Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Another Update

Hi All:

Sorry it's been a while since I've checked in. Here's the latest . . .

The Fundraiser was a huge success. THANK YOU to everyone who attended, bought raffle tickets, bid on silent auction items and spent the day mingling with our family and friends and listening to some of Milwaukee's best bands. Thank You also to all the musicians and production staff for donating their time and talents to pull-off such a fantastic show. And the biggest Thank You of all to Kevin, Chris, and the boys for initiating the event and seeing it through to a very successful completion. We are impressed and humbled and flattered and honored and all kinds of other adjectives! THANK YOU!!

While everyone was contributing to The Cause, Jeff and I were in the hospital (and still are) fighting the good fight. Jeff's fared very well during this Fourth Cycle and has, again, escaped a lot of the most severe side effects. He even managed to open his eyes for bits and pieces of some Sweet 16 basketball games. Otherwise, he has mostly slept, but he has managed to talk on the phone a couple of times and hasn't been as forgetful as he has been during prior cycles. For example, he remembered that he still hadn't heard Kevin's radio interview and asked me to play it for him. He also gave my brother a recipe for maple syrup from memory--so he's doing very well!

I can't say as much for his blood counts. His white blood counts had dropped to .5 (they are supposed to be up around 10,000. Point 5 is more like 500--so his white count is WAY low). It is so low, that the nurses want him to wear a surgical mask when he leaves his hospital room (Sexy!) and they have placed a warning on his door urging visitors to stay away if they have a cold, have had recent immunizations, or are in possession of raw meat or fresh produce, etc. So, please know that if you have sent Jeff a little pick-me-up of ground chuck or pork ribs, your delivery will be rejected at the nurse's station.

His red blood counts are also low (9.2 for all the nurses out there who know what that means!). So, he is back on his regimen of weekly Procrit shots to correct his anemia. But, he looks good (as always!) and hasn't lost a lot of weight during this cycle. Hopefully he'll be able to maintain his appetite and stamina next week and won't have so much nausea. We haven't seen Dr. Legha yet today, but we're assuming he will let Jeff go home tomorrow or Thursday.

Finally, I want to welcome my brother John and his wife Anni, and my sweet baby niece, Ella, to Milwaukee! They traveled all the way from Kansas City to help care for the kids this week. Sounds like they are having a lot of fun. I am so glad to have them there and can't wait to see them when we change shifts at the end of the week.

Until then, please continue to pray that Jeff's treatments are working and for his peace of mind and smooth recovery. It really does help so much.

Kelly

3 comments:

mka said...

Just as I was getting ready to send my "Bacon Bouquet" I read that Jeff can't accept raw meat. Dang. Guess I'll just have to eat it for breakfast myself. I hope Jeff gets to feeling better and that all his blood counts return to normal STAT. (whatever stat means. I think it means really fast.) Saturday Night Live was funny last Saturday, they made fun of Senjia from Idol, and had a coffee drinking scene that cracked me up. Peyton Manning was the host. I'll tell you about it sometime. Love, Mom (Myrna)

Michelle & Jeff said...

Kelly,
Your baby niece, Ella, is so pretty! I'm so excited for you to see her soon.
Thinking of you! Love you and jeff!
love,
MIchelle

Katie Clancy said...

Glad to hear this round isn't as hard on Jeff. Best wishes for getting those blood counts waaaaayyy up there! Are you back to the apartment yet? More than half way finished! The end is in sight. Milwaukee is just around the corner. Hang in there. Continued prayers and best wishes, Love Katie