Preparing for Lift Off

The turkey's all gone. The kids and grandkids have all gone back home. It just all went by too fast. We had a great time with all the kids being here, except for Jenna, and all the grandkids were here too at one time or another over the weekend. So much laughing, eating and just having a good time being together.

With the holiday behind us, we're quickly shifting gears and getting packed for the trip to MD. We're flying out tomorrow morning, arriving in Baltimore late in the afternoon and then catching a shuttle to Bethesda. I hope it all goes as planned and flights are on time. Billy will be taking us to the airport. Thank you Lord for large families, this way we can spread our peskiness around.

Daniel is staying with Alan and Chrissy (Ray's sister). What a great guy that Alan is. We're leaving a teenage son with him indefinitely and also taking his wife for a couple days. Mary will be staying with Willie Faye (Ray's mom). Leaving Mary had us all in tears. She's been so worried for these past two weeks about how bad she was going to miss us, and then not being able to tell her exactly when we'll be back makes it even harder. She was excited about getting to stay with Willie Faye all by herself and you know Grandma is always so good to her.

I'll keep you updated each day. Please keep our family in your prayers as we thank God for each of you. Love you all,
Kim

Getting Ready

We heard from Bethesda yesterday afternoon, and it looks as though Chrissy will be the donor. She will also be traveling to Bethesda next week and staying for a couple days for her screening process. We'll all be learning together as we begin this new adventure. This will work out really well for the three of us to be there together.

Everything has really been falling into place as these days do pass quickly with many things yet to do. Yesterday, I finally booked a place to stay. I've spent an unbelievable amount of time on the phone and the computer this past week. Our liaison has also been a great help.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving. We plan to spend time enjoying family. We'll have a big feast here tomorrow with Amber's crew and Ryan's as well. Andy and Britteny will be in Dallas with some of Britteny's family and also taking in the Cowboys game. Katie will be driving in on Saturday. Jenna's not coming , but plans to be home when semester ends. My Mom, Gaylene and Craig will also be here tomorrow. I'm getting as many things as possible done today, so maybe--less stress tomorrow. We're looking forward to a great time. On Saturday many, many Husemans will be invading Nazareth for a reunion.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hold tightly those you love!
Kim

We Have a Plan!

Ray & I will be flying out next Tuesday, Dec.1 and Ray's appts. will begin Dec. 3. He'll go through a week long screening process. At this point, we have no idea when we'll be returning. We'll take things one day at a time.

We had another phone interview with our liaison this afternoon explaining more of the details for the whole process. She suggested during our first week there, we should spend some time looking for a place to stay that would be long term. So when we get to that point we'll have somewhat of a plan. We've been given phone numbers, websites, etc. We'll be talking with the liaison again tomorrow.

We're still not sure who the donor is going to be, but that will be determined in the next couple days.

Ray had blood work done today at the oncologists office, and his counts are all very good. The Dr. is quite pleased. He'll have one more appt., next Mon. The Dr. said he'd like to have one last look at the counts before we take off.

We're very excited for the opportunity--excited and nervous, as I've said before. It's overwhelming to think about it all, with the holidays quickly approaching and also Andy's wedding. Oh yeah, one day at at time, I have to constantly remind myself.

Love you all,
Kim

Today's Appt

The staples were taken out this morning, and the surgeon is quite pleased with himself for a job well done and was glad to see Ray doing so well. After visiting with the surgeon, we found out he spent several years training and interning in Bethesda. He's very excited for us that Ray is getting the opportunity to go. He even had some recommendations of some good restaurants we need to try, and some tips for using the subway. These "country bumpkins" are open to any and all suggestions.

We plan to just cruise these next two weeks, continuing the meds. regimen and Ray getting stronger with each passing day. I probably won't be posting again until we have firm plans for the big trip. In other words, life at the Husemans' (on an ordinary day) is pretty boring. We're ready for some boring days for a while. Although when I think of what all I need to do before leaving, I break out in a sweat.

Thanks for all the comments posted on this blog, phone calls, visits, emails and prayers. Each of you have made these times of duress so much easier. Thank you for being so supportive and encouraging.

Love you all,
Kim

We Have A Date!

We talked to our liaison this morning, and Dec. 3rd is when Ray will begin his evaluation in Bethesda, MD. This evaluation will be a week of testing and then the results are reviewed to determine where we go from there. At this moment, we don't know much more than that. Someone will be getting in touch with us to help figure out all the details. We are so excited and yet nervous at the same time.

The appt. with the oncologist this morning went well. All the blood counts are in good shape. Tomorrow is the follow-up appt. with the surgeon to have the staples removed. They do cause alot of discomfort (across the back) when sitting in a chair or lying down. I've offered to remove them for him, but he won't hear of it!

Love you all,
Kim

Home

Ray was discharged from the hospital around 7:00 last night (Fri). He will be on a different I.V. anti fungal med. now for a few weeks. Not sure yet exactly how long he'll be on it, because we're planning for him to be in Bethesda, MD soon. He has an appt. Mon. morning for blood tests at the oncologists office and then Tues. with the surgeon to have the staples removed. The surgeon has already said it would be OK to travel to MD. The oncologist, the infection spec. and the transplant Dr. have been conferring this week. We're told the transplant Dr. will be calling Ray soon, however we plan to call him first thing Mon. morning.

Love you all,
Kim

Tubes Out

The chest tubes were taken out this morning around 11:00. I gotta tell you, I envisioned these tubes to be probably 2-3 inches long inside the lungs. I was standing there while the nurse pulled them out and could NOT believe my eyes. Each tube (he had two) was approx. 9 inches long, 22 cm to be exact-- INSIDE the lung! No wonder he gasped in pain with each breath and tried to lay as still as possible. As I said last night, pray you never have to have a chest tube. Needless to say, things are much better now. He's off the morphine, just taking an oral pain killer every 4 hours. We even walked a short distance in the hall after lunch.

We did get a pathology report today telling us what type of fungal infection we're dealing with. The doctors are planning a "meeting of the minds" to figure out what med. is going to be best for Ray, considering he's getting ready for a transplant.

I'm expecting great strides to be made now and be able to get him home in the next day or two. Thanks for all your prayers. Please don't stop!

Love you all,
Kim

Improving

Things are pretty much the same today. All the breathing exercises/treatments are paying off--we were told that today's chest x-ray was improved from yesterday's. The surgeon came in this evening to say the chest tubes (two of them) will be coming out in the morning. Just knowing the end's in sight was a tremendous boost. These chest tubes are most painful. Pray you never have to have one.

We sure hope to have him back home in a couple days.
More later,
Kim

Yes!

Finally this evening around 5:00, Ray was able to leave ICU, and not a moment too soon. He's being warned about the risk of pneumonia, because of what they're hearing in his chest. He must be diligent with breathing exercises (which he hates, because it's so painful) and also some breathing treatments. He's knows he doesn't want to end up with pneumonia, which is a good incentive to do the exercises no matter how painful--just keep that morphine button handy! Thanks for the prayers.

Love you all,
Kim

Tomorrow...maybe?

We just can't seem to get him back out of ICU. A rapid heart rate still being the problem, another drug was added to the regimen this afternoon, hoping that will be the answer. The Dr. says a rapid heart rate is not at all uncommon after this type of surgery and is usually only a problem for a short time. It's been frustrating to all of us, most especially to Ray. He needs his freedom and those four walls are starting to close in on him; not to mention that while he's in ICU he has all the telemetry hooked up. It's nearly impossible to even roll over with the mess of wires.

I'm praying that tomorrow I'll be posting with news of moving him to a regular room.

Love you all,
Kim

P.S. Confidential to the "Rosary Circle": prayers have been answered!

Still in ICU

Having to spend a least one more day in ICU because of dehydration. We were sure hoping to get him moved this afternoon, but the Dr. felt otherwise. The Dr. said the dehydration can be caused by a number of things--the surgery and trauma to the body, and the chest tube. More fluids are being pumped in, hoping that will take care of it. Maybe tomorrow.

I'll let you know,
Kim

All Things Considered

Still in ICU, and things are going as well as can be expected--all things considered. He's restless this afternoon, which I'm blaming on the fact that he's once again on narcotics (as he puts it). Pumping the morphine quite frequently, so the pain must be pretty intense. He says he can't stand the "loopy" feeling that the morphine causes, but the pain is too much. He trying to find that happy medium.

The Dr. is saying, possibly tomorrow he'll be moved from ICU. The Dr. also informed him today that during surgery a small section of one of the ribs was cut out so the Dr. could access the area of the lung he needed to without breaking the rib. Sounds terrible, but the Dr. also said you'd never know it if you weren't told. We'll see about that. Along with that, muscle also had to be cut. Just knowing this would make me restless. Last surgery, they were able to access the nodule without having to do this.

From experience, we knew these first 2-3 days wouldn't be easy ones, but things will get better.

Love you all,
Kim

Out of Surgery

Surgery took about 3 hours, the Dr. said there were no surprises, and that everything went well. Ray is now resting in ICU where he'll probably be for a couple days. It's going to be real interesting to see what kind of report we get back from pathology--which won't be for a few days. He'll be in the hospital for about 7-10 days.

More later,
Kim

It's a Go!

We arrived at day surgery at 5;30 this morning, the blood test shows he's in good shape for surgery. Around 6:45 he was whisked away for all the pre-op procedures. Surgery is still scheduled for 8:00. I'm guessing the surgery will last 2-3 hrs. from our experience last time. The Dr. didn't give an estimated time. I'll post again after surgery and I see the Dr.

Thanks for all your prayers,
Kim

Correction

I need to correct one thing from yesterday's post. The blood levels will not be tested again until Fri. morn when we show up for surgery at 5:30. Only after the test is done, will it be determined whether surgery will be done then or postponed until Sat. Ray received a small I.V. injection of vitamin K this morning which is supposed to help get the PT/INR where it needs to be. Some thing else I didn't mention, Ray gives himself a shot each morning (in the belly)--meds that are going to have him ready for Friday morning.

The phone interview took place as scheduled, so we had the opportunity to speak with the transplant Dr. from Maryland today. He was so encouraging to talk to. We both were elated after speaking with him. He assured us both that this biopsy will go smoothly, and then we'll pursue getting to Bethesda, MD. We later heard from our case liaison, and she also had some great insight, advice and talked to us about the protocol for the transplant.

We have no appointments tomorrow. No sitting in a Dr.'s office or having blood drawn or waiting for test results. Ray plans to go flying with a good friend of his.

Love you all,
Kim

Friday or Saturday

We met with the surgeon and the oncologist for most of this morning looking over different views of the scan and discussing many options.

Looks as though we're headed to surgery--probably Friday morning but may be Saturday morning. Let me explain. A patient that is on blood thinners,as Ray is, cannot go into surgery without a "washout" period. For the next two days, his blood will be monitored (PT/INR) to be sure that level is at a safe level for surgery. If it is not by Thurs., the surgery will be postponed until Saturday, but we're aiming for Friday. Some of you may have more experience with blood thinners and understand this better than we do since we're still learning. For now, Ray just shows up when he's told to.

Now for the surgery: In a nutshell, he's pretty much having the same surgery, this time on the right lung, that he had on the left lung six weeks ago. At least two nodules will be removed. There was alot of medical jargon being tossed around, but I'll explain it the way I understand it. Both Drs. are confidant we're still dealing with a fungal infection. A fungus growing in this sort of environment (the inside of the lung) is very difficult to pinpoint and treat. Specifically because once it is removed from that environment where it is viable, it CAN change even to the point where it is no longer viable and it becomes impossible to get a good stain in the lab. No matter how fast it is rushed to the lab for pathology. With that in mind, this time more of the lung will be taken with it. Evidently there must be many different fungus/fungi. If you recall, six weeks ago the nodule in the left lung (rather than the right) was biopsied because it was easier to access. So doing the right lung is going to require a little more digging. The surgeon is hoping no muscles or bones will have to be cut.

How's Ray feeling and dealing with all this?? As far as how he's feeling, he's been doing amazingly well. He continues exercising every day--walking around the park (1 1/2 miles today) and spending time on the stationary bike. Dealing with it--after he agreed to go forth with the surgery, (the Dr. stepped out of the room) he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "You know, Kim we are so blessed" and then went on naming the many ways which we are so blessed.

During these past 15 months, I find myself repeating the quote Eva, a family friend and also a concentration camp survivor so frequently said, "Life is hard some of the time, but God is good all of the time."

Please continue to pray for us as we continue to thank God for each of you.

Love you all,
Kim

More Appts.

The phone interview (with the Maryland Dr.) that was to take place this afternoon had to be postponed until Wed. afternoon due to a conflict the Dr. had.

We received a call late this afternoon from one of Ray's Drs. asking him to be in his office at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Hopefully we'll find out something as to what's going on with the lungs and what the next plan of attack will be. After making and receiving a couple of phone calls today, we know nothing other than there's a 9:00 appt.

More later...
Kim