This would be dramatic if it weren't quite so dull waiting. I'm at the hospital in Waco waiting for another transfusion of platelets. This morning, my blood count revealed it as 3, and I found out a couple of hours ago. The exchange between the kids and I was not pleasant, especially with Cade. He was pretty angry because I had just picked him up from school, hadn't spent any time with him and he didn't even get to go to a friend's house out of the deal. My parents are on the way and should arrive late tonight.
Avi and Zane played a sweet game of hide and seek today:
Avi: You hide and I'll count.
Z: Okay! Wait a minute! (Avi watches as Zane covers himself with a blanket.)
Avi: Ready?
Z: Yes.
Avi: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,6.... Here I come. Now where could Zane be? He's not over here, and he's not over here...here he is! Your turn!
They played that over and over. It was hilarious when they pretended that they couldn't find each other.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Some Good News
Not all is perfect by a long stretch, but we are rejoicing that the blood clot that I got 3 months ago is gone. Less complication!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Seven and Three
My platelet count is 7. Yep. Hopefully, the new ones from a donor will "stick" and the count will get higher.
CMV has gone down, but evidently will still need to take the meds that are rough on my brand-spankin'-new bone marrow. That level is now only 3.
This means that I'll have to keep my central line for longer than I thought, so that is disappointing, but at least we're headed in the right direction.
I'm watching HGTV at home with the sister and husband. Good times. I packed a couple of suitcases with photo albums. There was a fire a few miles from our house, and we watched planes pass over with fire retardant around 5:30. If it sparks up again, we'll be semi-ready. It was across the river from our new property.
s
CMV has gone down, but evidently will still need to take the meds that are rough on my brand-spankin'-new bone marrow. That level is now only 3.
This means that I'll have to keep my central line for longer than I thought, so that is disappointing, but at least we're headed in the right direction.
I'm watching HGTV at home with the sister and husband. Good times. I packed a couple of suitcases with photo albums. There was a fire a few miles from our house, and we watched planes pass over with fire retardant around 5:30. If it sparks up again, we'll be semi-ready. It was across the river from our new property.
s
I'm in the Big-D and do mean Dallas
Any 90s country music fans out there?
My kids are being loved on today by my sweet sister and "DanielCarlyElise". I'm in Dallas where I just got the news that I have to receive some platelets because mine are too stinkin' low. Yesterday, Van dragged me to his clinic and an x-ray may have shown some pneumonia. I'm coughing quite a bit, but otherwise I'm just tired and admittedly grumpy. "The joy of the Lord will be my strength." My appetite is all screwy, so I've been on a ramen noodle kick. That will have to go, though, because my sister is anti-MSG and will cut me off cold turkey. I hope she doesn't find the half-eaten cup 'o noodles I ate at 2:00 this morning. Shoot, I shouldn't have left that in my haste for the trip here. If anyone finds me on the side of the road shaking and muttering to myself, just inject me with a flavor packet.
I really hope that tomorrow goes well. At Van's clinic, I will get an ultrasound of my leg that had the blood clot. It will determine if I have to be on blood thinners. Also, if I feel good, I'll get to join Tricia and all 6 kids to go watch the movie "Dolphin Tale". To get my children to sit for an hour+, I might actually have to purchase popcorn, and then I'll get really mad at the popcorn racket at theaters. I hope I get to.
Saturday, Zane and Cade have soccer games and photos. I'll iron their uniforms,bleach their socks, wipe off their shoes and pretend that they always look that groomed and always wear shoes. Hopefully, Cade won't get into one of his hair gel moods. Occasionally, when he wants to look especially good, he finds Van's gel and comes out with either a slick-down or a mohawk. Last year, he spent the whole soccer game gently making sure that his hair hadn't moved.
My kids are being loved on today by my sweet sister and "DanielCarlyElise". I'm in Dallas where I just got the news that I have to receive some platelets because mine are too stinkin' low. Yesterday, Van dragged me to his clinic and an x-ray may have shown some pneumonia. I'm coughing quite a bit, but otherwise I'm just tired and admittedly grumpy. "The joy of the Lord will be my strength." My appetite is all screwy, so I've been on a ramen noodle kick. That will have to go, though, because my sister is anti-MSG and will cut me off cold turkey. I hope she doesn't find the half-eaten cup 'o noodles I ate at 2:00 this morning. Shoot, I shouldn't have left that in my haste for the trip here. If anyone finds me on the side of the road shaking and muttering to myself, just inject me with a flavor packet.
I really hope that tomorrow goes well. At Van's clinic, I will get an ultrasound of my leg that had the blood clot. It will determine if I have to be on blood thinners. Also, if I feel good, I'll get to join Tricia and all 6 kids to go watch the movie "Dolphin Tale". To get my children to sit for an hour+, I might actually have to purchase popcorn, and then I'll get really mad at the popcorn racket at theaters. I hope I get to.
Saturday, Zane and Cade have soccer games and photos. I'll iron their uniforms,bleach their socks, wipe off their shoes and pretend that they always look that groomed and always wear shoes. Hopefully, Cade won't get into one of his hair gel moods. Occasionally, when he wants to look especially good, he finds Van's gel and comes out with either a slick-down or a mohawk. Last year, he spent the whole soccer game gently making sure that his hair hadn't moved.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Numbers
Van asked me to give a health update. Because I am so nice to him, and try to be easy to get along with, I will comply. (I wish this statement was more accurate!)
White count is slightly up, but not impressively.
Platelets are the same.
But...CMV is down, and that is a very good thing.
I go back on Thursday to be blasted with two different iv meds, ugly pre-meds that make me feel like a goat that ate too many tires, and a breathing treatment to protect my lungs that makes me feel claustrophobic. Not looking forward to that day. Mom and Dad are coming back to help for another few days to get us through this one.
I'm not sure why, but for about 3-4 weeks I've not been able to eat--literally a few bites a day, but not losing weight. Very, very weird. I was down to coke floats and bananas. Well, over this weekend (again, I'm not sure why) but my appetite is much better. It takes me a long time to eat, but I can do it. I'm thankful for this. Hopefully, my renewed interest in Beef and Broccoli won't cause me to bloat up like a sow. I'm also hoping this will help my low energy level and will be motivated to get off of my duff.
Van's watching a 9/11 remembrance. We explained for the first time to the boys what happened 10 years ago before church knowing it would be mentioned. Our Cade has one volume, so if something puzzles him during church, he doesn't mind belting out a question or 20 to us. We figured we'd prevent this before heading out, and I'm glad we did. Trying to explain it to innocent children was not fun. Anyway, so Van's watching this 9/11 remembrance, and feels like the conductor is putting a spell on the orchestra because he looks like someone from Harry Potter. We're really high-class cultured citizens around here.
I remember being in Houston that day. Tricia called my school to let me know what happened. While we were talking, the second tower was hit. I told the office people what happened and walked back out to my teaching partner and class of 3-year-olds on the playground. We could see downtown from where we were, and didn't know whether just to keep playing as normal or go ahead and take the children home on vans, knowing that their parents would want them close. We decided to finish out the day. It was a little scary being so close to the skyscrapers and not having access to the news. I'm sure the parents that day were glad to receive their children, and it was good to get home to Van. We lived in an apartment with 2 windows. I did my American preventative-terror duty and bought plastic and duct tape to cover the windows with in case we were ever attack with any bio-terror agent. Van occasionally still teases me that covering the windows would have done any good whatsoever, but I was prepared! And...for many years I didn't have to buy any plastic shower curtains because of our ample supply.
White count is slightly up, but not impressively.
Platelets are the same.
But...CMV is down, and that is a very good thing.
I go back on Thursday to be blasted with two different iv meds, ugly pre-meds that make me feel like a goat that ate too many tires, and a breathing treatment to protect my lungs that makes me feel claustrophobic. Not looking forward to that day. Mom and Dad are coming back to help for another few days to get us through this one.
I'm not sure why, but for about 3-4 weeks I've not been able to eat--literally a few bites a day, but not losing weight. Very, very weird. I was down to coke floats and bananas. Well, over this weekend (again, I'm not sure why) but my appetite is much better. It takes me a long time to eat, but I can do it. I'm thankful for this. Hopefully, my renewed interest in Beef and Broccoli won't cause me to bloat up like a sow. I'm also hoping this will help my low energy level and will be motivated to get off of my duff.
Van's watching a 9/11 remembrance. We explained for the first time to the boys what happened 10 years ago before church knowing it would be mentioned. Our Cade has one volume, so if something puzzles him during church, he doesn't mind belting out a question or 20 to us. We figured we'd prevent this before heading out, and I'm glad we did. Trying to explain it to innocent children was not fun. Anyway, so Van's watching this 9/11 remembrance, and feels like the conductor is putting a spell on the orchestra because he looks like someone from Harry Potter. We're really high-class cultured citizens around here.
I remember being in Houston that day. Tricia called my school to let me know what happened. While we were talking, the second tower was hit. I told the office people what happened and walked back out to my teaching partner and class of 3-year-olds on the playground. We could see downtown from where we were, and didn't know whether just to keep playing as normal or go ahead and take the children home on vans, knowing that their parents would want them close. We decided to finish out the day. It was a little scary being so close to the skyscrapers and not having access to the news. I'm sure the parents that day were glad to receive their children, and it was good to get home to Van. We lived in an apartment with 2 windows. I did my American preventative-terror duty and bought plastic and duct tape to cover the windows with in case we were ever attack with any bio-terror agent. Van occasionally still teases me that covering the windows would have done any good whatsoever, but I was prepared! And...for many years I didn't have to buy any plastic shower curtains because of our ample supply.
Back pew wiggly britches
I say,"Please just draw something that you like." He says, "Okay" So wiggly britches takes 3 seconds to draw a tall triangle with 3 sticks coming out of the top point. Then he writes the word,"Lovu". "Do you know what it says?", he whispers. "Of course," I say with a giant grin, "It says I love you!" "No, it says 'lava'. This is a volcano."
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Yearning for Shamu and Skunk Scare Tactics
I'm in Dallas staying with Van's mom. Their house is very peaceful, and I've enjoyed the company. Today I did the treatment where my blood passes through light, and I'll do another one tomorrow. These have gotten much faster because of a new machine and are not nearly as taxing as they used to be. I will also see my PA tomorrow and get a second dose of an IV med. I got a break from the IV med at home and many of my other medicines because my platelets were getting too low, and the CMV wasn't budging. I pray that tomorrow's numbers look good.
I'm mindful of a little friend-of-a-friend that is undergoing a heart transplant right now. She is four-years-old, and I can't imagine that her parents will be sleeping anytime soon. May she be healed completely.
I miss my kiddos on trips like these, even if they are having the time of their lives with their grandparents. The other day, Zane (4) decided to make the bathroom floor into Sea World, and he came pretty close. It was a four-towel clean up job. They were dripping wet, and he still couldn't snap back into reality to understand that, "NO YOU MAY NOT RIDE SHAMU IN THE BATHROOM." He just kept telling me about all the neat tricks he could do. Van was no help whatsoever because he couldn't keep a straight face.
The bathroom has been quite the hotspot for activity. While the kids were occupied, I snuck in. Cade came banging on the door, "a skunk! a skunk is outside!" I screamed, "Are all the kids in the house?" "YES!" "Is the door shut?" "YES!" Then, as I exit to make sure that Cade included his brother in the count, he said, "Just kidding!" He got me on that one. The next time I'm looking for a stinker, I'll know where to find one.
A quick shout-out to my sister who had a birthday today, even though she doesn't read this and therefore is sadly uninformed. Happy Birthday, Trish.
I'm mindful of a little friend-of-a-friend that is undergoing a heart transplant right now. She is four-years-old, and I can't imagine that her parents will be sleeping anytime soon. May she be healed completely.
I miss my kiddos on trips like these, even if they are having the time of their lives with their grandparents. The other day, Zane (4) decided to make the bathroom floor into Sea World, and he came pretty close. It was a four-towel clean up job. They were dripping wet, and he still couldn't snap back into reality to understand that, "NO YOU MAY NOT RIDE SHAMU IN THE BATHROOM." He just kept telling me about all the neat tricks he could do. Van was no help whatsoever because he couldn't keep a straight face.
The bathroom has been quite the hotspot for activity. While the kids were occupied, I snuck in. Cade came banging on the door, "a skunk! a skunk is outside!" I screamed, "Are all the kids in the house?" "YES!" "Is the door shut?" "YES!" Then, as I exit to make sure that Cade included his brother in the count, he said, "Just kidding!" He got me on that one. The next time I'm looking for a stinker, I'll know where to find one.
A quick shout-out to my sister who had a birthday today, even though she doesn't read this and therefore is sadly uninformed. Happy Birthday, Trish.
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