So many positives out weighed the negatives.

It was one of those days where you dread what the outcome of a meeting would be. The day could have started as if there were dark stormy clouds and high winds but the new day started with great brightness that made me look at the positives rather than the negatives. God was at work again in ways that we did not see coming.

With another great night's sleep for both Joe and I, we both enjoyed a marvelous hot shower. It was me first since Joe's arm has to be wrapped up with Seal and Press Plastic to prevent his dressing over his PICC from getting wet. Infections are the nemesis of patients going through chemo for lymphoma since that is what kills so many before they finish chemo. Wet dressing becomes a nesting ground for bacteria and viruses so we take good care of that site.

Upon showering Joe said Jennifer, my daughter in law, called me on my phone. She has not called she sent me a text message proudly announcing that granddaughter Emily, a first grader, had gotten straight A's on her report card and was getting an award for her accomplishments later in the day. Right after her message there was a message from Mike, my youngest son and her Daddy, also proudly texting me that Emily got straight A's on her first report card from big girl's school. I fondly remembered when my two sons, Keith and Mike, got great grades in school and how we celebrated those achievements and how proud I was with their results. I always asked them how they felt about any success they had to learn to do it for themselves and how it felt to be successful. The wheel has turned to them and their children. It is another great blessing from the Almighty. I texted back how thrilled Joe and I were and we would call and congratulate her later on that evening. Those messages alone would have made it a special positive day.

The positives kept happening. I had been concerned that I would not be able to get my new hearing aids adjusted at Costco in Dunwoody since I would be gone till after Thanksgiving which would be over 90 days since I purchased the new aids. If I did not like them, I could turn them in and get my money back but rather get different aids that I would like better. I had called and left a message the day before that I was not able to keep my Thursday appointment since Joe was in Houston until after Thanksgiving and we had moved temporarily to Houston. Costco hearing aid center had called me back and left a message that I would be able to visit the local Costco which Joe and I had already located. It was good news.

There was another voice message on my phone that left me speechless. Joe had taken a shower and got  him unwrapped before I let him listen to the message from Caleb Clark, our Eastminster Presbyterian minister. Joe was emotionally touched by the message as I was. Caleb stated that he wanted to come and visit us in Houston on 11/6  for fellowship, serve us communion, represent the church membership and as a friend since we were away from home without a safety net of people to help us. Wow! Isn't that incredible! He was coming just for us and with the hearts and prayers of our church with him. We called him back thinking maybe he had forgotten that we would be in Houston and not Atlanta till after Thanksgiving. He laughed and said he knew that. We were concerned about the expense and his time but he shoved us off on that one. We welcomed him to come and we would also share a glorious lunch together. Caleb would also get to see our little "honeymoon" place where Joe and I are together all the time. Joys keep coming to us in so many ways.

As we drove over to MDACC for Joe's dressing change, the blood tests and exam , it became less dreadful for us. Sure we both were nervous but so far the day was very bright and that I was sure that this would be the outcome from the blood tests. I watched the sterile dressing change again so I could be certified next week by the Infusion Department to do it myself instead of a special trip to MDACC. We kind of like staying away from the place. I felt more comfortable about being able to do it. We found the Education Place and bought the DVD of the instructions on how to change the dressing. I do not want to be the one to cause infection of the PICC site.

Next stop was the FAST TRACK lab where they draw six vials of blood to be tested as well as get Joe's vital signs. It takes anywhere from one hour to two hours for the blood results to come in. Instead of hanging around in the Lymphoma Lounge where it is freezing cold, we headed to the cafeteria on the first floor to have lunch. Today it was Chick Fillet.

After lunch we headed back upstairs to wait for the appointment with the Physicians Assistant. It was now about 3PM. The lady said she had been calling Joe since 1:36PM since he did not get his vital signs completed and get a pager. It turns out that they give the patient a pager so they know when to come back after the lab tests were back. Lessons learned so that will not happen again.

Joe was nervous and for a change I was more calm than he was. There was just too many positive vibes of the day. Panic struck Joe when we saw the CBC results his white blood count (WBC) had gone from 65.7 on Monday up to 71.9 today , an increase of 9.4%. The PA asked Joe how he felt and he says they need to tell him instead. His RBC (red blood count) went down from 3.58 to 3.49, decrease of 9%. His Hemoglobin went down from 10.3 to 10.1, decrease of 2%. His Hematocrit went down from 35.3 to 34.1, decrease of 3.5%. His platelets took a big dive from a normal 165 to abnormal 116 but still not bad for someone who recently had chemo. The PA said that she had to discuss the results with Dr. Romaguera and we held our breaths. I could sense great anxiety from Joe and his immense disappointment that his WBC went up. The PA comes back and tells us that Joe can report back on Monday, get labs, see Dr. Romaguera and wait to be re-admitted to the hospital for Part B of the Hyper CVAD chemo without the "A" part which is Joe's normal 21 day cycle. Joe thought that it was bad news. I advised Joe that it was good news since Romaguera's assessment of the CBC tests was that Joe was stable. The variance since Monday was within decent ranges that he would not have to be re-admitted that day. Because I was calm and confident of that fact, Joe started to be less tense. There were too many positives in the day to think that this was a setback. Joe also knows that if I thought otherwise that I would have asked to see Dr Romaguera and I would have told Joe that I was concerned. I just had this calm over me that it was OK and convinced Joe. I did admit that I was also disappointed that the WBC did not go down as we had prayed for but it was not a huge difference.

Since Joe would not have to check back in till Monday, it meant that we had three full days off from being at MDACC. Yippee! It was great news and we would use those days to full advantage. I told Joe that I would love to drive up to Dallas and see Julie Campbell Stephens, her husband Russell and their 2 year old girl, Campbell. Julie is also pregnant with Lily who is due on 11/24. I would love to see our dear Julie pregnant.

Julie came into our lives via my career as a Mortgage Loan Officer at Bank of America. Julie was getting out of active duty Army and back into civilian life. She served our country. Her new job started within a week but her VA loan would not close for 30 days and she was going to commute from Columbus, GA to Norcross everyday. No way, I was going to let that happen to someone who served our country in Iraq. I offered her to stay with Joe and me until her home was ready to move in after her loan closed. She stayed and we enjoyed her so much. Max also adored her.

After a year she decided to moved to Anniston, Alabama where should would be in the active Army reserves. She bought another home there and I assisted her with that also. She was there only a short time and fell in love with Russell who works with a prominent government agency. She got married and moved to Dallas where Russell lives. In one year they started a family and now 2 years later another little girl is due. I would love to see her and Joe agreed that we could go to Dallas to visit. Now to ask, Miss Julie.

I e-mailed Miss Julie and she welcomed us grandly by inviting us for dinner and spend the night before we headed back to Houston on Sunday. She is an excellent cook and would make Joe one of his favorite meals. I gave her a couple of suggestions since she asked me. Julie nicknamed me her Atlanta Mama. She is tall, pretty, majestic and a very strong Christian lady who is fun and intelligent. What a joy to be able to see her and get away from Houston and the small studio apartment. Max would come with us since he is good around everyone.

Tonight we went over to Galleria Mall for the first time. The place is gigantic and so many La-De-Da stores that all I can do is just window shop since even their sale items would be outrageously priced. Name every big designer that you ever heard of and they were there. Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Baccarrat, Prada etc... We headed towards the large ice skating rink on the lower level where it is surrounded with places to eat. Joe wanted La Madeline's again so his wish was granted. We sat at the tables where one looks out at the smooth skating rink as the kids and people skate. It was entertaining but not as much as getting back to the studio to watch Game 2 of the World Series where the Giants blanked out the Texas Rangers by an amazing score of 9-0. Wow!

We headed to bed but I woke back up at 1:30AM since I was not tired anymore. It is the danger of taking naps in the afternoon. So instead of fighting to go back to sleep, I figured I would do my blog.

It was such a positive day with blessings raining down in multitudes. God continues to walk this walk with us with His son, Jesus, holding our hands. Tomorrow brings another new day. New blessings with shower down to keep us strong. Thank you so much to Joe's Prayer Army. You can see how your prayers are at work and how God has worked his special gifts into our lives.

Blessings to you and your families,
Bonnie