Daniel Turns 14 Today

Since today is Daniel's 14th birthday, we celebrated in the hospital so Ray could also be a part of it. We just had ice cream and he opened presents. It was fun for all of us. We're going to Ryan & Heather's tomorrow night for pizza and Heather is making a cake for Daniel. (Isn't she a sweetheart?)

Things are about the same for Ray. He needed another unit of platelets today and daily he gets shots (nuepogen & procrit, spelling?) that help the body produce red blood cells and white blood cells. These meds cause his bones to ache, which he says is slightly uncomfortable.

I awoke this morning and discovered our water heater leaking. Immediately, I envisioned it needing to be replaced, but thankfully it was only a leaky 15" (flexible) line that needed replaced. Ray's brother, Billy came to the rescue and fixed it for us during his lunch hour. All I had to do was go to the alley and shut the water off. That's the extent of my plumbing knowledge. Thanks again, Billy!

Blessings from our family to all of you,
Kim

Ready to Bailout

Well today Ray received two more units of "packed red blood cells" because his counts were falling once again. Afterwards, he tried to convince the Dr. he was ready to go home. (He's considering his own bailout:) Of course, the Dr. wouldn't let him and told him he could go home when his body starts producing its own blood again, which probably means he'll be there for several more days.

He feels good, loves to have healthy visitors, and loves to get phone calls. It all sure helps to pass the time.

Love you all,
Kim

Hangin' In There

Not much has changed since yesterday, although he's not feeling quite so fatigued since receiving the 3 units of blood and platelets yesterday and his color is much better. We are looking and hoping for his blood counts to begin improving soon.

Changing the subject: We're hearing rave revues about the new movie "Fireproof" that opened this weekend. Sounds like a great movie for all of us to see. If you haven't heard much about it, check it out and GO SEE IT!! We're planning to as soon as Ray if feeling up to it.

Love you all,
Kim

A New Hideout

By 8:30 this morning Ray was pretty well settled into his new hideout. He did receive two units of "packed red blood cells" and one unit of platelets this afternoon. Have I ever told you how much we love and appreciate blood donors?

For the most part, things are going well for him. He has no pain to speak of, and really his only complaint is having no energy.

We're getting to know the 6th floor staff quite well and are on "first name basis" with many of them. This morning I ran into one of the nurses on the elevator and immediately she asked how's Ray and why are we back in the hospital? Then she asked, "He doesn't have a fever again, does he?" I told her, "No, and SHHH!! We are not even saying that 'f-word' this time." As you can tell "fever" is every one's biggest concern and threat when the body's defense is practically non-existent.

Love you all,
Kim

Back to the Hospital

The lab results today showed Ray's blood counts have dropped drastically just since Tues. So he will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow (Fri.) morning. Our plans are to take Mary & Daniel to school and then Ray and I will go to BSA. So we should be there around 8:00.

Dr. said Ray will be receiving red blood cells and platelets to start with, and we should plan for him to be there for about a week. Dr. also promises to get him back out of there ASAP. He likes to have his patients recuperate at home as much as possible. He told us that illnesses you catch outside of the hospital are much easier to treat than illnesses you catch in the hospital. I thought that was an interesting perspective.

On my way to Daniel's football game this evening.

More tomorrow...
Love you all,
Kim

Appt. Today

We were back to the Dr. this morning and found out Ray's blood counts have remained the same since Sat. when we left the hospital. We were expecting them to have dropped, possibly low enough he'd have to be admitted back into the hospital. Dr. told him to go back home and keep doing whatever he's doing. We go back Thurs. afternoon once again for lab work.

We were prepared to head to hospital, so we feel as though we've have been given a few more days off.

Ray's very fatigued at all times. As a healthy person, I take many things for granted and never realized the energy it takes just to put one foot in front of the other. Thank the Lord everyday for your good health!

Love you all,
Kim

Home Again

We got home this afternoon and it feels so good to not be sitting at the hopsital. Just being there 5 1/2 days, makes me wonder, how in the world did we do that for nearly 4 weeks the last time. Ray's energy is low as his blood counts continue to go down. He goes back to the Dr. Tues. morning for lab work. If everything is still OK he'll let us go back home again for a couple more days.

Love you all,
Kim

Day 5

Ray will be finishing this round of chemo Sat. morning around 8:00. The Dr. is still saying he can go home for a few days when he finishes. However, his blood counts are already going down, particularly the red blood count. So he may need a transfusion (packed red blood cells as they say) before he can leave. It'll depend on his counts in the morning.

Please keep him in your prayers. Last time it was days 11-12 that it started to hit him so hard. Today is day 5.

Love you all,
Kim

Doing Well

Ray's still doing well. If he continues doing OK, the Dr. will let him go home for a few days after he finishes this dose of chemo. We're thinking he'll finish early Sat. morning.

I would like to ask you all to pray for my niece Sami and her husband Jeff as they are expecting their first baby in about three weeks. They had to leave their home in Galveston during "Ike" and of course now they're not able to return. They've been told their house is standing in about 6 feet of water. She's now staying in Frisco with her mom, (my sister) Becky and she'll have the baby there.

Love you all,
Kim

Two Thumbs Up

So far Ray is sailing right along without any problems. When the Dr. came in today, he gave him two thumbs up for the way things are progressing. His appetite is still great and he's still exercising! He's trying to stay out of that bed as much as possible. There's a great outdoor dining area in this hospital, and we spent some time out there this afternoon. It was a beautiful day to sit in the sunshine. We were also able to go to noon Mass here in the hospital.

Daniel is feeling much better. Plans are for him to return to school tomorrow. He's feeling well enough to aggravate us all again. Just like normal!

We pray all of you are doing well. God bless you all! (Ray's words)

Love you all,
Kim

Annihilating Leukemia

Ray was admitted to BSA around 11:00 this morning. He sure did NOT want to go. He kept saying, "I feel so good today. My hair is starting to grow. I even had to shave this morning. Are we sure we need to do this?" The Dr.'s words to him was that we have to keep "annihilating this leukemia." So after blood tests, chest x-rays and other procedures, the annihilation began around 5:00 this evening. When I left his room around 8:30 tonight, he was doing exercises!! He's determined to stay strong this time. I just shook my head and left.

We found out today Daniel has strep throat. He started feeling bad yesterday. He quickly went from bad to worse. Ordinarily, I don't take my kids to the Dr. so quickly (I'd rather play Dr. myself and do my own diagnosis and treatment and later end up regretting not going to the Dr. sooner) but this time I didn't want to take any chances. I was worried Mary, Ray or I might catch something. I'm sure hoping we don't get that! He can go back to school Wed.

More later.
Love you all,
Kim

Getting Ready

We are getting things ready for this upcoming week. We all went to Mass this morning and then we enjoyed lunch today with some of our kids. Ryan, Heather & kids and Andy & Britteny were all at our house. Ryan & Heather did all the cooking - fried chicken and all the yummy stuff to go with it. It was great!

Plans are for Ray to check into the hospital tomorrow and begin the next round of chemo. We are still not sure what time he is supposed to be there. He's feeling good today and ready for the challenge. Dr. assures him he'll do better this time because he's starting off healthier than he was at the start the last time. We trust God will carry him through any tough times. Ray's attitude has always been good during this trial. He always just says, "If this is what I have to do to get better, I'll do it."

Friday his blood values were still improving. The Dr. says that's a good sign that he's making his own blood now.

Oh-oh, Ray 's reading over my shoulder now. His own words, "It's very humbling to be on the receiving end of so many prayers. I pray that God's grace will be abundant in the lives of those who pray for me and all those who are sick. Where would I be without all your prayers?"

Love you all,
Kim (&Ray)

Remission!

We just got back from the Dr. appt and the biopsy from last week shows the leukemia to be in remission. Praise God!!

So Ray will begin his "post remission" chemo on Monday, Sept. 15th. He will be admitted into the hospital (BSA); Dr. told him to plan to be there at least 5 days and then he could possibly go home over the weekend. But after the weekend he will need to be admitted again because that is when the effects from the chemo will set in and it will be too dangerous to be home.

We are thrilled that he is in remission, but nervously anticipating what lies ahead. This next round of chemo will be very strong as well. Dr. Needleman uses an honest and "upfront" approach when discussing matters like this. That is what we really appreciate about him. So again, we beg for your continued prayers.

Plans are for 2-4 "post remision" rounds of chemo, each round (treatment & recovery) taking about a month.

I'll be posting more soon!
Love you all,
Kim

Brief update

We decided to try walking at the park today and Ray was able to walk farther than he has since he's been home from the hospital. We actually spent about an hour at the park, walking some and resting on the park benches, just enjoying the warm sunshine. He's been walking some most days since he's been home, but just around the block or down the sidewalk and back. His energy is improving little by little each day. It's a slow process.

We're going to Naz. tomorrow to spend the day with Mom and one of my sisters visiting from Wichita Falls.

Love you all,
Kim

All smiles

The Dr. appt. went very well. The Dr. is feeling very confident about Ray's progress and was all smiles. His blood values continue to improve. We'll get the results from the biopsy next Fri. With this biopsy he will also be doing a chromosome study that he says is very helpful with knowing the best form of treatment. You may recall, he tried to do this study with the first biopsy but was unable to aspirate enough bone marrow due to "binding of the marrow" which is a result of leukemia. Today, he was able to aspirate as much marrow as he wanted. A very good sign!!

Here'e the plan: Ray will be home for at least another week to hopefully continue getting stronger, we go back to see the Dr. next Fri. (Sept. 12) to get the results and then he'll make plans for the next round of chemo.

It has done wonders for Ray to hear the Dr. tell him that he looks great, his blood is improving and to go home and keep up the good work!

Thank you all for you continued prayers, phone calls and visits.

Love you all,
Kim

Back to the Dr.

Tomorrow morning (Fri.) is Ray's appointment for lab work and also the bone marrow biopsy. Before he began any treatment, the Dr. told us to plan on 3 more rounds of chemo after the leukemia is in remission. So we feel pretty sure he'll want to begin chemo again next week, we find out more tomorrow. We hope and pray this biopsy will show it to be in remission.

Ray is nervous (we both are) of course about starting again after he had such a rough time the first go 'round. I ask you to please pray for a spirit of peace and calm for him.

We are looking forward to Amber and her family being here Sat. We plan to celebrate her 31st birthday while they're here.

I'll let you know what we find out tomorrow.

Kim