I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. My mom and I went to Cayte and Matt's house on Wednesday night. It was their first Thanksgiving together in their home. Everything was wonderful!!
Dave continues to show improvement. He walks every day and sits on our on the deck in the fresh air....I just need to fatten him up a bit. Ed Frey made some ribs for us and BJ made cheesy potatoes.....they worked magic....they are the first foods that Dave has really eaten alot of....His back does not seem to hurt as bad as before. I am optimistic that the treatments are working .....We go back to KU Med on December 7th for more......it will be easier to return if he feels that they are helping. Keep him in your prayers...
I can't write tonight without thanking everyone again for the kindness that you have shown. We have heard from every school in the district....the cards, gifts, well wishes .....so overwhelming. What a blessing all of you are to us......THANK YOU.........

It is so good to be home. Dave rested well today and ate a little bit. Not as much as I would like but it is a step in the right direction. Cayte is cooking Thanksgiving tomorrow and my mom is coming from Pittsburg (KS) for a few days. Patty Ruzich brought the quilt that Rosie Wendell's mom made for Dave...what a complete act of love!! Schultz's came over tonight and we had a good time!! Thanks to all of you who have send the e-mails, blogs, it has really given us the boost that we need .....We send our thanks and wish all of you a great Thanksgiving ......Blessings from both of us.....

We got home at 5:30 this evening. It is so good to be here...showers and our bed...it is heaven. Dave is weak, the treatments really did take alot out of him. My goal is to fatten him up....hopefully with all of the good food during Thanksgiving it will get him started in the right direction. As always thanks so much for your support. Have a great Thanksgiving.......

It is 11:00 and we are in the WAITING mode.....getting a little tired of WAITING...we are to go home today. Just hope they get around to us so that I can drive while I am still rested rather than waiting till 4 or 5 this afternoon. It will be good to be home. I will continue to blog. We appreciate all of the support here and on Facebook......Dave looks good, they are pulling all but his port...it is good to be unwired....he looks forward to a hot shower and being home. I don't know if he will have restrictions as far as visitors....I will let you know......love to all...thanks for the support!!

It is Sunday at about 5:00....just got the red light...we won't go home today. Dave has had some irregular heart rythems and although they think it is a direct result of the IL2 treatments they just want to be sure. There were other counts that were off, but have now returned to normal on their own...ie..blood suger, liver and kidney counts. I had some real reservations about taking him home today....I really want to be able to take him home and stay home for awhile...no doctor...no emergency room....NO DRAMA........Guess we will see what tomorrow brings....Love to all......Fred...GO CHIEFS....wish I was home to see your flag........SOON.......

We were looking forward to going home today, but he had chest pain and swelling in his legs. I want him to be really stable before bringing him home......we will see what today brings.

After careful consideration the Dr. has decided that 13 is enough for Dave. His blood pressure and his heart rate were being really taxed and it was not worth further risk. They will do blood draws tomorrow AM and then hopefully we can go home between 9:30 and 12:00. At least that is the last word that we heard......we are both anxious to get home and get some sleep. I can't tell you how much courage it took for Dave to face the treatments each day knowing full well the after effects that he would have to go through. He is such an incredible person, I know that if anyone deserves to see positive results from this it is him. Thanks so much for your continued support!

Dave has gotten his 12th treatment and as of earlier today the drs think 14 is goal. We will both be glad to be home for awhile. I am up tonight...... our nurse is the typical do as little as possible night nurse ....I have to say he is the exception to the rule, but I am not in the mood....Chris and Janice (Dave's sister) stayed this afternoon so I got away for awhile. It has been beautiful here so I have been going to Melanie and Larry Bowman's in the afternoon for awhile to shower and just relax......their Lab is my "therapy dog"...she is so glad to see me...today we went for a walk...not sure how well she protects their house, but she is great at entertaining!!! Thanks for all of your thoughts...we are hopefully headed for Wichita soon.....

Dave received his 9th treatment this evening. The drs. are hoping that he can tolerate 10 to 14. It just depends on how much his body can take without being compromised. We have had an absolutely wonderful nurse the last 2 nights....he is very proactive with the meds...making Dave as comfortableas possible (and sometimes sedated) thru the worst of the side effects. He is also good about explaining everything to me. Dave and I will go thru all of the blog and facebook posts from today later tonight...everyone here at the hospital on our floor inquires as to the ## of facebook and bloggers....they are so impressed with the support.........I ran into Chelsea Pleming in the elevator yesterday. She is in her last year of residency......Alex Westerman is a nurse here in ICU....it is a small world.....blessings to all......couldn't do it without you!!!!

Dave continues to take treatments every 8 hours. He now is in a predictible cycle when it comes to side effects. It is so hard to watch him, but he does not complain. He has had 8 treatments and they are waiting for bloodwork to determine how many more he can take. He has an awesome night nurse that is really proactive with the nasty shakes and chills that go along with the Interleukin.....he has him sedated ....much better to sleep thru it all. LeeAnn (Schultz) as well as Chris stayed with him last night. A friend of mine lives not 3 miles from here so I spent the night with her. I feel so much more rested today.....It is great to here from all of you. The Facebook is great too....we sit at night( 1 or 2 in the morning usually,) with the computer on the bed and look at all of the names and the well wishes. I just have to say this again....YOU ARE how we stay strong!! Blessings...

This morning started out on a positive note. He felt fairly good and we walked around in the hall. He did eat a little food....as the day has progressed things have gotten more difficult. He is running a fever and is chilling. I know that he has to go thru this, but it is hard to watch. He does seem to have a little relief from his back pain so maybe the meds are starting work. I hope so....

It is late and we are here in ICU, Dave is resting comfortably. He received his first treatment at 6:00 and will receive treatments every 8 hours for 6 days. The staff here is very helpful and friendly. They are letting me stay and I am so glad of that. I know that Dave has to be a bit scared and so was I...I can't imagine him being here by himself the first night. He scrolled thru the Facebook list tonight and was really blown away at the names as well as the number of people on the list. Keep those good thoughts coming....we are so greatful to each and every one of you.....Hopefully tomorrow will be a god day as well.

We are in KC, and Dave is resting well. The room is beautiful (thank you Lee).....the lights from the city really look beautiful. Dolores and Kent led us all the way and helped us unpack and get settled in....how can we say thanks enough times?? I am seriously sleep deprived so it was great to follow Kent and not have to be stressed out.....Our appt is at 10:45 in the morning. They will do blood draws and then I hope he is admitted and treatments begin....so tired of the waiting.......

We are off today. Kent and Dolores Brown are going to lead us to KC....We are fortunate to have friends and family there that will make our stay comfortable and give us the support that we are in need of. Thanks to my "worker bees" yesterday!! You were so great to complete my "to do list" and it was so good to have the noise and activity going on both inside and outside of the house. We miss not being able to do those fun and silly kinds of things, but that is ONLY TEMPORARY.......Love to all........keep those good thoughts coming......

Friday 11/13

This is my first blog post.....Dave is at home resting. His "port" is in and we are anxious to take it to the next step. We are a go for KU Med Center on Monday. They will do bloodwork and then hopefully ............the sooner the better.

Welcome

Hi everyone! I will be using this to keep you all posted on our progress! Thank you for being here and encouraging us always! The Pettay's