Happy Halloween!

Today was an Ofa day - infusion from 9:00am to 3:00pm.  Things went well, except that Terry didn't feel very steady and strong when it was done, so we gladly took the shuttle back to the house where he is resting for the evening.
We had a fun little bag of treats at our door when we got back.  This is what we found -

The little note tells us that this holiday goodie bag was put together with love from the Hutch School Kids.  The Hutch School is for children of the patients and caregivers at the SCCA Clinic.  Their classroom is here at the Pete Gross House.  We'll try to get a photo of that soon.   It was a fun little gift, but we wish we would have been here when they came so that we could offer them a treat too.

We took a few little candy bars for the nurses that helped us in the infusion room today and we had some stickers, m&ms, and a bouncy ball for our doctors daughter.  He told us yesterday that this would be their first year for trick or treating and they were excited for it.  He is from Russia and they don't do Halloween there.  Our giving seemed to please him and make him happy, and we were certainly pleased. It just felt good to give.

The Hutch School children walked around parts of the clinic today at 1:00 to trick-or-treat, but we were inside the infusion room and unable to see them.  We did see two children dressed in costume on our way out, and we had a couple sets of stickers that we gave to them.

Behind those children is the desk for the infusion room, where "Things" were working away today. There were a few others in costume too - what a fun day for everyone. 

We had a nice Halloween ... How about you?

(There's a funny thing we are noticing - we get kinda bored here even though we could be doing the same things at home and feel just fine, it's just not the same. Still, we are grateful for this opportunity to help Terry get better and we pray that it will help.)

We'll head home tomorrow afternoon, after a pharmacy visit and blood draw. No promise of posting over the weekend, but I do promise to post if I can.  Either way we'll be back with appointments on Tuesday.  Did you notice that ... no appointments on Monday!  Happy day!

Happy Halloween!
 

Steps of Transplant

Wednesday appointments went well, and the walk was really nice even though the sun wasn't out. There was a bit of a chill in the air, but no rain.  The leaves are beautiful in their varying colors and there are still some lovely blossoms tucked in here and there.  There is beauty all around!  (I should have taken a picture - maybe I can remember to do that tomorrow.)

Terry's line entrance sight looks good and is ready to use as needed.  We will be changing the dressing/bandage daily for a couple days and then weekly, and we will be flushing the lines daily again.  Even this daily requirement will be so much better than the pokes, so it's all good.  There is a slight change in the way the process they go through to change the dressing, but it's not a big change so it won't be any harder to do.

The doctors seemed to be pleased with Terry's health improvement and are looking forward to transplant which will take place on Nov. 22nd, with conditioning starting on the 18th.

In case you need a refresher, I'll share the steps of transplant (Allogeneic Transplant, which is the kind of transplant Terry is having), as they are listed in the manual we received.

Planning Ahead - DONE
Preparation = Arrive at SCCA and begin medical evaluations, orientation, and get ready for transplant. (This is the stage we are in now.)
Conditioning = High-dose chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy  (begins on Nov. 18th)
Transplant = Stem cells harvested from the bone marrow (of donor) are infused into patient.  (Nov. 22nd)
Before Engraftment = Patient receives close monitoring, supportive treatment and management of complications while waiting for signs of transplanted stem cells are engrafting (growing and developing). (I don't remember how long it takes to see engraftment taking place, so we'll just have to let you know when that happens, after transplant a few, to several days, or maybe weeks.)
After Engraftment = First signs of engraftment ... immune system is starting to recover.  Close monitoring and supportive treatment.
Long-Term Recovery = Patient leaves the center and further care and treatment is provided by the hometown doctor and resumes life at home.  (They like to say that this takes place about 3 months after transplant, but we've seen that not happen for too many patients here, so we'll see.)


Now for the best news of the day - Terry is no longer in contact isolation, so he doesn't have to wear those masks anymore in the clinic ..., we can sit by a window and see out to the lake.  Everyone seems happy to remove him off that list, but no one can be more happy than he is about it.

The worst news of the day is that Terry will have to have another bone marrow biopsy before transplant. We tried to get them to just use the results of the last one, but they want one closer to the transplant day so that they have a more accurate count on things and to know if something else should be done during the conditioning.  Oh Bother!  Guess we gotta do what the doctor says.  I suppose we'll just be happy that we get to go home again this weekend.  Happy day!

Hickman Line In Place

We took a morning walk to the clinic again this morning, leaving at about 7:20am, for a blood draw appointment at 7:45am.

Then we went to the 2nd floor for the surgery.  Terry's platelets were at 52 so there was no need for an infusion, which meant the surgery went as planned and now Terry sports a Hickman Line once again, but this time it is on his left side.  He is doing fine and looking forward to no more needles.

The line placement looks a little different than last time, but will surely do the job just as well.

We're fine!

Monday and Missionaries

The weekend is over and we are back in Seattle at our apartment.  We brought a load of things with us again.  It just doesn't end, we keep finding something else we need.   Lucky as we feel to have this place, we are finding that there are still a few comforts that it lacks.  So this is what we brought with us this time.  My office chair ..., now I can sit for a longer period of time without aching so badly.



We put some things away, had lunch, and walked to the clinic to ride the shuttle to UWMC for Terry's ENT appointment. 

Dr. Davis said things are healing well and will continue to get better so we are looking forward to that. Terry still sounds a bit congested and has a bit of a sinus headache, but there is hope with the good news of improvement on it's way.

We went back to the SCCA clinic for a platelets infusion - in at 3:00pm and out about 5:45pm.  We are hoping he is ready for the surgery tomorrow without the need for more platelets. 

We will head to the clinic early in the morning, fasting in preparation for the surgery.  The Hickman Line will be so much easier than poking him over and over again so we look forward to it.


ABOUT OUR MISSIONARIES:

Chase has had some struggles lately, but is feeling really pleased with things right now.  He has been transferred to an area that has a Tongan ward.  His companion speaks Tongan and Chase is in hopes of learning from him.  His last couple emails have been so positive and encouraging.  He is loving the work and is doing well. His new address is

Elder Chase Lamont Hebdon
3986 Bellmore Way
Reno NV 89503

Connor is also doing well. He is happy to be serving a mission and strengthening his own testimony. He loves the people they are working with and is grateful for the many wonderful experiences he is having.  His emails always make me smile.  His address hasn't changed for awhile, but I'll share it again here

Elder Connor Ronald Hebdon
16 York Avenue, Apt. #2
Towanda, PA 18848

They would surely love to hear from you if you feel an urge to write them.


Have a great evening!

Weekend at Home & Another Pumpkin Picking

We enjoyed our weekend at home and hope to have a couple more before transplant since transplant isn't until Nov. 22nd.   Since we couldn't get the transplant done on time, we'll swap for weekends at home - sounds good to me.  I hope they agree at the clinic.  ;)   Time will tell! 
We didn't really give them a choice this time.  Terry had his blood draw at 10:30am Friday morning and we picked up his schedule.  Noticing the Tuesday surgery, we knew that he would need platelets infusion before then, so I went to the charge nurse and told her we were going home, right now, and wouldn't be back until our appointment at 1:00pm Monday, so if they needed to infuse platelets before surgery it would have to be after that 1:00 appointment, no earlier than 3:00.   She called us on our way home and told us that Terry's platelets were 29 (I think), and that his infusion was scheduled for 3:00pm Monday.  

I loved being with the family - every minute was awesome!  I wanted to soak it all in and save it up for the week.

The grandchildren were so fun to watch - they played together nicely.  We wish all 8 of them could have been here.  Oh, have we told you - we're having another baby?   It's a boy!  Auger will have a brother, which means that Akleigh will have two brothers.  ;)

It was fun to see Elsie walking all over, and she did this cute little thing with the baskets - holding them on her arm.  LOVE IT!




Elsie got to pick a pumpkin, and took the one she could carry around on her own.  At first she wanted to eat it like an apple, but soon realized that wasn't what it was for.  She carried it around for awhile and it made me smile.

Auger and Akleigh got theirs earlier, here, from the garden, but it was too rainy, wet and cold for this pumpkin picking, so Anthony plucked them from the garden and brought them in the house for her to choose. 

 

 

We enjoyed our church meetings and having the family over for dinner before heading out Monday morning.  We'll have to do this again sometime! ;)

Now it's back to Seattle for another week of appointments.  We have something every day through Friday this week, so we will try to keep you informed. 

We're Home!

Uh Oh!  I forgot to post last night.

We had blood draw Friday at 10:30am and walked back to the apartment, picked up a couple things and left again.

We got in our car and headed for home.  :) 
We stopped at Costco in Issaquah for a few things and kept on driving.  It's a familiar road, and it just kept looking better and better the more we drove.  The best thing we saw along our drive was just 2 or 3 miles from our destination.  The field we call "the west units" was half harvested and the combine was at the truck loading it up (with grain corn).  We stopped and talked with Thomas a few minutes and then went home.  Home feels good.

BJo and Anthony got home from school - it was good to see them. 
We tried to catch up with a few things.
Talked with Michael, saw Tawnee and Elsie (and Elsie wanted me to take her, so I was a happy grama).  Tawnee made dinner for us.
Auger and Akleigh and Dana came, and Akleigh stayed with us while Dana and Auger took dinner to Thomas.  Akleigh was so happy to be with us, that she even enjoyed going through the mail with us. She didn't want to leave my side for a little while.  I think it made her too nervous that we were heading out again.  It was good to be together again.

Thomas and Michael came when they got done with the harvest for the day.
It was so fun to see family and be together a little bit. We look forward to the next two days.

We get to be here for the weekend, and will make the drive back to Seattle on Monday morning for an afternoon appointment with the ENT, Dr. Davis, and then an infusion of platelets at 3:00pm in preparation for the Hickman Line placement on Tuesday morning.  No more blood draw pokes or infusion pokes (except for that one final poke for IV for the surgery).  Happy Day!

I don't know if I'll post while we are home - we'll just have to see how things go, but I'll begin again for sure when we are back in Seattle. 

Have a great weekend - we know we will!  We've got a lot going on today - many directions, but we're home and that is what counts right now.

Ofa Day

Today was dedicated to Ofatumamab - which is the chemo infusion Terry is getting once a week until transplant. (Though they started him off with two this week.)  This second infusion of Ofa went much better than the first one, Monday.  He had no itching or redness or any other problems to slow it down, so he got the full dose that was prescribed.  We were in at 8:00am and out of there at 4:30 or a few minutes after.  We are pleased with the day.

One thing we are remembering from 3 1/2 years ago is that SCCA clinic is uphill both ways when traveling from the Pete Gross House.  These hills are a bit steeper than walking from the SCCA House.  It's three blocks closer, but a harder walk.  We will get used to it and it will be okay.

Terry breaded some chicken thighs (boneless) to fry, and I made some cookies tonight.  After dinner Terry mentioned that it was a home cooked meal.  We really haven't had too many of those lately.  By the way, have you tried waffles and fried chicken?  We've seen that a few times on the cooking shows, so tonight I toasted a leftover waffle and ate it with the fried chicken and it was pretty good.  I can see why they do that, though it's always sounded strange to me.  I was curious and tried it, and I think I'll try it again sometime using a recipe from some trusted site somewhere.

Terry is watching the game again tonight - he is feeling the side effects of the chemo and isn't very energetic, but he is doing fine. 

We don't have a schedule for next week yet, but will pick one up tomorrow after the 10:30 blood draw.  We do know that Monday will be the post-op appointment with Dr Davis (ENT) and we have been told that the Hickman Line will be placed on Tuesday.  We are very pleased with that decision and look forward to it.  That might mean that Terry will have a platelets infusion scheduled in before that surgery to put in the line.  We'll see and keep you posted.

Today's photo - how about a look at the new kitchen rug I purchased yesterday? 

It already feels better on my feet than the hard floor, and it's prettier in person.

Filling up the Apartment

Today we had a free day, so we took it slow.

We went to Northgate Mall area for lunch and to do a bit of shopping.  We got a few more groceries and a heavier coat for Terry.  We got a few other things like non-stick frying pans and a clean cover for the ironing board - I just couldn't use the old dirty looking cover that was here. 

There are still a few things we will bring from home to complete our needs, like baking pans because there is nothing for baking in this place.  It seems that I just keep bringing things in.  I'm filling it up - I guess that's what I do. 

One more thing I bought was a cute bowl and some candy, just what we needed on the sofa table.

I keep thinking that the table would look great with some fresh cut flowers on it, but the rules of the clinic and House is that we can have no plants or cut flower arrangements.  So, a basket of fresh fruit is working very nicely on the table.

When we got back to the apartment I put things away, did some more organizing, and a bit of laundry, and some relaxing in front of the TV - the game is on!

Well, yesterday had so many pictures that I think today will be photo free.

Have a great evening!

Our New Place

Well, last night was a hard night ..., hard to sleep.  Terry had been given medication to help get rid of the hives during his infusion and it does the opposite of what Benadryl does - it keeps him awake. That makes for a tough night.  He came out and watched TV and didn't get back to bed until 3:00am.

I started unpacking and putting things away this morning, so things are pretty much where they will stay, unless I change my mind later (and I reserve the right to do that).

Terry made a Spanish Tortilla for us for breakfast, but it was pretty tricky without the right pan and no salt, but he made it work and it was delicious.  We're so glad to have a kitchen and plan to get it supplied with things we will be using often.

Our first appointment for the day was at 2:15 for blood draw and then we had a 3:00 appointment with our team, which includes a nurse and two different doctors.  It was quite informative and we were happy to learn the new plan, though the timing is not really what we were hoping for.

Terry will have an Ofatumumab infusion at least once a week to help control the disease and not let it get too bad since we are taking awhile before transplant.  This week he will get two - he had one Monday and gets another (much larger dose) Thursday.  They will start right out with the hydrocortisone to begin with so that he doesn't get hives and they can pump it faster to get the right dose.  I hope it doesn't keep him awake all night again, I don't know how many sleepless nights one can handle when health is already an issue.

Transplant is now scheduled for November 22nd.  They tell us that is the best timing for the donor.  Whatever the reason we are on their terms and timing, so what can we say?  I guess one thing we did say was "please put the Hickman Line in now!" because he is tired of getting poked like a pin cushion.  He has had too many blood draws and infusions lately and they have to poke him each time (twice a day many times).  They agreed to put it in early, but will have to check with our insurance to make sure. Hopefully it can be done soon.

We're just taking it one day at a time, but this timing thing is pretty tricky.  Speaking of time - I think it's time to show some pictures. We'll start with SCCA House, room 313, so this is the place we left behind.

This was our bedroom (sorry, I was moving out at the time I took this photo so the bed is not made).

This was our kitchen and hallway to the bedroom and bathroom (view is shown from standing at the front door).

Did you see the fridge?  It's under the counter under the microwave.

Here is the living room and dining room and office space, just past the kitchen and right in the bedroom.

Here is the bathroom.  It was a good size room with nice drawers and counter space.

Oh, here is the closet in the bedroom.  Great drawers!

Now that was nice huh!  We were definitely happy to have it available for us. 

Now let me show you where we moved into.  Pete Gross House Apt. 312 -

Our bedroom.

 



With a bathroom.

 Our kitchen.

A second bedroom.

Our dining room, that I changed into a scrapbooking area.

 

Here is the dining room and the living room, as seen from the scrapbooking area.  ;)

 



 

And look at my laundry room.  ;)

 

 

Oh, here is our main bath.

 

Here is the look from our front door (main bath to the left, laundry in the closet at right, two bedrooms straight back, and the office desk).

 

 Another view of the desk (from the hall leading to the living area.

 

Here is a closet in the hall.



 This view is in the entrance at the desk, looking down the hall toward the kitchen and living areas.
(The hall closet can be seen at the right of the photo and the bedroom doors can be seen on the left of the photo.)

 

Well, that ought to have been confusing enough.  But, we are loving the larger space with a real bedroom and a real kitchen and a real living room area and dining room area, and a washer and dryer and ....  We know it's not perfect, but it's great!  We are happy to have it.  It's a bit more homey.

FULL Day! TOO FULL!

This day began early and ended late for us. 
Terry had a blood draw at 7:00am and went right to the infusion floor for a chemo treatment - Ofatumamab - remember that?  He had that before, maybe a year and a half ago.

This time the Ofa didn't go quite as smoothly.  They dripped it slowly and would slightly speed it up on occasion, but after a couple hours into it Terry started getting itchy and a rash was appearing all over his face and neck and torso until he was bright red.  They stopped the Ofa and gave him so more Benadryl.  After about 30 minutes they started it again, and it was okay for awhile until it started to happen again, so more Benadryl. 

The doctor came in this time and they gave him a stronger medication to combat that reaction - the highest they could give, and then they dripped it slowly, never speeding it up to what they really wanted to get it to. 

By 3:00 (that's about when they gave him the high dose meds) we decided that I should go take care of the paper work to sign into the Pete Gross House (PGH).  So I walked to Pete Gross House, filled out the papers and paid the October fees, and got the keys.  YEAH!  I then walked to the SCCA House and started loading the car.  I decided to take two trips instead of trying to fit it all into one.  I couldn't believe it when it was already 5:45 and I needed to go get Terry because they thought he would be done about then.  I left the car half loaded (or unloaded) at the PGH garage and walked back to Terry.  He still had two hours left so we decided that I would go back to finish unloading the first load and go get the second load. 

It takes a long time to load up all my stuff, unload all my stuff, and move in.  I had just got the last of the things in the car when Terry called to say he was done (8:00pm) and I was heading up to the office to turn in our keys.  I then took the loaded car (loaded with the last of our things) to the clinic and picked up Terry.  If I didn't have all my scrapbooking stuff I'd been a lot faster.  If I hadn't unloaded everything Saturday it would have been a lot easier.  Who knew?

Anyway, we got to the PGH and moved in only what we needed for the night - like the foam mattress cover and clothes.  I'm guessing we have 1/4 of the thing in now, and it won't take long tomorrow.  Part of the problem is that the carts don't hold very much here, so it takes many trips. 

We got the food put in the fridge and what filled our last fridge to overflowing looks like nothing in this one.  It's time to go shopping again.  ;)   Really it is, because now that I can cook, I need stuff to cook with.  We'll be alright for a few meals though.  Oh!  The nice guy at the SCCA House office told us to come back and visit.  We are always welcome to their meals that are given there, so to keep an eye on the newsletter they send over here and come and join them.  That was awesome!  He's so kind.  I can't say that we'll go, but maybe we'll think about it.

We warmed up some food and got our completed dinner at 10:00pm - not so good huh!  We are happy to not have any appointments in the morning. We don't have to be there until 2:15, so I'll be able to put a few more things away.

I'm sorry, but it's just too late for pictures, so I'll try to get that done tomorrow.  

Our new address is

Terry Hebdon (again they say that his name should be on every piece of mail)
525 Minor Ave. N.  Apt. 312
Seattle, W 98109

We're going to bed. He's had an awful day and mine wasn't very easy either, so good night everybody!

Good News Sunday

We went to bed late last night so it was nice to have a late appointment this morning.  We didn't have to be there until 10:00am for blood draw.  We waited on the 6th floor for the results to find out that Terry's platelets count were 33.  Not so close to the 50 they were hoping for, so they made us an appointment for platelets infusion at 1:00.

We walked back to the room and had lunch and then walked back for the infusion. While we were in the waiting room we got a call from the Pete Gross House telling us they have an apartment available.  After the infusion we walked over to see it. We want it!

SO OUR ADDRESS IS CHANGING!

We have an early start tomorrow with blood draw at 7:00am and a chemo treatment at 7:30am.  There is also a platelets infusion scheduled at 3:00 if needed.  We'll see what tomorrow will brings - maybe things will change.  But some time tomorrow we plan on moving over to Pete Gross House and we are so happy to have a little more room and better conditions for cooking and cleaning. And, now we won't need to go purchase a recliner because there is one in the apartment. I know, I just set up my scrapbooking area, but it will be worth packing it up again for a better space.

We got back to our room and saw the puzzle half done.  That would be terrible to start and not finish that project, so we finished that puzzle.  Here it is -

Saturday and Scrapbooking Area

Today was all ours - and it was much needed.  We started out the morning getting the rest of the things out of the car.  I left the boxes sitting around and we went to get groceries, because our cupboard was bare.

We drove up to Safeway on the hill and the higher we traveled the more fog there was.  It was a most interesting feeling as we reached the top and got ready to turn into the parking lot.  I felt so pleased to be together, in our car, doing some shopping.  It was almost emotional for me ..., almost.  It just felt so good to be on our own and doing some normal life things like we have done before, even though it is the big city life of Seattle (on a foggy day).

We got a few groceries, worrying all the time if we had enough room in our fridge and freezer for everything  because it is so tiny.  Then we went back to the room and put everything away, including the things from the car. 

Now all of my scrapbooking supplies are out and ready to use again, as soon as I get the photos from home.

And now the cupboards are not so bare, though it's still not quite like home.  We are very limited, but feel a little more prepared for the next few days to come.

I still want to get a recliner for Terry to use after transplant.  One thing this place does not have is a nice place to relax.  I think a small recliner will be better than a bed or a hospital style chair out in the hallway, so maybe next week we'll complete that task.

I cleaned the bathroom and washed a load of laundry and brought a puzzle up from the resource room. 

Dinner was lasagna, a green salad, garlic bread, and pumpkin pie.  I can take no credit for any of it except for walking to the kitchen and bringing the plates back.  This dinner was provided by a church in the area.  Good people in the world, blessing lives of others they don't even know.  It happens often around here and we are so grateful for it.

We have said a blessing before every meal ever since I was a little girl and it's never meant as much to me as it has here the last few days. It's an interesting feeling.  We are living with so little here in the way of comfort and ease, which makes me a little more grateful for the little things we do have.  There is a commercial on TV I've seen a couple times that has a quote I like -

 "Even the worst things bring the best along with them!"

So true!

We're watching TV and putting a puzzle together.  Just relaxing so Terry can recover well.  And he is recovering.  The bleeding has lessened, but he is feeling some discomfort around his neck and head like they strapped him down.  I'm sure they did so that they wouldn't damage anything, being so close to the eyes and brain.  We are happy for every little improvement, and we are hoping that they keep coming daily.

It's been a great day filled with tender mercies of the Lord.  We hope you've had a few pleasant moments as well.

Okay, photos for today include the first part of our room.  The single bed area which we don't use, so I filled it up with my scrapbooking supplies.  I guess I'll sit on the bed, cause that's the only place left. I've wondered about asking if they would let me move it out, but I don't feel good about it, so I'll leave it.   I'll share the other parts of the room another time. 

The view from our front door.

 

 

The view into the room.

 





 

The view back toward the door.

There you have it!
FYI - The shelf unit that the paper is on and the little table behind it are things we brought with us.

I guess we should go to bed!

Friday and Line Covers

So here is what happened today in our part of the world -

We walked in the fog this morning to begin our appointments at the clinic.

Blood draw at 8:30am.
This was to make sure that Terry's platelets are above 50, and they are at 54 so no infusion of platelets was necessary today.  Doctors are pleased with the counts and have told him he can skip tomorrows blood draw unless we see some extra bleeding.  We are confident that no excessive bleeding will take place, so we are planning not to be back in the clinic until Sunday.

Immune Globulin Infusion at 9:00am. The schedule had this listed as a 6 hour infusion, but we lucked out and were only there for 4 1/2 hours since there were no complications. :)

Flu shot for Elaine at 9:30am.  I had to leave Terry at infusion and go get a flu shot.  Luckily the clinic was offering them for free to the caregivers, so I took advantage of it.  I was only gone for 15 minutes since I only had to go up one floor to get it, but he was slumbering by the time I came back in.  Benadryl has a way of doing that to him.  He did well with the infusion.

We walked back to the House in the sunshine - awesome huh!
We had a microwave macaroni and cheese at the infusion snack kitchen, so lunch was taken care of.
We didn't do much the rest of the day, trying to let Terry get some rest. It was nice to have a computer in the room so we could do some lookin' and checkin' on things of interest. I also talked to BJo and Anthony for awhile - happy day!

Dinner was Chicken Fiesta made in the slow cooker, over rice cooked in the microwave.  This was my first try at cooking rice in the microwave.  Just regular long grain rice - and it cooked okay - not our favorite way, but it was edible.  We'll do it again sometime.

Now the TV is on - Terry is watching a baseball game ..., so I've gotta spend some time on the computer to find something enjoyable to watch. ;)

I have another photo for today -
These are the line covers that they have displayed in the lab, free for the taking.  I recognize three of the styles as those BrittanyJo made and sent over with us last week. We dropped them off yesterday when we went in for blood draw.  The pink and black zebra, the purple and black leopard, and the cream with little lady bugs, bees, and flowers. She might recognize others, but I'm not sure at this point.  Isn't she AWESOME!

You're all awesome!  Thanks for your kind comments, thoughts, and offers.  We are hoping to sneak home for a couple days next week to take care of a few more things if our schedule doesn't fill up too much, so we are thinking that we will be okay till then. Thanks again!

Good-bye Hospital

So, this morning was a good morning - a bright new day.  Terry had a pretty good night, though it was a hospital night which means you don't get much sleep, but he felt pretty good for what he had just been through.  He had to sleep at a 45 degree angle to help prevent the bleeding from going back into his throat, allowing it to run out the nose instead.  Most of the bleeding began when he would get up for bathroom breaks and for the walks we would take around the halls.  We were pleased that everything was going well and they were able to discharge him.  We picked up meds and came back to our room at SCCA House.  It was an interesting feeling when we walked in and had an "almost like home" feeling.

OH!  I forgot to share something yesterday.  We took our first Seattle taxi ride.  The clinic gives us taxi vouchers since we cannot ride the shuttle to the UWMC, so we took a taxi over yesterday morning and then back again today. We are grateful for the kind drivers we got, but do not have a desire to use a taxi too often. 

I started two loads of laundry and prepared lunch.  After lunch I got a few things out of the car (we haven't unloaded everything yet), and finished the laundry.  We then walked to the clinic for blood draw to check to see if Terry's platelets count is over 50.  They are 59 today, so no infusion necessary.  We will have a blood draw daily to check his counts so we can infuse if necessary to keep them up so he doesn't bleed too much. 

We are now resting and anxiously awaiting a free dinner offered in the kitchen by another kind group of people, probably a business performing this awesome service.  Tacos!  We are kinda tired today, so it will be nice not to have to worry about making food and cleaning up tonight, and we don't have much in the fridge right now anyway.  We really need to do some grocery shopping soon - maybe tomorrow.  These free meals prepared for the patients and their families here are a great service that we do really appreciate.  We'll have to plate up and bring our food to our room since Terry is still in isolation, but that is no problem.  Maybe we'll watch some TV while we eat - it will even be easier than TV dinners, and surely better tasting too.


It's been a beautiful sunshiny day here - how 'bout your day?
Hope you're having a good one.

PS -  I've been wanting to add more photos to my posts, so today I will share a picture of the chair / bed I used in the hospital last night.  I was very grateful to have it even if it was too hard.  I guess that is one time I am happy to need to get up several times during the night.  My hips and back will get over it in a day or two.

 

Pull it out and fold it down, add a pillow and a couple blankets (and even a sheet) and it becomes a bed.

 



From The Hospital

Terry's sinus surgery went well, though it took a bit longer than they thought.  The doctor is very glad that we did this because of how bad it really was. Terry did bleed a bit more than usual because of the low platelets, but it was not a problem.  He is recovering now, staying in the hospital overnight.   I will be on a chair right beside him.  The chair pulls out to make a bed but it's so hard we'll see how that goes.  I was just telling Terry as we were waiting for the surgery to be done that I am so tired of hard chairs or no chairs at all, using a bed - my sit down is not feeling so good.  I thought it would be nice to go furniture shopping just to sit on a soft sofa or recliner.  Can't do that though.  I am happy for a chair at all, and that we are in a single bed room.  If it had been a double bed room here I would not have been able to stay so easily.  Actually, they would not have been able to kick me out so easily either.  Anyway, it's all good - I can stay!

We are hoping for a good night, whether it's comfy or not.  We just want some good recovery so we can leave tomorrow. 

Slowday ..., I mean Tuesday

We were able to spend some time writing one of our missionary sons today before heading over to the clinic for a 10:30 blood draw.  Our Food Safety and Managing Care at Home classes that had been on our schedule were removed because of the cold symptoms Terry still has.  We'll try to get them on another day. 

We came back to the room for lunch and got our mailing info figured out. 
Our mailing info is

Terry Hebdon
Rm 313
207 Pontius Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109

FYI - It has to have his name on it!


We walked back to the clinic for a 3:30 appointment.  We are happy for nice weather days.  They are a bit cool, but not too cold.  I hope we have a nice fall and winter so that the walking can take place often. The doctors here at SCCA are kind of on standby until after the surgery tomorrow and they learn what the ENT doc wants for recuperating time, so we are just going to accept things as they come.

We learned that the platelets will not be given tonight, but will be given in the morning.  We have to be at the UW at 8:45 in the morning for work up and platelets infusion, and Endoscopic Sinus Surgery.  We will be there all day and possibly overnight, depending on how he is doing.  Normally it would be an easy recovery, but the concern with Terry is the bleeding due to low platelets.  After platelets infusion Monday morning they were at 63 - not bad for Terry, but not so good for surgery since they prefer 80. 

He has no appointments at SCCA until Friday.  I, however, will head over Thursday morning for the lovely flu shot.  Yippee!  There may be a follow-up at UWMC, but it shouldn't be too tricky.  I'm sure we will be taking it pretty easy the next several days so he doesn't have any bleeding to complicate things further. 

It's a Monday

If I leave out all of the confusion that took place today I would simply say that we started our day with blood draw, then had an infusion of platelets at SCCA.  We then took the shuttle to UWMC for visits with ENT doctors, a CT scan, and three other pre-op visits.  It was a full day.

It was that simple at times - we are totally liking Dr. Davis and his staff - they are good!

I cannot stay completely away from telling about the confusion that took place, because I must share that Terry did not have the nasal surgery as we were told he would.  I do want to clarify that the confusion was not with Dr. Davis, but came from within the SCCA somewhere.  We did learn today, that the surgery is necessary and it will take place Wednesday.

I am beginning to think that we are really throwing SCCA for a loop here.  They seem to be struggling trying to keep up with our issues.  Maybe we'll start to see the humor in it soon.

We picked up a schedule for tomorrow at SCCA and we are pretty sure that things will change.  It was after hours so we couldn't ask about the changes that we think will happen, but if things go as we were told today, we know that we will have a blood draw in the morning and an infusion of platelets tomorrow evening. What happens in between is questionable.  I guess we'll learn as we go along tomorrow, and we'll let you know when we're back.

Have a good night!

Hello Seattle

Here we are in Seattle again. We still have a view of the city from the same direction.

This is what we saw out our window on September 24th -
They are taking the old gray oil soaked dirt out (seen on the left of the photo) and bringing the new clean brown dirt in.



This is what we saw out our window on September 30th -
The dirty dirt gets moved from one spot to another, to another, to another and then finally into a truck to leave the site.

This is what we see out our window on October 3rd.  
Things are changing in this construction sight.  We are amazed at how many trucks bring in clean dirt on a daily basis.  More dirt seem to come in than goes out at this point.

This is what we saw out the window October 13th. We have been gone a while and it's quite a change.  We are one floor down and two rooms over from the times before, but we still have a view of the same part of the city. Because it's a Sunday there isn't any work going on here, but we are sure to see some tomorrow.

 

Now, for info about our clinic visit today.
We had a blood draw and visited with the charge nurse to learn about the next appointment, which was platelets infusion (4 hours).
We walked to the clinic and back twice today - it was great weather.  Happy Day!
On our way out to our second appointment the clerk at the desk (here at SCCA House ) stopped us and told us that it was our lucky day because we get a garage parking spot (not so easy around here). 

So tomorrow is the only day we have info about for the week.  We think we will learn more after the surgery tomorrow or Tuesday.  We'll let you know when we find out.


Not our typical Sunday, and we hope there are not too many more like it.  We missed our usual Sabbath day worship.
Hope you had a good one!
See ya later!

A Good Week Started With Conference and Ended With Pumpkin Picking

We had a great week at home.  We started it out with listening to and enjoying every session of General Conference.

 

I did a bit of cleaning and catching up with household things while the wind was blowing so badly.

When the weather finally calmed and warmed a bit I was able to do some much needed work in the yard - weeding I hoped to have done before leaving to Seattle, but it never made it to the top of my To Do list.  

My hands and my body were aching, but it was worth it because the yard looks much better. There is still a lot to do, but I'm grateful for what I did get done.

 

We enjoyed being with the kids for the full week and will miss them again.

I took a quick snap shot of them doing their homework one day. This will be a fun picture to keep in my mind while we are away. 

 

 

 We were able to spend a few fun minutes in the garden with Auger and Akleigh.  I had been wanting to let them come pick a pumpkin for several days but with the different schedules we all had and the weather not always cooperating, it seemed to be pushed back to the last minute. Luckily Saturday gave us a great few minutes of everyone being around at the same time and the weather was just slightly wet.

But look at the fun we had -

 

 

 

Auger and Akleigh each got to pick their pumpkin and I'm happy.

I mean they are happy.  We are all happy!

 

 

LIFE IS GOOD!


Thanks for checking in on us.
We're heading back to Seattle again. We'll keep you posted.
We love you and hope you have a great day!