T Day +27

Yesterday we went for our weekly post-transplant checkup and the blood work was.... EXCELLENT! Sabine's cell counts were up and in normal range, good white blood cell differentiation, and electrolytes were up, too! (I sort of predicted this outcome based on one thing, on Memorial Day Sabine wanted to go out to eat. Now that's a big improvement. So we sat outdoors at the Blue Spoon Restaurant in Prairie du Sac overlooking the Wisconsin river and had a bite to eat.

I think Monday was the day she started to "normalize" after the transplant. Our Nurse Practitioner Blythe reminded us yesterday that everyone reacts a little differently to a stem cell transplant and Sabine (being "Wonder Woman") just thought that she should be off and running with little impact -- wrong!

So here we are this rainy spring day in Wisconsin feeling much better about everything and very thankful, too. No fever, appetite coming back, walking again, energy slowly coming back... Life is good!

Poetry and practice

This is Memorial Day -- a day to remember to give thanks to those who serve and have served in our nation's military (remember, its not about war, but about the warriors!).

Yesterday I agreed to help out at our local church -- our young pastor had one of his beautiful children come down with the H1N1 virus so I took all three services (please pray for Pastor Rob's family and others who are combating this virus).

Sabine stayed home (as she must) and rested (and I used a lot of Purell hand sanitizer and preached about "the resurrection of the body." (Thanks for N.T. Wright's helpful work on the subject, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church!).

Compared with last Monday, Sabine is greatly improved -- remember, I am not comparing day to day progress anymore, it's too difficult; so I have shifted to week to week progress -- and feeling better about it already!

Tomorrow we get another post-transplant checkup at UW hospital and Sabine is starting to get back into a daily routine, eating a wee bit more, suffering less nausea and (most importantly) no fevers! Things are looking up.

A couple of poems about aging and thankfulness...


i look
at this
hand
strangely mine
i see
the hand
of an old man
veins, spots and
wrinkles
scars
and growth lines
like the back of
the old leathery turtle
which lives
near our
pond
or
like
the ancient layers
of the sedimentary rocks
which surrounds
our valley
and
warmly hold
you
the woman
with whom
i live
and love
and have my being.


+++++++++++++++++++++

i rejoice
did i tell you?
i’m thankful
did i forget?
you know me, god
you know
i pray in distress
anguish
and
fear
you know
what i do
when you help
me
when you work
it all out
you know
my brokenness
when
i think
perhaps was me
and not you
yet
you still
hang around
knowing
when i
am in distress
anguish
and
fear
you will wait
give me time
to realize it
was you
and
hear my prayer
(once again)
to be more
thankful
and to rejoice
with all my
might
just as my namesake
did
in front of your arc
so very long ago.

Reframing

I think we are going to have to "re-frame" our situation.

We are not going to have improvement daily (I think we had expected that), but rather weekly. So it is not "how am I feeling today compared to yesterday?" but rather "how am I feeling today compared to this day last week?"

We were able to get the potassium and magnesium levels raised and I think it made a big difference. I sense improvement in energy... but she still is not eating as much as she should -- we have a variety of foods and methods we are trying.

So, we move on with the expectation of full recovery and going back to the last eight months we had without chemotherapy and a life restricted only by dialysis (which we are doing quite well with here at home!).

Thanks for your cards, letters, prayers and good thoughts!

Ups and Downs

First the good news (may I always do so)! We seem to have the temperature under control with two days of normal temps.

The bad news is that when we took our dialysis labs on Monday we got a semi-emergency call regarding Sabine's plummeting potassium and magnesium levels. We had to make a late afternoon pharmacy run for a supplement that was available only in huge pills. Getting the pills to stay down was an ordeal.

The next day we went in for more lab tests and, again, received a late afternoon call and had to make another pharmacy run to Madison. This time, thankfully, I was able to get the supplement in powder form.

All these ups and downs take its toll on stem cell transplant patients who ordinarily feel crappy.

The key is taking the problems one at a time, working through them and then (as we teach in the Marriage Course) to always keep problems out in front of you and not as a divider between you!

The weather has been great. While Sabine's exercise program has been severely curtailed, she still gets out for a short walk and time in the warm sun.

Better days are ahead. Right, God?

Feeling Better!

Sabine's sister and husband (Barb and Ken) headed back to Missouri this morning (a good sign that Sabine is on the mend).

The fever seems to have broken (and is staying away) and Sabine actually ate a WHOLE scrambled egg and some fruit this morning for breakfast.

She is looking forward to seeing our pup. Mocha, this afternoon for a walk in the woods. (Mocha was on the post-transplant "quarantine" list and is now acceptable for petting -- with post-hand-washings!)

Life is looking better!

Good News!

IT WAS A GREAT DAY AT THE CLINIC (making it an even greater day at home tonight!)Tem

1. TEMPERATURE -- DOWN!

2. BLOOD CULTURES -- ALL NEGATIVE!

3. HEMATOLOGY -- White blood cells, hemoglobin and platelets all looking well.

We think that Sabine now is on the upswing! The temperature she has been experiencing since she left the hospital last week is probably the result of massive cell growth.

God willing, she is on the mend!

Thanks be to God!

Another day at the clinic

After dialysis this morning we will head east to Madison and the cancer clinic at UW Hospital. Sabine's fever continues (although this morning it had dropped a degree or more to 99.5).

Her fever and lack of appetite and energy continues to worry both me and Dr Longo.

We will do our dialysis labs here and then blood work at the cancer clinic. Afterword we will meet with Dr Longo and see what our next step shall be.

I pray for a smooth flowing and uneventful day and remind myself of Sabine's saying that a bad day in clinic is always better than a good day in the hospital -- at least until you are really sick...