Adventure. :)

I'm not quite sure if Joe was simply up for an adventure...or if he was just missing the hospital. In any case, he had quite an adventurous day!

We slept in. Then we decided to wait for the home care nurse to come do his semi-weekly blood draw and change his dressing before having some food! All was going according to plan- Joe's lines were flushing properly and they all had good blood return. Joe vital signs were all normal. He was feeling great and he was looking great. Then the nurse began to change Joe's dressing that protects the insertion site of his triple lumen. She notices a tiny drop of what she felt could be pus. It was a bit yellow. Fearing it might be a sign of a line infection, the nurse called the doctor's office. They asked her to pull Joe's line and send it in for a culture. Joe's counts have been staying up and he hasn't been requiring transfusions or IVs lately, so there had already been talk about possibly pulling the line until he needs it again. The line was pulled. It was quick and painless and Joe looked pretty relieved to be rid of it. However, about a minute later, he started coughing...and then sweating profusely, and it wasn't stopping. Joe kept saying he would be fine momentarily. Our nurse looked worried though, and she didn't like the sound of Joe's cough. Not wanting to take any chances, she called the paramedics. She just wanted to be absolutely positive that it wasn't something serious - such as bleeding due to unexpectedly low platelet counts.

Well, the paramedics came, and Joe was starting to feel better. But just to be certain, he agreed to go to the hospital. Joe got to ride in an ambulance! They didn't turn on the lights and sirens for him though. :) I followed them in my car and met Joe in the ER. By this time he was feeling completely fine and ever so slightly annoyed to be in the hospital! We were only there for a little over 5 hours. :) Apparently, the "pus" was quite possibly just some skin or something. And the coughing and sweating was likely a vasovagal response. Just to cover all the bases, Joe was given a gram and a half of Vancomycin. I noticed Joe getting a bit red. But he was acting so calm and nonchalant. The redness started inching down slowly. I kept pestering Joe and asking him how he was feeling, and he kept saying he was fine...maybe a little itchy. Near the end of the Vanco, the "little itchy" became one HUGE itch, and Joe's whole head and chest area looked red. He was given Benadryl which made him immediately drowsy and caused the rash to fade. Of course NOW we now that he had red man syndrome! Fortunately, it is not uncommon, and was an easy fix. So Joe's back home! Once again, the results of his blood draw were good! And Joe is FREE from his line for now, so he was able to take a REAL shower, by himself, and without a huge covering of saran wrap and tape! He is a happy man this evening. :)

The bone marrow drive yesterday was wonderful! Thank you to every single person who registered to be a donor. We were SO touched by all the people who were signing up. In total there were 88 people who registered. Yeah, I was praying for HUNDREDS. But 88 is a good number. We are hoping to have another drive in the future - in Oakland! So stay tuned for details. :)

So, I arrived at the church a little after 9am. Of course, Lisa, Louis, and Cammy were already set up and ready to go...and there were already people signing up, including Eric who helped with registration as soon as he finished swabbing! My dear parents showed up shortly after I did. They were great for moral support. They let me sit next to them during church service, and I literally had to force my mom to go grab some lunch with my dad...close to 2pm! I'm so grateful for them. My mom stayed up all night Saturday to make flan for Joe! Then my parents spent the whole day at the drive - mostly thanking people for being so wonderful. Afterwards they made sure that Cammy and Louis wouldn't go home hungry, and drove Cammy to the airport. I'm so blessed to have such great parents. :)

Lisa was sporting a "Blue Bird in the Forest" shirt that she designed, and was giving away darling "Blue Bird in the Forest" pins! How cool is she? (The answer is very very cool!) Lisa has been so passionate about helping us and spreading the word about registering with the NMDP and MDS and Leukemia. She even refused to leave her post, even though my mom offered to take over so she could grab lunch. I got her a plate, but I don't even know if she stopped to eat!

Then there was Louis. I totally forgot to ask if I could get him a plate of food...and he missed lunch. I felt so bad! Fortunately, my parents took him out for food afterwards! Louis also worked the whole day, and he even brought a bag of movies for Joe and I to borrow. Fun!!!!!

Erica, I have met once for a couple hours. However, we have talked weddings a lot online. Well, she kindly gave up her Sunday morning to help with the drive. It was so nice to see her, and it meant so much that she was willing to come out to help! She was good for hugs too!

Camille...I met her for the first time yesterday! She is another girl that I've chatted with about weddings and married life. She kindly gave up her Sunday afternoon to help with the drive. She was working so hard, and people thought she was with the Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation! My friends and family were so amazed that these girls I met online were so willingly going out of their way to help. It was amazing. :)

It was great fun to meet Cammy Lee this weekend. And yes, it really was THE Cammy Lee. (She swears she had nothing to do with the naming of the foundation - and she has had to tell a lot of people that yes...she is in fact alive and well! She does have quite a survivor story though.) She is sweet and funny and understandably passionate about what she does. We are SO thankful that Vince hooked us up with her!

Since Joe's counts have been good, he was able to visit the drive in the afternoon. He was wearing a mask of course. :) He also made me his DH - Designated Hugger! This made me laugh, because on message boards, he's my DH - Dear Husband. :) Joe was SO THRILLED to be able to see so many friends from the church and from outside of church. It really did wonders for his spirit to be able to see everyone! Joe had a smile on his face straight through the end of the day.

So the drive was a success. Cammy was happy with the turn out, and so were we. I tell you though, next time we're shooting for HUNDREDS!!!! :) Thank you so much to Pastor Jim and Pastor Caleb for so willingly opening the church up for the drive. Thank you also to their wives Kathy and Esther - because I dunno...but every awesome pastor that I know has the support of a very awesome wife. :) Thank you again to everyone who registered. It was SO wonderful to see and feel all of the love and support! Thank you to everyone who had the heart to donate but were not eligible for whatever reason. Thank you to everyone who has been faithfully praying with us. Thank you to Margaret who was visiting for the first time and decided that she wants to help set up a drive at her church in Virginia. Thank you to Liz, Rachel, Chris, Melissa, Alex, Dorothy, Lauren and Tony for the *beautiful* handmade cards. We loved every single one of them!

We just felt so blessed and so loved this weekend. But then, we feel so blessed and so loved all the time! Praise God for that, right?

Thank you to Precious for the card and the licks. :) *Arf Arf*