Great Weekend!

The weekend was busy with Ray and the boys working at the shop, mostly organizing things to sell--things not to sell. Ray's energy level is steadily improving, and his color (not so yellow) is getting better each day. We were able to attend Mass Sunday morning as a family at St. Joseph's, which we have not done in about three months. Ordinarily, we have been going to Mass at the hospital on Sat. evenings when Ray was up to it. The crowd there is small and he didn't feel so conspicuous wearing a mask.

Wed. morning we'll be returning to the oncologist for more blood work and also results from the bone marrow biopsy done last Wed. Also have an appt. to see the infection spec. There's about two hours between the appts., hopefully we'll be finished with the first so we can rush over to the next appt. and sit and wait some more.

Michele, (my sister) from Bryan, spent Sat. & Sun. here. She's now in Naz. visiting Mom for a couple days. We had a lot of catching up to do. Daniel's words to us were, "Do y'all EVER get done talking?" Eric & Leona came over Sat. night as well as Andy, Ryan, Heather & kids, Mom, Hugh and Nancy. Dropping in was Sr. Mary Michael and Sr. Mary Ana. It was a whirlwind of activity--a real "pick-me-up" for Ray.

Love you all,
Kim

Happenings

Ray received one unit of blood yesterday. This morning he met with an auctioneer at the shop and still trying to figure out what his best option is there. He's trying to gain strength each day and has been up and around quite a bit. Right now, he's helping Ryan with refrigerator problems they're having.

Colleen and Seth spent the afternoon with us yesterday. It was great to have them here! Today Seth is in Lubbock for interviews @ Tech's med school.

Daniel will be playing (well, let's just say he'll be suited up for) his first high school football game tonight. Needless to say, He's PUMPED!

Love you all,
Kim

Biopsy Today

The bone marrow biopsy was done this morning and went smoothly. The next Dr. appt. is in one week, so we won't know the results until then. Tomorrow Ray will be receiving another transfusion due to counts being so low. There are still concerns about the liver damage, but also some signs of improvement being made.

Ray's energy level is also improving. He's been up and around more each day. I've been helping him some at his shop getting ready to sell the equipment. It's been a tough decision for him to make, but he's at peace with his decision.

Love you all,
Kim

Update on Appt.

After waiting for 2 hours to see the Dr., we got to talk to him for about 10 seconds. The main reason for the appt. today was to take a look at the blood counts, most importantly the liver enzymes. The bilirubin is coming back down closer to the normal range, but some of the enzyme counts are still way too high. We're hoping that will get better with time. There's no talk yet as to when (or if ) chemo will begin again. The Dr. plans to do another bone marrow biopsy Wed. morning. This is always a good time to talk to the Dr. while we have him captured for about 30-45 minutes.

Ray is able to do a little more each day, although still very weak. We had a great weekend with most of the kids and all of the grandkids in and out at some point. School is off to a good start.

Love you all,
Kim

Got Him Home!

We just walked in the door. The Dr. came in this morning, told Ray he could go home and be home for the weekend. Monday he'll see the Dr. in his office, have blood work done and talk about where we go from here. This feels like a major accomplishment! It was no small feat clearing out the hospital room. How can we accumulate so much stuff in a hospital room in 11 days?

Thank you for all your prayers. Please don't stop. The liver still has some major recovering to do. Ray's already has a list of "things to do" now that he's home--all the things he wished he was out doing while stuck in the hospital. He'll go til he poops out.

Love you all,
Kim

Fingers Crossed

Still no word as to when Ray will be able to come home. We've got our fingers crossed, hoping for tomorrow. The bilirubin count was down a little today, which is good, but the liver enzyme counts are still climbing which has the Dr. concerned. We're hoping he'll be able to come home and continue having blood counts done as an outpatient. I know it would help all of us tremendously to have him home.

The first day of school went well for Mary & Daniel, and our German travelers are back on U.S. soil. Katie and Rut will be in Amarillo for the weekend, and possibly Steve, Amber & kids.

Love you all,
Kim

About the Same

I didn't post yesterday for two reasons. First, there's not much change. Secondly, it was looking as though he was going home today. So I was waiting to tell you we were going home. But now we know that's not happening, at least for a couple days. Two Drs. have said he could go home and continue recovering there, but the oncologist says, "Whooa, not so soon! Those liver enzyme counts are still too far out there!!" Maybe in a couple days that will level off. It's disappointing but we want what's best for him. He's receiving another unit of blood today, also.

The kids and I are doing last minute errands today, before school starts in the morning. Fr. Nick just brought Communion to Ray. And that's about all that's happening here.

More later,
Love you all,
Kim