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