Three stones

Not one, not two, but three stones for Dale. He will go to the hospital tomorrow for an infusion to make the stones pass. That will be a relief for sure. Pain is more intense tonight, although not unbearable. He made it through another day without incident plus he took a short walk today. Dale is maintaining okay.

Quietly pale

Dale's skin tone is pale. He does not look nor feel well. He reports feeling just as bad during chemotherapy. Kidney stone probably still there, but the pain comes and goes. Is the stone moving? Will his system let itself heal? Is the pain really from the kidney stone? Dale quietly makes it through each day with hopes of improvement or stone movements. Which reminds me, diarrhea is apparently back. He has weakened and works at hydrating and eating to maintain what energy he has left.

My thoughts tend to make me think that bone marrow transplants are fragile and the body needs at least the 100 days to begin its progress back to adult system standards. Today is day 55.

Not a burden

Dale continues to suffer with kidney stone pain. As I spoke to him throughout the day, he quietly reassured me he was doing okay. Sometimes the pain was worse than another, yet he spoke to me with pleasantries and kindness. Throughout the cancer treatment experiences, he has not complained, shown anger, nor felt sorry for himself. Dale apologizes to me frequently for "putting [me] through this."  He certainly does not want to "get in the way" or "be a burden" to anyone.  He is not a burden. Stress, yes. But not a burden. He is a good man and worth every bit of that stress.

I find it interesting and reassuring that so many people care, read the blogs, ask questions, want updates, show understanding, and lend support for us still. In spite of tragic news through the day (locally and globally), our hearts are warmed with your concern and care. We believe in the goodness of family, friends, and people, and the hope we bring to one another.

Thank you.

This too, has not passed

The weekend did not bring out the kidney stone, yet. Dale endures the pain pretty well, remains quiet, and tries to be in good spirits. But, oh my! As I spoke with people at church today, they all grimaced at the thought. I suspect, they know from experience. Dale's appetite increased today from yesterday, so I believe the pain is not as severe. He is weak and his stamina he built is now lost. Since his immunity is fragile, I wonder if kidney stones will cause some other complication or if it will take longer to pass and Dale will have to endure more of the pain.

Progress goes inside out

Dale is a stubborn man. I left him this morning with slight complaints of "just not feeling well" but he thought okay. A couple hours later he calls to report he had taken himself to the ER. Hmmm. A CT scan later and they tell him he has kidney stones, give him some prescriptions, and tell him to find a ride home. I picked him up, put him to bed, arranged for a Dale sitter, picked up his medications, got a ride back to the ER to get my car, and he slept through it all. I hope it passes soon. Pain, nausea, and feeling lousy once again. Is this what retirement and old age is like?

Day 50

As one reads Dale's blogs, one may note his progress and feelings of gratitude. He expresses gratitude and  feelings of appreciation with hope and love. This, to me shows he is getting much better and able to deal with what is in line for him now for the next several weeks of recovering to the point he can get out more. He still needs his mask for quite awhile, as well as protection from infectious people, but health is on its way and he can see it now. He is on BMT day 50 today. Half way to the magical 100 day mark. That time went by quickly! 50 days ago was the day of bone marrow transplant and Dale is ALIVE and doing well.

Boo-yah!

Boo-Yah! Doctor put Dale on the maintenance program today, which means blood lab checks every two weeks or so, moving that to a three month stretch between visits eventually, and just be careful with the infection part of this whole thing. Good day. She also told him to wait for the colonoscopy until the 100 day mark to lessen the infection probability. Dale is happy about that! No dental visits or other types of possible infecting procedures until he is well beyond the 100 day mark. She also took him off blood pressure pills since his heart rate is fine. Now, build the stamina a day at a time. Double boo-yah!