Transplant Day +47

Can you believe that I am still having the same stomach problems? I can eat more now, but it's like I have this constant dull pain in my gut 24/7. I can't believe that the doctors cannot find anything wrong. I just want to feel good again, is that so wrong?

Peace

Transplant Day +46

Hi all,

I got some great news from my doctor today. The PET scan showed absolutely no cancer in my body!!! I am so relieved, thanks and glory and honor be to God the Father and His Wonderful Son Jesus Christ, even forever. I have been praying so hard for this, sometimes to the point of tears. I know I am not "out-of-the-woods" yet, but it's good to know that right now I am cancer free.

I have to wait until Monday to get the colonoscopy results, and I am still having troubles with my stomach. It's really wierd that they can't find the cause of my discomfort. As you may of realized, I can be a worry-wort at times, but I am hoping this is nothing serious.

Peace to you all!

Transplant Day +45

Hi all,

Well, all my blood work was normal and the x-ray didn't show anything either. My doctor has scheduled a colonoscopy and a PET scan for tomorrow (Friday 5/30). I am very scared of that PET scan, that it will show the cancer is still there and maybe even spread and is part of my stomach troubles. I just can't get that thought out of my head, no matter how hard I try. And what sucks is that my doctor scheduled the appointment to go over the results on Monday, so I'll have to wait all week-end to find out what it shows.

Peace

Transplant Day +44

Well, still having the same problems with my stomach. I don't know what to think, kinda worried. Today I was able to force myself to get up and around in the house. I actually played my guitar for a couple hours, man do I need to practice more!

Peace

Transplant Day +43

Well my doctor has scheduled some blood tests and an x-ray of my abdomen on Thursday to see if he can pin point the troubles I've been having. I sure hope I don't end up back in the hospital again. Man, I am really getting frustrated, I just want to feel good, ya know?

Anyhoot, I hope you all are doing good and thanks for your support.

Peace

Transplant Day +42

Hello all,

I am still having the stomach problems. Mostly nasious and not able to eat very much, but also very tired. All I have been doing the past few days is laying in bed.

Megan's sister Jena and her kids and my sister Kim and her kids came over for supper today. They grilled hot dogs and brats. I forced myself to go sit outside for about 20 minutes and watched the kids play in the back yard, then I was able to get a brat and some baked beans in me. After that my stomach acted up again and I ended up back in bed.

Goodnight all!!!

Transplant Day +41

Hello,

Things are pretty much the same. I guess I am glad they aren't getting worse. I have mostly been lying in bed all day and night. I sure hope I start feeling better soon.
That's all for now.

Peace

Transplant Day +40

Hi all,

Well, my stomach troubles are back. I can't eat alot without getting nauseous, I feel worn down again and I just can't get comfortable no matter what I try. Today we had cake and ice cream for Megan's birthday (it's on Monday), well, they had cake and ice cream, I couldn't even take a bite. I guess I'll be going back to the doctor on Tuesday, if not before.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Peace

Transplant Day +39

Hi all ,

Today was a great day. My stomach felt better, I was able to eat more and I actually got to play my electric guitar for about an hour. It felt great to play it again after so long. Megan and the kids all went to the park and had a great time as well.
That's all for now,

Peace

Transplant Day +38

Well, I called the doctor today about my stomach troubles. He seems to think it has something to do with heartburn. He told me to take 2 extra-strength Tums a day and if things are still messed up to call him again on Tuesday. I hope it works because I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired you wouldn't even know!

Peace

Transplant Day +37

Hello frineds. I am still having the stomach problems. Still upset, not able to eat much and feeling nasious. I will give it one more day. If things aren't better by tomorrow, I will call my doctor and talk to him about this. I hope I don't have to get admitted into the hospital again.
I'll keep you posted.

Peace

Transplant Day +36

Hi all. Things are good. I have had some stomach issues lately, upsey stomach feeling, can't eat alot without feeling full or getting nasious. I'll see if it will get better in a day or 2. Othert than that things are going good.

Peace

Transplant Day +35

Well, nothing new to report. Things are going well and I am grateful for that.

Transplant Day +34

Hi peeps!!!

Today was another good day. I was able to play more baseball with the twins. I had so much fun. I was also able to mow some of the back yard, I was having trouble with the mower and my neighbor came over with his mower and asked if he could finish the mowing for me. I was like "Are you sure?" He is in his 70's I would guess, and he said he really wanted to finish for me so I said OK.

After supper Megan and I also took the kids to a park for awhile. I can't wait to get back to normal. I forgot how much I missed my old life, it was great and I thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful life. I only hope and pray that I will have that life again soon.

Peace

Transplant Day +33

Greetings,

Today was fabulous!!! I forced myself to get outside. I was able to play baseball with my twin boys and niece and nephew. It was great. The boys LOVED it. I only played for about half an hour, then I got pretty tired out, but that was the best 1/2 hour I've had in a long time!!!!

I think I am going to have to force myself like I did today and things will start to slowly come back to me like before the transplant.

Thanks again to all my family and friends for all your support and prayers.

Peace

Transplant Day +32

Hi all,

Nothing new to report. Still tire easily and not quite eating like I used to, but things are getting better. I hope all is well with you all.

Peace

Transplant Day +31

Greetings friends, well I found out that I'll need the blood thinner shots for awhile. The plan is to have the shots for 6 weeks and then go in for an ultra-sound to check the clot. Other than that things are getting back to normal except my energy levels.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they will be eternally remembered.

Peace

Transplant Day +30

Not much new to report. My appetite is getting back to normal but I can't eat a whole lot at once. I still get pretty tired but I think that's getting better. Tomorrow I see a blood clot specialist to see if I still need the blood thinners.

Peace

Transplant Day +29

Hi all. Nothing new to report. Still having trouble with my energy levels, just want to sleep 24/7. Hopefully as it warms up I can make myself get outside with the kids and ease my way back into being active again. My appetite is gettting much better, but still not quite back to
normal. Just waiting until Thursday when I see the blood clot specialist to find out how much longer I need those blood thinner shots. They don't hurt, but it kinda sucks having to get them everyday.

Transplant Day +28

I had my first appointment with my lymphoma doctor today for the first time in quite awhile. He said that things are looking good and he is happy with everything he sees. He wants to do another PET Scan, CT and blood tests on day +60 and maybe do some low dose radiation treatments depending on what the tests show. There was one "stubborn" spot under my left armpit that he wants the radiation done on, basically for overkill.

Also, we were able to get a prescription for my blood thinner shot so Megan can give it to me at home instead of going in everyday just to get a shot. My next appointment is on Thursday to check the blood clot and see how much longer I will need the blood thinners.

My appetite is getting better slowly, but I still get so fricken' tired I could sleep for days.

I wish you all the best and thank you again for your thoughts and prayers.

Transplant Day +27

Nothing exciting to report today. I just went in and got my blood thinner shot. Still not eating much and still extremely exhausted. Feeling a little better though.

Transplant Day +26

Not much to report today. I went in for my blood thinner shot. Still extremely tired and have no appetite. I was a bit nausious so I took a pill that's supposed to help that, but I was too late. I lost it. But I know I have been very lucky as far as that goes. I think, other than the fatigue, the side effects I have been dealing with are quite minimal.

Tonight I am going out to see my old band STIR at the North Star. I can't wait, they are really, really good and I haven't heard them in quite awhile. Maybe I'll see some of ya there!!!!

Thanks to you all and peace.

Transplant Day +25

Well, they took out my central line today. It went much smoother than I expected. The only pain I felt was when she cut the sutures. Then she just pulled on it a few times and boom it came right out.

I still have that blood clot to contend with but am getting blood thinner shots to help get rid of it. My blood levels are all doing great and on Monday I will start seeing my regular doctor less often, I won't have to go in every single day for blood work, Whoo Hoo!

I am still having trouble with my appetite and energy levels, I sure hope they get back to normal soon.

Well, that it is all for now.

Transplant Day +24

Hello friends,

Tomorrow I am going to have an ultra sound on my central line. They are planning to remove it in the next few days. All my blood levels are continuing to improve and the doctors are very happy about that. The levels related to my liver are still quite high but they are coming down. The doctors aren't sure what happened to cause them to go up so high but they don't seem to concerned. I am just glad they are coming down.

My appetite is getting a little better, I can eat somethings without too much trouble. I am still always tired however and have no energy to do anything. It takes as much as I've got to even post these blogs, but I want to keep it going.

Have a great days friends!

Transplant Day +23

Not much new to report, The ultra sound on my liver looks totally normal, so there not quite sure what to thing about those enzyme levels. I am still extremely tired and have no appetite. hopefully both of those will get better soon as I really miss getting outside and playing with my kids.

Transplant Day +22

Well, another boring day. They forgot to give me my blood thinner shot when I went in for my blood work. ID10Ts. They want to do an ultra-sound on my liver tomorrow. Apparently one marker in my blood work from today came back high. Normal is like 50-115 and mine came back over 500. I am a bit worried about that because it is so frickin' high. Olay I need sleep now. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Transplant Day +21

Not much new going on. Still can't eat much, but my blood levels are completely normal, which means at this point the transplant was a success. It's really strange not having any appetite, hopefully it will come back soon.

Transplant Day +20

Greetings friends,

Things seem to be going much better, the diariah is gone but I am still having a hard time eating, just no appetite at all. I did manage to force down a pizza for supper though (WOOT! WOOT!). I think that puts my calorie count for the day at around 1,200. They want me to get at least 1,000 per day.

My blood counts continue to rise, I think the only thing below normal are my platelets. Also, they are planning to take out my central line in the next few days but the blood clot won't come out with it, so I'll still need the blood thinner shots daily.

Things are getting better slowly, and I ask for your continued prayers for my family and I.

Thank you all so very much for all you've done for us.

Transplant Day +19

Went in for my blood tests and everything looks good, the levels are nearing normal. I am still extremely exhausted all the time, nothing seems to help that. I still have to force myself to eat, but mostly just chug some high calorie drinks like Boost, Slim Fast, Carnation Instant Breakfast....because I can get them down and they don't make me feel nausious.

I think they are planning to take out my central line in a few days so that'd be great. I still have that blood clot to contend with, and the pain is still not gone. But it's so good to be home!!!

I think I need to re-learn the guitar, know any good teachers???

Only 81 days to go before my next scan!!!!!

Thank you all again.

Transplant Day +18

Well, they let me go home today!!!! I am still extremely tired, have absolutely no appetite and still in some pain mostly from where the blood clot is, but it feels so good to be home you have no idea!!! The pain meds they have given me don't help much so I'm gonna ask for something different tomorrow.

Thanks again friends and family, I couldn't do this without you all!

Transplant Day +17

Hi all, I am still pretty tired and have no appetite what so ever, but things are slowly turning around and I think the worst is over (I hope anyway).

I got to get out of this place and attend the Pancake Dinner Event that the boys' school put on for us. I was only able to stay for about 1/2 hour, then I got so tired I had to get back to the hospital. But it was good to get away and see some friends and family that I haven't seen in a very long time. Thank you all who attended the event, it seems to have been a hugh success. I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing but I was just so exhausted I was falling asleep at the table we were sitting at!

Also thanks to Mrs. D, everyone at Churchill and all of the volunteers for putting the event on for my family. Thank you really doesn't quite do it justice, but Megan and I will never forget your caring and generosity in helping my family get through this difficult time.