A Tired Day

Ryan's counts have been bottomed out for the last couple of days, so they should be building up anytime soon. I keep on praying that anytime will be by Tuesday! He has been tired and feeling blah for the last couple of days because of his counts, but I think he'll start feeling a little better and have a little more energy when the numbers come up.

Aubrey and I went to church this morning with my aunt and uncle and although Aubrey didn't want me to let her down, even to do my hair and make-up, before we left for church, when I asked her if she wanted to go to the nursery and play, she said yes. So, she went to the nursery, cried for a minute, and then took off like the outgoing, joyful girl she is. Well, I'm not sure she "took off," the same lady that took her from me was holding her when I went to pick her up, but she wasn't crying and she told me she had fun when I asked her. After church we picked up lunch and went to visit Daddy. You should have seen me carrying her, the overstuffed diaper bag, 2 McDonalds bags, and a cup carrier with 3 drinks in it! I had two people tell me I had my hands full. That's the truth :)

Anyway, Aubrey knew as soon as we stepped off the elevator where Daddy's room was, she tottered right down the hallway, through the doors, and into his room without any direction from me. She was excited to see him, as he was also excited to see her. We apparently have a daughter who prefers real food to McDonalds because she only ate about half of her hamburger and wanted no fries, but when Papaw and Grandma took her downstairs to the cafeteria, she ate salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, and oranges.

Ryan and I went for a walk to the maternity ward this afternoon, there's a long walkway and it makes for a good distance to get some exercise. His counts are only 200 so he has to wear a mask when we go out of the bone marrow unit. After the walk, he crashed into his bed and is now napping again. At least we got the walk in. He had a little nausea after breakfast this morning, but ate a big mac for lunch and hasn't complained about his stomach any since I've been here.

We're still praying for Tuesday, it will be so nice not to make so many trips to the hospital if he gets to come home.

-A

Snowed In

I suppose if you have to be stuck in the hospital, this is a good weekend to be stuck. If we were home, we wouldn't be going anywhere today anyway, so we might as well be at the hospital, I don't have to cook here!

Ryan had to get platelets today, they were 8 this morning, they were up to 29 this afternoon. His red blood cell count dropped a little from yesterday, but we're praying that it will rise tomorrow. His white cell count was 300 today. I continue to pray that he will get to come home Tuesday, that would be a good birthday present. I am, however, praying that whatever God's will is will occur. I don't want him to come home before he's ready and run the risk of getting an infection that might delay the beginning of the transplant process.

Ryan took a nap earlier this afternoon, then we tried to watch a netflix movie online. We found that the hospital wi-fi blocks online video streaming, so we'll have to wait until our first movie arrives in the mail on Monday. Ryan felt a little sick after lunch, but the nausea medicine he took helped with the problem and he hasn't been sick.

We appreciate you continuing to keep us in your prayers. I pray that Tuesday (before the next snow hits) I can bring him home.

-A

A Better Day

Today was a much better day than yesterday. I could tell as soon as Ryan answered the phone this morning that he was feeling better. He is defintely doing better today. Dr. Marinella has started Ryan on neupogen. That is a drug that helps his body produce white blood cells. If his white count comes up over 1000 and he doesn't have any fever, and his platelets and red blood cell numbers are good, then he will probably get to come home Monday or Tuesday. We would love to have him home so Aubrey can enjoy seeing her Daddy each day. We are praying that his body will do what it is supposed to do so that we can take him home for a week or two before we head to Columbus.

Aubrey and I traveled in the snow down here this afternoon. The roads weren't horrible, but they weren't great either. We're staying in Dayton tonight so that we can visit tomorrow. Hopefully the roads will be good enough that we can head home again tomorrow night, but we'll see.

We appreciate your prayers for Ryan's counts to do what they need to do.

A

A Rough Day

Ryan had a rough day today. His stomach has been bothering him a bit and I think it bothered him a lot today. I didn't get to visit today. After work, Aubrey and I went to get her 18 month pictures taken, then we had supper at McDonalds, and then went to swim lessons. We missed Daddy being there to watch us, but Aubrey had fun in the water and seeing her friend Brooklynn.

I ask that you pray for Ryan, that the bad feeling will pass for tomorrow and that he'll be in better spirits. I ask that you pray that his medicine is doing as it is supposed to do. I ask that you pray for peace (for both of us) in knowing that God has all of this under control.

Day 8

Today was another chemo day. Ryan got 2 drugs today, one that he got the other day (the shot in his arm) and one he's been getting since last March, vincristine. He is still feeling pretty good and not having too many side effects, but I think he's getting tired a bit more often. He went several days without a nap, but he's been wanting to nap the last couple of days. At this time, we still don't know much about OSU, Dr. Marinella was supposed to have a phone call with Dr. Devine today, but when he was in this morning, that hadn't happened yet. Ryan says Dr. Marinella didn't have much to say, except to keep at it. I guess that's what he's doing! We're keeping at it, just one day at a time.

Not Much to Report

Ryan's staying the course today. Not much going on. The doctor was only in for about 10 minutes, he didn't really have much to say today because there's not much going on. Ryan did have to get 2 units of blood today, but otherwise, things haven't changed much. His numbers are continuing to fall, as they're supposed to.

Aubrey got to visit with her Daddy some tonight. She enjoyed taking his phone off the hook and climbing underneath his bed. She also enjoyed the food in the hospital cafeteria :)

We had a good visit tonight and as always look forward to when we get to see Daddy again.
-A

After a Week

This has been a rough 7 days, but things are finally evening out and we're into a routine. Ryan is staying in touch with his students and staff at CTC by his email, he is thankful for this. He's also trying to run the farm from the hospital room as well. I'm sure he'll be successful there too :)

I am working, going to the hospital and then going to get Aubrey, always hoping she'll be awake, but knowing she's probably already asleep when I get to her. I hate leaving her to see Ryan, but the joy I see on her face when I pick her up makes me happy at the end of the day.

Ryan's white count stayed around 500 for today and his LDH level feel again. The LDH is another marker they look for to see how his body is responding to the chemo. We are supposed to find out a little more Wednesday or Thursday about what the transition will entail from Miami Valley to OSU.

There are still many unknowns, but what we do know - God's never failing love - is guiding us and holding us up each day.