Waiting

Doug had the abdominal ultrasound done this morning. We'll probably have to wait until the appointment Friday to get the results - unless something serious is found, in which case I hope we get a phone call.

He hasn't had any more dizzy spells, but he avoids standing up for more than a few minutes. I can see a slight yellowish cast to his skin now, but the whites of his eyes are still white. He is not having pain, but what he describes as a 'tight, lumpish' feeling in the upper abdomen. The blood tests did not indicate liver problems, so that makes me feel a bit better.

Waiting is hard. Doug and I both have learned to focus on staying calm, but it's not always easy.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares what happens to you.                        1 Peter 5:7

Not feeling good

We came home from Texas two weeks early. Got home Friday, after two and a half days travel, 950 miles. Doug drove most of the way, including a day of high winds, in spite of feeling lousy. I can't seem to drive more than an hour on straight flat highways - I get real drowsy and would probably cause a wreck. So it was by God's grace that we got home safely.

The last couple of weeks, Doug has not been feeling good. A variety of symptoms, including dizzy spells and upper abdominal discomfort. At first we thought we'd be able to stay for our grandson's Air Force graduation, but as he got worse, we decided to head for home while we still could. Getting stuck in Texas with a medical crisis is not high on our agenda.

Today Doug saw our Family Nurse Practitioner. I really wanted him to get a good overall check, and not go to the oncologist just yet. Don't want that specialist tunnel vision when the symptoms are vague.
Blood work shows Doug is anemic - no surprise there. Blood pressure was 70/50. A lot of blood counts were low, some possibly due to chemo. The FNP lowered the dose of Coreg which should help the BP. She ordered an ultrasound of the abdomen which we will get Wed. So we don't know yet just what is going on.

Meanwhile we are very glad to be home, close to familiar doctors and friends. I am sad to miss Ryan's graduation, but our son will be going and promises to take photos.

Update: the oncology office called this afternoon. On the basis of the low blood counts and the way Doug is feeling, the oncologist wants to hold off on the Revlimid for one week and repeat the blood test in a week.

Blood Counts Good

We are at our RV park near Hondo Texas. Doug had his monthly blood draw done a few days ago; we got results, and they are good. Some values are a bit high, some a bit low, but that's due to the chemo. His light chain numbers are right where we want to see them - whew. His BUN and Creatine are better than last month. He's been trying to eat low carb, but blew the diabetic diet at a Chinese buffet. It was during the one week a month when he is off Revlimid and has working taste buds, so he enjoyed it. He continues to tire easily, but that's what naps are for. We've been taking daily walks.

We've been enjoying meeting up with some friends here. This area is getting some much needed rain, but we've also had nice sunny days.

We are selling our big 5th wheel RV. We have a buyer already, so we are glad of that. We decided that since Doug needs to check in monthly with the doc, it doesn't make financial sense to come all the way down south and stay only a month or so. We'll sell the lot back to the Co-op.

We are 'cheating' with doctor's permission, and staying here to see our oldest grandson graduate from Air Force basic training March 9 at Lackland AFB. We're excited to be able to attend that.

I want to share this with you. It's from Max Lucado's 'UpWords':

"You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need."

Love to all.