Two Happy Birthdays for Ron

I can keep track of Ron's appointments, medications,test results and also contact any of Ron's doctors through the U of M Patient Portal. It is a convenient, helpful system which we have used a lot. Last Friday I sent a message to Ron's neurologist, and he responded that same day. On Monday I sent him a summary sheet of Ron's complications from the transplant and the more recent changes that have occurred since his hospitalization for staph pneumonia in January-February 2013. It was sobering to see all of that information on one piece of paper. He has been through hell but amazingly, considers to see his glass as half full. His office then called on Wednesday and told us that Ron could be seen on Thursday afternoon. It just felt like something we had to do, so we changed some other plans and made a day trip to Ann Arbor yesterday and spent almost 2 hours with the neurologist who had seen him in January. It was good that he had a baseline for comparison of Ron's cognitive and motor skills. Ron did have more difficulty with the tests and tasks yesterday, so the next step is a full work-up with the Neuropsychology Clinic at U of M and an MRI. Amazingly, the stars aligned, and we were able to schedule both appointments for the coming Tuesday. For the clinic appointment, someone had just canceled for that Tuesday appointment which we filled, or the next open appointment was in December.
We are in scary territory, but maybe we will have some answers and a course of treatment soon. This offered a sense of relief in some ways, and we actually felt light-hearted on the way home.

If you follow the blog and would like to send a birthday card to Ron, his 65th birthday is September 4. We are planning a short trip to Bowling Green, Ohio, to celebrate with Cale's family on his birthday. We also pass the two year anniversary of his bone marrow transplant tomorrow.

Much love to all of you and thank you for your support in many ways. We are both grateful for your positive thoughts, good wishes, and prayers. This tumultuous journey started almost 3 1/2 years ago with his first diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia.

Hanging in there,
Ron and Jan