at risk, but it seems to be a risk we'd like to take at this point, if numbers show they are improving after the Friday blood draw. We just keep hoping it'll turn out better than we think!

Visitors=
What a great treat for us! Terry's parents came with Ellen, Shawna and Troy to visit us today. Ellen, Shawna and Troy came to the clinic with us, while Keith and Idris waited for us at the apartment. Then we all enjoyed a wonderful beef stew that Shawna made and some yummy cinnamon rolls from Idris. Other foods and goodies were brought and left for us, including more water from home. Troy had to carry that 5 gallon cooler up all those steps. We really know how to put our guys to work don't we! We visited and checked out blogs and photos, getting everyone updated on the latest and greatest. :) We enjoyed the visit and love and appreciate our awesome family. Thanks for coming!