June 8 Update

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to let all of you know that Ron was back at U of M June1-6 as an inpatient at University Hospital. This was a scheduled visit for his 3rd round of chemotherapy; he has one more round in July. He had mostly the same doctors and nurses, and his room was in the same unit of the hospital, so that familiarity was comforting.

For these last 2 (June and July) rounds of chemotherapy I made reservations for a room at the Med Inn which is a hotel right in the hospital. Ron is a light sleeper, and the hospital routine keeps him awake frequently during the night, so each day he was able to leave the floor when treatment was done and rest in my room. I think both of us came home without feeling so totally exhausted this time. Three of Jan's Kenwood school friends visited us at the hospital on Tuesday; Cale, Jess, and kids came on Thursday, and Rick and Tammy visited Friday. We look forward to seeing all of the grandchildren later in the month. Andrew will still be in Iraq, but all of the others will be in the area. Niccole and Cole are planning to stay with us an extended period of time, so I am working on a list of chores for Cole.

The chemo continues to work as intended, so we head for the Cancer Center in Coldwater early tomorrow for bloodwork and most likely transfusions. This period of time is called "transfusion dependent" and lasts 7-10 days. This is the time when Ron's immunity is very low, so we cannot have visitors at home, and he wears a mask when we are out for doctor's appointments. This period of time is the most emotional and stressful for us, but we are okay; we know that he will feel good again the last week in June and July 1-6. We head back to Ann Arbor on July 6th.
Thanks for your expressions of support, prayers, and good thoughts streaming our way.

Love,
Jan