It has been beautiful here in Houston..

The weather has been beautiful here. I was able to get Dan out for about 20 minutes or so. We went for a ride on the golf cart. He still struggles with severe weakness so that small outing was about all he could do for the day. He continues to fall asleep constantly and his memory and confusion is still there.

He had Lumbar puncture/Spinal tap on Monday and we see the neurologist this coming Monday for some of the results. His blood pressure is still staying up even with the new medication and we see the cardiologist this morning. They are very concerned with his blood pressure staying as high as it is.

We did have a pleasant Monday evening and Dan was able to stay up with me till 9:00 --he said he knew I missed having him up with me in the evenings so he did his best to stay up later. I love him so much.

His appetite is not good. He has lost more weight and he struggles to eat a small portion of his meal I cook for him.

He tells me constantly how lucky he is to have me here with him and tell him I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

On a good note as far as the actual transplant his blood work has remained to be good. So we are praying the results of the Lumbar puncture will be favorable and this brain issue will correct itself in time.

Much love to all of you!

Good morning to all of you...

We saw the neurologist yesterday for the results of the MRI and we really don't know too much more than we did at this time. She did say the changes in the Brain are from the chemo and she will run a few more tests one of which is a spinal tap to see if there is any type of viral infection going on. She said if those turn out normal then it is just a waiting game. She said in time either months or up to a year his Brain could heal on its own. Of course this is not the quick fix Dan and hoped for but none of this has been a quick fix. I feel for Dan as I know he is so tired of all these tests he has to go through. I have to admit I was a bit frustrated when we left the doctors office yesterday. We have the stem cell docs who come in and say well you have been through a great deal but things are looking much better now and then we have this to deal with.

I have the old sinus /allergy problems in full force right now and I am feeling pretty lousy but I got some over the counter meds and hope this does the trick if not I will find one of those Care Clinics and try and get some other meds. I so need all of my energy so hopefully this resolves itself soon.

I seem to always give the negative information and forget to say how wonderful it is to have Dan and to have made it thus far. It is wonderful just to sit on the couch with him and watch a western and hold hands. He is truly the love of my life and my best friend all wrapped up in one great package!!

Oh and by the way his hair is coming back in and it appears to be curly!!

Take care everyone we love you all very much!!

Update for all the bloggers

Well it has been quite a ride since we got out of the hospital Tues, Jan 6th. Dan has now developed some memory problems and a problem with him following to sleep when he is still within a minute of being still. Blood pressure is also staying up and I am very frustrated that they can't seem to figure this out.

We are going for a MRI of the Brain this evening as there is a possibility that these problems are swelling on the brain which is a side effect you can get from the Tacrolimus medication he has to take daily to prevent complications from the transplant.

I must say I am getting a bit tired--mainly because things are becoming more difficult for me to handle on my own. When I know what to do to help him make things better it is much more easy to bare--but when I don't know how to help him it becomes oh so exhausting.

We will see how this MRI goes this evening. The APN and the Pharmacist here in the ATC clinic are wonderful and they are as frustrated as I am--so they are being a very good sounding board for me.

As always Dan and I appreciate all the wonderful good thoughts and prayers from everyone.

Things looking a little better...

Infectious Doctor came in yesterday and started Dan on a new medication regimen. One IV antibiotic and one by mouth antibiotic to address this C-diff-colitis. His stem cell doctor came in this morning and said she thought they are on the right track but he will have to remain in hospital probably till at least Wednesday so they can monitor everything real close. Dan is not a happy camper.

So my hardest job will be keeping him settled -- 2 of our wonderful friends from home (Aileen and Mark) are having dinner delivered to us this evening for my birthday! Very sweet of them to do that. They didn't give me a chance to respond to them and tell them not to. We both picked Italian -and I let Dan pick the dish since he is having such a rough time with his appetite right now.

Oh wow the sun just came out had not seen it in a few days... Dan and I are just chilling watching movies in his room. We went for a short walk --he bout did not make it back to the room -his legs are extremely weak.

We will try to get a pic of us having our dinner later this evening and post it.

Everyone take care and thanks for all the prayers...

Dan and Rhonda

back into the hospital we go

Dan has some bleeding going on due to some of the infections he has. They are admitting him to try and get a grip on this.

He is so discouraged right now so lots of good thoughts and prayers his way.

We love all of you!

Went home from hospital Christmas Day..

We got to home Christmas Day from the hospital. Monday, Dec 29th had the EGD and flex scopes done. Preliminary results show the graft vs host has went to his stomach. He is also suffering from the C-Diff colon infection and they have started him on new medication for the C-Diff. They did biopsies and we will here the final results on those next week.

Dan had a really rough day yesterday Dec 31st. He is very weak and we are home today doing the fluids at home and we will go back to ATC tomorrow and get more blood work done. He may need blood transfusion again. He received 2 units while in the hospital. At this point I am struggling to stay optimistic. I am concerned about the biopsy results. He just can't seem to get better with one thing before another one comes up.

He had to go and lay back down this morning. I worry so much about him. So all you prayer warriors out there say those prayers as I know you continue to do. I know God has gotten us through thus far and prayer the journey will start to get easier. We talked with the treatment team on Tuesday and we know we will probably be here through February. All of this is fine as long as Dan can continue to get better... we would stay here a year if that is what it takes.

So glad God has allowed me to be here with Dan help me to stay strong on this journey.

We want to wish all of you a Happy New Year and tell you we love all of you very much!
Dan and Rhonda