Don's chemo is finished!!!!!!!!

Hurray!!!!!! Today Don finished all his chemo....well at least here in Alexandria. Our doctor came in and asked us if we had heard from M.D. Anderson. We havent, so he said he will contact them and find out if there is any confusion. He had spoken to MDA in the Lymphoma area. But Don will not be going into the Lymphoma department at the hospital. He will be in the Stem Cell Transplant area. So today he contacted them again and we should hear from them maybe next week.
Now we just have to take step two in Houston to make sure this terrible cancer does not come back .....EVER!! That is what we are praying for, and what we ask you all to pray for. Help us pray that the stem cell treatment will not be too bad on Don, no complications of any kind, and completely clean him of any cancer cells.
For now...we just want to get back to "normal". I always said boring is good! And we want more boring..LOL. I just want to concentrate on VBS and getting back to church with all our church family. And spending as much time as possible with our precious grand daughters. We miss them so.
Thanks to all for your prayers, your love and concern. It is much appreciated.
Blessings,
Don and Kathi

The FINAL chemo here!!

We are here at Rapides General for chemo number four, our FINAL chemo here in Alexandria. This time we have a visitor with us...our son! Brandon came in from Florida to be with his Dad for his final chemo. Don will be receiving two pints of blood today along with his chemo, his counts are very low again. We are in room 601. Come by and see us we love your company.
Blessings,
Don, Kathi and Brandon

Things are MUCH better now.

Today the doctor came in and gave us some good news!! Don's P.E.T. scan results...all his cancer is GONE!! Chemo works very well on Don. PRAISE GOD!! To HIM be the glory. This does not mean Don will not have to finish his fourth chemo. This also does not mean he will not have to have the stem cell transplant. The doctor explained to us that without the stem cell transplant Don's cancer will almost positivly return. Our doctor is such a sweet compassionate man. He could tell that I was very worried about the transplant. Having just lost a freind who had a stem cell transplant, it is hard to not be afraid. She also was a patient of his so he is very aware of her case and what happened. He assured us that it was like comparing apples and oranges, and that Don's procedure would NOT be the same. He made us all feel much better and not so worried. Since Don did well with his chemo there is no delays in our scheduling our trip to MDA and soon they will be contacting us about when this will be done. Tomorrow he will be finishing up chemo number three, and we get a three week break before returning. We walked several laps around the floor today, and the blood transfusions have helped him feel alot better. He is looking forward to coming home and fishing in his boat again as soon as possible. So good seeing him feel better. Thanks friends for your visits.
We love ya'll
Don and Kathi

We have arrived!

Well we are all settled in our new home at Rapides Hospital now...room 603. They decided Don would need some blood today because his blood counts are very low. He will be recieving three pints today and tonight. He had some nausea today but as usual they gave him med's very quickly. He is in good spirits ...and the nurses are all very friendly. Ya'll come on by for a visit, if of course you don't have any sniffles or cough, we love company.
Blessings,
Don and Kathi

Time for Chemo Number Three

It seems like we were just at the hospital, but it is time to return. Our weeks off just don't seem to be long enough for all we want to do. But Don has made good use of his time off. He has spent alot of time fishing in his new boat. His favorite thing to do now. We found out his blood counts are very low. So low that we were not sure he could have his chemo at this time. He went to the doctor today and they were surprised he hasn't had any breathing problems. They said he will require some blood tomorrow. This hasn't slowed him down much. He has been doing alot of things around our house. He does wear out quickly though. He said he was going to do what he could anyway, before having to return for chemo.
We lost our freind Trudy last week. It is so hard thinking about what she went though. She was a wonderful person, and we will be praying for Robert and her family as they grieve her loss. We were going to be with them at M.D. Anderson. And we have to admit it makes things just that much more frightening for us in knowing the procedure Don will endure in Houston, and how similar it will be to what Trudy went though. But after talking it over Don has decided he will continue with the same plans. If not the cancer will only return. We ask that you all continue to rememeber Don in your prayers. We appreciate all of you. Tomorrow when we find out our room number I will be posting it for you.
Blessings,
Don and Kathi