WE ARE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is NO place like HOME!! We got great news on Thursday of last week. Our doctor visit was at 3:45 and he gave us the go ahead to come HOME!! I want you all to know that we literally ran back to the hotel, threw everything in the car, and we were on the road home by 4:30!!!! No one had to tell us twice....LOL. We decided on the way we weren't going to tell anyone, we wanted to surprise them all. On the road my daughter called and wanted to know what all the noise in the background was....so I had to confess to her we were on the road coming home. But I told her not to tell our grand daughter Kailyn. I wanted to surprise her and pick her up at school on Friday, and surprised she was!! Don also surprise his Mother by going to the rehab hospital she has been at since her back surgery, she was so surprised she cried...the nurses were also in on the whole thing, and they cried too. But the best of all was today....when Don and I walked into our Sunday School classroom and shocked all of them. It was the best reunion. It is soooo good to be back.
Folks, alot of people like Houston, but Don and I missed the quiet of Tioga. The green grass, tree's, no sirens at night, no shuttle to catch, and most of all our FAMILY!!!! God is so good, and we praise HIM for letting this happen. He has cured my husband and brought us both back home TOGETHER!! Many thanks to all who kept up with our journey on this blog. And for all the prayers, cards, calls, and love...WE THANK YOU ALL!
MUCH LOVE,
Don and Kathi

So nice to be together again at the hotel!

Well....Don and I are together again at our "home away from home." He finally got a good nights sleep without a nurse waking him up every two hours for vitals. He has found out real quick that he can't take the heat outside. He MUST have air conditioning. So I don't think he will want to be going golfing as soon as we get home. His skin is very sensitive, and the least little bit of sunlight and heat he breaks out in a rash. They say this will get better with time. We had clinical's today at the doctor's office. His counts are still looking good. No news yet as to when we can go home, but this "Dorothy" is ready to start clicking her heals together....."There's no place like home....there's no place like home.....
Blessings,
Kathi

Hallelujah....we are leaving the hospital.

Don has been doing so well, his blood counts are back to normal!! The doctor says he can leave the hospital tomorrow. He will now go to the hospital outpatient for awhile. Daily visits to do lab's and clinical visit to his doctor. The doctor will decide when we get to leave here and come back home. Not for a couple more weeks I am sure. They want to do a P.E.T. scan, a bone marrow test and remove his CVC Catheter before we can return home. Yesterday Don and I attended a Discharge Class. They gave us all the do's and don'ts for the next six months or so. His immune system will be very fragile. Looks like he gets out of cutting our grass for six months...hehe. But it also looks like he will be doing more golfing and less fishing for awhile. We can continue to see all our family at Sunday School, but will have to stay away from the crowds at church service. Lots of rules, but all for his best interest. So if you see him wearing his mask in public for awhile you will know why.
Hope to see you all before much longer,
Don and Kathi

Let me Clarify

Let me explain. The day Don Engrafted we sent out many text messages to people telling them in all our excitment. Then I got many calls and e mails asking what that meant. Sorry I didnt explain. That means his stem cell transplant was a SUCCESS!!!!! His stem cells have taken hold and are growing his new immune system! So he now has a new birthday....his THIRD!! God has given him life THREE TIMES!! He is able to eat some now, and is walking the floor here on the eleventh floor. His white blood cell count is continuing to rise. He has recieved two more pints of blood and will soon be recieving more platlets. We look for the day before too long that he can return to the hotel with me, and become an outpatient. After a little while outpatient we will be able to return to our REAL HOME!!! Hallelujah. Please join us in thanking our dear LORD GOD for all the blessings.
Love to all,
Don and Kathi

HALLELUJAH.....WE HAVE ENGRAFTMENT!!!!!!!

We have ENGRAFTMENT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don has a new birthday! We got his white blood cell count. Zero point ONE!!!! It may sound like a little one to you, but its a very BIG one to us. It will go up and up from here. Don celebrated this morning with his favorite Blue Bell ice cream. GOD IS SOOO GOOD! He rested well last night and is feeling better. His red blood cell count is down some, not to worry though. He will be getting two pints of blood today and maybe platlets. By tomorrow I expect him to be walking the halls around here again. It is a day to celebrate. Thanks so much everyone for your support and prayers. Believe me we have felt them all.
Much Love from BOTH of us,
Don and Kathi

Doc say's don't panic!

Don had a rough night last night, with fever most of it. We had an oriental nurse who was very determined to lower it. She packed him in ice for part of the night. Steriods were administerd and seem to lower it a bit. Today the doctor's came in and said that fever is pretty common for stem cell transplant patients and that Don is actually still on track. Our doctor for the next two weeks is Dr. Ueno from Japan. I asked him about Don not eating anything...and he said..FORGET ABOUT IT!! And he laughted. He said he is getting enough i.v. fluids and to not worry. For a minute I thought he was trying to imitate the Seprano's..hehe.
There are so many doctor's and nurses here from all over the world. We have had the priveledge to have a doctor from Italy, one from Sweden, and now one from Japan. We have had nurses from Vietnam, the Phillipines, India, Ireland, China, and now one from...guess where? HOUSTON!! He is a minority, just like we are here. I have met several people at our hotel from all over the world as well. India, Iraq, New Zealand, England, and Australia. Alot of them dress in the garments from their native land. It has been quit an experience. Most all the staff here at the hospital are super. You can tell they have all been hand picked as the best. I feel comfortable knowing Don is getting such good care.
For now....he is snoring away in his hospital bed...a welcome sound. Hope tonight will be a more comfortable night.
Thanks for all your prayers.
Blessings,
Kathi

Problems!!

Today is Don's day seven. He is not feeling well at all. He has now developed a fever...sign of infection somewhere. They are doing blood work, and now a chest x ray to determine the problem. PLEASE pray for the infection to go away very soon. He also has such bad sores in this throat he hasnt eaten all day. He cant swollow. I am spending the night with him tonight at the hospital and I will try and carry this laptop with me. More later.
Kathi

Day FIVE

Don is on day five today. Just as I thought he did bottom out today. His white blood cell count was 0.0 You can't get any less than that!! Red blood cell count was 2.51 His Hemoglobin was low also so he recieved another pint of blood. He took a really good nap today, which he needed big time. And then he managed to walk some tonight. Just a few laps around the nurses stations and very slowly. His mouth is sore, so food today was soft. He loved the pudding and the hot chocolate. He might not eat much, but whatever he can get down and however much he can. We expect his count will start going up in a couple days. I pray very soon. Engraftment is between seven and ten days from recieving his stem cells. We are praying for seven of course...that would be this Thursday. Right now...he says he just wants to start feeling better, he is kinda puney.
Good news about his Mom, we heard she was moved to rehab today. She required a second back surgery, but is feeling much better now and getting around slowly. We have been keeping in touch as much as possible via phone. It is hard not being there for her.
Thanks for all your e cards, phone calls, and most of all prayers. We can't seem to thank you all enough.
Mucho Blessings from us both.
Don and Kathi

Blood Counts are down!!

Just as we were warned Don's blood counts dropped today. His white blood cell count is 1.5. He should bottom out completely by tomorrow. I know that sounds really bad, and it is dangerous of course....but this is part of the process. It is the part I have been afraid of. He will be sick for about five days now they tell me. Like he has the flu. But since he has zero immune system during this phase, we must be very very careful. He is in isolation now. He is still in his same room, but no visitors at this time. They still let me in, they havent kicked me out yet..LOL. And they better not try either!!!!!! He has developed mouth sores. He hates those. You can't hardly eat anything. And he is very weak. Now is when we experiment with what he can eat. Nothing sounds good to him. Ice cream maybe, he loves ice cream. He will be sleeping more now. Rest is what he needs. A nurse today told me about Aug. 5th he should be feeling better. You all pray he has NO complications or problems now. And soon his counts will be coming back up. I will keep everyone posted.
Blessings,
kathi

Our Day TWO.

As I already told you all, after your stem cell day you start counting to 30. We are on our day two. I have been writing the day count on Don's dry erase board on the wall in his room. Along with picture's our grand daughters drew for him, and pictures of all our loved ones.
He is doing great. He does have spell's of nausea, but that is to be expected. They give him med's for it, and it hasnt gotten too out of control just yet. Today the nurses on our floor had a BINGO day for all the patients and caregivers. They have some kind of event every day around here. Mind you this is only on the eleventh floor that I know of, the nurses themselves got this together. They try really hard around here to help make your experience a little more pleasant. I enjoyed playing BINGO today, but Don won twice!! I didn't win once...! When I left him tonight to return to the hotel he was putting his jigsaw puzzle together he had won. It does help pass the time.
They told us today that when your blood counts start dropping, it is sometimes sudden. One day you feel pretty good, and then WAM!! So far Don's counts have not been dropping. They check them every morning. However he is starting to feel a little "yuk"!
I noticed tonight as I marked off another day on our calendar, that July is almost gone. Gosh...I feel like we missed the entire summer. School will soon be starting. But I am so glad alot of our time here has already passed. I know alot of people love Houston...but I think Don and I would rather see Tioga..LOL.
We have had alot of our friends calling us. It is wonderful to hear from you all. We feel so loved. Don says it is so humbling to know so many people are praying for him. He told me he feels unworthy. Thank you all so much.
Blessings and Love,
Don and Kathi

STEM CELL DAY!!!!!

Well...the day has come for Don to recieve his own stem cells back! DAY 0. Yesterday he had his last chemo and one he has never had before. It was a very short chemo..only 30 minutes. He had to suck on ice for two and a half hours during and after the chemo. They tell us it is the the most powerful of all chemo's he has ever had. I believe it. This morning he called me from the hospital to tell me to be prepared to stay all night. He has been sick. We knew it was coming. Thank GOD he was moved to the eleventh floor late last night, just in time for his nausea. I can now have a bed to stay with him up there...PRAISE GOD!!
Today Pastor Bart is going to call us at 8 a.m. and Pray over the Stem Cells! Our church will be praying as well. We are soooo blessed to have them all in our lives. Praise be to ALL MIGHTY GOD!!
Our thanks to all, you are wonderful,
Don and Kathi

*Edit by Brandon*
Dad getting his stem cells back!

Day Five!!

Last night Don had test to determine if he did indeed still have a blood clot and would have to have his cvc cathetur relocated. Unfortunately he did. It wasn't a pleasant experience, they did have a hard time surgically placing it. He has some pain, but they have him on pain med's. Today they will resume his chemo and I am sure he will be sore from the experience last night. He has had so many small surgeries on that area!! They tell us this should not change his schedule in any way. They are also giving him shots in his stomach with blood thinner to break up the clot.
His mother has back surgery today in Alexandria, please remember Dorothy in your prayers. Also last night our neighbors Kevin and Peggy Kessler came to our room at MDA. Kevin is having back surgery today at Texas Orthapedic here in Houston. They will be here for a week, and possible Peggy will be my roomate at the hotel. Nice to have company!!
Lots of folks need prayers. You prayer warriors keep it up. Love you and appreciate you all sooooo much!
Blessings,
Don and Kathi

We have hit a bump in the road!

Well folks,
Chemo number two went very well, still no nausea. But today they have found out he has a blood clot just above his CVC Cathetur. They could not get any blood return from the cathetur, and his left arm has swollen. Tomorrow they are going to do a test on him to determine if they need to remove his CVC and surgically replace it on the right side of his chest. He hates that. He has had it removed once already and then it was placed too close to his heart, so they had to pull it out a small amount. All this surgery on his cathetur area isn't fun, and causes some pain. It is also delaying his schedule, and we hope this doesn't mean our DAY 0 will be on Friday instead of Thursday.
Through it all he has kept such a good attitude. He has all the nurses remembering his name the way he teases them all...LOL. He will be having his chemo all through the night now, because of all the worry about his cathetur. No sleep for him!!
Please pray his test shows the blood clot is gone and his blood flow is normal, and they won't have to remove his CVC.
We talked to his brother Kim tonight, good hearing from him. Our kids and grandkids were such a joy to have here if only for one day...we love them so. They really cheered up Paw Paw and MeMe got lots of hugs. We needed that. It is kinda quiet around here now though....too quiet.
Thanks for all the prayers and S.S.class, thanks for wearing those ribbons and the special prayers during class as well.
We love all of you,
Don and Kathi

Day ONE of six Mega Chemo's

Today Don had his first day of the strong chemo drugs to kill his remaining stem cell's. He actually did very well. He did not get sick at all!! Must be all those prayers your sending up on his behalf. PLEASE...DONT STOP!! Tomorrow he will be recieving a combination of drugs. One he has had before, and one new one. I pray all days go as well as today, however we know he will start feeling very weak soon. Tonight they let him go to the "park" on the second floor. The "park" is an area of the hospital that we love the most. It is an open large area full of palm tree's and plant's. In the day time you can hear the piano player playing from an area near by. A very relaxing atmosphere. We love to just sit in the wicker chairs and have a change of scenery. He only got to sit there about an hour, and we know it will be his last day for about three weeks! I told him let's enjoy this while we can. We are trying to get a room on the 11th floor. It is the stem cell transplant floor.....but we have been admitted to the 9th floor because there was no vacancy on 11. On the 9th floor there is no room for a couch or bed for me to stay with him. Tonight thank the good Lord he is o.k. and doesn't need me to stay.
Also our daughter and grandkids are coming tonight!! HURRAY!! We can't wait to see them. Paw Paw will love having them to brighten his day tomorrow. And MeMe really needs a hug!!
We will write again soon,
Blessings,
Kathi

We are headed to step THREE!!!!

O.k...all you prayer warriors...its your time to pray really hard!!! We saw Dr. Nieto today and we are being admitted tonight! Tomorrow Don will start his MEGA chemo. It is called B.E.A.M. BCNU Carmustine, Etoposide, Ara-C Cytarabine, and Melphalan. On Friday he will be recieving the Carmustine. Then days 24-27 he will be recieving the Etoposide and Cytarabine. On Wed. the 28 he will recieve the Melphalan and then THURSDAY the 29th is STEM CELL TRANSPLANT DAY!!!!
Around here that day is called day 0. You count from there to 30. Your immune system becomes that of a little baby on day 0. Don will actually have to have all his baby shots all over again...LOL. I told him he could go with our little grand daughter when she has her's...HA!!
We noticed on his schedule that he will be having six not five days of chemo. And there is no two days of rest. I am not sure why his schedule is different from those of others we spoke to.
This is the step we have been a little scared of. I ask that you all pray for Don to have only minimal (IF NONE!) nausea or side effects. Also please pray for NO infections of any kind or complications. And for ME to be a brave "ROCK."
We will try and keep the blog current, but it may be a little difficult during this week. If I can't get to our laptop my son, Brandon, will be updating for us.
Thanks to all for your prayers, we really need them now.
Much love and Blessings to all of you,
Don and Kathi

Just Waiting......

We are in waiting. Our doctor has been in Spain! He just returned back to work today, and our nurse said for us to just hang in there. We have no appointments, no instructions. Don and I want to get this show on the road. Don is very anxious to start step three. Yesterday he had his new C.V.C. line put in, this one is much more comfortable, and he slept well.
Robin, Scott and girls are suppose to come to Houston to see us this weekend. We have missed them so much, it will be good to see them. We don't know if Don will be in the hospital at the time, but we will work around that. If we get step three behind us, the sooner we come home for good.
Our friend Wayne came to see us and we went out to eat. It was good seeing him again. Then today our friend Robert called us. So good to hear his voice. I think he and Don have planned a golfing trip as soon as we get back home. Or maybe some fishing. I told Don that after we get home, he can fish or golf all he wants!! I think he is going to hold me up to that!! HA!
We will let you all know when we hear from our doctor.
Blessings,
Kathi

I don't know how he does it!!!

Well...folks your prayers are working. I know it is HIM working right now. Don went into Aphersis last night to harvest and we were there until 9:15 p.m. Don jokingly said here I gave you about 7 million tonight, when the nurse came to take the bag away....hehe. I said, "I wish!" They told us they only needed 5 million all together. Most people take days to perform this. He returned today to donate again, and guess what!! I can't believe this guy, but they just told him his count from last night was 7.2 MILLION!!!! I am amazed! They sent him back to the hotel and said...that's enough. Now we are waiting on instructions to move onto step three. I am shocked that Don managed to finish harvesting in only ONE DAY!!!!
Your prayers are doing wonders, please don't stop.
Our God is AMAZING!!!!
Blessings,
Don and Kathi

IT'S TIME!!!!!

Hey all! I got an email update from Mom a couple of hours ago. I think she wanted this to be blogged but got excited that Dad was suddenly being sent off for harvesting of his Stem Cells. So I figured I would post it for her :)

Keep Praying, the hardest part of this journey is yet to come for Dad!

~Brandon

WE ARE HARVESTING!!!!  HURRAY!! This is the time all stem cell transplant patients look forward to.  We are on to step two.  Pray Don will harvest plentiful! They want 10 million cells.  One friend we made here took eight days, pray Don doesn't take that long.  God is soooo good.  Praise be to him.  Don has been so faithful in giving his self four shots of Nupregin per day...ouch!  But it worked.  We will keep you all informed of when we go to step three, hospital admitting.

Much Love,

Don and Kathi

YEA...Harvesting????

The other day I got a daily devotional on line that started out..."The Harvest is Plentiful!"....hehe. Funny, we hear that term alot around here. It is the term all stem cell transplant patients and their family LOVE to hear. It means your blood is ready and your stem cells have come out and its time to start your harvesting. Something all patients in this situation look forward to. I thought after reading that devotional that God was trying to tell us something. IS IT TIME????? I had been praying for it. The other night Don woke up to really bad bone pain, a sign your stem cells are coming out. It was a very uncomfortable, but happy pain. Sure enough after his blood test yesterday they told us its time to test his stem cells. Today he has that test and hopefully will start his harvest today. Not all people harvest the same...it depends on your body. We met a man recently who had to harvest for eight straight days! They want 10 million cells. He was only able to give them eight million. We pray Don will be one of the unusual ones and can give all 10 million and in just a couple days. As we always said, the sooner we start, the sooner we are finished!!
Pray all goes well for him please.
Blessings,
Don and Kathi

Same ole thing!!

Not much to update with right now. We seem to be in an endless time of blood checks and blood transfusions. Don had his checkup today and we find out now he needs platlets. He will be recieving them tonight. We have met so many people also having stem cell transplants here, and we can all compare notes. Some harvest soon, some dont. I am afraid we might be in the not ready very soon. It just takes time, and around here you spend alot of time, just sitting and waiting. Hours at a time in waiting rooms. Lots of time to read books, work puzzles and watch t.v.
We found out today that Don's Mom will be having back surgery. It has become too difficult for her to get around. We are so sorry we can't be there for her, but as I was told just today, we were told in the beginning of this thing, that we couldn't ever be more than fifteen minutes of the hospital during the entire process. I had hoped to talk them into letting us have a break and come home for the weekend, but I was told no. God knows what is best.
We will not be updating now until more info is giving to us, but will let you all know when we know!
Love and Blessings,
Don and Kathi