Done with chemo.

Joe's finished up his induction chemo on Saturday afternoon. He hasn't experienced any fevers since chemo started, which has been wonderful.

On Friday evening, Joe got yelled at. I went to take a shower. As usual, I gave Joe my string of lovingly nagging instructions (i have my cell phone, call the nurse if you need anything, behave yourself, etc., etc., etc.) Despite all of this, Joe thought that it would be a good idea to go brush his teeth while I was gone. This would have been all fine and dandy...if Joe hadn't just received morphine for pain. He ended up getting a little woozy and fell. Fortunately, Joe only has a few bruises on his arm to show for it, but because he "kinda grazed his head" and had low platelet counts, the dumbhead (i say that with all the love in the world) was sent down for a head CT (just in case.) It made for quite an eventful evening. The CT came back negative, and Joe earned a blue bracelet (granted to patients who are a fall risk.) I think that everyone knew it was a one time deal though, because Joe didn't get the bright yellow magnet outside of his door, or a special colored dot by his name on the patient board. Joe has apologized profusely since the incident.

On Saturday morning, Joe had a chest CT done. None of us really thought about it much. All of the other scans were so unexpectedly ugly. Well, not this time. For the first time, Joe's chest scan showed significant improvement. WOOHOOOOOO!!!!! We were thrilled with this news. Joe's breathing has been significantly better as well. He still needs oxygen, but not around the clock.

Since the chemo ended, Joe has been experiencing bouts of nausea. It generally happens around mealtimes. Joe will feel hungry, but as soon as he starts eating he gets nauseated and loses his appetite. Could this have to do with the hospital food? Maybe. Joe is eating - just not a whole lot.

Joe is still experiencing pain. It is the one thing that isn't getting too much better. Joe has all kinds of pain meds that he can request. The doctors have told him not to worry about becoming an addict. They won't let that happen. And getting some relief from pain is far better than writhing in pain. Some parts of the day are ok...other parts of the day are super miserable. So pray for no pain!

On Friday, Joe will be getting bone marrow biopsy #11. We are so hopeful that the results will show that Joe is in remission. Clinically, Joe has shown such improvement we have all the more reason to be hopeful. Joe tentatively has an appointment in Minnesota at the end of August. The results of this next bone marrow will give us more answers as to what the next few months will look like.

Lots of stuff is happening! As always, we appreciate the continued love and prayers so very much.

I have some thank yous...but I forgot my list, so I'll post those another time.