a bit more of an update.

This morning, while Joe was catching up on some extra sleep, I left the room to brush my teeth. When I returned, Joe was awake with an extremely concerned look on his face. I looked up and Joe's father had a similar expression on his face. I braced myself, because I thought surely I was about to receive news about Joe's condition that I did not want to hear.

Let's go back in time a few minutes. Joe wakes up and discovers that I have disappeared (I didn't want to wake him.) Shortly after, his father stops by for a visit...and then a Pulmonary doctor (fellow) shows up to check on Joe. They go through what is now a normal daily routine check. However, before the doctor leaves the room, he suddenly says, "I have some bad news for you." So you can imagine, Joe and his father were bracing themselves because they thought surely they were about to receive some news about Joe's condition that they did not want to hear.

Instead, they were told (and then, when I returned, I was told) that hospital security had discovered that someone had broken into my car. Now, you can imagine how each of us, when given this bit of information, did a kind of simultaneous sigh of relief and "grrrrr...we don't need this right now!"

The blessings are of course that the bad news was about the car, and not about Joe. Also, nothing appeared to be stolen (although if someone had to go and smash in my window, I almost wish they had taken something. That would at least make a little sense.) And finally, my insurance will cover the damage and my window will be fixed on Thursday. Oh, and of course the final blessing is that it is summer, not winter...so I was able to avoid duct taping a garbage bag over my window. The drama never ends.

Now, about Joe. On Friday morning, Joe woke up feeling a little short of breath. Joe also noticed a blurred spot in his vision from his left eye. A CT scan from the previous day showed some faint nodules and ground glass opacities in Joe's lungs. The possibilities for this seemed endless...fungus, cmv, pneumonia, bleeding, etc. Joe was started on oxygen through a nasal cannula. Joe was also given a bronchoscopy. The last time Joe needed a bronchoscopy was a nightmare, because Joe ended up with a cough that lasted six weeks. Obviously, none of us were excited that he needed another one, but we also wanted to make sure that anything serious could be determined and treated. The actual bronchoscopy didn't end up being too bad. What was discovered was a lot of blood in the lungs. This sounded scary, but if the blood was "simply" from hemorrhaging and not from some type of evil infection, then it could be considered a "best case scenario." The treatment involved large doses of Solu-medrol and increased platelets. In the meantime, Joe was also (and still is) being treated for a possible (though seemingly unlikely) fungal infection, the possibility of CMV pneumonia, CMV itself, and some other nasty infections. I've never seen such a fancy and packed IV pole. The photo really doesn't capture that craziness. As for the eye, Joe showed signs of hemmorhaging in his eyes. This will resolve on its own, unless it is found to be CMV related. So far, it does not seem to be CMV related. Praise the Lord. If it is, Joe will get medicine injected into his eyes.

By Friday evening, Joe's breathing was really labored. He was breathing around 52 breaths per minute. Normal, is 12-20 breaths per minute. Joe was switched to an oxygen mask which would deliver more oxygen. Joe also started getting chills, which was treated with a mini-shot of Demerol. It was a really crazy time. Crazy enough that the ICU doctor was sent up and we were forced to discuss things like intubation, just in case.

Things calmed down for a bit. Then Joe started having trouble breathing again in the late evening. A chest x-ray showed that Joe was overloaded with fluid. His lungs were so wheezy. Joe was given two separate doses of Lasix. (Joe says the name is because it "lasts six hours.") The Lasix helped Joe get rid of the excess fluid, which helped his breathing. The drawback was NO SLEEP. Joe had to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. This would be torture for anyone. But imagine being short of breath, and being attached to a crowded IV pole, oxygen, and a pulse oximeter. It was like an obstacle course.

Fortunately, by Saturday Joe was feeling better, although his sides were sore from breathing so hard. He was switched back to the nasal cannula. Joe is still using it now. Each day since Friday has been a slight improvement. Joe was feeling pretty dejected on Friday and Saturday. He was sick of the hospital, sick or being sick, sick of a lot of things. But his spirits have improved since Friday as well. Obviously, Joe still isn't having fun, but he'll crack some jokes here and there, and then I know that all will be okay.

Today is supposed to be the day that the CMV results come back. When I left the hospital this afternoon, the results weren't back yet. Hopefully, oh hopefully, the result is a big fat negative!

That is the main stuff we've been going through. Joe has had about 9 platelet transfusions and 8 units of blood since last Monday. The good news is that each transfusion seems to make a little bit more of a difference and bump up Joe's counts just a little bit more than the previous transfusion. Also, Joe's WBC was higher today that it has been in weeks. We are still praying each day for a a full recovery. It will happen. It is just a matter of timing.

Hopefully, my update wasn't too confusing. There is just too much jumbled in my brain. It is hard unjumble and make it digestible :)
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So we have a million people to thank...
Thank you to everyone who has been continuously praying for us and loving us. So many people told us that they were praying for us last night, and that was really wonderful. Thank you so much.

Thank you to our parents for being the most wonderful parents.

Thank you to James Miller and S & T Bank for the sweet letter and donation to Marrow Trek in memory of Bob Duggan. What a beautiful gesture and loving tribute.

Thank you to Jim & Jesse for continuing the Marrow Trek. (There's a new blog update everyone!) You are such an inspiration. We are so blessed by your friendship and willingness to do all that you can to make a difference!

Thank you Myra for all of your calls, and visits, and book recommendations! You rock.
Thank you Sha, Patrick, and Ray for visiting and cheering up the room with balloons & giggles! Thank you also, Sha for the CD!
Thank you Jay for driving so far to see Joe. It always means so much to him to see you and spend time with you. Thanks also for the book!
Thank you Auntie S.B. for stopping by with the fun balloon.
Thank you to Auntie S.B., Sue-mei, and Auntie LihJen for being such prayer warriors and encouraging those around you to keep praying for Joe!
Thank you to Kitty, Neeta, David, Ariel, & Lilly for visiting Joe and making him smile.
Thank you to 2nd Auntie & 3rd Auntie for sending us hugs from Taiwan!
Thank you Nancy Baird, Caryn, Marcus, Alan & Joyce, Shelley, Cousin Lilly, Yi-Ting, 1st Auntie, Michael Chang, Albert, Eric Wu, and Victor for your phone calls!

Oh, and the cards...wow. There are still some that haven't been opened yet. We are so thankful for every single one. Joe just lights up seeing that physical evidence of love and encouragement. Joe has received love from all over the states, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Afghanistan, and Papua New Guinea. Pretty cool.
Thank you...
Akiko
Anonymous
Anonymous
David & I-Ju
HSB (I was pretty impressed that Joe knew who you were immediately. Good radiology resident, I guess!)
Joanna
Kun-Tse
Lauren & Eric (happy happy anniversary!!!!!!!)
LihJen, PCC, & PCC Dawning Sisters
Cathy Liang
Jocelyn & Peter
Cousin Lilly
Joanne Maier
Mom & Dad
Evonne, Thomas, and Leah
Alan, Joyce, Allison, & Jason (sorry we missed seeing you when you were in town!)
Emily, James, & Alivia (We are praying for you, so much!)
Gretchen and the rest of the Allen's
A.M.
Yohko Shinozawa
Rune, Van, Hannah, and Noah
Frank & Janet
Kelly Tonkin
Sheena
Osamu, Yi-Shan, Yi-Ting, 3rd Uncle & Auntie
Mookie! (arf, arf!)
Peggy
Pei-Chen
Phyllis Miller (We got the snail mail card too! You are so sweet.)
Rachel
Roger & the SPHS AP Chem Class
Sha
TC & Yuen Chan
The Interventional Radiology Gang – Gordon, Rick Foster, Shelley, Linda, Rick Woods, Vinnie, Sue, Zahra, Nancy, & Val
Tina & John Bonney
Uncle Timothy & Auntie Grace

Also, big thank you's to Erica, Ann & Chris, and Nancy for your love and encouragement. Each of you have also been through so very much. We've never met, but we share an undeniable connection. You're in our daily prayers.