Friday, 14th

Today's appointments included a visit to the radiology department to learn about what will take place with the TBI (Total Body Irradiation) next week (22nd) and to be measured for it.

We also had a clinic visit with our nurse and doctor just confirming that Terry is doing well and that things are continuing on schedule. 

We picked up more meds for Terry to take, and will have an appointment next week to talk about more meds and get his meds schedule.   As the medicine counts increase daily it gets a bit tricky, especially since they will need to be taken at about 5 different times throughout the day, so those schedule sheets really help.  I'm looking forward to getting it.

This week has been slow compared to what next week will be, but we are anxious to get this week complete so that the transplant can take place. 

Conditioning starts Monday, the 18th, with transplant on the 22nd or 23, depending on when the blood product from the donor gets here.  She is a smaller lady and they do not know if they can gather all they need in one draw, and won't know until it takes place.  If one draw, transplant will take place on Friday night, but if two draws, then transplant will wait until Saturday.  We will know on Friday morning which it will be.  They reminded us that the two or three weeks after transplant are very critical and that we must be very careful.  We promise to do nothing to compromise his health.  We do not want to do anything that will make this not work.

Surely this lady somewhere in Europe, our donor, is feeling anxious about what is taking place in her life, and we are so grateful for her selflessness in our behalf. We are grateful that she is a match for Terry and willing to share. May the Lord bless her for her selfless service.


Be The Match



Wednesday Appointment

We had just one appointment today, and that was to sign the paperwork to let the doctors perform this transplant.  The paper is signed and we continue to move forward.

There is really nothing new to tell, so we will take each day, one day at a time, and share what we can with you.



image from here



 

Weekend Report!

Our weekend was wonderful!  We enjoyed our time with family.  There was a new addition to our gathering - Michael and Tawnee have a puppy, named Ginger.  Auger had a few moments of fun with it. 

The little ones enjoy being together and I enjoy when they are together.   Here they are playing with the Duplo's and the empty Duplo bucket (on wheels).

 

 

We had some other guests too, not new to the family gathering, but visiting for the weekend, and different than any other weekend this last couple months.  Brandon and Megan and we all loved having them here - it didn't take long for the kids to really enjoy being around them.  Wish we could do this more often.  (I'm so sorry for the blurry photos, it's not a very good camera for movement, so it's tricky to get it right, but just look at the fun they are having.)

While we were together we decided it would be a great idea to have a Thanksgiving meal.  I didn't want to do too much for the décor because we weren't going to be home very long, making clean up a bit tricky with so little time.  I did however use the assorted china and goblets - a look I love.

 

It came time to say good-bye to Brandon and Megan - we will miss them until next time, but we are grateful for the time they spent with us this weekend.

I had almost forgotten to give Elsie her birthday gift, so I was happy when I remembered to do that before we left.  We won't be able to be here for her birthday later this week.  ;(  We gave her a blanket and a baby doll.

Elsie enjoyed her doll for a moment, but was very anxious to be up and going. She has such a sweet smile and we are anxious to watch her grow.  It was so fun to see some of the new little things she is doing (like climbing up into a children's rocking chair all by herself) and will be anxious to see her growth in a few more months.

We gave Akleigh a baby doll for Christmas, just like this one we gave Elsie, so Akleigh was worried that we had taken hers. We assured her that hers is at her house and this one is for Elsie.  She still loved and hugged it for a minute.  She loves babies.  It's so sweet to see her be so tender with them.

Tuesday morning came and it was time for us to travel back to Seattle.  There was rain, but it wasn't bad, and there was a lot of traffic when we got past Issaquah, but thankfully, we were able to get where we needed to be with some ease.   So we are back in Seattle again and anxious to get this transplant going strong.  It was a simple blood draw appointment that brought us back for the day, but each day gets us closer to T-day (transplant day). Our home visits are probably done for a few months so we are happy that this last one was such a good one.

Friday Report!

Friday appointments included a blood draw and a CT scan for Terry.  These might seem somewhat easy, and indeed they are, but Terry has been having a hard time sleeping, due to the chemos and meds he's been given, so he's feeling quite weak and tired, though not sleepy enough to sleep, so he was up all night Thursday, which seems to make him more weak, of course.  I can see that he is shaky and hear that his voice is not very strong, but  I am glad that all this will subside with time. 

The drink he has to take for the CT scan always makes him feel strange too, so that will not be pleasant.

We did some grocery shopping in the morning before heading to the clinic.  We walked home at about 4:30 and anxiously awaited the arrival of Brandon and Megan.  They came and saw the apartment and then we headed down the road, with Royal City our destination.

We had one stop on the way, and that was Costco at Issaquah.  We purchased the final groceries needed and headed home, about 6:30. 

I have a hard time driving at night because I just can't see and judge distances very well in the dark, and it's so much worse when it rains.  It started raining, so I was struggling.  I was so grateful for the new roads that have been constructed just over the pass, because the lanes are wider and the lines are brighter, making it a bit easier than years past.  My eyes were glued to the lines and I couldn't tell you how anything else around me looked, but Terry says there was no snow on the pass.  The trees were pretty, with a bit of snow on them when we traveled over Tuesday ..., I guess that's gone, but I can only tell you that because that's what Terry told me.

We are happy to be home again!
(For many reasons.)

Photo for today is a duplicate - if you saw this post, a couple days ago, you might wonder why I'm posting the same photo again.  Well, let me tell you -

We did some counting as we walked this hill to give you an idea of just how steep this is.  The corner where Terry is standing is where I will begin.  I'll call that floor level, which it would be if we were up to the end of the sidewalk all the way, or inside that building Terry is standing beside.

Walking down this first block takes us down almost 3 stories difference.
The next block is 1 story difference from one end to the other.
The last block down this walking route is a 2 story difference.

So, that is about a 6 story difference from the top of this hill to the bottom of it, where we turn left to go to the Pete Gross House - about a three block walk. 


Maybe I'll remember to get some photos this weekend so you can see something new on the next post.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday - last Ofa infusion before transplant.

Ofa (chemo) infusion today, then home resting because Terry is feeling the effects of the last couple days.  He's okay, just needs to relax.  Happy to have one more day down!

All is well!

Tuesday and Wednesday

We made it back to Seattle without any travel issues (Tuesday, late afternoon) ..., clear roads and not too much traffic, so all was nice and smooth all the way to the apartment. 

It was hard to leave home again, but we were rewarded with a visit from my mom and dad.  They were on their way home from after attending my nephews wedding and decided to stop it in and see us here at the apartment.  We had dinner together and a nice visit.  It was good to see them and to feel of their love and concern - a great way to help the rest of the week slide by.

Wednesday began with a blood draw and a clinic visit.  The visit with the doctors was somewhat normal, they say things are going well, and transplant is on schedule.  3 more meds were started (nothing really new, just some he hasn't been taking for awhile and needs to start up again).   Then the dreaded bone marrow biopsy.  REALLY!  It has apparently been too long since they did the first one when we arrived and they have to have a more current baseline for transplant.  OH BOTHER! 

Well, that went well, except that one side required a second drill for the piece of bone they have to take out.   The lady that performed the biopsy told us that she tried to talk the doctors out of having to do this biopsy since it was only five weeks since the last one.  Then she tried to talk them into just doing one side, but ..., well, the doctors couldn't be talked out of it.   Both sides ..., again!

So, that was done, and we headed back to the apartment.  A few minutes later we had our second set of guests at this apartment.  Tawnee and Michael came and then we went out for lunch.  We enjoyed their company and then we went our separate ways.  Oh, but they are sneaky - we got up from our meal and Terry took the check/bill up to the counter to pay and Michael had already given them his card, so lunch was on them, not us.  You have to watch out for him!  He's a good guy!

This is a great week - in two days we will have two more visitors and then head home again.  Brandon and Megan are coming, and then we will all head to Royal for one last weekend before transplant.  Surely it will be a lovely weekend.

Only two more days here!  ;)

I apologize for not getting photos of our guests, but I did have my camera when we walked to clinic this morning, so this is what you get for photos today.

These flowers are still so pretty.  We get to see them on our walk every day.

Here is one of the hills we climb every walk to the clinic. I was talking with Terry about how steep it felt and when we got to the top he told me to look down the line of the bottom of the brick on this first building ... it's the level that we are standing on at the top of the corner.  Then follow it to the end of the building and it's above the roof of the next building about half way down the block.   It just keeps going down and down.  Up is hard, down is tricky. 

We are back at the apartment resting now, with a new day ahead!  Hope you are having a good one!

More Fun with Family

After watching a Joanie Bartels video - The Rainy Day Adventure, the kids enjoyed their own adventure going around and through this "limbo box".  They had so much fun and we had a lot of fun watching them. 






Our weekend is over and we are heading back to Seattle.  It was good to be home to enjoy some of the normal day to day life without medical issues.  Oh wait, we still had those, and that's kinda normal too, but just being home was great!  After a week with a sore throat, and it getting worse daily, I (Elaine) went into the clinic Monday to find that I have a sinus infection.  I knew I needed to get in to the doctor so that I could start taking meds to clear it up if is was necessary, but I thought it would be more of a throat issue than a sinus issue.  Crazy huh!  Anyway, I'm on the meds ..., on the mend.   It seems that we must have all caught this bug, because most everyone of us has a sore throat or other problem. I suppose we will trickle into the doctor and get it all taken care of.  Maybe by next week we will all be healthy again.  HOPE!  PRAY!

Lastly, one of the normal happenings was that we heard and saw these planes going over the house.  This has been a normal occurrence for ..., well, ever since we've lived here, over 20 years now.  However, this is the first time we have seen 7 at one time.  Usually there are 2 or 3, and maybe we've seen 4 or 5 a time or two, but never this many, so it was kinda cool.  Sometimes they are so low it feels like you could reach up and touch them.  I always enjoy seeing them.

Celebrating Halloween With Family

We didn't get to see any of the grandkids in their costumes on Halloween this year, so while we were home for the weekend we were treated with a fun evening.  Saturday evening they came over, in costume and trick or treated for us.  We loved it.  

 

 

 

 

After trick or treating we had dinner (homemade pizza) and then watched Monsters University,

image from google search

 and had some yummy caramel corn that Tawnee made.  It was a fun evening together.