wet and rainy sunday...

...hope it clears up a bit for all those crazy people heading into the woods in the morning (yes...tim is in berwick preparing to get up in the wee hours of the morning and climb a tree).

not too much to report today. the biopsy surgery was way better than the teeth surgery. he hasn't really been feeling the best lately but with all the antibiotics they have had him on plus all his other meds i am surprised he can function at all.

we will be waiting to hear the biopsy results later this week or early next week. we have learned that "next week" means anywhere from 7-14 days in the world of pathology. we have also learned that we are not really in any big hurry to hear the results either.

well...i am tired. had to work a little stretch lately and it has wiped me out. girls have a friend sleeping over so i think i will turn in early tonight...they can hold the fort. they are out there watching a movie about a pair of traveling blue jeans??? earlier we enjoyed watching the steelers...very impressive...go ben!!

we will update as soon as we hear anything about the biopsy...thanks for all your prayers and support. hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday.

thanks for checking in

(tim and) tammy

we be home...

...and all is well.

tim did very well with his surgery today and is home and feeling pretty good. the doctor thinks he was able to get all of the tumor and was pleased with the way tim did. we will not know anything for sure for a week or so, but at least the bad part is over. (we are getting used to the waiting).

he is a bit sore at the incision site but is quite sure that he will still be able to shoot his gun on monday...look out bambi.

thanks for checking in

have a happy thanksgiving

tim and tammy

secret santa?

ok...who's the sly one out there who dropped off a toaster oven on my porch this afternoon???

it is a wonderful thing to be sitting in the house and have the kids come home after school and ask me why i left a toaster oven on the front porch? i almost cried...but i didn't want to embarrass ashley (her boyfriend...or friend that is a boy? carried the box in for me). this oven looks much "smarter" than my last toaster oven...hopefully we will only be cooking the items on the rack this time.

thank you whoever you are...we are blessed to have such great friends.

thanks for checking in
thanks for your generosity-the kids will be thankful they don't have to wait until dec. 25th to make some of their favorite food...peanut butter toast, toast with nana's jelly and eggo waffles.

tim and tammy

monday update...

decent weekend overall...sunday morning was a bit rough but he seemed to get through it ok and was able to eat. most of his pain and discomfort is now in his left checkbone area...they extracted two teeth on his left top so we are guessing that pain is still from them messing around...but we are still watching out for any signs of infection.

we are still on track to receive more platelets tomorrow afternoon and attempt to remove the tumor on wednesday morning. doubtful we will know much about the biopsy of that tumor until later on into december.

megan never likes to be posted on the blog but i just wanted you all to say a prayer for her...she has been getting headaches more frequently and they have now been classified as migraines. she has been given medication for them but just to be on the "safe" side it has been suggested that we get her head scanned. we are scheduled for a CT this afternoon. (we really should open our own x-ray and scanning business).

well...i guess i should go get something done this morning...like laundry or clean. i could put the batteries back into the smoke alarms. we had a "minor" incident with the toaster oven yesterday just before church. pretty cool really. you know how most toaster ovens will toast the waffles that you put on the rack...not ours...our toaster oven decided to toast itself instead. there were flames shooting out the sides and the front door of the oven and when it was finally unplugged and burned out-the waffles were still sitting in there on the rack wondering what in the world was going on. i should have grabbed a marshmellow quick to make a smore. i guess i know what is on my christmas list this year.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

ps...i will try and update again after tim's procedure on wednesday. but if for some reason i can't please have a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. enjoy the family and the friends and the turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie.

pretty good day...

...all is well in the land of "gummy".

he was able to eat some scrambled eggs for breakfast, yogart for lunch and cream soup for supper. the bleeding has stopped and other than still being a bit tired and a very sore jaw he is doing ok.

he even went into work for a couple of hours today. he is doing much better than anyone expected. one surgery down and one to go. keep praying.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

ps...i am LOVING this snow (sorry).

sleeping beauty...

well...i am not sure about the beauty part tonight but he sure is sleeping!!! it is more like sleeping chipmunk. he had quite a cocktail today of benadryl plus valium plus the anethesia. he is totally wiped!!! this is a good thing i guess.

it is hard to exactly say how he is doing because all he is doing is sleeping, but according to the oral surgeon he did GREAT!! his platelets that he borrowed from the blood bank really did the trick. his count went from a 44 this morning to a 106 this afternoon.

can't really say much more than that for now. we will have to wait until he wakes up and i can survey the damage. we changed the packing in his mouth earlier...that was gross. he took some pain meds and went back to sleep. i will have a better perspective in the morning.

thanks for all your concerns and prayers. everyone has been so great. (i just got off the phone with the charge nurse of the cancer center who had run into him this morning at HMC. she had him on her mind all day long worrying about how he made out-so she looked up our number and called the house tonight to make sure that he did ok-that was sweet).

thanks for checking in...i will shoot out another update soon.

tim and tammy

busy week...

we have found this week to be both frustrating and enlightening.

as you all know i work in the hershey medical center and more specifically in the lab...because of this i feel that i am a bit more aware of some of the "blood" issues that tim deals with and have a pretty good grasp on the way things really are. we are constantly watching his platelets and they rise and they drop. recently they have taken a dive.

the oncologist ordered tim's bloodwork-but to him the low platelet count was really not an issue.

the general surgeon knew that the bloodwork was done so he didn't order it himself (therefore also didn't receive a copy).

the oral surgeon doesn't routinely do bloodwork (therefore had NO IDEA that tim's counts were low).

SO...the last few days have been spent talking to surgeons and anethesia staff and transplant coordinators and the final solution to this dilemma was to have tim go in the day of his surgeries and receive a dose of platelets to help him thru the procedures.

thursday at 9am he has to be at HMC to get a dose of platelets before his 7 teeth are extracted at 2pm. then again next week on tuesday afternoon (the day before they attempt to remove the tumor) he will go in and get another transfusion.

the frustrating part of this whole thing is that if we would not have said anything things could have gone south really fast in either procedure...tim always says we have to dot our "i"s and cross our "t"s...but it would be nice if they would do the same. we are certainly pro's at all this stuff by now, but the hours spent trying to sort it all out was frustrating.

the enlightening part is that you MUST become your own patient advocate and stay on top of things...don't just assume that someone else has done it.

thursday is pretty much full...transfusion in the morning and oral surgery in the afternoon...any suggestions for "gummy" to have to eat. the usual...soft eggs, puddings, cream soups, milkshakes are already in the making. i will be open for any ideas...i think he will be pretty sore for a few days.

thanks for all your prayers and concerns...i am feeling a little better...somewhat of a scratchy throat still, but now the kiddos are getting a cold...ick...

i will shoot out an update either tomorrow or friday and let everyone know how he made out.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

wierd week...

one day tim can be fine and work and function and the next day he can hardly move and feel like a train wreck...perhaps he is pushing himself a bit more than he should...but who is to say.

this week (if all goes as planned) he will be having 7 teeth extracted. yes...that is 7 teeth (6 on one side and one on the other side). a sore mouth and a dentist and some antibiotic and x-rays and off to the oral surgeon...he will be sedated and they will be taking all the teeth at once. two of his teeth have just crumbled and broke off at the base of his gums leaving just the roots. at least two other ones are cracked and we are told that ALL SEVEN have to come out. so much for eating his way thru this thanksgiving holiday...perhaps he will be drinking his thanksgiving dinner this year. these chemo drugs have really played havoc with his whole system...i think we are only just beginning to see some of the wicked side effects that they warned us about.

we are a bit freaky about his two surgeries within the next couple of weeks because his platelets have taken a dive...he is down in the 30's again (a normal one would be 140-400 range) and that is not good when you are around someone holding a scalpel!!! pray his platelets jump back up a bit before they start cutting.

another issue this week is the retaining of the fluids...his legs are a mess by the end of the day. looks like he will be back on some lasix before long to try to help out with that. hopefully that is all that is going on with the legs...he has had quite a bit of pain and swelling in his one calf this weekend...we will keeping an eye on that while we are weaning him OFF his blood thinner and back onto the heparin shots.

today was just a day of R and R for tim. he had to keep his legs elevated to help keep the swelling down and he just was a bit out of whack today. i think we are all a bit out of whack...things are a little tense here with all these appointments coming up and i am coming down with a cold or something. feeling kinda under the weather so i am going to hit the sack early tonight.

we will update a bit more often with all the upcoming events and let you all know how things are going. oh...incase you see him and he doesn't recognize you right away...be patient. he got his "first ever" glasses and he is amazed how different everything looks. he is still in the getting used to them phase and gets a bit dizzy but he is getting more used to them all the time. the kids helped him pick out his frames...he looks good.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

kinda bummin'

it has been awhile since i have felt the way i feel today...i wish i could describe to you all how i feel but i have SO MANY emotions all swirling around that i am not even sure exactly how i would categorize it...but i cryed today.

ever have one of those days when you think something will turn out one way and it ends up totally different than you expected or hoped for...well...multipy that by about a couple of thousand and that is where i am at today.

i know that i am being very vague but let me give you an example: tim was so ready to go in and tell the oncology doctor today that he wants to drop down on his steriods and start to wean off some of these medications. what actually happened was that he not only has to stay on the high-dose steroids BUT he also has to take a ridiculous dosage of antibiotics for an infection AND re-start taking his lovenox injections!!!!! (so, instead of saving a pill or two we have added three more a day and a very expensive shot in the belly).

another example: we have been SO EXCITED because we found out that we qualified for a co-pay assistance program through the leukemia-lymphoma society that can actually pay out "up to $5,000" for people having tim's diagnosis...so after hours of forms and meetings and faxes...we finally got our letter today. apparently we qualify for the money and meet all the guidelines but they are sorry to tell us that they "no longer have the funds available". that is just wrong!!!

it seems as though everything we touched and everything we discussed today went south!!!

there is a lot more to tell but i am just not in the mood to tell all the gorey details today. the oncologist said some "bummer" stuff today and during dinner tonight tims tooth fell out and we are having issues with our insurance not paying for something and megs car was in the garage and i could go on and on and that is just TODAY since i got up!!!

so i am going to go to bed and just maybe tomorrow will turn out to be a better day...we can only hope.

tim sees a dentist tomorrow and friday to help with some fractured teeth and swollen face.
tim saw an anethesiologist (?) today because he needs to be asleep for his biopsy/tumor removal.
tim sees a surgeon in the OR the day before thanksgiving to have a tumor removed (or atleast a chunk for a biopsy)

more to follow when we hear anything else official. sorry it is not an uplifting exciting blog update, but i just can't find a whole lot of good to report today. i know that we are to expect days like this but it doesn't mean that i have to like them very well. say an extra prayer for me today...i am feeling rather STRESSED today.

i am sitting at my computer and have to chuckle because directly in front of me is a cup holder that says: "i know GOD won't give me anything I can't handle. (i just wish he didn't trust me so much). "

better days are coming.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

short note...

due to the fact that the author of this blog is EXHAUSTED tonight and there really isn't too much to say i think i am going to post-pone the update until later this week. We have 3 doctors appts on wednesday (one at 8am, one at 9am and one at 2pm). so my best guess is to look around thursday morning and i will let you know how things are going.

talk to ya soon.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

weekly update...

november is here...that means we have to head out to see the surgeon and the radiologist and the oncologist with in the next two weeks.



the surgeon is going to decide if he should biopsy or try to remove the tumor

the radiologist is going to decide if radiation therapy might still be an option

the oncologist is going to put all those options in a hat along with his options and let us know which one he pulls out.



and for those of you who work with tim know more than anyone that he has been having some "bleeding" issues also. i heard that on thursday there was blood being cleaned off the doorway and the walls??? sorry i missed that...thanks leslie for patching him up in time for his meeting!!!



so...although you may see him out and about and may actually have enjoyed golfing with him this weekend...it is not always as it seems. he is doing much better in some ways and he is doing much "weirdness" is other ways. keep the prayers coming.



i think he felt "old" this week after his eye appt...if i am remembering correctly he was told by a good friend of ours that he has: near-sightedness plus far-sightedness plus astigmatism plus needs a bifocal plus has the start of cataracts!!!! he claims that it is ALL medication driven but i am not totally convinced. the twins were there to help him pick out his FIRST EVER pair of glasses. he looked very distinguished.



well...i am posting this a little early today because tonight we have our FIELD HOCKEY BANQUET...the first of many FINAL events for megan (our high school senior). this will rap up a very fun and successful field hockey career for her. we put together a senior board with all her memories and she will display it tonight along with her awards and varsity letter and stuff. it will be a great night. so far i would have to say that she is LOVING her senior year and is enjoying each and every day but is SO READY for college.

we had to dig out the crutches on saturday...ashley was hiking and sprained her foot pretty bad. we just couldn't bring ourselves to head to the ER on saturday so we are icing and elevating and advilling and if it is still bothering her on monday we will get it x-rayed. we just think it is a bad sprain but we have been wrong before. say a little prayer for her too.

well...gotta head out to church.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy