counts are dropping...

as expected his platelets are starting to drop. we went from a 65 to a 29 in two days. chances are pretty good that he will need a platelet transfusion on thursday afternoon. (he starts "leaking" at about a 13).

his red cell count is still holding...that will probably start to drop this weekend.

his stomach is a mess...yesterday was a very bad day. he was sitting at the breakfast table eating his special k (like every other morning) and with spoon in hand he started. no warning...just sick!!! we had a day hospital appt in the afternoon so with bowl in hand we headed to hershey. they took one look at him...put him in a bed, grabbed him a blanket, started an IV of fluids and stomach medicine and something to calm him down. within about 34 seconds he was asleep. GOD bless those nurses. his night was still rough but he at least had a break for a bit in the afternoon.

each time we get another round of chemo the side effects get a little worse. although he feels like a train wreck he knows that in a few days things will start to improve...my job is to just keep things calm and consistant. any waves in the day kind of freak him out a bit...more chemo effects.

while he was in the hospital this last time he lost a cap on one of his back teeth. (lost in the sense it fell out...we still have it). the problem is that he is not able to get any dental work done because of his falling counts and chance of infection. the other problem is that he is at risk of an infection if he doesn't get it fixed also...kinda a catch 22. one of the major side effects of having all this chemo (and the transplant) is that his days of good teeth are over. his teeth are breaking apart and filling are falling out and his gums are shrinking and his nerves are sensitive...he will eventually have to consider having them removed. the problem is that day is not in the near future. if you are looking for yet another thing to pray about...like you don't all have enough...pray that his teeth can hold up through these next few rounds of chemo. he has a hard enough time with wanting to eat sometimes that we don't need a another reason for him to not eat. plus he is high risk of infection with all his mouth issues...and the ulcers haven't even started yet.

this is just one of the many "little" things that tim has to deal with on a daily basis...if i were to tell you everything you wouldn't believe it...the man is a mess. i often wonder how much longer he can go through all the "stuff" he goes through. he has been a real trooper. i am amazed at the way he has handled all this "stuff" and still keeps fighting. (we both have our bad days and feel like we want to quit, but somehow we get through them and move on to the next day) and YES...if you ask him how he is doing next week he will still say...ok...could be worse.

enough rambling for one morning...hope you all have a great day.

thanks for checking in.

keep praying.

tim and tammy