December 10th Thursday

Dave received treatment #9 at noon and #10 is scheduled for 8:30 tonight. The drs. still say that all of his labs look good. They are going to consider an appetite stimulant so that he can get his weight up....he was 150 .....I know that the loss of appetite is part of it, but he needs weight and calories.....Dave really wants to go back to work if only on a part time basis. I really do think that if he could eat he would feel stronger....Cayte went back to Wichita this afternoon, she works this weekend and needed to be home in her own bed. Chris will leave sometime tomorrow. Hopefully we will be heading back sometime this weekend too...it will be good to be home!!

Thursday December 10th

I did not get around to blogging yesterday. It was a fairly good day for Dave....they are warding off the side effects, but at times his body throws all of us a curve and doesn't react with the predictability that we have come to expect! Fever got to about 105 last night, but our nurse Marlon (he is THE BEST!!! we love him)....put Dave on a cooling blanket and that seemed to bring the fever down more quickly. I stayed the night with Melanie and Larry (and Murphy my therapy dog)....they had really yummy pizza, Caesar salad, lite beer and birthday cake for me, it just doesn't get any better than that!! Cayte had gotten me a really soft warm blanket from Bath and Body works and Mel got me the bath robe to go with it. As we were eating pizza the UPS guy came and brought a gift from Kip and LeeAnn (probably mostly LeeAnn ....HAHA) and it was a fun plaque and my favorite candy bar...Almond Joy and a card...she sent Dave a Golf magazine, probably the ONLY one without articles about dear Tiger.....it was really a special birthday because of the effort that these friends put into making it normal....So as of today I am proudly 58....I can say that I have two great kids, a wonderful husband that after 25 years I would marry again in a heartbeat, and the most fantastic friends that a person could ever want....

Tuesday December 8th

This has been a long 24 hours for Dave, Cayte and for me. Dave received a treatment at midnight and then had really high fevers (107) so we were all up for the rest of the night. They iced him and turned down thermostat as well as watching him on a fairly constant basis. There was a period of time that he was not responsive to any of us...it was really scary...but as the temp declined he became more aware of his surroundings. His side effects have not followed the timeline that we had become used to but we still know how to ward off the worst of it with meds. His bloodwork continues to be good, his heart rate is a bit tacky at times, but he is hooked up to so many wires....everything is being watched.It is really nasty here...it has rained and misted all day. Chris came to the hospital today but I made him leave at around 5:30...he is staying with Tony Baldassarre. It is going to be a slick messy time to drive once the night temperatures set in here. Cayte and I went to Melanie and Larry Bowman's at around noon today to shower and change clothes....of course their dog Murphy was a perfect hostess....she was what we needed...a little doggie love is just the thing to chase away the blues!! Needless to say, Cayte and I are staying put here at the hospital tonight. We will just see what tomorrow brings.

Monday December 7th

We had our consult with Dr. Doolittle this morning and were admitted to KU Med by noon. Dave received his first Interleukin at 4:00, and is scheduled for another 13....hummmm... well see.........They were "loaded and ready" with the meds for the after effects. We were informed this morning that they are looking at #3 and #4 treatments....we come back on the 28th for an office visit, but between that time we will do scans in Wichita to see how well the meds have worked. Nikki Hoffman is an ICU nurse on Dave's floor, but she is not his nurse, can't attend to friends, but she has been in and we had a great visit. The Drury Inn was a perfect location to stay...that is a definate go next time around....Thier king size beds with lots of pillows definately top the chair that I will sleep in tonight. The weather is really COLD here.....glad to be inside.....

It is 4:oo on Sunday and we are in KC at the Drury Hotel. My sister-in law and her husband made us reservations here...thank you so much Tim and Janice!! Monte Schreiner just left...he drove us here. His Brother-in law went to the Chiefs game this afternoon and just picked him up here on his way back to Wichita. The weather held out....now lets hope the rest of the week is good for travel. Our appointment is at 8:45 in the morning, as soon as we are finished there I am sure they will send Dave on to KU Med where they will begin treatments. He was better after the last round....hopefully this is going to enable him to get back to some of the things that he has been missing.....He has been nauseous and lacking an appitite for the past couple of days.....I will be anxious to visit with Dr. Doolittle tomorrow to get his perspective on all of this. They have been doing bloodwork this entire time and he will have the results of those tests. Thanks for your support!! I will keep you posted......

Yesterday was a tough one for Dave, he did not feel very well. Lots of abdomital pain. I did what I could here at home, but did not like his coloring and increased pain so called our family Dr. He had us bring him directly in the office. After scans he felt it was a combination of pain meds, not much food and limited activity. He is resting today.....I was sad because Dave had looked so forward to going to the MSMS Spirit Assembly. I just wish that he could have a fun day and not have to worry about health issues.
We head to KC on Sunday. Monte Schreiner is going to drive us up there......Monte's brother-in-law is going to a Chiefs game and will bring Monte back after the game. Again, how do I ever thank everyone for the kindness and friendship that we have received during all of this.....We have heard from every school in the district....the money, gift cards, love and support make me cry....I have tried to keep up on thank you notes, but I am afraid that I haven't gotten to everyone. We are so greatful and so overwhelmed. Drew Bonner and Kristian Jacobson came over yesterday with a check from the high school "Charity Hat Day". Drew told me that the only thanks he wanted was for Dave to "just get better".....it is that spirit of kindness that has gotten us through every day.....
I will continue to keep you posted as things progress......my love...thanks...and best wishes go out to each and every one of you........

This has been a great week. I have encouraged Dave to walk each day and sit on the deck for fresh air. He has gained 5 lbs. which is good .....sure wish I could get more on him before the next round of treatments. He has not felt very well today...hopefully tomorrow will be a good day. His sister Diane is coming over Wednesday to spend some time with him. It will give me a chance to do some things outside the house.....Monte Schreiner is going to drive us to KC on Sunday....We begin treatments again on Monday. I will keep you posted.