PROGRESS

Dad is still recovering, although it is and will be a long process requiring a lot of patience. Chris was here until Sunday night, and Mom and Dad ate up every minute they had with him. Chris got them technologically caught up, and they got to spend a lot of quality one-on-one time together.

I'm lucky enough to have bought a plane ticket back in August that allowed me to be here yesterday and today. Dad started going on short walks last week, and I got to join them for one walk down by the bosque to enjoy the fall leaves along the river.

Dad had another follow-up apppointment with the oncologist this morning, and he didn't need any fluids of any kind. Yahoo! They told Dad that he could start going to work soon on a VERY LIMITED basis. Dad was excited to hear that, as he has really missed his work. They still want him to be on guard in public and to never go where there will be a lot of people, especially children. Dad is eating a lot and drinking 3 Ensures a day, trying to get some meat on his bones. I think we would all like to see the weight come back quicker, but the nurse reminded us that it will take months and months to feel "normal" again (we're not sure what that will mean for Dad).

Brooklyn flies in tomorrow and will spend the next 5 days here. It has been awesome for Mom and Dad and us kids to get one-on-one time with each other. There are definitely some blessings that come with trials, for sure!

STILL DOING WELL

Dad continues to recover. He had an appointment yesterday with the oncologist and all is well. Dad is still stable and gaining strength.

Chris has been there since Wednesday, and Mom and Dad are loving it! We're so grateful for this time of peace and healing!

NO NEWS

I love that there isn't any news to report! Dad is loving being home. He is still feeling pretty good and continuing to recover. He's up a lot at night, but he does feel more rested. Hooray for short, simple posts!

HOME

That's right. Dad was discharged from the hospital tonight! We're in shock that he made such a rapid recovery, but so grateful! The oncologist came to his room tonight and said that she saw no reason why he needed to be in the hospital. She said that he was maintaining his fluid and blood levels on his own now, so she felt that he could go home. He will still be monitored very, very closely with frequent visits to the oncology clinic; but I'm sure that he will sleep soundly tonight (without a single interruption!).

We are so grateful that Dad was responsive to the medical intervention and that the medical team at the hospital could give him what his body needed. We have never experienced the fragility of life like we did this last week, and we are so grateful that Dad was given more time on this earth!

He will continue to take vancomycin (the antibiotic) for 4 weeks, and we're hoping that his damaged colon will continue to heal.

SUNDAY UPDATE

We're happy with Dad's continued progress. He has been feeling good, and the numbers show it! They did decide to move Dad out of the critical care unit and down to the oncology floor. We were kind of bummed, because his floor and room is so much nicer than the oncology floor, but the nurses do tend to respond to empty fluid machine beeps a lot faster on the oncology floor. Hopefully, he'll only be there for a short time.

Dad does need to get some electrolytes tonight (phosphorus, magnesium, etc.). Other than that, he's weaning himself from all of the infusions. Hooray!

Jordon had to fly back to Salt Lake City tonight, and I had to drive back to Denver this morning. We have had some great support. My friend, Amber, drove back with me so that I didn't fall asleep on the way home. It was so nice. Because she came and left her family, her family received a meal and babysitting. It's so nice how the line of help and support has worked on our family's behalf. Again, my mom mentioned how blessed she feels at this time. There have been a lot of little miracles.

My parents will be alone until Chris arrives on Wednesday, but they feel like they have things under control. What a week!

BIG LEAPS

Yesterday, Dad's progress was little by little, but now we're seeing big leaps! Dad did so well today. He walked around his room and ate like a king. We're so happy for him and his progress. He has a more consistent smile on his face, too!

Dr. Jordan, his oncologist, visited the room today and gave Dad the full low-down. She said that his infection was one of the worst that she's seen and there will be no more chemotherapy. PET scans and CAT scans in the first part of November will tell us what the chemo has done and what we can expect in the future.

Dad still has some time in the hospital, but we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. He did receive platelets, magnesium, potassium, and sodium chloride last night, but today he was down to one tube and sodium chloride. He will be on his vancomycin for about 4 weeks, which is a long time for this medicine.

Thanks for all of your good wishes, prayers, and love. They have been a tremendous help in this process. We now know what the resurrection will be like!

LITTLE BY LITTLE

Dad is improving little by little. Some of his numbers improve by only a hundredth of a point at a time, but we'll take it! He is getting a constant infusion of potassium, magnesium, and sodium chloride. All of his electrolytes have been pretty out of whack, so it's still a process keeping him stable.

Dr. Wong (a seasoned infectious disease doctor) came in today and told us that the previous diagnosis was wrong (yep, that rhymes). :) He said that Dad does NOT have a fungal infection and that the pathologist who said so just wants attention (oh boy...). They immediately stopped Dad's anti-fungal meds and continued the antibiotics that fight c.diff. Dr. Wong says that the infection is c.diff and that it will take up to 6 weeks to fight it off. This has been brewing in Dad's system for about a month. We don't know when Dad might be able to come home, but it will be quite some time. They need to make sure that all of his levels are steady, consistent, and stable. We'll just take it a day at a time.

Dad was able to get up today and walk back and forth in his room. He now says he understands why the elderly have such poor balance! He is definitely weak, but he looks so much better.

He did receive platelets last night, but other than that, the transfusions are definitely at a snail's pace. Thank goodness. He's enjoying watching the baseball playoffs with Jordon and taking naps today.

Thanks again for all of the love and concern. It gives all of us strength!