To state that Joe is ecstatic about being released out of the hospital today is a huge understatement. When I arrived at the hospital, Joe had everything packed up and on top of the bed ready to go. He was fully dressed and energized that he would be released after being there for a full week. The week seemed much longer because of the Thanksgiving holiday week when hospital was emptied of people. I felt like I was in the movie "Shining" as if Jack Nicholson would jump out from one of the doors in the empty corridors of MDACC. It takes people to make a hospital alive and Monday started huge flux of people to roam the halls, offices, cafeterias, and alcoves. Life was born again. Hallelujah!
I did not get to the hospital till about noon. Joe was being unhooked from the Tree of Life and discharge orders were starting to be written up. We had to wait till the doctors came by after they reviewed the blood results and the nurses log of the last 24 hours. There were three doctors who came in. They thanked us for choosing MDACC for treating Joe. With his rare myelofibrosis and mantle cell lymphoma, they stated that they had learned a bunch from Joe's case and they were grateful for that opportunity since it is extremely rare. The docs stated that Joe responded very well to the chemo and his ability to withstand it as well as he did was terrific. They gave us the usual precautions of being released and what to watch out for in terms of danger and prevention. A echo-cardiogram needs to be completed. Usually it is completed before the chemotherapy begins but Joe was in dire need of hospitalization immediately that it was skipped. He will have it done on his next day of check on on Thursday which is his day to be examined and new blood tests to be reviewed. We pray that he will remain stable since that will mean that we will be going home soon. Joe is scheduled to get an IV of the chemo "V" of the HyperCVAD-R which is a second dose given 11 days after the start of chemo treatment on Saturday on an out patient basis. We still had to wait around for the written discharge papers and I took that opportunity to request Joe's medical records to be copied and sent to Dr. Elliott Winton of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University who will take over Joe's chemotherapy and care which will continue indefinitely. The particular chemo treatment that Joe is on will last till April unless he goes into complete remission before then and that is what we are hoping and praying for. At least it will be done from Atlanta but we will have to probably travel back to MDACC to see Dr. Romaguera every three months.
We left the hospital at 2PM with a short stop at the hospital pharmacy to pick up some drugs to take home with us. Joe just loved walking to the car, getting his whiff of cool fresh air and hopping in the car and traveling to the studio apartment. I knew that he would be beat after the excitement of the discharge. He sat on the couch and just savored the moment enjoying the quiet, Max greeting and loving him, no one poking at him every 30 minutes for vital signs or whatever. He had a satisfied grin on his face. Mission accomplished. He took a 3 hour leisurely and sound nap. I had already ordered a pizza to be delivered which he thought was absolutely perfect from Barry's Pizza. All three of us enjoyed the medium thin crust pizza with extra cheese, mushrooms and Italian sausage. As we ate, I read Joe the messages on Facebook and e-mails about congratulations on his discharge. He was amazed at how many people made comments. As I was reading Facebook, one of my friends who I adore told me that she was having a mastectomy on Friday for invasive breast cancer. I was in shock when I read that and my heart just ached for her. Even though she had a mammogram in July which was negative for cancer, she found a lump in her breast in September which turned out to be malignant. Imagine having to wait two months with the monster in your breast waiting for a team of doctors to get together to decide a course of action. Agony and fear are feelings that run through my mind. I would not be able to sleep. Please pray for beautiful friend, CP, and her family.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, will be devoted to nothing. Nothing means rest and some walking for Joe, He has got to walk to gain strength and keep the blood flowing. He is in good spirits today with his adrenalin pouring through his veins in the excitement of his discharge.
We pray that his condition remains stable with no detours in the road so that we will be in Atlanta soon. I can imagine our joy when the doctor says that we can go home. It is coming by the grace of God. He has been sending his angels regularly to guide us through this dangerous journey. You are some of the angels and we are thankful for all of you who have prayed and send great thoughts, wishes and vibes. The good karma has traveled the miles.
Ciao!
MONICA SMITH AT MDACC 9/14/11
MONICA SMITH AT MDACC 9/14/11
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The "Red Devil" enters Joe!
Last night I stayed with Max in the studio apartment to get away from the hospital to get myself renewed. I shamelessly slept to 11:45AM in that big comfortable king size bed with awesome sheets and pillows. I did not realize how much I needed to do that until I did it. Not more than 15 minutes later I got a call from Ollite Templeton who was at MDACC to meet with Dr. Romaguera to go over the results of all her tests she had last week. Jess, her daughter, was scared to death over worrying about her mother, Ollite. Jess had posted on the on-line support site for Mantle Cell Lymphoma. I have reached out to Jess over the last two weeks to tell her that all will be OK and that her Mom is in the best of hands. When Ollite was at MDACC just before Thanksgiving, we could not get together since her schedule was so filled up with appointments. Joe and I definitely know how that is. Running from place to place and hurry up and wait for your name to be called. Jess had e-mailed me last night and she gave her Mom my cell phone number to contact me. Her Mom would be at MDACC all day today with her father, Larry and her Aunt and Uncle who are all from Louisiana. They have some relatives that work at MDACC so they will have some support from family members locally. Ollite had asked me if I was at MDACC and I told her a little white lie and that I was and that I would meet her and her posse' at the Gazebo at 1PM. I thought if she knew that I was still at the hotel, she would have felt bad about me making a trip over there to meet with her. The way I looked at it was that I was going over there anyway to be with Joe for the rest of the day. I met all of them at the Gazebo area on the 3rd floor and spoke with them for about an hour. Ollite is a very pretty soft spoken lady and obviously very worried as all of us are. She had lymph nodes growth on her neck and other places. She had it biopsied in Louisiana and the first time they said it was not malignant. Unfortunately it kept growing and now she has a growth in her throat. There have been several list members who had the same thing but they are blessedly in remission and that there is hope as well as many treatment options. The previous week Romaguera told her that she would be at MDACC for six months. We all pray that when she saw the doctor at 4PM that she would have better news. I have not heard back from her and I pray that God gives her the strength to fight this cancer and give her peace as well as confidence that she will have more good years on this earth. She is in good hands.
I got to Joe's room about 2:15PM and he was sitting in the chair very quiet and his body language told me that he was sad. He was very tired and listless but in no pain. While I was there, he did have a low grade fever which I bought to the attention of the nurse and Tylenol bought it down. I noticed tonight his ankles were a little bit swollen like that were when he had part A chemo the first time. He also now has had the chemo "Red Devil" for over 24 hours which is very harsh on the body and still had another 24 hours to go. If the Red Devil were to get onto one's skin, it would bubble up and burn and here they are putting it into his veins. Joe did have some tears in his eyes but he held them back by closing them. I tried by best to cheer him up. For dinner I got take-out from Outback Steaks which he loves which perked him up a little bit and was so appreciative that I went and got it and we had our steak dinner on the hospital table. After that we laid next to each other on the bed with our arms around each other. I rubbed his back and legs which made him relax. He kept saying how sleepy he was and at 10PM he said that he was going to sleep for the night and for me to go back to Max and stay the hotel for the night. He said that it was good for me and that he would be find. I made sure the small light was on in the bathroom. His "call" remote next to him on his pillow and his cell phone near him to call me if he needed me. He was getting a unit of blood then and another was ordered when that one was done. The red blood usually perks Joe up since when his counts are low, he has no energy. After a week in the hospital which included the four day holiday weekend, anyone would get down. Joe is no different but he would never admit to that fact.
Thank you for those who make comments on my blog. I read them everyday and appreciate people taking time to do that. Joe and I just want to get back to Atlanta and to our home. I pray that is sooner rather than later but most importantly, Joe's health is number one. We will take care of this business and hopefully continue it in Atlanta rather than Houston.
May the Lord be with you and give you peace, love and hope!
Ciao!
I got to Joe's room about 2:15PM and he was sitting in the chair very quiet and his body language told me that he was sad. He was very tired and listless but in no pain. While I was there, he did have a low grade fever which I bought to the attention of the nurse and Tylenol bought it down. I noticed tonight his ankles were a little bit swollen like that were when he had part A chemo the first time. He also now has had the chemo "Red Devil" for over 24 hours which is very harsh on the body and still had another 24 hours to go. If the Red Devil were to get onto one's skin, it would bubble up and burn and here they are putting it into his veins. Joe did have some tears in his eyes but he held them back by closing them. I tried by best to cheer him up. For dinner I got take-out from Outback Steaks which he loves which perked him up a little bit and was so appreciative that I went and got it and we had our steak dinner on the hospital table. After that we laid next to each other on the bed with our arms around each other. I rubbed his back and legs which made him relax. He kept saying how sleepy he was and at 10PM he said that he was going to sleep for the night and for me to go back to Max and stay the hotel for the night. He said that it was good for me and that he would be find. I made sure the small light was on in the bathroom. His "call" remote next to him on his pillow and his cell phone near him to call me if he needed me. He was getting a unit of blood then and another was ordered when that one was done. The red blood usually perks Joe up since when his counts are low, he has no energy. After a week in the hospital which included the four day holiday weekend, anyone would get down. Joe is no different but he would never admit to that fact.
Thank you for those who make comments on my blog. I read them everyday and appreciate people taking time to do that. Joe and I just want to get back to Atlanta and to our home. I pray that is sooner rather than later but most importantly, Joe's health is number one. We will take care of this business and hopefully continue it in Atlanta rather than Houston.
May the Lord be with you and give you peace, love and hope!
Ciao!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Long Haul at MDACC
Joe is still an in patient at MDACC and continues chemotherapy. Amazingly he still has not had any adverse effects physically though his blood counts are moving all over the place.
Saturday moved so slowly that I thought the clocks were broken. I was to a point to overdosing on football. The TV in the room is up to the ceiling so one must look up to view it which is tiring after awhile especially since I have that darn bulging disc in the C6-C7 area of the neck. Just sitting in a chair is painful and reaching for anything is excruciating. I have pain pills but they do not give you many so I try to ration them out.
To escape boredom and depression, I decided to explore the empty corridors of the hospital. On the weekend it is spooky with the lights dimmed down and no one walking around. I started to feel like I was in a movie " A Night in the Hospital Halls ". If someone had opened a door, I am sure both of us would have screamed bloody murder. I found the 6th floor patient/caregiver laundromat and beauty shop. There was a person doing laundry but I left them alone so I would not scare the heck out of them. I decided to use the cross bridge to the Rotary House which is a hotel for MDACC patients and caregivers. It is a long cross way bridge over the road and at dusk one could see the colored sky and the lights of the cars in a parade down the streets. The cross way links the second floor to each building so one does not have to cross the busy street or get into inclement weather. I entered the area of the Rotary House where there is a restaurant and lo and behold a real bar with alcohol. Just what I needed. It had a very nice setting with just a few people having drinks and dinner. I sat at the bar and treated myself to a glass of Pinot Grigio and a very good French Onion Soup. I slowly enjoyed both items. It was my Oasis that let me escape for a little while.
When I made it back to the room, the Georgia Bulldog and Tech game was on. At least it was a game that had teams that meant something to me. At halftime Joe said he wanted Chinese Food so I left to go back to the hotel and walk Max. I ordered the food on line from P F Changs and picked it up at 10PM then headed back to Joe. He was so excited about some good tasting food. He loved the Hot and Sour Soup, the Spring Rolls, and Mongolian Beef. The restaurant gave us 10 fortune cookies so I handed them out to the nurses who were on duty. We watched a repeat of Saturday Night Live then called it a night. Joe had finally finished his last Cyclophophamide chemo which took 3 days to complete.
Now it is Sunday in the wee hours where they drew Joe's blood at 5:30AM. It was the first time I woke up during the night. About 8:30 AM the nurse's aid, Miss Grumpy with Loretta Lynn hair, was having issues taking Joe's blood pressure with the machine. She tried it several times. She pulled Joe's bandage from the blood draw 3 hours before. She started to pump up the blood pressure wrap and the puncture point from the blood draw, spurted out. Boy that caused her by surprise. She ran to the bathroom to get those coarse brown paper towels. With Joe's low platelets, he does not clot in 15 minutes like one should. She did not do that again. LOL. Joe and I laughed after she left the room since she was the only person who had issues with the blood pressure machine on Joe.
The Vinstrine chemo took only 15 minutes then they started the "A" chemo whose nickname is the "Red Devil". Yes, the liquid is red in color and the adverse effects are horrific. I read about it the night before and it would scare anyone. I had gone to take care of Max and attend church at St, Philips Presbyterian on San Felipe Blvd when the doctor came but Joe said that he was optimistic with the results so far. The doctor did order two units of red blood since Joe's hemoglobin was down to 7.20 which is very low. Platelets are at 55 so Joe did not need a platelet transfusion. Yeah!
When I got back to be with Joe, we were hoping to be able to watch the Falcon Football game but we were so disappointed that it was not on here locally. Joe could not leave the room and I was not going to go and see it some place when he could not. My oldest son, Keith, had emailed me and ask how things were going. I told him we were still in the hospital and the game was unavailable here. Keith came to the rescue and let us use his on-line Direct TV NFL Package game account. It meant he could not watch it which is a big thing since he could not watch it since we were using it. What a special gift to us and appreciated so much! It helped made the time go faster with being able to watch our team. They won the game over the Green Bay Packers so we were very happy.
About 7:20 PM Joe said he was hungry for some BBQ from Goode'sMcDonalds not having hot fries ready and waiting 15 minutes for them and they forgot the salt. More stupid traffic lights working out of sync. Getting to the parking garage and not being able to find my prepaid parking token. My arms weak from carrying stuff back to the room. In the elevator there was a tall man and I started that I was worn out. He said he knew what I meant. He said he is from Seattle, Washington and he has been flying back and forth since May while his wife has an advanced stage of Ovarian Cancer. Chemo did not work on her for 4 years. They wanted to have her get a Bone Marrow Transplant but the Hutch Hospital would not give it to her but MDACC would thus giving them hope. Her kidneys had shut down and had dialysis and was admitted into ICU. He was arriving from the airport to be with her and she had gained consciousness this afternoon and kidneys were starting to work. He was to fly back out tomorrow to Seattle. Well, that was so sad. So that made me so sad that all my stress accumulated and I had some tears going up the elevator to the 9th floor. I told Joe the tears was just from stress and just feeling sorry for myself. I needed to be hugged and loved. So we ate our BBQ on the small hospital bed together. For two hours we stayed that way laying next to each other. I just felt so alone.
Since I had to go back to the hotel to take care of Max, I decided to stay the night there to give me a break from the hospital. It just would be too much to go back and forth again. I needed some R and R or I should say ESCAPE.
So that is it. Good night, God be with you.
Saturday moved so slowly that I thought the clocks were broken. I was to a point to overdosing on football. The TV in the room is up to the ceiling so one must look up to view it which is tiring after awhile especially since I have that darn bulging disc in the C6-C7 area of the neck. Just sitting in a chair is painful and reaching for anything is excruciating. I have pain pills but they do not give you many so I try to ration them out.
To escape boredom and depression, I decided to explore the empty corridors of the hospital. On the weekend it is spooky with the lights dimmed down and no one walking around. I started to feel like I was in a movie " A Night in the Hospital Halls ". If someone had opened a door, I am sure both of us would have screamed bloody murder. I found the 6th floor patient/caregiver laundromat and beauty shop. There was a person doing laundry but I left them alone so I would not scare the heck out of them. I decided to use the cross bridge to the Rotary House which is a hotel for MDACC patients and caregivers. It is a long cross way bridge over the road and at dusk one could see the colored sky and the lights of the cars in a parade down the streets. The cross way links the second floor to each building so one does not have to cross the busy street or get into inclement weather. I entered the area of the Rotary House where there is a restaurant and lo and behold a real bar with alcohol. Just what I needed. It had a very nice setting with just a few people having drinks and dinner. I sat at the bar and treated myself to a glass of Pinot Grigio and a very good French Onion Soup. I slowly enjoyed both items. It was my Oasis that let me escape for a little while.
When I made it back to the room, the Georgia Bulldog and Tech game was on. At least it was a game that had teams that meant something to me. At halftime Joe said he wanted Chinese Food so I left to go back to the hotel and walk Max. I ordered the food on line from P F Changs and picked it up at 10PM then headed back to Joe. He was so excited about some good tasting food. He loved the Hot and Sour Soup, the Spring Rolls, and Mongolian Beef. The restaurant gave us 10 fortune cookies so I handed them out to the nurses who were on duty. We watched a repeat of Saturday Night Live then called it a night. Joe had finally finished his last Cyclophophamide chemo which took 3 days to complete.
Now it is Sunday in the wee hours where they drew Joe's blood at 5:30AM. It was the first time I woke up during the night. About 8:30 AM the nurse's aid, Miss Grumpy with Loretta Lynn hair, was having issues taking Joe's blood pressure with the machine. She tried it several times. She pulled Joe's bandage from the blood draw 3 hours before. She started to pump up the blood pressure wrap and the puncture point from the blood draw, spurted out. Boy that caused her by surprise. She ran to the bathroom to get those coarse brown paper towels. With Joe's low platelets, he does not clot in 15 minutes like one should. She did not do that again. LOL. Joe and I laughed after she left the room since she was the only person who had issues with the blood pressure machine on Joe.
The Vinstrine chemo took only 15 minutes then they started the "A" chemo whose nickname is the "Red Devil". Yes, the liquid is red in color and the adverse effects are horrific. I read about it the night before and it would scare anyone. I had gone to take care of Max and attend church at St, Philips Presbyterian on San Felipe Blvd when the doctor came but Joe said that he was optimistic with the results so far. The doctor did order two units of red blood since Joe's hemoglobin was down to 7.20 which is very low. Platelets are at 55 so Joe did not need a platelet transfusion. Yeah!
When I got back to be with Joe, we were hoping to be able to watch the Falcon Football game but we were so disappointed that it was not on here locally. Joe could not leave the room and I was not going to go and see it some place when he could not. My oldest son, Keith, had emailed me and ask how things were going. I told him we were still in the hospital and the game was unavailable here. Keith came to the rescue and let us use his on-line Direct TV NFL Package game account. It meant he could not watch it which is a big thing since he could not watch it since we were using it. What a special gift to us and appreciated so much! It helped made the time go faster with being able to watch our team. They won the game over the Green Bay Packers so we were very happy.
About 7:20 PM Joe said he was hungry for some BBQ from Goode'sMcDonalds not having hot fries ready and waiting 15 minutes for them and they forgot the salt. More stupid traffic lights working out of sync. Getting to the parking garage and not being able to find my prepaid parking token. My arms weak from carrying stuff back to the room. In the elevator there was a tall man and I started that I was worn out. He said he knew what I meant. He said he is from Seattle, Washington and he has been flying back and forth since May while his wife has an advanced stage of Ovarian Cancer. Chemo did not work on her for 4 years. They wanted to have her get a Bone Marrow Transplant but the Hutch Hospital would not give it to her but MDACC would thus giving them hope. Her kidneys had shut down and had dialysis and was admitted into ICU. He was arriving from the airport to be with her and she had gained consciousness this afternoon and kidneys were starting to work. He was to fly back out tomorrow to Seattle. Well, that was so sad. So that made me so sad that all my stress accumulated and I had some tears going up the elevator to the 9th floor. I told Joe the tears was just from stress and just feeling sorry for myself. I needed to be hugged and loved. So we ate our BBQ on the small hospital bed together. For two hours we stayed that way laying next to each other. I just felt so alone.
Since I had to go back to the hotel to take care of Max, I decided to stay the night there to give me a break from the hospital. It just would be too much to go back and forth again. I needed some R and R or I should say ESCAPE.
So that is it. Good night, God be with you.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Day after Thanksgiving
Joe and I slept through the night at the hospital pretty good. I had assistance with my Xanax and Joe had assistance with benedryl. I did not wake up for good until about 9AM. The rooms' temperature is kept more moderately thus I am not freezing like the first two visits.
About 10:30 AM I headed back to the studio to walk Max and play with him a bit with Charlie, his rubber chicken. I gathered up a few things then head to Panera Bread to enjoy my sesame bagel. At Randall's Grocery I picked up some Diet Coke and two newspapers: USA Today and the Houston Chronicle. Next stop was Target to get a duplicate supply of makeup for the hospital room for me, small traveler's size scope for Joe and some warm PJ's for yours truly. For lunch I stopped by the Brown Bag Deli for a great rare roast beef sandwich with extra horseradish sauce and sat down and read the USA Today, A real treat for me to leisurely eat lunch and read the paper which is one of the luxuries I enjoy but have missed over the last month. My car was parked right in front of Chicos so I thought I would take a look for a warm sweater. Luckily it was not crowded at all and I found a long purple crowl neck sweater for $26 down from the regular price of $69.
Joe was comfortably sitting up after eating some spaghetti with meat sauce with cheese bread. He remembered to get me a copy of his latest blood tests where the white blood cells went down a bit and his red blood counts all improved to a more acceptable level. He was in good humor and smiling. He was happy to have me back when he got his next cyclophosamide chemo at 1PM. The doctor came by and stated that all was going smoothly. They gave Joe some latrix to get rid of more fluid since he was taking more in than going out, Some some his electrolytes levels were off but they do a great job here in watching and tending to whatever a patient needs. The 3 hour chemo went without a hitch and we both took a long nap since I could not keep my eyes open.
Joe wanted a pizza from Luigi's on Almeda about 15 minutes from the hospital. Oh my, he enjoyed it so much, He kept stating how good it was. After the pizza party, I went back to the hotel to tend to Max and play with him a bit. I got back to MDACC about 10:25 PM in time to watch Leno with Joe but it was a repeat. We ended up watching "Word According to Eli" with no commercials since the hospital has movies on demand with no additional cost. Joe and I laid next to each other with his arm around me as we watched the movie. The nurses would come in and see Joe and I snuggled next to each other and they would smile. I sure it was strange to see two 60 year old somethings snuggled up in a single size hospital bed. Aw Shucks!
It is now 1:10 and the next cyclophosmiade chemo treatment via the IV is being given to Joe for the next three hours which he should sleep right through it.
Yes, it was a calm day in Houston for Joe and Bonnie. We are thankful for it.
Thank you for those who have left comments on my blog site. I love reading them and appreciate the time it took you to write them.
Ciao!
About 10:30 AM I headed back to the studio to walk Max and play with him a bit with Charlie, his rubber chicken. I gathered up a few things then head to Panera Bread to enjoy my sesame bagel. At Randall's Grocery I picked up some Diet Coke and two newspapers: USA Today and the Houston Chronicle. Next stop was Target to get a duplicate supply of makeup for the hospital room for me, small traveler's size scope for Joe and some warm PJ's for yours truly. For lunch I stopped by the Brown Bag Deli for a great rare roast beef sandwich with extra horseradish sauce and sat down and read the USA Today, A real treat for me to leisurely eat lunch and read the paper which is one of the luxuries I enjoy but have missed over the last month. My car was parked right in front of Chicos so I thought I would take a look for a warm sweater. Luckily it was not crowded at all and I found a long purple crowl neck sweater for $26 down from the regular price of $69.
Joe was comfortably sitting up after eating some spaghetti with meat sauce with cheese bread. He remembered to get me a copy of his latest blood tests where the white blood cells went down a bit and his red blood counts all improved to a more acceptable level. He was in good humor and smiling. He was happy to have me back when he got his next cyclophosamide chemo at 1PM. The doctor came by and stated that all was going smoothly. They gave Joe some latrix to get rid of more fluid since he was taking more in than going out, Some some his electrolytes levels were off but they do a great job here in watching and tending to whatever a patient needs. The 3 hour chemo went without a hitch and we both took a long nap since I could not keep my eyes open.
Joe wanted a pizza from Luigi's on Almeda about 15 minutes from the hospital. Oh my, he enjoyed it so much, He kept stating how good it was. After the pizza party, I went back to the hotel to tend to Max and play with him a bit. I got back to MDACC about 10:25 PM in time to watch Leno with Joe but it was a repeat. We ended up watching "Word According to Eli" with no commercials since the hospital has movies on demand with no additional cost. Joe and I laid next to each other with his arm around me as we watched the movie. The nurses would come in and see Joe and I snuggled next to each other and they would smile. I sure it was strange to see two 60 year old somethings snuggled up in a single size hospital bed. Aw Shucks!
It is now 1:10 and the next cyclophosmiade chemo treatment via the IV is being given to Joe for the next three hours which he should sleep right through it.
Yes, it was a calm day in Houston for Joe and Bonnie. We are thankful for it.
Thank you for those who have left comments on my blog site. I love reading them and appreciate the time it took you to write them.
Ciao!
Publish Post
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving 11/25/10
You would think Joe and I would be sad about missing Thanksgiving with our family but we are really OK since we know the ends justify the means. We are working towards the ultimate goal of remission of Joe's very aggressive Mantle Cell Lymphoma. We heard from many members of our family wishing is a Happy Thanksgiving as well as friends. God is so good to us.
We are particularly thankful with Joe's non-reaction to the Rituxan, the monoclonal antibody, which is a real miracle drug. The only thing that happened is that the cheeks on his face got red but that went away in about 30 minutes. The Rituxan was finished about 10:30PM last night then at 1AM they started the first of six, 3-hour chemo of Cyclophosphamide every 12 hours. He has also received via pill form Dexamethasone. I spent the night in the room with Joe just to make sure everything went OK and it did. One issue is that the lab did not come around at 4:30AM to take his blood so the results could be ready for the doctor when he does his rounds. They did not draw blood until 11;30AM. The Floor Doctor did order a unit of blood for Joe since it was obvious that he would need it since his red blood counts were already low. The chemo would make them even lower. I tried to hang around for the regular doctor's visit but he did not come till later in the afternoon and I had plans to attend Thanksgiving Dinner with Marina Peed's family in Huffman, TX.
I picked up Max and off we drove to Huffman with very little traffic on the roads. We got there at 2:05PM and most of the family had arrived. I got to meet so many relatives and they were all warm and made me feel at home. There was a storm of activity in the kitchen and Eileen made sure the crowds stayed out of there. The turduckling and the regular turkey looked perfectly cooked. I so wanted to grab a piece of the luscious looking brown crisp skin of both birds. The TV was turned onto the football games as with most families, the kids playing video games on their various electronic devices, the adult busy talking about anything and everything. Two of the men cut up the birds while the ladies got all the fixings ready for the tables. There were two large tables set up with about 12 people at each table. The dinner was great. After dinner I took to the couch to watch the Dallas/Saints game on TV. During halftime, I fell asleep sitting up which proves that it was a great Thanksgiving meal.
Max and I headed back to Houston to the apartment so I could drop him off then go to the hospital to spend the night with Joe. Marina prepared two huge Thanksgiving plates for Joe as well as two pieces of pie. What a treasure Marina is! You can not help loving her. As I got closer to the apartment, the sky was ablazed with colorful fireworks. It turned out the display was right behind our hotel near the Galleria. My luck the show was just over as I was trying to get in and back out again which the massive traffic jam.
I picked up my red leather jacket, my big sweater, and pillow to bring with me to the hospital since the temperatures will be dropping substantially. It already was 56 degrees at 6:45PM with a drizzle.
Joe was sitting in his chair watching the football game and in a great mood since he continues to do very well. Thank you, God! He said that he got to talk with both our boys, the grandkids, daughter in law as well as Keith's girlfriend, Jennifer. He also spoke with his sister, Donna. I read all the e-mail greetings to Joe which always delights him. I told him about the afternoon. He was so pleased that I was able to escape on my own for awhile with some great people. Amen!
We were not assigned our favorite night shift nurse, Martha, but now have Kim. We asked Kim if there was a blood draw ordered for Joe at 4:30AM. She checked and said it was not on the order. After much convincing, we asked her to call the on call doctor since we were sure that it was needed every night. Sure enough, she did call and we were correct and supposedly it has now been ordered. We shall see. If not, we will make sure that it gets done.
It is now 10:30 PM CST Joe's coloring looks great with all the pre-cancerous spots on his face are all just about gone. They did have to give him some meds that will make him poop all night long since his potassium is high again as it was the last time.
What is puzzling about the results of the blood test from the 11:30AM draw which was after the Rituxan and one Cyclophosamide IV is that his white blood cells went up from 46 to 56. Some of the electrolytes are abnormal but I am sure that they will take care of all of that. I will make sure I am here when the doctor makes his rounds in the morning to get an interpretation. Joe's platelets are up to 88 which is good progress.
Good Night! I will not be mingling with the shopping crowds on Black Friday. I just am too tired to do that. I was surprise to see on my drive to Huffman today quite a crowd at Walmart. Good Grief!
Ciao!
We are particularly thankful with Joe's non-reaction to the Rituxan, the monoclonal antibody, which is a real miracle drug. The only thing that happened is that the cheeks on his face got red but that went away in about 30 minutes. The Rituxan was finished about 10:30PM last night then at 1AM they started the first of six, 3-hour chemo of Cyclophosphamide every 12 hours. He has also received via pill form Dexamethasone. I spent the night in the room with Joe just to make sure everything went OK and it did. One issue is that the lab did not come around at 4:30AM to take his blood so the results could be ready for the doctor when he does his rounds. They did not draw blood until 11;30AM. The Floor Doctor did order a unit of blood for Joe since it was obvious that he would need it since his red blood counts were already low. The chemo would make them even lower. I tried to hang around for the regular doctor's visit but he did not come till later in the afternoon and I had plans to attend Thanksgiving Dinner with Marina Peed's family in Huffman, TX.
I picked up Max and off we drove to Huffman with very little traffic on the roads. We got there at 2:05PM and most of the family had arrived. I got to meet so many relatives and they were all warm and made me feel at home. There was a storm of activity in the kitchen and Eileen made sure the crowds stayed out of there. The turduckling and the regular turkey looked perfectly cooked. I so wanted to grab a piece of the luscious looking brown crisp skin of both birds. The TV was turned onto the football games as with most families, the kids playing video games on their various electronic devices, the adult busy talking about anything and everything. Two of the men cut up the birds while the ladies got all the fixings ready for the tables. There were two large tables set up with about 12 people at each table. The dinner was great. After dinner I took to the couch to watch the Dallas/Saints game on TV. During halftime, I fell asleep sitting up which proves that it was a great Thanksgiving meal.
Max and I headed back to Houston to the apartment so I could drop him off then go to the hospital to spend the night with Joe. Marina prepared two huge Thanksgiving plates for Joe as well as two pieces of pie. What a treasure Marina is! You can not help loving her. As I got closer to the apartment, the sky was ablazed with colorful fireworks. It turned out the display was right behind our hotel near the Galleria. My luck the show was just over as I was trying to get in and back out again which the massive traffic jam.
I picked up my red leather jacket, my big sweater, and pillow to bring with me to the hospital since the temperatures will be dropping substantially. It already was 56 degrees at 6:45PM with a drizzle.
Joe was sitting in his chair watching the football game and in a great mood since he continues to do very well. Thank you, God! He said that he got to talk with both our boys, the grandkids, daughter in law as well as Keith's girlfriend, Jennifer. He also spoke with his sister, Donna. I read all the e-mail greetings to Joe which always delights him. I told him about the afternoon. He was so pleased that I was able to escape on my own for awhile with some great people. Amen!
We were not assigned our favorite night shift nurse, Martha, but now have Kim. We asked Kim if there was a blood draw ordered for Joe at 4:30AM. She checked and said it was not on the order. After much convincing, we asked her to call the on call doctor since we were sure that it was needed every night. Sure enough, she did call and we were correct and supposedly it has now been ordered. We shall see. If not, we will make sure that it gets done.
It is now 10:30 PM CST Joe's coloring looks great with all the pre-cancerous spots on his face are all just about gone. They did have to give him some meds that will make him poop all night long since his potassium is high again as it was the last time.
What is puzzling about the results of the blood test from the 11:30AM draw which was after the Rituxan and one Cyclophosamide IV is that his white blood cells went up from 46 to 56. Some of the electrolytes are abnormal but I am sure that they will take care of all of that. I will make sure I am here when the doctor makes his rounds in the morning to get an interpretation. Joe's platelets are up to 88 which is good progress.
Good Night! I will not be mingling with the shopping crowds on Black Friday. I just am too tired to do that. I was surprise to see on my drive to Huffman today quite a crowd at Walmart. Good Grief!
Ciao!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
A Surprise Visit and Checking in
Tuesday was Joe's last day off before heading back into MDACC for his next chemo regimen. Marina Peed, a MPD Greater Atlanta Support Group member, had flown in from Atlanta with her family to spend the Thanksgiving holiday at her Mom's ranch in Huffman, TX. Her Mom's name is Eileen and I found out where Marina inherited her outgoing personality and positive attitude with a huge zest for living as well as having a heart of gold - all from her Mom. Huffman is about one hour northeast of Houston where most of the homesites have acreage for horses.
Marina and her daughter ran to greet us as we stepped out of our car. Three friendly dogs of various mixed breeds also greeted us and Max. Hugs and great greetings were shared. Marina introduced us to Eileen, her Mom, who also hugged us as if she had known us for years. Eileen took us on a tour of her ranch where she has five beautiful horses. Jack, an 18 year old palomino, is a horse she saved from abuse and neglect by its owner. She made the owner an offer that he could not refuse or she would report him to ASCPA. You should see how handsome Jack is now with the love and great care Eileen has given him. Three others were auburn and black. There was a white horse staying away from the darker horses and I wondered why. Eileen stated that horses are racists that they alienate the lighter colored horses. Eileen works full time and still manages to take care of her beloved animals which is a huge job. What energy she has! She states that this is her passion and gives her zest for living.
While we were at Eileen's ranch hanging around talking around the kitchen bar, I got a text message from Dr. Elliott Winton, top hematologist for lymphoma and myelofibrosis at Emory Winship Cancer Center that he accepted Joe as his patient so Joe could continue the chemotherapy in Atlanta till April 2011. It has given me such peace of mind knowing that is all set up and Joe will get the best of care under him and agreed to collaborate with Dr. Romaguera at MDACC. Thanks be to God since He answered my prayers.
Marina cooked a fabulous meal with a tasty perfectly cooked roast pork, home fries with caramelized onions which were the "best" that I ever had, and green beans, and rolls as well as lots of wine. Marina said a wonderful touching Grace before the meal. We had wonderful fun conversations over dinner. Joe was in heaven being out in wide open spaces and in a real home. Having a terrific homecooked meal before having to check back into the hospital was perfect to boost his spirits. Max was a perfect gentleman as he sat on the floor while we ate without making a sound. Max also enjoyed his day at the ranch. Eileen and Marina invited me to come to their Thanksgiving feast with 23 guests. Oh that sounds like so much fun. They also believe like me that more makes it merrier. I will bring Joe a Thanksgiving prepared dish from what is left when I return to stay with him Thanksgiving evening.
We had an early 8:15AM appointment at MDACC Lymphoma department to get Joe his Fast Track Labs work done so it would be ready for our important meeting with Dr. Romaguera at 10AM. Goley, his clinical nurse, saw Joe first and asked him the 100 questions on how he felt. Joe lamented how much he missed eating salads. She said Romaguera is stricter than the younger doctors and way more cautious. Romaguera came in and stated that he was pleased with Joe's progress and his adjustment to the chemo. He stated Joe's white blood count went up to 46 but that is offset by Joe's neutrophils which were at 33.12. In this case the high white blood count is neutrophils and not lymphoma which is good news. Joe's platelets (77) and red blood counts are holding somewhat steady but I am sure that he will need red blood transfusions when he does the chemo. Romaguera also stated that this time with Part A Joe will be given the full dosage since they were cautious the first time as well as starting this round with Rituxin and also give the "A" part of the HyperCVAD which they did not do on the first Part A. Joe and I tried to pin Romaguera down as to when we could go back to Atlanta. He told us that he would like Joe to stay around for two weeks after the chemo that starts today. He wants to make sure he is stable and also wants to get CT scan and a BMB completed so we can see what changes have occurred before he releases us from MDACC. Now it may be 12/15 or even later before we get back home. Shucks!
Shortly after Joe was admitted back as an in patient in room P910. We know that when a bed is available that he will be moved to the lymphoma ward as he was the other two times. We already had Joe's bags packed so we got them out of the car and then went to check in where we were greeted very quickly by the nursing team. I unpacked Joe's bag and put everything away. I had Joe give me a list of stuff he still needed such as white socks, eye drops, orange juice, V8, fig newtons, and toothpaste. The nurse came in to go over the Doctor's orders for chemo and all it had was the "C" and the "R". I told her that it was wrong and that Romaguera had told us that Joe was to get HyperCVAD-R. The nurse wisely listened to me without any fuss and called Dr. Romaguera and he told her that Mrs. Evans is correct and that corrected doctor orders would be forthcoming. When she received the new orders, she made a copy for me since they know that I want a copy of the orders and lab results.
I left the hospital room at 5:15 PM to go take care of Max, get my stuff, go to the store for Joe and get something decent to eat. As I got to the hotel, Joe calls me and states that they are going to start the Rituxan at 6PM which would not give me much time to do what I had to do and get there in time. I decided to get my dinner later at the hospital cafeteria so I got back to his room at 6:30 PM and he had his first 15 minutes of 50 ml/hour of the Rituxan. They would take Joe's vital signs every 15 minutes and they kept a close eye on him. I was waiting for him to hit 150 mg since the last time he developed a fever and rigors. Knock on wood and Thanks to God it is now 10:10 pm and Joe's rate of Rituxan is now at the maximum rate of 400ml/hour and will stay that way until the IV bag is finished unless he has issues. The only little thing Joe had so far is red cheeks on his face but no fever. Joe is in great humor and is cracking jokes with the nurses who are so sweet and caring. We got a great crew for this 12 hour shift that runs from 7PM to 7AM.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Joe and I have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed us with our loving families, friends, church, MDACC and now Emory University Hospital. We are thankful for all the powerful prayers that have lifted Joe and me up spiritually and given us the strength to continue this journey. Thank you for being there. We feel your love everyday.
Happy Thanksgiving and hug your loved ones and give thanks to all that God has given each and everyone of us.
Ciao!
Marina and her daughter ran to greet us as we stepped out of our car. Three friendly dogs of various mixed breeds also greeted us and Max. Hugs and great greetings were shared. Marina introduced us to Eileen, her Mom, who also hugged us as if she had known us for years. Eileen took us on a tour of her ranch where she has five beautiful horses. Jack, an 18 year old palomino, is a horse she saved from abuse and neglect by its owner. She made the owner an offer that he could not refuse or she would report him to ASCPA. You should see how handsome Jack is now with the love and great care Eileen has given him. Three others were auburn and black. There was a white horse staying away from the darker horses and I wondered why. Eileen stated that horses are racists that they alienate the lighter colored horses. Eileen works full time and still manages to take care of her beloved animals which is a huge job. What energy she has! She states that this is her passion and gives her zest for living.
While we were at Eileen's ranch hanging around talking around the kitchen bar, I got a text message from Dr. Elliott Winton, top hematologist for lymphoma and myelofibrosis at Emory Winship Cancer Center that he accepted Joe as his patient so Joe could continue the chemotherapy in Atlanta till April 2011. It has given me such peace of mind knowing that is all set up and Joe will get the best of care under him and agreed to collaborate with Dr. Romaguera at MDACC. Thanks be to God since He answered my prayers.
Marina cooked a fabulous meal with a tasty perfectly cooked roast pork, home fries with caramelized onions which were the "best" that I ever had, and green beans, and rolls as well as lots of wine. Marina said a wonderful touching Grace before the meal. We had wonderful fun conversations over dinner. Joe was in heaven being out in wide open spaces and in a real home. Having a terrific homecooked meal before having to check back into the hospital was perfect to boost his spirits. Max was a perfect gentleman as he sat on the floor while we ate without making a sound. Max also enjoyed his day at the ranch. Eileen and Marina invited me to come to their Thanksgiving feast with 23 guests. Oh that sounds like so much fun. They also believe like me that more makes it merrier. I will bring Joe a Thanksgiving prepared dish from what is left when I return to stay with him Thanksgiving evening.
We had an early 8:15AM appointment at MDACC Lymphoma department to get Joe his Fast Track Labs work done so it would be ready for our important meeting with Dr. Romaguera at 10AM. Goley, his clinical nurse, saw Joe first and asked him the 100 questions on how he felt. Joe lamented how much he missed eating salads. She said Romaguera is stricter than the younger doctors and way more cautious. Romaguera came in and stated that he was pleased with Joe's progress and his adjustment to the chemo. He stated Joe's white blood count went up to 46 but that is offset by Joe's neutrophils which were at 33.12. In this case the high white blood count is neutrophils and not lymphoma which is good news. Joe's platelets (77) and red blood counts are holding somewhat steady but I am sure that he will need red blood transfusions when he does the chemo. Romaguera also stated that this time with Part A Joe will be given the full dosage since they were cautious the first time as well as starting this round with Rituxin and also give the "A" part of the HyperCVAD which they did not do on the first Part A. Joe and I tried to pin Romaguera down as to when we could go back to Atlanta. He told us that he would like Joe to stay around for two weeks after the chemo that starts today. He wants to make sure he is stable and also wants to get CT scan and a BMB completed so we can see what changes have occurred before he releases us from MDACC. Now it may be 12/15 or even later before we get back home. Shucks!
Shortly after Joe was admitted back as an in patient in room P910. We know that when a bed is available that he will be moved to the lymphoma ward as he was the other two times. We already had Joe's bags packed so we got them out of the car and then went to check in where we were greeted very quickly by the nursing team. I unpacked Joe's bag and put everything away. I had Joe give me a list of stuff he still needed such as white socks, eye drops, orange juice, V8, fig newtons, and toothpaste. The nurse came in to go over the Doctor's orders for chemo and all it had was the "C" and the "R". I told her that it was wrong and that Romaguera had told us that Joe was to get HyperCVAD-R. The nurse wisely listened to me without any fuss and called Dr. Romaguera and he told her that Mrs. Evans is correct and that corrected doctor orders would be forthcoming. When she received the new orders, she made a copy for me since they know that I want a copy of the orders and lab results.
I left the hospital room at 5:15 PM to go take care of Max, get my stuff, go to the store for Joe and get something decent to eat. As I got to the hotel, Joe calls me and states that they are going to start the Rituxan at 6PM which would not give me much time to do what I had to do and get there in time. I decided to get my dinner later at the hospital cafeteria so I got back to his room at 6:30 PM and he had his first 15 minutes of 50 ml/hour of the Rituxan. They would take Joe's vital signs every 15 minutes and they kept a close eye on him. I was waiting for him to hit 150 mg since the last time he developed a fever and rigors. Knock on wood and Thanks to God it is now 10:10 pm and Joe's rate of Rituxan is now at the maximum rate of 400ml/hour and will stay that way until the IV bag is finished unless he has issues. The only little thing Joe had so far is red cheeks on his face but no fever. Joe is in great humor and is cracking jokes with the nurses who are so sweet and caring. We got a great crew for this 12 hour shift that runs from 7PM to 7AM.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Joe and I have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed us with our loving families, friends, church, MDACC and now Emory University Hospital. We are thankful for all the powerful prayers that have lifted Joe and me up spiritually and given us the strength to continue this journey. Thank you for being there. We feel your love everyday.
Happy Thanksgiving and hug your loved ones and give thanks to all that God has given each and everyone of us.
Ciao!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Smoothe Operator
It was a nice lazy morning as we slept in with nothing on the day's itinerary. We started out at Panera Bread where Joe had no coffee which is very strange. He did have some fresh orange juice and a half of a cobblestone as I had my usual sesame seed bagel toasted till it is light brown with light cream cheese on the side. On my iPhone Yelp application I found Mike's Barber Shop nearby so we headed over there to get Joe's head shaved. There was a sign outside that stated hair cuts for $6.00. How in the world are they able to charge that little these days? I figured there had to be a catch but how big of a catch could it be. There were four lady barbers who had customers in their barber chairs. We only waited about a minute when Francis became free. She asked us what we wanted an we told her to shave it all off. She looked at us like are you sure? Absolutely, shave it off. I took several cute photos of good natured Joe getting his hair shaved off. Francis was gentle and thorough. She also took care of the hair on his ears and trimmed Joe's eyebrows. Total tab was $6.00! We handed her $10 and happily left the shop.
A Houstonian told us about the warehouse district on the other side of 59 South so we decided to give it a try and see what was there but we had no luck and I was not in the mood to shop anyway. I have not been in a shopping mode since I got here. There is some fabulous shopping in Houston but I can not shop unless I need something or in the mood. We found ourselves near Petsmart so both Joe and I went in to get Max some more dry dog food and a chicken toy whose name is Charlie. So back to the studio apartment we went and Max loved Charlie, the rubber squeaking chicken toy.
We decided to see a movie at 12:05 PM. The movie was Denzel Washington's "Unstoppable" about the runaway train. It was an entertaining two hours and Joe enjoyed it since he loves chase movies. It is worth seeing. Across the street from the theater we stopped at Costco to get some more multi-vitamins. Joe got some more OJ and I got some pretzels to snack on.
Now it was time for the old mid day nap for the both of us. We had no lunch since Joe devoured two bags of popcorn. He will tell us I ate a bunch of it but do not believe him. I never saw him eat popcorn and enjoy it as much as he did at the movies.
We had dinner under the full moon and comfortable temperatures at La Vista. Joe had Chicken Capelinni and I had Cheese Ravioli with Vodka Sauce. Yummy. For dessert we had tiramasu but it was enough for four people so we took half of it home with us. I am sure that it will be gone by the time the sun rises in the morning.
While we were having dinner, I got a wonderful phone call from Marina Peed from Atlanta who flew into Houston on Saturday with her family for Thanksgiving with her Mom who lives an hour north of Houston. She invited Joe, Max and I to her Mom's ranch in Huffman on Tuesday night which is perfect for Joe since he goes back for his next chemo treatment on Wednesday. Marina is a ball of happy energy and she never met a person she did not like. We know Marina from our meetings of the Greater Atlanta MPD Support Group. She says her Mom has a small ranch with several horses and three dogs and to bring Max since he would fit in. Joe and I are looking forward to meeting Marina's family and her Mom. What a special time we will have! God has sent us another blessing that we did not expect or see coming.
Tonight I was on the Leukemia/Lymphoma Support Line that was helpful in giving me guidance on what to do next. They recommended that I start to make arrangements for Joe's chemo care in Atlanta. I search the web and sent an e-mail to Dr. Elliott Winton at Winship Cancer Center at Emory Midtown. He specializes in blood diseases such a Lymphoma and Myelofibrosis. I pray that he accepts Joe as a patient or refers us to someone at Emory who specializes in Mantle Cell Lymphoma. God is directing me. I know that his is the right thing to do.
Joe has gone to bed with Max laying again next to him also asleep. Max got wore out chasing Charlie around the studio. I must have thrown Charlie on the bed 25 times. When Joe took Max out for his nightly walk, I put Charlie asleep in my clothes draw. When Max came in from outside, he looked for Charlie right away but took it well and went to bed with Joe.
It has been a good day. Thank you Father Almighty for helping Joe and me and granting us blessings along the way.
Ciao!
A Houstonian told us about the warehouse district on the other side of 59 South so we decided to give it a try and see what was there but we had no luck and I was not in the mood to shop anyway. I have not been in a shopping mode since I got here. There is some fabulous shopping in Houston but I can not shop unless I need something or in the mood. We found ourselves near Petsmart so both Joe and I went in to get Max some more dry dog food and a chicken toy whose name is Charlie. So back to the studio apartment we went and Max loved Charlie, the rubber squeaking chicken toy.
We decided to see a movie at 12:05 PM. The movie was Denzel Washington's "Unstoppable" about the runaway train. It was an entertaining two hours and Joe enjoyed it since he loves chase movies. It is worth seeing. Across the street from the theater we stopped at Costco to get some more multi-vitamins. Joe got some more OJ and I got some pretzels to snack on.
Now it was time for the old mid day nap for the both of us. We had no lunch since Joe devoured two bags of popcorn. He will tell us I ate a bunch of it but do not believe him. I never saw him eat popcorn and enjoy it as much as he did at the movies.
We had dinner under the full moon and comfortable temperatures at La Vista. Joe had Chicken Capelinni and I had Cheese Ravioli with Vodka Sauce. Yummy. For dessert we had tiramasu but it was enough for four people so we took half of it home with us. I am sure that it will be gone by the time the sun rises in the morning.
While we were having dinner, I got a wonderful phone call from Marina Peed from Atlanta who flew into Houston on Saturday with her family for Thanksgiving with her Mom who lives an hour north of Houston. She invited Joe, Max and I to her Mom's ranch in Huffman on Tuesday night which is perfect for Joe since he goes back for his next chemo treatment on Wednesday. Marina is a ball of happy energy and she never met a person she did not like. We know Marina from our meetings of the Greater Atlanta MPD Support Group. She says her Mom has a small ranch with several horses and three dogs and to bring Max since he would fit in. Joe and I are looking forward to meeting Marina's family and her Mom. What a special time we will have! God has sent us another blessing that we did not expect or see coming.
Tonight I was on the Leukemia/Lymphoma Support Line that was helpful in giving me guidance on what to do next. They recommended that I start to make arrangements for Joe's chemo care in Atlanta. I search the web and sent an e-mail to Dr. Elliott Winton at Winship Cancer Center at Emory Midtown. He specializes in blood diseases such a Lymphoma and Myelofibrosis. I pray that he accepts Joe as a patient or refers us to someone at Emory who specializes in Mantle Cell Lymphoma. God is directing me. I know that his is the right thing to do.
Joe has gone to bed with Max laying again next to him also asleep. Max got wore out chasing Charlie around the studio. I must have thrown Charlie on the bed 25 times. When Joe took Max out for his nightly walk, I put Charlie asleep in my clothes draw. When Max came in from outside, he looked for Charlie right away but took it well and went to bed with Joe.
It has been a good day. Thank you Father Almighty for helping Joe and me and granting us blessings along the way.
Ciao!
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