Housework

Ryan isn't supposed to be doing much around the farm - no mowing grass, no driving tractors, no going out in the fields or working on machinery, so I figured he'd probably need to have some inside jobs for a while. He was supposed to hang Aubrey's swing today, he needed rope that we didn't have, so we got that tonight; we'll see how that process goes tomorrow. He had to wash and dry two loads of laundry, but I neglected to tell him that he could fold them, so they were waiting for me in the basket when I got home. At least they were washed and dried! He was also supposed to pick up his piles off the table, and in the living room. The table looked ok, but I think he forgot the living room. I think I'm going to have to give him some better training.

When Aubrey and I got home we headed to Menards to get some edgers for our flower beds and look at swing set designs. Believe it or not, the materials list was cheaper than what the ad said. We printed a few to think about, but we're still not sure what we're going to do.

That's about all of our excitement for the day!

-A

Back to Work

I went back to work today. When the alarm went off, I didn't want to get up, but once I got moving I was ok. I even had time to stop at McDonalds for coffee. Not quite as good as Starbucks in Columbus, but it will have to do. I got a lot done today, but there's still things to catch up on now that I'm back in the office.

Ryan went down to school today. He saw his juniors and seniors and visited some of the teachers in his department. He left when I left and didn't get home until about 5 minutes after I did. I don't know what he did all day, but I guess he stayed busy.

When we got home tonight, Aubrey helped me pull some weeds from one of my back flower beds. Well, she helped pick up the mulch while I pulled weeds. She wanted a shovel of her own and she wanted to scoop up the mulch and put it in the wheelbarrow. That didn't last too long because she had her baby and stroller outside and she was also tormenting Georgia, our cat. While we were eating supper, she asked to take a bath and go night night. She must have been worn out by all that work outside as well :)

Today felt normal. I pray that God continues to walk us through the next several weeks as Ryan will undergo tests to make sure everything is working and we also pray that he continues to feel well.

-A

Trip to Columbus

Today was Ryan's doctor's appointment in Columbus. We were thinking he may have to have a bone marrow biopsy, but they are not doing that until next week. We have been visiting the clinic there 2 times a week, but the doctor told him that since he was doing well that he didn't have to come on Friday, he could just wait to come back next Tuesday. Ryan's white blood cell count was 9.5; hemoglobin was up today as well - 11.7; his platelet count was down again today, but not a lot. It was 109. Even though Ryan has been taking magnesium pills since last Friday, his magnesium was still low today. It has been about 1.0 the last few visits, it was up a little today, 1.2, but they want it to be at least 1.5 before they don't have to give him any IV. We're hoping that by next Tuesday he won't have to get any. The nurses were joking this morning that they had a lottery going about how much magnesium he would have to get. :)

That's about all we did today, a trip to Columbus takes pretty much all the time we have in one day and I have to go back to work tomorrow, so we had to put Aubrey to bed a little earlier so I could get to bed a little earlier tonight.

-A

Swing Sets, Garden Edgers, Tire Sensors

We had a day of running errands. My van needed brakes and Russell put them on over the weekend. One of my tires was flat when he was finished and so he went to fill it up, but the valve stem disintegrated in his hand when he touched it. It turned out that the valve stem was connected to the tire pressure sensor and so we had to track down a part. Ryan found that part on Saturday and so this morning on the way to town, we stopped to have it put on. It got put on, but the tire pressure light didn't go off. We went ahead to town to do our errands, then Ryan went back to the car shop this afternoon for about 2 hours working on it - still not fixed, but they have another idea :)

While in town, we made a stop at the Farm Service Agency, went to Ace Hardware and Lowe's, looking for a hook for Aubrey's swing, but no luck there either. While at Lowe's, we also looked for edgers for my flower beds, that's one of my summer projects. We also looked at swing sets and wood at Lowe's because Aubrey misses playing on the playground.

I did a little work this afternoon and finished cleaning off my desk. We also picked up our meat from the FFA alumni auction and filled up our freezer! If anyone knows where to find a nice, wooden playset, let us know.

Ryan and Aubrey are building towers on her gear activity table. We head to Columbus tomorrow for a doctor's appointment and then Wednesday it is back to work for me.

Please pray that Ryan's numbers look good tomorrow and that our visit is timely.

-A

Back to Church

Today we went to church as a family for the first time in a couple of months. Aubrey and I had been to church a few times while Ryan was in the hospital, but Ryan hadn't been with us since February. It was nice to go together. Mike's sermon this morning was about having hope in God even during emergencies and suffering and I felt so blessed by the message. We have had so much hope and joy in the Lord, even through Ryan's cancer. It wouldn't have been our choice to uproot in the middle of the school year and move to Columbus, but that's what we were to do, but we were blessed so much by it.

While Ryan was in the hospital, my mom was able to come stay with me so that Aubrey could be in Columbus with me the whole time. I was able to work from the hospital and went to a few meetings and workshops while in Columbus, so I've had to take very few sick days (I sort of like working from home :). Aubrey was able to see Ryan most days he was in the hospital, so neither one of them had too much time to miss the other. When Ryan got out of the hospital, we were able to spend 10 whole days together as a family. We went to the zoo and the playground with Aubrey a lot. We have found joy in many things throughout the past year.

We are back home and Aubrey wants to swing and play and we have no place for her to do that, luckily Sandy has a nice play set at her house and Aubrey's birthday is this summer, so we've started looking for ideas for a playset for her. She does have a swing that Ryan is working on getting put up so that at least she can swing.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5: 1-5.

-a

Normal Day

Life is progressing in a somewhat normal pattern. I left the house today for 2 hours all by myself. Ryan stayed home with Aubrey and she wasn't napping - and things went fine :). Ryan is taking oral magnesium in hopes that he won't have to get magnesium every time we go to Columbus. We'll see how it's working on Tuesday. We went out to dinner and a movie tonight, Aubrey stayed with Papaw and Grandma and her two cousins tonight. We called them at 9 and they sounded like they were still going strong. We heard they went to Chuckie Cheese's for supper tonight, I'm sure they had a blast!

We continue to pray that Ryan's body is accepting the cells and they are working as they are supposed to.

-A

Trip to Columbus

We took our first trip back to Columbus today. We had to be there at 10:45, so we dropped Aubrey off at Sandy's around 8:15 and headed East. We thought we would be doing good to get there a little early, but we wait about 20 minutes before they took Ryan to draw his blood and it was about an hour late by the time they took us to a room. Ryan's counts looked good today - white blood cells: 8.8; hemoglobin - 11.1; platelets 114. The platelets and hemoglobin are low, but not so low as to cause Ryan any trouble.

Ryan's magnesium was still low, so he had to get a bag of magnesium, that takes 2 hours. The nurse practitioner wrote a prescription for oral magnesium; they're hoping that when we return Tuesday that his level will be up a little.

His liver function levels were a little high, so they told him to stop taking one of his pills until Tuesday so they can see if there's any difference. We return to Columbus on Tuesday for a visit with the doctor.

So far, Ryan is feeling well, and today is Day +38. We feel like God is really blessing us with Ryan's healing and his energy level. Please pray that he continues to feel well.

-A

A Busy Day

Ryan was very busy today. He ventured away from the house all on his own because I had work to do and couldn't go with him. There was a part at Apple's that they needed and he wanted Maid-Rites for lunch, so he made his rounds and then brought lunch home. I was busily working on a booklist that I've been trying to finish for about 2 weeks. I will be done with it tomorrow!

Ryan was also reading the Rural King ad and found some good deals in there. So, after I finished working and we picked up Aubrey from Sandy's, we headed to Muncie. We were gone until 9:30 and Ryan's still up! He didn't have any nap today.

I think he's feeling well, but he'll probably have an excuse that he needs to sleep in the car on the way to Columbus. We head there tomorrow for another appointment.

-A

We are home

We got home around 8:30 last time. Aubrey had her first fast food meal on the go. We had planned to stop for supper, but she was asleep before we got to 315 and so Ryan and I ate and saved Aubrey and sandwich and when she woke up, she ate it in the car. We return to Columbus on Friday and the following Tuesday for appointments. Ryan has some head conjestion, but otherwise he's feeling good.

Busy Day

Today we actually got to sleep in a little. I woke up at 7:30 and Aubrey was still sleeping! That doesn't hardly ever happen. She actually ended up sleeping until 8:30, Ryan got up before her! We played inside and read books this morning, Aubrey would have loved to go outside to play, but it was too cold for mommy. Ryan decided around 11:30 that he'd take a shower and then we went to the zoo. It actually turned out to be a nice day. It was a little windy, but the sun was warm and we stayed for about 2 1/2 hours. There was a new baby monkey (I don't remember what kind) that was going down the slide in its habitat and Aubrey wanted to climb the fence and play along. She also wanted to play at the playground they have inside the zoo, but she's waiting for her cousins, Kaitlyn and Camryn to go to the zoo with her to help her up the steps to the slides. After the zoo, we came back for naps and then went to O'Charley's for supper. We are hopefully celebrating our last night in Columbus, but we'll have to wait to see what they tell us tomorrow at Ryan's appointment.

Ryan is tired, but he felt good today and is looking forward to going home.

We pray that things will go smoothly tomorrow and that they will tell us we can go home. We are really ready to get home.

-A

Family

Today Ryan slept in until I woke him up at 9 so that I could take a shower. My parents, brother and sister-in-law, and my nieces were planning to come this afternoon, so I put Aubrey down for a late morning nap around 10:15. I then left Ryan to "rest" while I went to look for a new coat. I came back about an hour later, with more than a coat, and learned that Ryan had gotten sick. He took some nausea medicine, but it didn't seem to help, so he tried the other nausea medicine and finally his stomach settled down. It took a while, so he decided not to try to eat lunch. We were planning to visit Graeters Ice Cream parlor when my family came, so he decided he'd just wait for the ice cream - he waited all right. He had 2 scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone. He was the last one finished with his ice cream and the girls were already playing on the indoor playground by the time he finished. They sure had a wonderful time. They were all sweaty and red-faced by the time we were ready to leave.

We had a nice visit and then when we got back to the apartment, Ryan wanted a nap, Aubrey laid down as well. I woke her up at 6:30 so that she'd sleep tonight. We have been seeing Pizza Hut commercials on TV, so we had pizza delivered (that never happens in Willowdell :)). Unfortunately, the gave us the wrong kind of crust and put cheese on our bread sticks. If you've ever eaten Pizza Hut pizza with us, you know the bread sticks are my favorite part and I was very disappointed when I opened the box. They tasted fine, but that's not what I was looking forward to.

Ryan's been laying on the couch most of the evening and Aubrey and I read through her basket of books, until the Country Music Awards came on and she wanted to dance.

Ryan's been a bit congested the last couple of days, so we ask that you pray for that nasal congestion to go away. I also pray that his nausea will be gone tomorrow. He ate supper find, and didn't get sick after all the ice cream, but he still hasn't seemed up to par today.

-A

Lazy Saturday

Today Ryan got up early, with the rest of us. We even all ate breakfast together. After breakfast, Aubrey and Ryan read some of her books, her favorite being I Spy books. After a while it was time for her nap, then Aubrey and I went to the bookstore and she got a new Elmo book, who she apparently knows because she started saying Elmo the other day when she saw her diapers. We also went to Kroger. When we came back it was lunch time and Ryan looked pretty tired. After lunch, Ryan laid down for a nap and Aubrey and I went to the playground and stopped to look at the fish. She laid down for her nap after we got back. When she got up, she was asking to go play again, so after a while we took Ryan out for a walk and she rode her bike. We went over to the field house close to our apartment and looked at the trophies. We then walked around the tennis courts. Aubrey found 2 tennis balls. We are getting ready to head out and find something to eat for supper.

Continued prayers for Ryan's healing.

-A

Magnesium Again

We had another early morning today. Actually, we generally get up around 7, but we had to get ready to go right away. Aubrey had to go to Ryan's appointment with us. She did very well and made all the people in the waiting room smile. After we talked with the nurse and the nurse practitioner, Aubrey and I came back to the apartment because it was going to be a couple hours while Ryan was getting his magnesium. Aubrey took her nap and we started some laundry before we picked Ryan up. His white count was 3.6 today, hemoglobin was 11.3, and his platelets were down a little bit at 143. The nurse practitioner seemed to be happy with everything.

After we picked up Ryan, we took Aubrey to the mall at Tuttle Crossing so she could play indoors. It has been raining off and on here this afternoon. When we got back, Aubrey and Ryan were to take naps. That was at 4:00. Ryan is still sleeping, Aubrey never went to sleep. Aubrey and I are going out for a bike ride, then we're going to come back and wake Ryan up for supper.

-A

A Baby-sitter

I had to go to work today so I had to get a baby-sitter for Ryan and Aubrey :) Rachel (Ryan's sister) came over today to help Ryan with Aubrey and be around in case there was some sort of emergency while I was gone. In reality, everything went well and I think Aubrey wore Auntie Rachel out reading all her books over and over again. Aubrey got to go to the playground two times today - Ryan went both times. We also did some laundry and so we stopped in the community center and watched the fish for a while. She wants to stop each time we go over to the playground.

I had to get up early today to be ready to leave on time, so Ryan also had to get up early because Aubrey doesn't sleep in. He did take a nap today, but otherwise is still doing well. Nothing major today. We have another clinic appointment tomorrow so we'll see if they tell us any more about when we might get to go home.

Our prayers are that Ryan's counts continue to do what they are to do and that his magnesium levels begin to come up each time we have a clinic visit. We also pray that Ryan continues to feel better each day.

Thanks for everyone being such a great support system.

-A

A Great Day

We had a busy day today and Ryan didn't take a nap, but he has felt pretty good all day long. I discovered that my air conditioning in my van didn't seem to be working last week. My dad looked at it on Sunday and confirmed that it wasn't working. Ryan made an appointment for a Dodge dealer around here for 9:30 this morning. That is generally around Aubrey's morning nap time, so I was a little apprehensive about going, but Aubrey did very well. They actually had a box of big lego blocks that she and Ryan built a wall with. She also did some reading and walked in the hallway. We thought we were going to be home for lunch, but it was time for lunch when we left, so we hit McDonalds. Aubrey was asleep shortly after leaving McDonalds and took a long nap.

After her nap she was ready to play, so we took her bike to the playground. She went down the slide with both Mommy and Daddy and spent some time in the swing. After supper, Aubrey and I went shopping for a stroller for her babies and Ryan stayed home.

He didn't have a nap today and so he'll probably be asleep on the couch shortly after Aubrey goes to bed.

Pray that he continues to feel better each and every day.

-A

Clinic Visit

Today we had our first clinic visit at the James. It actually went pretty well, I was surprised. It still took a while, but not all day. We met with the nurse and she went over all Ryan's meds and how he was feeling. Then the nurse practitioner came in and we talked with her, she asked most of the same questions as the nurse did and she told Ryan that his magnesium levels were really low and that he'd have to stay and get magnesium - that took 2 hours, but they got it started pretty quickly after they knew that he needed it. Then the doctor came in, asked the same questions and said he was happy with how Ryan's counts looked. His white cell count was 3.8 today. His hemoglobin was 11.8 (low normal is 12, so he's almost back to normal there). His platelets were 187 - they were in the normal range and the nurse practitioner was very excited to see that that number was normal. Our next appointment is on Friday; we then have another appointment next Tuesday. After that, the nurse practitioner said that Ryan might be ready to be released to go home. I'm praying that this is what will happen - it would be nice to do laundry at my own house :)

Aubrey had a great day. She had so much fun playing with Rosemary today. Amy said that they played outside all morning, so I'm sure Aubrey was in heaven. She loves being outside. In fact, half way home she asked about going out to play. So after supper, she and I walked to the playground to play a little before bath time.

Ryan had a little nausea this morning and also a headache, but after the doctor's appointment he seemed to be feeling a little better.

Please pray that each day he'll feel a bit better and that he continues without any signs of graft vs. host disease.

-A

A Better Day

Ryan ate all three meals today without getting sick any. He even went on a walk to the playground with Aubrey and I tonight. Aubrey and I went to the playground earlier today when Ryan was napping after lunch. Then Aubrey got up from her nap early, Ryan was still napping after Aubrey ate her snack, so Aubrey and I went to the grocery store. We have her bike in the back of the van, so all the way to Wal-Mart and all the way back, she kept saying bike, play, bike, play . . . So, after we ate supper, we talked Ryan into taking her on her bike to the playground.

He was tired by the time we got back, I think she was too!

We go to see the doctor tomorrow, pray that the appointment won't last all day long! Aubrey is going to play with Amy and Rosemary Walter while we go to the appointment, so also say a prayer for Aubrey that she isn't nervous about staying at Amy's house. I'm sure she'll be fine because they stopped by on Saturday and visited and she enjoyed Rosemary.

-A

Resting and Visiting

Today was a day of rest and visits. Ryan slept in a little today. I couldn't hold Aubrey back any longer around 9, so we had to wake him up then. He needed to get up anyway - Ryan's parents were coming around 11:30, and everyone was still in their pajamas at 9. We visited with Ryan's parents who brought pictures from their trip to see his Aunt and Uncle in Virginia and Aubrey and I also got presents from Lucasville. There's a flea market there 3 times a year that we usually go to. We obviously couldn't go yesterday, but I got a new purse and Aubrey got a new toothbrush. Aubrey loves brushing her teeth and the only other person I've known who loves to brush their teeth that much is my friend Sarah.

We went to lunch at the Texas Roadhouse. Ryan enjoyed his salad, but didn't eat much more of his lunch. He'll have it another time as leftovers. When we returned to our apartment my parents were here. We visited with them for a while and then Ryan fell asleep on the couch. My mom, dad, and I took Aubrey for a walk over to the playground to play for a while. Now, Aubrey is napping and Ryan's on the phone. If he's not napping, that's what he's generally doing :)

Ryan got sick before lunch today, but he's getting ready to eat a snack now, so he must be feeling ok after his nap.

We appreciate your continued prayers for his healing and a short stay in our vacation home :)

-A

Ryan ate a snack earlier and then got sick again; he decided to eat some soup for supper, but he got sick after eating some of that as well. Please pray that the nausea is better tomorrow.

-a

Day +25

This is Day +25. If we would happen to have to stay here until Day +100, we're 1/4 of the way there. We weren't able to go home to the pancake breakfast today, but I'm positive that the pancakes were wonderful and I heard there was a pretty good turn out. Thanks for attending if you were there.

Ryan had a pretty good day today. Aubrey got to play on the play ground and go for a bike ride, after she decided that she was only taking a half hour nap. She laid down about 1:00 today and then Ryan decided around 1:30 that he was going to lay down as well. When he went in, she got up and she would not lay back down for anything. So after trying for 20 minutes to get her to lay down, I finally gave in and gave her a snack and then took her outside. She was a little cranky this afternoon, but not too bad. After we returned for our bike ride, she got to play in the "yard" outside our apartment. Ryan came out with us and sat in the lawn chair. He and Aubrey played Ring Around the Rosie and Aubrey picked dandelions.

She had a fun evening wrecking havoc all over the apartment and is now in bed :) We met our apartment neighbors tonight - they are from Arkansas and he is preparing for a transplant. They seem very nice and thought Aubrey was wonderful since they left their own grandchildren in Arkansas, two days away.

-A

Breaking Free

Ryan is officially out of the hospital. He was ready by lunch time, but I had meetings at the office today, so I couldn't get here to break him free until after work. He waited, fairly patiently, until I made it. Ryan was able to get all his prescriptions and be packed and ready by the time I arrived. I called him about 5 minutes out and they brought him downstairs to meet me. That was a great blessing because I was thinking I would have to take Aubrey in, pick up prescriptions, go upstairs and get him, and then head back to the car. This was so much easier. As soon as we pulled up to the hospital, Aubrey knew we were seeing Daddy and I told her that he'd be coming out to go in the car with us, so she waited as patiently as a 20 month old can until he showed up at the door. The look on her face was priceless. She was so excited that Daddy was getting in the van with us. She hardly left his side all night long. They read books, painted, and combed hair.

Ryan's white count is 2300 today. His hemoglobin was 10 and his platelets were 96. He felt pretty good. He is now worn out on the couch, which is probably the least comfortable piece of furniture in our vacation home. Ryan has his first appointment at the clinic on Tuesday.

-A

Trial Run

The nurse practitioner was in early this morning, before 9:00. I also was there earlier than usual, so I got to hear what she had to say and ask questions. She told Ryan that today was a trial run for being at home. He was unhooked from his IV and had to take all his meds by mouth and had to eat and drink enough so that he could go home tomorrow. He had a good day. I left at 5:00 and he had only taken his nausea medicine one time, no pain medicine today - he hadn't been sick or in pain. He called me right after I got home and he sounded good, he was planning to get in the shower and eat supper.

His white count was 1700 today. His platelets really went up, they were 69. His hemoglobin went down just a tad is was 9.8 today (I think). Otherwise, things are going well and when I make it to Columbus tomorrow evening I will get to take him to our vacation home!

-A

Good Day/Bad Day

I woke Ryan up this morning by calling him on my way to a workshop. He sounded good and said that he was going to order breakfast. He didn't have any counts yet, so he told me to call if I had a break mid-morning. So, I called around 10:30 and I woke him up again. I think he ate breakfast and then fell back asleep. When I called him at lunch time, he wasn't feeling the greatest, so he had taken some nausea medicine. He was sick again a couple of hours later. When I got to the hospital at 3:30, he was still a little drowsy and slept for about 30 minutes or so.

He later decided that he was going to get up and take a shower, but then it was time for supper, so he ate supper first and then took a shower. After his shower we took a fairly long walk. When we returned, I practiced changing his dressing while the nurse watched. I passed my test, so tomorrow I have to change caps and flush his lines and then we're all ready for discharge. I took some things from the hospital to the apartment tonight because the doctors said today that they were planning for him to be discharged on Friday. His white count actually went down just a tad today 1.4. The nurse said that sometimes they move up and down a little while they are heading up. His platelets went up today, they were 45 and his hemoglobin stayed about the same, I don't remember the actual number.

Ryan ate a fairly good supper tonight and then he was asking for a popsicle tonight when I left.

I was a little concerned that his white count dropped, even just a little. I pray that it will go up tomorrow and that his nausea will get a bit better. Aubrey and I are ready to have him out of that hospital!

A Couple More Days

Ryan's white count was 1500 today. His neutrophil count was 600, so it is over the 500 that it had to be to get out of the hospital. The doctor told him today that it would be a couple more days until they "get you out of here." They want to make sure that he can take all his medicines in pill form and that he can keep food down. He wanted to go get "real" food tonight so when my mom and Aubrey came tonight, we walked to the food court in the parking garage. He was going to wait to get his food and take it back with him, but then he decided that he wanted to eat some of my Chinese food. He started on it and then said that his stomach didn't feel so well, so he quit eating. When we got back upstairs he decided that he had better get some nausea medicine and lay down, so he and Aubrey didn't get to play tonight, but we had a pretty good visit.

Ryan had a good day today. He took a nap for about 1 1/2 hours this afternoon, but he was awake and eating breakfast when I arrived this morning and took his shower before lunch. We ate lunch together and then he napped shortly after. He said that the basketball game last night was so exciting that he stayed awake for the whole thing.

Aubrey wants me to read to her, so more tomorrow.

-A

Very cute - I have to share. Aubrey's Bible story was about Joshua tonight and the picture showed all the people playing their trumpets. As soon as she saw the picture, she had to get down and get the recorder that she got for Easter and play it because that's what the people in the picture were doing. :)

A Fun Visit

Aubrey and I came to visit Ryan late this afternoon today and we had a very good visit. Ryan and Aubrey played Ring Around the Rosie and we passed the ball for a long time. She also sat on his lap and looked at pictures with him. We also took a walk with Ryan before it was time for us to head to the vacation home.

Ryan sounded really good every time I talked to him on the phone today. His white count was 1100 today, hemoglobin 10.9, and his platelets fell today to 27. If they fall again tomorrow, he'll probably get another platelet transfusion. He started taking his nausea medicine in pill form today and will start some other pills tomorrow. Ryan is off his pain pump and he said he had to take 1 morphine pill today because he still has a spot on the back of his throat that is sore.

Ryan hadn't been sick any since Saturday morning, but after we left this evening he said he had a headache and he took something for it and then he got sick. He ended up not eating supper tonight because he went to sleep after he got sick. I think he was a bit disappointed that he got sick, but it wasn't because of eating or pills, so I think things will be fine. He's really looking forward to coming home soon. Wednesday would be the earliest that he gets out. He said the nurses said several things about taking his medicine before coming to his clinic appointments today, but didn't really say when he'd get to come home.

I'm praying for Wednesday and that he feels well again tomorrow.

-A

Happy Easter

This Easter was probably not quite as happy for Ryan as it was for most of the rest of us. Ryan was without any visitors today. Aubrey and I came home last night to go to church and spend time with our family today. Aubrey enjoyed seeing her cousins and other relatives and having an Easter egg hunt.





Ryan's white count was at 1000 today and the neutrophils were 300. The neutrophils have to be up to 500 for Ryan to come home. Ryan ate breakfast and lunch without getting sick today. At 9:30, he hadn't yet eaten supper but said that other than being a little tired, he had a pretty good day and he went on a walk. We're hoping to be out of the hospital in a couple of days.

-A

Day +19

Ryan's white count went up to 700 today and his neutoiphils are 350. His neutrophil count has to be over 500 for him to be able to get out of the hospital, so they're thinking that Tuesday/Wednesday he'll probably be ready. He is still feeling quite nauseous though and the doctor said that the nausea would have to get a little better before he could be released. They're not sure why he's really feeling nauseous, it happens sometimes after he eats, sometimes it doesn't.

His platelet count dropped a little today, so he'll be getting some platelets shortly this afternoon. He's going to try to eat a chicken sandwich from Wendy's, but he's waiting until the medicine kicks in before he takes a stab at it.

Aubrey, Grandma, and I went to an Easter egg hunt this morning at the Barnes and Noble bookstore. She enjoyed hunting eggs and even more than that enjoyed eating a few pieces of her candy. We also visited for a few minutes with Ryan's uncle Andy from Connecticut and his two cousins. They were in Pennsylvania and decided to drive over to see Ryan. We haven't seen them for a few years, so that was a nice surprise and a high point to the day.

Ryan visited with Aubrey for just a little while after we ate lunch. She was getting sleepy and Ryan was also sleepy, so she ran around the waiting room for a while while he watched her and then she hesitantly gave him hugs, she still doesn't like that mask too well.

Prayers for the nausea to subside and Ryan's spirits to rise.

-A

A Little Growth

Ryan's white count was up to 500 today, although that's only a little growth we were very happy to see a change upward. The doctor told him that he was right on schedule for someone who got all 4 doses of the methotrexate (the chemo they gave to help with graft v. host disease). She said most people don't usually get all 4 doses for some reason or another, but he was able to handle all four doses so his counts are doing what they expect them to. They thought that by tomorrow he might have enough neutrophils (baby white cells) to be able to better estimate when he would get to come home.

His spirits were up today, but he was still very tired. We watched the movie Up in the Air, I watched all of it; I'm not sure if Ryan can tell you what it was about :) Once the movie was over, he needed to take a nap and then we went on a walk. We walked outside and were gone for about half an hour. When we returned, he was ready for another nap.

Ryan got sick twice today. So in addition to prayers for his white count to come up, he is also having nausea that he would like to get rid of! Aubrey came for a visit tonight and we brought Ryan supper because he was wanting spaghetti and they didn't have that at the hospital. We left about 7:30 and he hadn't eaten supper yet, so I hope he ate after we left. I'm sure he'll sleep well tonight because he was tired after visiting with Aubrey.

We pray for more energy, more white cells, and less nausea for tomorrow.

-A

2 Visits

Aubrey got to come visit her daddy 2 times today! She was excited. The second time she came she got a care package from her friends Sam and Caroline Newton. Tell Sam that Aubrey enjoyed the fruit leather, she had Ryan tear it open right away. She also took a "ride" on Ryan's IV pole. She figured out that if she sits on it and moves her feet back and forth that it will move. She enjoyed the ride.

Ryan's white count stayed at 400 again today. I think that it is getting a little discouraging to him (me too) to not see those numbers going up. I fully believed that I would see a change when I got there this morning, but it still said 400. His nurse said that tomorrow they might be up a little, but she thought by Saturday we'd see a big jump in them. It sounds like when they begin to come up that they come up quickly. I pray that the cells are working in his body correctly and that we will see the numbers begin to show that. It is difficult to sit in the hospital and be told that all we have to do is wait, but we don't know how long we're waiting for.

I practiced changing a dressing on Chester chest today. I practiced twice and the nurse said she thinks that I'll do fine. I think that Ryan's dressing is due for a change tomorrow, so I'll give it a try on him when that needs done. I also practiced changing end caps and flushing the line that I will also have to do when the dressing gets changed. I think I'm ready, but I had to nurse print off the directions just in case I forget something.

We had a special set of visitors today, which I thought were going to be an April Fools joke - they weren't. Our good friends Ben and Lindsey who live in Pennsylvania (who we're going to visit sometime soon) sent us a care package through friends of theirs. I got a strange phone call on Sunday asking if I was going to be in Ryan's hospital room because this person had a package to bring to us; I wasn't there Sunday, so they said they would come today. They came this afternoon and delivered our package, and stayed for a brief visit. They told us to call them if we ever needed something to do, so once Ryan gets out of the hospital, we might have to call them for another visit, with less mysteriousness :)

We pray that Ryan's white count will show upward movement tomorrow and that he will be less sleepy and more energetic throughout the day tomorrow.

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