Sunday at St Joe's

      Early Sunday morning and having trouble sleeping, so might as well write something.  I finally looked up ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA (ALL) and read enough to know that I just need to follow the Doctors  numbers game and things should have a good chance of remission down the road.  How far the road and such will be the unknown. Thank god ...Trust God.

      With all my allergies it will become a challenge for them to keep me awake. Every thing I take to counter act allergies puts me to sleep. I am learning to sleep better with my mask and am able to get deep enough to dream.

        As those of you with any hospital experience will know it become a litany of bodily functions.  Just as in infancy, all you do is eat and eliminate and somebody has to keep track.  Been here since June 9Th and it is hard to realize the passage of time.  God has protected me from any major brain loss, as far as I would know.(Some might even call it a gain) I have lost some passwords and pronunciation  skills. I have a hard time saying brain bleed.  It keeps coming out blain breed. 

    I have been reading a free library from Baen Books go to  http://www.baen.com/  it is a great service and I am reading new  and old stuff.  Send photos to me of and summer things you do, I find I am missing the pool and my roses,besides Marty and the dogs. Photo taken on the 17Th when i got my chest port. Cute right?

    God has been good to me and I thank Him, prayers are always welcome, as are good thoughts  and wishes. I am a long ways from even starting this battle and it is a long ways from Yuma.  If you are coming up this way stop in, just remember your masks and gowns at the door.  Wake me if I'm sleeping.

June 9 Crash and burn

 This will be a long ramble and don't confuse it with what everyone else may have said.  I am not so sure I remember any of this accurately. Thank God Marty was able to take care of me this day. As many of you know I had been fighting a headache and diarrhea for about 2-3 weeks and just going to Urgent care and not getting better.

      I had been using my cane to get around in the mornings so didn't think to much about going to the VA with it, by the time I was checked in I was having to use a wheel chair to balance myself.  Between Marty and the VA ladies they put me in the Ambulance and took me to YRMC. Don't remember much about the ER but did know they had to get me to Phoenix because I had a brain bleed and there is no neurosurgery   in Yuma.  I remember leaving in daylight and landing in darkness.  I prayed to God that I would become to understand what was going on. 

     When I arrived in Phoenix they started on my brain bleed and I suddenly had this really nice Doctor gently explaining that I also had a really bad type of leukemia and I really got quite upset because of what happened to Rosanne. I kept asking how this could be and what we could do about it. They decided to operate on the brain bleed and drain it.  Then simultaneously start to replace proper blood volume.  Not sure how it all worked but I kept thinking I knew what was going on.  I had a very good group of nurses in the neuro ICU and was very well taken care of.  They had a lot to deal with  and did a very caring job.  Never had such a great bath and felt really clean. 

      They kept giving me blood products and building up my proper blood supply while waiting for tests to see what needed to be done and for the drains to be removed from my brain.  They started some chemotherapy in the ICU while waiting for a room in oncology. So far I have been tolerating treatment well, but don't know much about prognosis except that remission is about in the 85% range. So far I am tolerating the disease  better that Marty is. She is just lost and I speak with her 4-5 times a day but her world has turned upside down.  I will need to figure out something and implement it from here. I just can't be let loose in the world right now. My treatment depends on me getting sicker in a controlled manner. I guess! More as it becomes available and daily progress reports. 

catching up

  Sorry I didn't write last night or this morning.  Marty finally drug me to the urgent care Sunday night! I had been fighting diarrhea and headaches so she tried everything but finally made me go.  Found out that there has been a stomach virus around town and I had a sinus infection. Still having trouble with my balance  and am closing up nicely though. 

      Earlier in the week we were out fishing and some one set up some excitement.While we were in the area when it was going on, we were not involved in the shootings here. A 73 yr old man killed his ex wife her lawyer and most of those who testified against him. He was from a small town east of here and had to drive 30 miles to shoot the lawyer. He then drove 25 miles outside of town and killed himself. seems like he got the order wrong.  This is as much of a cowboy town as where we lived in Nebraska. When we first moved to Kearney there was a gunfight at a saloon and our neighbor killed his wife. Now of course the town is much more civilized. As it is here only certain people create crime.

       Marty's birthday was Sunday and we got a early morning visit from the police at 6:45AM.  Somehow one of our land lines decided to call 911.  I sure admire those men, I don't know how I would feel about doing a home check that early and of course we leave our patio doors open because I get tired of having to get up to let the dog out.  I was extremely groggy and barely understood them at first.  I did thank them and went back to bed.  Sure I wished Marty a Happy Birthday, and bought her a Nook.  Today she got good news and the Doctor allowed her to start work part time.  She will also get her treatments for awhile to help her transition.  I know she will be happier at work than dealing with me all day.  We will have our 36th anniversary  tomorrow, today was the 39th anniversary of my Grandfather's death. The picture of my Grandfather and my Great Aunt Mary is attached. Love to all.