last blog update...

...until monday.

yes, today is thursday and tomorrow i am actually going away for a couple of days...just me and 4 teenagers heading to the poconos for a little R&R!!!! pray for me. pray for tim. this will be the first time that we have been apart for this long (i think since he was diagnosed in dec 2005).

i think it is a much needed break for both of us...i am a little nervous but i am sure that all will be fine. we got a little freaky today at the day hospital appt when we got his counts back.

the red cells are holding at a nice mediocre number.

the platelets are still falling-today at a whopping 18 (he will probably need platelets on saturday). he is being to bruise and bleed again...last two times he got them at an 11 and a 13.

the surprise was the white blood cell count...he went from no longer being neutropenic (having less than 500 wbc's to a huge jump of over 21,000 wbc's). they called the doctor and filled him in on the jump (because usually the counts that high mean an infection or some sort of bone marrow activity) but the doctor thought that we would just watch it and it was probably from the stimulus shot he got 2 weeks ago. his counts have never taken a jump like that before but they didn't seem too worried.

his renal (kidney) function test were on the rise again so they needed to give him some fluids.

his liver enzymes were on the rise again so they altered his medications again.

but the biggest issue we are dealing with is that even on the steroids and even with two rounds of chemo he is still growing something (mass-like) on his left (of course-where else would it be) upper arm. it is a different location than the arm mass (lymphoma) that started this whole mess...they have not biopsied or scanned this new mass yet...we are all just assuming that we know what it is...it has the doctors puzzled.

we are not sure if we are going forward with more chemo or perhaps switching to some radiation or maybe switching to another chemo (if we haven't already used them all)...it has been a bit frustrating to say the least.

so, with all that said I AM LEAVING TOWN ANYWAY...yes, we decided that things could get worse before they get better and i need a break. the kids need a break. maybe tim even needs a break (from me and the kids). (meg is staying behind to keep an eye on her dad-pray for her too).

well...that is the latest update from the dewalt household.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy