We are near the 6th anniversary of Ron's first acute leukemia diagnosis. Although I try not to dwell on it, as with any extreme experience the events seem to be etched in vivid detail in my mind. The thing that has changed the least is how stoic he is. The biggest adjustment I have now is having less appointments to fill our schedule. I bet that sounds strange, but when the majority of your time for so long has been filled with a full medical schedule, backing off is an adjustment, too.
Ron will have his ECP light treatments for 2 more sessions. That means 2 treatments at the end of April and 2 treatments mid-June. His Neostar central line will be removed. Then he will have quarterly appointments and hopefully, his health status will remain steady. It seemed really strange to inventory medical supplies with an end date in mind. Medical supplies to care for the central line are delivered monthly.
Ron and I have enjoyed the NCAA basketball tournament...even though our favorites are already out. We have had a variety of weather here at the lake. Matt put the dock in for us this week while his family was here, and the pontoon has been delivered, and we've been out on the lake. Hope everyone has had a happy Easter and is/has enjoyed a spring break.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Wow! March has arrived!
I am calling it "the winter that wasn't". Where is the happy medium? Our daffodils are peeking out, and we have had warmer days but very windy.
Things have remained "about the same" in regard to Ron's health. That means that there have been a couple issues to deal with but not necessarily a crisis. He had a respiratory "cold" and I packed things for a hospital visit, but his regular antibiotic and antiviral medication fought it off. His oxygen saturation ran lower for a few days, but as is usual for him, he didn't develop a fever. Next on our agenda was 2 falls about a week apart. He fell backwards and hit the small of his back on our bedrail, leaving a big bruise and possibly a cracked rib. We did not go for X-ray or doc appointment. The second fall was more serious. He kicked during a dream and fell out of the bed, hitting the walker, cane, and possibly the night stand. He had marks from the top of his head to the top of a big toe. Because of quite a skin tear/ gouge on his lower leg, I could not help him get up. Our usual strategy is to get on hands and knees, bring a chair for him to raise his upper body, then help him up from his knees. I had to call 911 for paramedics. They gave him the choice of going to the ER or not…well, guess what? He didn't want to go to the ER. I will know if there is next time, to tell them at the door to not offer a choice. He probably should have had his head wounds and leg wound checked. The skin tears on both arms were what I consider routine now. The next day we returned to BG, and the home nurse did make a visit. He has a big bruised area on his left cheek, and scabs on the top of his head. The arms' skin tears are healing well; the leg wound will take awhile. Since paramedics and a home nurse have checked things out, I will keep doing what I am doing. We go back to Ann Arbor in 2 weeks for treatments and an appointment with the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic. That will be 6 weeks between appointments which is the longest gap in 5 years. I feel confident that 6 weeks between ECP light treatments will be enough to avoid a flare of graft versus host disease.
Just adding this picture from last summer of sisters Abby and Lily (Andrew and Lisa). They just adore each other. Abby recently drew a life-size picture of herself for Lily to have so she wouldn't be lonely for her on school days.
Love, Ron & Jan
Things have remained "about the same" in regard to Ron's health. That means that there have been a couple issues to deal with but not necessarily a crisis. He had a respiratory "cold" and I packed things for a hospital visit, but his regular antibiotic and antiviral medication fought it off. His oxygen saturation ran lower for a few days, but as is usual for him, he didn't develop a fever. Next on our agenda was 2 falls about a week apart. He fell backwards and hit the small of his back on our bedrail, leaving a big bruise and possibly a cracked rib. We did not go for X-ray or doc appointment. The second fall was more serious. He kicked during a dream and fell out of the bed, hitting the walker, cane, and possibly the night stand. He had marks from the top of his head to the top of a big toe. Because of quite a skin tear/ gouge on his lower leg, I could not help him get up. Our usual strategy is to get on hands and knees, bring a chair for him to raise his upper body, then help him up from his knees. I had to call 911 for paramedics. They gave him the choice of going to the ER or not…well, guess what? He didn't want to go to the ER. I will know if there is next time, to tell them at the door to not offer a choice. He probably should have had his head wounds and leg wound checked. The skin tears on both arms were what I consider routine now. The next day we returned to BG, and the home nurse did make a visit. He has a big bruised area on his left cheek, and scabs on the top of his head. The arms' skin tears are healing well; the leg wound will take awhile. Since paramedics and a home nurse have checked things out, I will keep doing what I am doing. We go back to Ann Arbor in 2 weeks for treatments and an appointment with the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic. That will be 6 weeks between appointments which is the longest gap in 5 years. I feel confident that 6 weeks between ECP light treatments will be enough to avoid a flare of graft versus host disease.
Love, Ron & Jan
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