Dec 30 Day 239

Hi Everyone,
I am truly blessed! This Christmas our daughter, Dana, and her family came out for about a week and it was really fun. The day before they got here I started feeling really good, I had a lot of energy and didn't get tired when I did things. From that day on I have felt as good as I did before I was diagnosed with the Leukemia. Deb and I had a great time playing with Hailey and Aiden, our grandkids, and visiting with Dana and Dave. They went way out of their way to drive all the way from Denver to be here for just 6 days. They drive to protect me because when they fly the kids always get sick when they get here. Thank you sooooo much Dave and Dana!!!
I picked up Hailey just before they left on Thursday and the next day my back hurt pretty bad. Its now Sunday and it got a little better today so it should be ok soon. I am still on blood thinners (until late Feb) and still have a hernia (to be repaired in March) but things are looking up finally, because I have had so little energy until now. I feel like I could do just about anything but I'm not going to overdo it, I'm still going to take it slowly so I can keep on healing.

Dec 11 Day 220

Hi Everyone!

I got back home on Saturday from the hospital! Yeeeaaahhhh! This time I actually wanted to go into the hospital because I was feeling so poorly. That pneumonia really made me feel bad. It really feels good to get home again, and eating that good ole' home cooking is the best!!! I've been in the hospital (before the Leukemia) for a few days at a time and never complained about the hospital food, but when you're in a long time it really gets to you. It's not so bad, its just that everything starts to taste the same, all bad!!! I think they really do a good job of preparing the food for so many at a time, my tastes just got tired of it. Harrison, you know what I mean, right? Harrison has had 3 sessions of chemo already and is going back in for a bone marrow transplant soon. We have been posting comments on each other's blog, he has leukemia too, so please pray for him as well. I feel so much better than last week when I went in, but I still have some symtoms of the pneumonia so I have to be careful. If I see any of you I probably will not hug you or shake hands at least thru the cold and flu season, but its good to see you (when you're not sick! LOL!). This whole experience has helped me to appreciate the little things in life that I used to take for granted, like waking up in your own bed, sitting on your own couch and just sitting and watching people go by on the street where I live. Deb has been great, I really mean great!!! She still has to do most of the work around here because I'm still weak (I wonder how long I can use that excuse? LOL!!!) I honestly try to do things but have to sit down and rest often, so not much is accomplished and I really feel guilty about it. Deb says not to worry cause when I get my strength back, I can do everything for a year!!! LOL! She's such a sweetheart!!! Thank you all sooooooo much for the thoughts and especially the prayers! God bless you all.

IN HIS HANDS,

Ernie

Thursday Dec. 6 Day 215

Hi All,
Unfortunately for Ernie his cough and fever turned out to be pneumonia, so he is in the hospital again. At least they figured out what was wrong so they can make him feel betteragain. They are giving him heavy doses of IV antibiotics and he already feels better. Barring any other complications he will be able to come home Sunday or Monday. It's another bump in the road but thank God the doctors are able to take care of whatever has come up. Please pray for him to be well and home where he belongs.

In His Hands,

Debby

Dec 3 Day 212

Hi Everyone,
We just got back from Dana's in Colorado where we spent Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting and playing with our grandkids!!! Unfortunately I caught a cough and got a fever and am still sick. We had to go to the emergency room and they did all sorts of tests which all came back negative, which means that I only have a cough and fever!!! With me though its more complicated in that my immune system is still not what it should be so they have to be more careful with me. It has left me really weak, weaker than I've been from the transplant. The pain from the shingles has diminished somewhat, which is a good sign, but it is still there. I hope this cough and fever goes away soon so I can get ready to enjoy Christmas, I will be really disappointed if I'm sick at Christmas cause I missed the last one (I was in the hospital). Hope you are all well!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

November 21 Day 200

Hi Everyone,
It's getting to be time for the holidays and I am really looking forward to them! We were at Brian's for Thanksgiving last year and I remember that I got worn out if I did anything too strenuous, and for Christmas I was already in the hospital. Both my kids and their families came out for Christmas and I only got to see them in the hospital, so it just wasn't the same. We believe that next year we will be moving to Colorado, so this will probably be the last time I get to spend Christmas with my brother and sisters and their families. The tradition has been going on for a lot of years and I'm really sad for it to end, but it happens in most families eventually. Dana and Dave and the kids are coming out this Christmas too, but Brian and his family probably won't be coming and we will dearly miss them! I have always loved this time of year, yes because of all the goodies we get to eat, but also because it seems that people are nicer, more friendly. I also love singing Christmas carols and hymns, maybe we can even go caroling!
The pain from my shingles is still with me. I had one day that I could hardly feel anything, but it came back with a vengeance! I have days that it hurts more than ever and it will be really sweet when the pain goes away. I am also still on blood thinners and the clot is still there. Please pray for both to go away. My energy level is still low, I'm usually alright as long as I'm not doing anything strenuous, but get really tired when I do too much. My hernia hasn't gotten any worse and that's reassuring. They say it can be really painful if it tears more!
I've gotten to know a lot of people who are in worse shape than I am in, and I worry about them and pray for them. My doctor had two patients who had a bone marrow transplant on the same day, me and a lady named Jane. We have both had our ups and downs and are pulling for eachother, and ask eachother how the other is doing when we meet at the doctor. Our doctor calls us transplant twins, which we laugh about! When something like this happens to you (as some of you know) you don't really think about things you will be doing in the future, you just live day to day and hope tomorrow will be a little better than today. What you are going thru seems to go on and on and on, and sometimes you wonder if it will ever go away. Lately that has bothered me more than anything, the one thing after the other that happens to you, you almost don't want to leave the room you are in because the next room might be worse. All of this, however, is the physical, the human element, and it fades away when you remind yourself that it's all temporary. It really helps knowing that the bible says that we can know for sure if we're going to heaven and even tells us how to get there! I look around me and the wonders that I see, the high mountains, the beautiful sky and sunsets, and the great and vast oceans make it clear to me that this could not have happened by chance. The human body is so remarkable and complicated, I just don't have that much faith to believe it could have begun as a cosmic mud puddle and evolved down throught the ages. This all had to come from an intelligent designer. Think about the human eye and how it sends messages to our brain and voila, we see and comprehend! Wow, amazing, huh? Thank you for praying for me to the Intelligent Designer, it helps me and countless others who get blessed just because someone asks Him to. God bless you all!
Ernie

October 29 Day 186

Hi Everyone,
October 22nd was my 6 month mark and my doctor seemed really pleased by it. It must be a good sign!!! I am doing OK but have been having issues all along. I still have the blood clot, although it has gotten smaller and I'm still on the blood thinners. I'll probably be on them thru February. The shingles have faded so you can barely see them but they still hurt. It's really weird having the pain when they seem to be gone and I'm looking forward to having the pain be gone too! My father-in-law had them for a year so hopefully mine won't last that long, but you never know. I had a PSA test done a while ago that showed readings that were too high, and they think I might have prostate cancer. I went to a urologist and after he examined me he said that we would wait until March or April and do the test again because the high reading might have been from an infection I had a few weeks before I had the test done. He said that prostate cancer is very slow growing and not much would happen between now and March so it's OK to wait. Normally they would do a biopsy but they don't want to do it now because I'm still on the blood thinners. When I was at the urologist he informed me that I have a hernia. I hadn't noticed it but about a week later we were moving some boxes in the garage and that night it was more pronounced, I can really tell I have one now. My bone marrow doctor sent a referal to the surgeons, who will figure out if it needs to be repaired now or if it can wait. I'm thinking they'll do it soon cause it's a little painful now and they won't want it to get worse. They also found that my blood sugar reading was in the range of being diabetic so I've been testing myself but the readings have been only slightly high when I do it. The high readings (I've been told) could have been from some of the meds I'm taking so they aren't too concerned right now. My spirits are still high but it is frustrating because it seems like things just keep coming at me, one right after the other. I would really like to be well and healthy again so I can do all the things I did before, but that's in God's hands, and I trust Him completely.
In his sermon last Sunday my pastor said that when he died he would like to be martyred. I thought that was kindof a strange thing to say until I thought about it. If we are really sold out for Christ, then we would be able to do that, to be martyred for Him. Quite a lot of Christians down thru the centuries have been, and I have wondered how they were able to do that, or if I would ever be able to do that, because it's such a huge thing to do for Christ. My pastor said the secret is to do all the little things for Christ, then if it ever came time that God wanted us to do something huge like that for Christ, we would be able to. The little things (obeying Him, helping others who aren't as fortunate, etc) are things we can do every day, right now. The bible says that if we're Christians, we're just visitors here on earth, our real home is in heaven with God, FOREVER!!! I'm not saying you'll have to be a martyr, but it's truly something to think about, no?
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Sept 22 Day 149

Hi Everyone,
Sorry I haven't written in a while. They did confirm that I do have a blood clot in my left arm and are treating it by giving me blood thinners. They say I might be on the thinners for 6 months and that it might take a few months for the clot to disolve. Sometimes the clot never completely goes away. Two weeks ago I came down with shingles, which is a form of chicken pox. When you have chicken pox it never completely goes away and when your immune system is low, like mine, or when you get older, like me, you tend to come down with shingles. The chicken pox stays in your nerve endings until it comes out. Shingles are painful, they itch a lot, and don't rub or scratch them because when you do they really hurt! Mine are around my waist line and some down my left leg, so my pants rub them when I walk or actually move at all. I am looking forward to when they are gone!! LOL! Deb and I went to the American Cancer Society "Relay For Life" at the local college last Saturday. We didn't know what to expect because we had never been to one, and it was pretty emotional. People get sponsors and then walk the track around the football field to raise money for cancer research. The very first lap they do is for 'survivors', they call it the "Survivor's Lap". They really do it well too. Anyone who has had cancer and is still alive gets to walk along with their caregiver or spouse. You walk around the track for one lap and everyone else stands on both sides of the track cheering you on and blowing bubbles all around you. It was really an emotional time for me and I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it. We were part of a team that was put togther by Mary Bow, who we met thru church. Her daughter, Elisha, had brain cancer and is doing great now!!! I can't tell you how much seeing people like Elisha come thru cancer helps people like me who are still going thru it, it is a great encouragement!!! Way to go Elisha! We are now at my daughter's in Denver, enjoying a great visit and playing with our grandkids. They are so much fun we can't stand it. We are also planning on visiting Brian and his family but he has been working most weekends so it might be a while before we get to see them. I received email from some of "Ernie's Angels", they were Mrs. Puglia's fifth grade class last year who prayed for me every day. They are still praying and wishing me the best, and Mrs. Puglia said that her home room this year is praying for me too! She said that the number of "Ernie's Angels" is growing! Thanks to everyone who has or is still praying for me, it really helps, and God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Aug 24 Day 121

Hi Everyone,
They did take my PIC line out on Aug16 and it sure felt good not to have any tubes coming out of my body. This week, however, I noticed a lump in my armpit on the side that had the PIC line, and then my arm started swelling. The doctor thinks that I have a blood clot somewhere in that arm and is sending me for a test that will confirm it. He also put me on blood thinners to try to get rid of it. He said it's not uncommon to get one if you have had a PIC line. I have to try to keep my arm elevated as much as possible and so I couldn't go on a motorcycle trip we have been planning for today, tomorrow and Sunday. We were really disappointed but it's happened a lot already that we have had to cancel plans so we're getting used to it. Hope all is well with you.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Aug 16 Day 113

Hi Everyone,
I did have a PIC line put into my left arm and have been taking the IV antibiotics. Today is my last dose and I have a doctor appointment so we're hoping he'll take out the PIC line today. The lines that come out are about a foot long and there are two of them. We have to wrap them in an ace bandage or a tube netting to keep from getting them caught on things. I got a stiff neck in the hospital and it is just now almost gone. Last Friday I got the flu and have been fighting it, but today I think I'm finally over it. It hasn't been a very good few weeks. I have been leaning on God more lately than earlier in my treatments, I guess because of how long it's been going on. It gets frustrating knowing that the treatments will last probably until next summer and I might be on some of the meds the rest of my life. Then God reminds me that things could be worse by letting me see some of the other patients at the doctors office and the hospitals. Hope all of you are well.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Aug 7 Day 104

Hi Everyone,
Well, I'm out of the hospital, again!!! LOL! I had to stay in until my infection was gone and on Monday the cultures showed negative for infection. We have heard from nurses and doctors that it is common to get an infection from a Hickman catheter like I had. They showed us how to administer the IV antibiotics when we get home, and we got home about 5pm on Monday. I will have to take the antibiotics twice a day until Aug 16th. Until now they have given it thru the regular IV line but today I have to go and have a PIC line installed, which goes from your arm up into your heart area. They do this because the antibiotics I have to take are very strong and there are problems if you do it very long thru the regular IV lines. I have already had problems with the antibiotics getting out of the vein and into my skin (it forms a bubble under your skin). On a good note, the bone marrow biopsy that they did on July 27th (something fun to do on our anniversary!! LOL!) turned out good. The results were just what they were looking for and everything in that area is looking good! I have to admit that I am really ready for this to be all over, but understand that it will be quite a while for it to be over (if ever). I don't know what I would have done if God hadn't been there every step of the way and without all your prayers to encourage Him to be there. Thank you Lord, and thank you all for everthing you've done!!! God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

August 4, 2007 Day 101

Hi everyone,
Well day 100 wasn't such a good day for us. Wednesday Ernie developed a fever so we went to the ER. He was admitted for the night while they tried to determine the cause of the infection. We came home Thursday afternoon without knowing anything, but received a call from Kaiser that night saying one of his cultures was positive for an infection and he needed to be in the hospital. So Friday morning (day 100) he was admitted again. His catheter seemed to be the source of the infection so it was removed and he was given heavy doses of antibiotics. He will most likely spend the weekend in the hospital and then come home with some IV antibiotics. They will be sending a home health nurse to show us how to do the IVs at home. He's at Kaiser Panorama City. Dave, Dana and the kids have been here for the week which has been alot of fun me, but unfortunately for Ernie he has not felt well most of the week. They say now that the catheter is out he should begin to feel better as soon as today.
We'll keep you posted.
God Bless,
Debby

July 21 Day 87

Hi Everyone,
This week my doctor said everything still looks good, but on or about day 100 they will do another bone marrow biopsy to make sure. From next week on I will be going to the doctor only once a week and the following week they are talking about taking out the Hickman catheter in my chest. I feel good except for when I do something strenuous, well, strenuous for me. I put in 4 short drip irrigation tubes and had to dig about 10 feet of trench that was only about 4-5 inches deep and when I finished I had to sit on the couch to recuperate the rest of the day!!! I really felt it too! Hope all of you are well!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

July 11 Day 77

Hi Everyone,
Did I get some great news last Monday at the doctor!!! We were told before that I would be on my low bacteria diet until day 100 which is a little over 3 weeks from now, but the doctor I saw told me that I could get off the diet last Monday. This means that I can eat fresh vegetables, lettuce, fruits, and most importantly we can eat out again. On the diet I couldn't eat at any restaurant or fast food, I could only eat what was cooked at home, but not any more! Since Monday we have eaten out quite a bit and I'm lovin' it! Tomorrow when I go to the doctor I'm going to ask if I can be around people again. I'd like to start seeing my friends and going to church, its been a long time since I've seen a lot of my friends. My doctor said that they would be taking out my Hickman catheter in about 2 to 3 weeks, and when that happens I'll be even happier. I have been limited in the things I can do because if you do something too strenuous the catheter might pull out, so I'll be able to exercise, play golf, and just be more free. Maybe I'll even start to feel like I'm retired!!! LOL! I'll probably back way off on my blog in a few weeks too. I am really starting to feel alive again, its been a very long six months for me. There are still some setbacks that could happen but the doctors seem confident that they will be able to handle anything that comes along. The road to gaining all of my strength and endurance back will be a long one, maybe even a year or so from now, but it will happen. Thank you for all of your prayers!!!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

June 30 Day 66

Hi Everyone,
My doctor is out of town so I saw one of the other doctors, but he said that things are progressing well. He also cut the dosage on one of my meds, a good sign. Today I have something that has been on my heart that is extremely important to me.
An opportunity has come up that I would like to share with all of you. My family has been on several short term mission trips to Mexico and have been blessed by each one of them. They usually require a lot of work, preparation and dedication, but they have all been great! I don't think God is calling me to do long term mission work, but He has called someone I have known and loved for a very long time. I first met Robert when he was a little boy as his dad and I played softball against each other and then together on the same team. Our kids would come to the park and play together during our games since the mid 1980's. My family became Christians on Feb 19, 1991 and a few years later I was privileged to lead Tom and Kate (Robert's dad and mom) to the Lord, and they said they would like me to share the same message of salvation with their four children. I was so excited I could hardly stand it that God would use me to help them all understand His plan and they all received Jesus Christ that day! It is awesome to see God work in people's lives after they give their lives to Him, and that's just what this family did at church, on short term mission trips and wherever they went in their daily lives. Robert began feeling that God was calling him to something more, however, and in 2001 he gave in to God's calling to serve him long term in a foreign country. I was really excited, I mean really excited to hear this news!!! Robert has been in training for 5 years to do long term missions in Asia with a well known organization. While in training he met his wife Heather who also has an awesome love for the Lord. They now have 3 boys and are gearing up for their departure as I write this. To see their bio, you can contact me for more information. As I said, I don't think God has called me to serve him in a foreign land (not yet anyway!! LOL!!!) but I feel an exceptional gratitude to God for being able to be a part of His sending work by helping out Robert and Heather. Deb and I are able to pray for them and support them right now, and when they go it's as if we will be going with them. We will be a part of God's plan!! If you would like to be a part of this awesome family's team you can email me and I can pass on your interest to them so they can contact you personally. Some of you have been thinking about supporting God’s plan in this special way before and if so I encourage you to help Robert and Heather with whatever you can give (even $10 or $25 per month would be really helpful!). I know them personally to love God above all else and you can be a part of God's team as well.
Thank you very much for considering this!!! God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

June 22 Day 58

Hi Everyone,
Just got back from the doctor and he said everything looked good. He lowered some more of the doses on my meds which is a good sign. I do have a bladder infection (infections can be serious for me) but he didn't seem worried and gave me some antibiotics to take. I also have to drink plenty of water over the weekend. He said sometimes when this happens the patient might have to go back into the hospital and get massive infusions of IV to clear it up but I sure don't want to go back in. I am going to chug water all weekend long in hopes that it clears up!!! LOL!! This is a great prayer request so please pray! I have been reminded by Janice in Ohio that many, many people are praying for me from all over and I want you all to know that I am very, very thankful to all of you who are doing so. God sure set up a great plan to have his family on earth take care of eachother, didn't He? We know that He could just heal me in an instant, but He lets His people go thru an extremely important excercise, prayer, to get things done. I have received amazing benefits from all of your prayers, but if you think about it, so have you all!!! When we pray, we can come into the presence of Almighty God and speak to Him like He is our daddy, and He truly is! The term Abba is very close to our word for a loving, personal daddy. It just amazes me that someone so great and awesome would allow us to come before Him and talk to Him so personally. I hope you are as humbled as I am to be able to do this. Thank you Janice, and may God bless you all and keep seeking Him!!!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

June 15 Day 51

Hi Everyone!!!
We went to the doctor today and found out the results of my last bone marrow biopsy. There is no leukemia and my brother Dan's stem cells have taken over 100% of my body, which is very, very good. My doctor is still adjusting my meds, usually decreasing them, which also is a great sign. I feel pretty strong unless I try to do too much, like walking too far or doing somthing around the house which is too strenuous. I still must be careful about seeing people. I can't see anyone who is sick or has been around someone who is sick, and I can't be in crowds yet. We pretty much just go to the doctor and back and once in a while I go to the store with Deb but I have to wear a mask and people look at me weird, well weirder than usual!! LOL! The weather has been warmer up here and I sure would like to ride my motorcycle but I'm just not strong enough yet. Maybe another month or so. I asked if I could start doing pushups but my doc says that it might cause my hickman catheter to pull out and I don't want that so I'll just wait a while. We are really excited that our daughter Dana is in town for the Father's day weekend!!! Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!!! God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

June 7 Day 43

Hi Everyone,
We went to see the doctor again today (we go twice a week to City of Hope) and he said everything is looking good! He is reducing the dosage on some of my meds but that is expected. I am feeling much stronger now and am going for walks and doing things around the house again. My sister Mary from Boston has been in town all week and it has been a great visit, we talk a lot and she has been very helpful cooking and cleaning and just being here! I still can't be around crowds so I don't have many visitors yet, that won't be until Aug 3rd or so, hopefully. It has been a very long road and still it goes on, but things are really looking better now. My doctor says that I might not be completely recovered for another year! It just takes a long time. Thanks again for praying for me! God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 29 Day 34

Hi Everyone!
I had to go in to the doctor today because I had a rash appear on the palms of my hands. My doctor thinks it could be the Graft vs. Host disease and gave me meds for it so he's on top of it. This disease is not unusual for bone marrow transplants, it's my body rejecting Dan's stem cells and they just treat it as the symptoms appear. I go tomorrow for an all day blood draw, they will draw it every hour for 8 hours. It's a research study that I signed up for it, and someday they will have news meds that work even better because of these studies. On Friday I have a bone marrow biopsy but won't know the results for 2 to 3 days. They are looking as usual for any lukemia that might come back but are also testing to see what percent of my bone marrow is now Dan's (they are hoping for about 80%). I am feeling stronger now but still not ready to run any races! LOL
God Bless,
Ernie

May 23 Day 28

Hi Everyone,
I saw the doctor on Monday and had a chest x-ray because I've felt a slight pain when I take a deep breath and I've still been having my temperature go up in the evening. The x-ray showed what the doctor thought was something so he had us go back today (Wed) for another chest x-ray. He didn't see anything on today's but the radiologist still has to read it. He put me on an antibiotic for 7 days to clear up my symptoms. I signed up for a research study and they gave me the pills for the first time today. They said 2/3 of the people on the study will get the real medication and 1/3 will get a placebo. I think I am taking the medicine because after taking it I sensed a metallic taste in my mouth. I have to be there all day next Tuesday for the study but that only happens once more and its a 12 week study. The study is a bit of a hassle but people went thru this and more for the meds I'm taking now so if I can help someone else down the road I figured I should.
My doctor said all my counts looked good and he cut dosage on some meds, which is a good sign. I still feel weak but hopefully the antibiotics will help. God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 18 Day 23

Hi Everone,
It sure is good to be home! Unfortunately my temperature has risen every night since I came home and today the doctor said that it sounds like I might have an infection somewhere. He had the lab take a blood culture where they see if anything grows for a few days and if it does, they test it to see what it is, then treat it with antibiotics. The problem for me is that the antibiotics have to be given in the hospital so I would have to go back in for a while (I don't know how long). Please pray that I don't have an infection! My taste and appetite haven't returned fully yet, only a little but they say it doesn't take too long. My strength was pretty good until this morning, I walked up the stairs and it was like I climbed Mt. Everest I was so tired. The doctor didn't seem to be concerned about that so it probably happens. Everyone I've talked to said that I will face setbacks, maybe this was one. I'm feeling better tonight but I feel a little warm again. I hope all of you are well. God bless.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 15 Day 20

Hi all,
Well the big day is finally here, we are home! The ride home was a little tough on Ernie and he's not feeling well tonight and flirting with a fever. We have kept a close watch on it, if it reaches 101 we have to go back to the hospital. It's been slightly elevated, but fortunately not high enough to have to go in yet. Hopefully a good nights sleep in his own bed will take care of it. We see the doctor on Friday for a check-up. Unless something happens between now and then we won't write again til then. Thanks again for your prayers and concern.
God bless,
Ernie and Debby

May 14 Day 19

Hi everyone,
Today my doctor said he'd try to get me home tomorrow and later on my nurse told me that he had already written the order for me to leave tomorrow. The discharge nurse came and saw me today too so it really looks like I'm going. As long as nothing crops up between now and the morning I should be going home and I can't wait! When I told Deb this morning that I had to wait at least until tomorrow she knew I was down so she made me a stuffed bell pepper (one of my favorite meals!) and it really cheered me up. The hospital food here is better than Kaiser but its still hospital food and my taste buds aren't really back yet. That pepper really tasted good! Here's hoping I'll be at home tomorrow! God bless.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 13 Day 18

Hi everyone,
This post is for Sunday, May 13. My doctor said that he wanted the antibiotics that were started on May 5th to run for 10 days and it doesn't come in pill form. That would have me getting out of the hospital on Tuesday. This morning, however, he said he wasn't sure how important the 10th day really was so he's thinking about letting me go home on Mon. Let's hope! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there and God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 12 Day 17

Hi everyone,
I got a little queasy from the medication that they just put into pill form this morning and it lasted til late afternoon. Hopefully I'll either get used to it or they will change the dosage. Deb went home to take care of stuff today but got here early afternoon. My nurse disconnected me from the IV and told me I could go outside if I wanted to, so Deb and I went outside for a litte while. It was pretty nice! I had a steak tonight for the first time in a long while and it really wasn't too bad. For the low bacteria diet I'm on they have to cook it well done which takes the tenderness out of it, but it was alright. I need to eat more foods like that to get my body enough nutrition so I can go home soon, which hopefully will be Monday. Thats all for now, God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 11 Day 16

Hi everyone,
Not much to tell today except that my doctor has transferred all my IV meds into pills and I should be home by Mon or Tues.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 10 Day 15

Hi everyone,
My doctor told me today that he is starting to convert the meds I am receiving thru IV into pill form so I can go home next week. He didn't say what day next week but I'm hoping for Monday. I still feel good although my back is sore from exercising in group therapy. I didn't think I was overdoing it but I guess I did. Deb stayed with me most of the day and that was cool! I don't like it when she isn't here because I usually think too much about negative things. Its easy to do if you're here on this ward. One of the guys in my group therapy got to go home today, he had been here for one month exactly. My one month date is this Monday so hopefully that will be my day to go home. My diahrrea is gone and I'm eating more solid foods now but its hard when you haven't had anything in your stomach for days. Please keep praying and God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 9 Day 14

Hi everyone,
I still felt good today but had a little queasiness around lunch time. I had a tuna sandwich and it didn't agree with me. I was asked by the recreational therapist to play and sing for some of the patients but when I told him all I know is Christian music, he said thanks anyway. They can't have a hospital run meeting with Christian music. Maybe I should learn some other songs as a kind of gateway into Christian music, we'll see. I went to a group session today and when the therapist said that we were going to toss a beach ball around, I thought it was kind of stupid. Much to my surprise it was really fun and actually a workout for us too when we started hitting it like vollyball! I got to meet some of the other patients and that was cool because it made me feel like I wasn't the only one having to go thru all this, and some had been here a lot longer than me. Deb and my sister Carol and my neighbor all got the house cleaned and so that is out of the way now. Thank you so much Carol!!! The carpets and couches have been cleaned and the AC is working good, so now all we need is to get me home!!! LOL! I am not so anxious to go home this time because I want to be healed and the Graft vs. host disease can be very serious and even deadly so I'm not going to try to hurry them along. The lady in the room next to me got to go to the village today and we all made a big deal of it. Its really hard to stay in a hospital room for such a long time, it starts to get in your head and play games but you can't let it. Thats a pretty big struggle for us here and along with all the symptoms it can be very depressing so they watch for that too. Thanks for all of your prayers and God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 8 Day 13

Hi everyone,
Today I feel even better than yesterday! My counts are up and climbing and my fill in doctor (mine's out of town) said that if I were his patient that he would probably send me home this Thursday or Friday. This shocked both Deb and I because they recommend that you do a deep cleaning of your house before a bone marrow transplant patient comes home. Well, we hadn't planned on getting out for another 2 or 3 weeks, so Deb is home deep cleaning! She is going to have a carpet cleaning company come out and do the carpets and couches and we need some work on our AC unit so they are all coming tomorrow! The only trouble I'm having right now is diahhrea but they say that might be around for a while and are trying to control it. I have been sleeping better and feel more rested. I feel like I have a lot of energy so today I went out into the halls and walked (I've been restricted to my room for about 2 weeks). I walked for about 15 minutes and was very tired so I came back to my room and layed down again, man am I weak! I've tried not to think about how long I've been in this time and when will I get out cause when I do it can drive me up the wall, so enough about that! LOL! I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that all of you are sending and a great big "HELLO" to 'Ernie's Angels', all of you at LAUSD, all my friends wherever you are (people are praying for me all over the U.S.!), and mostly my family who have really been there for me! God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 7 Day 12

Hi Everyone,
I woke up this morning feeling pretty good!!! Even yesterday I didn't feel that well, but my white counts came up to 1.3 and it must have been enough to give me the boost I feel. I have not felt good for about two weeks but about a week ago I started feeling really bad. My worst day was last Thursday, I didn't even want to roll over in bed!!! Wow, its nice to feel this way! The doctor that saw me today said that I would probably not get out of here for 10 to 14 days because they have to keep watching for the graft v.s. host disease. Deb finally had to shave my head today because my hair was falling out so bad and just for the heck of it we shaved it and left a mohawk!!! It only lasted long enough to get a few pics and then we shaved the rest of my head! It was kind of fun though!!! This is the first day that I've played my guitar and sang for awhile and that felt good too! I saw 3 therapists today, 1) occupational 2) physical 3) recreational. The physical therapist exercises my legs, occupational my upper body, and the recreational therapist is there to help me relax by playing games and stuff. I had a culture taken last Thursday that turned out positive, meaning something was growing in one of the tubes of my catheter. It still has to grow in their lab some more to see exactly what it was, but the doctor thinks the antibiotic they gave me that night took care of it. Thank you all so much for praying for me, I've really been blessed thru this and I know its God honoring your prayers! Keep up the great work!!!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

May 5 Day 10

Hi All,
There's really not much to report today. Ernie is feeling about the same. His white count has gone up to .3 which is still considered to zero, but it has risen 2 days in a row now, so were hopeful it's the start of things getting back to normal. He has not had a fever again either, but he's still very weak. Hopefully he will feel up to writing the blog soon, I don't mind doing it for him but it would mean he is feeling better and getting his strength back. Keep Praying!!
God bless,
Ernie and Debby

May 4 Day 9

Hi everyone,
I'm happy to say that Ernie felt a little better today. His white cell count came up slightly, so hopefully this is the start of all his counts rising, which means Dan's cells are working. He did not get a fever today and due to the transfusion yesterday he had a little more strength. They will continue with the anti-biotics for a few days. He does feel like he has sores in his esophegus, which is normal, but it makes it hard to swallow. The doctor said today that so far it is a mild case. He has slept quite a bit the last couple of days, he is very weak and everything makes him tired. As soon as he's up to it he will take over the blog again, but for now you're stuck with me. He does truly appreciate all you thoughts and prayers. He tells me all the time that he feels all your prayers and how much it helps him. He says hello to Ernie's Angels, he hasn't forgotten you, he just doesn't feel good enough to get on the computer yet.
God bless,
Ernie and Debby

May 3 Day 8

Threre's not much to report again today. Ernie is still not feeling very good, even taking a shower wears him out. He has not gotten a fever yet, but each time they took his temp today it's been a little higher. This afternoon he started feeling pretty warm and achey all over, however they would not give him Tylenol until he got a fever above 100.4. He kept asking them to take his temp because he really wasn't feeling well and he wanted Tylenol and they kept telling him to wait til it gets higher. Finally at 10 p.m. it got high enough for them to give him Tylenol and start him on anti-biotics. Needless to say it was a pretty frustrating evening. Everything he's going through is normal, and it stinks but it's necessary for him to get better. He still has a rash on his neck and shoulder which he has creme for. Starting tonight he well be receiving the IV nutrition 24 hrs a day, this really was a relief to him because he doesn't have to worry about trying to eat until he feels better. Thanks again for your prayers.
God bless
Ernie and Debby

May 2 Day 7

Today was not a very good day. Ernie just didn't feel well all day. He was still bothered with diarrhea, but they were finally able to give him something for it. He has started to get a rash on his neck, shoulder and lower back. The doctor gave him something for it today as well. Physical therapy came in today and even though he didn't feel like it, he still did some exercises for his back as well to just keep some muscle. When his counts are higher they have a gym on this floor he can work out in. This evening the nurse told him the culture they did on his stool was negative, so that's a good thing. So far everything that's happened to him is normal, but it doesn't make it any easier to go through. Hopefully he will feel better soon.
In His Hands,
Ernie and Debby

May 1 Day 6

Hi all,
I didn't feel that good today due to diahrea that I've had for the past few days. The doctor says that the graft vs. host disease can give symptoms like this so they are running tests to see if thats what it is. Today is officially the first day of my retirement, but it doesn't feel that good. I was supposed to be happy on this day, have a party and look forward to doing nothing for a while. Well, I got the doing nothing part anyway! LOL! I called the shop last night and it was good talking to the guys. It was good to get caught up on whats going on there, but it was nicer knowing that I didn't have to worry about doing anything about it! LOL! Dana got home OK last night and said the flight was good. Deb had bought Hailey some pink cowboy boots while Dana was here and Dana had told her a few days ago that she had a surprise for her from Nana. Hailey was asleep when they picked Dana up, but first thing the next morning the first words out of her mouth were, "Mommy, where's my surprise?" Kids don't forget stuff like that!!! LOL! They say that my counts could start coming up as soon as Saturday so hopefully they will. They also say that as soon as my counts come up I'll start feeling better. COOL! I hope all of you are well, God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

April 30 Day 5

Hi Everyone,
Dana had to leave today, she flew back home to Dave and the kids. It sure was great to have her here but home is where she belongs for the most part. She said she would try to come back soon so we were happy about that! Deb is taking her to LAX at 4pm so I don't expect her to get back here until next week! LOL! Well, maybe not that long but it will take a while.
Today is not only day 5 for my bone marrow transplant its also my last day on the job. Obviously I haven't been to work since December but I've still been on the books using illness time. I tried to use my illness time just 2 hours per day and 6 hours unpaid to get me thru to July 1st, but someone in personnel wouldn't let me. That would have allowed me to get enough extra illness time to make it to November when I wanted to retire. It gave me less money to retire on, which hurts, but I didn't have much choice. I think I'll call the shop tonight and bark out a few more orders just for the heck of it!!! LOL!! Tomorrow is the first day of my retirement and it's obviously not how I imagined it would be. Being here in the hospital takes a lot of the joy out of it, but again, not much choice! I hurt my back this morning and it doesn't hurt while I'm sitting/laying in bed but when I get up it hurts. Good thing I lay around a lot!!! LOL! My sister Carol and her family have been great. They are letting Deb and the kids stay overnight and doing a lot of little things that go above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks Carol! My platelettes were at 17 this morning so more than likely I will get the platelettes that my daughter donated last Saturday. We are really excited about it! My hemoglobin was low today so they gave me a blood transfusion. Thats about it so God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

April 29 Day 4

Hi Everyone,
I had a great worship time this morning. I was thinking I might skip today because I wasn't feeling all that well, but the nurses came in and asked when I was going to start, so I started. As soon as I began I was so glad I did and I even did some songs that I haven't tried in a while because they are hard for me to sing and did OK with them. I guess God did a little prodding today and I'm glad He did!!! I am finding that I am very tired after the worship and have to lay down and do nothing for about an hour before I feel like doing anything (not that I do much in here but lay around!!! LOL), but it's more than worth it!!! Deb, Brian, Dana and I all had a great time together again today. It's really nice being with them. Brian had to go home today and left at about 2pm. He got a new truck this week so I don't think he minded the drive! For the most part I am not in pain but feel tired and worn out. They keep checking for fever and mouth sores which usually show up about day 5 so they might be coming. Hope not!!! Please keep praying! God bless you all.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

April 28 Day 3

Hi everyone,
Ernie had a pretty good day today. They cut down his meds quite a bit and we're thinking it's why he felt better and didn't have to go to the bathroom every 1/2 hour. He had to have a transfusion yesterday of plateletts but fortunately the benedryl did not bother him this time either. Dana donated plateletts this morning and if Ernie needs them within the next 4 days he will receive hers. She is also now on the donor registry. She sat in a recliner for 2 hours while they took blood out of her arm, collected the plateletts and put what they didn't use back in her arm. It was similair to how they collected Dan's stem cells, but not nearly as long. I had to go to Lancaster for an appointment and then went home to check on things there. It sure made it alot easier to leave knowing Dana was there with her dad. Brian got here around 6 p.m. and we all had a really nice evening laughing and talking with eachother, Ernie even asked for something to eat!! His first meal in a week was cheetos and a twix candy bar, the cafeteria was closed so we had to go the vending machines, but at least he ate.
Debby
Hi everyone!
Not much to report for Saturday. They have stopped some of my meds because one of my levels was too high again. It's great for me cause I don't have to drag the IV stand and go pee so often!!! LOL Life's little pleasures sure change! Brian got here Sat afternoon and he and Deb and Dana and I sat and talked and it was really great! It's been a long time since just the 4 of us sat and talked. Usually we have all their families which is great too! God bless you all!
In His Hands,
Ernie

April 27 Day 2

Hi Everyone,
I am finally feeling good enough to write my own blog again. Thanks Deb for doing it for me!! I have not felt very good at all for the last 5 days. I have been feeling naseaous, had headaches and felt poorly from some of the meds. They changed my anti-fungal medication (the one that can cause "shake and bake" [high fevers and violent shaking from chills]) because it has caused readings in my kidney to go up too high. The drug they will go to has hardly any symptons so I don't have to worry as much with this one. They had a big reunion of many of the people who were cured at City of Hope and were expecting 5,000 to 6,000 people. I am looking forward to going next year and my brother just said he'd go with me!!! Several of the reunion people came by and encouraged those of us who are being treated now and it was very nice to hear about their success. I have been playing my guitar in here (starting yesterday) and singing praise songs and have been blown away by the number of people who enjoyed hearing it. Some had congregated outside my room and were applauding!! Go figure! I don't do it for any reaction, I do it to worship God and it's cool to know that others enjoy it as well. The nurse's assistant that has been caring for me is a Christian and has encouraged and prayed for me, which is really cool. He says that there are other Christians on the floor and the lady next to me asked him to have me do the praise songs out in the hall so she could hear better. Unfortunately I am confined to my room until my counts go up as my white counts are at zero now, so I couldn't oblige her, but maybe I can come up and do it for her after I get out of the hospital and am in the village. The village is a group of rooms with 2 beds and a kitchen that we'll be staying at when released from the hospital and it's on the grounds here. Things are progressing as they should (so the doctor says) but I'm just getting impatient. God is good though and He will be with me the whole time. Thank you for your prayers and may God bless you all.
In His hands,
Ernie

April 26 Day 1

Hi All,
I'm very happy to report that Ernie had no reaction to the "shake and bake" meds he received last night. I hope it continues to be that way. He did eat some breakfast this morning, but he still has no appetite. I was relieved when the nurse told me they were going to give him nutrition in his IV tonight. For now it will just be at night, but if he doesn't get his appetite back soon they will give it to him continueously. Dana got here this morning, and Brian will be here Saturday. We are always happy whenever our kids come home and even though Ernie is pretty sick, it's no different this time. We treasure our time with our family, it's one of God's greatest gifts. City of Hope is having a 31 year reunion celebration for it's cancer survivors tomorrow. They say some transplant patients who received bone marrow or stem cells from an unrelated donor will meet them for the first time. It should be a pretty special day for all. Next year we will be able to attend. Thanks again for your prayers and may God bless you all.
Ernie and Debby

April 25 Day 0

Hi everyone,
Well, the day we've been waiting for has finally come. Ernie had his stem cell transplant this afternoon at 1:30. It took just over an hour and everything went well. Today is day 0 and he will be monitored very closely for the next 100 days. That is how the days will be refered to in the hospital. The benedryl didn't bother him at all this time, sometimes it makes him drowsy and other times wired. He is still nauseous but it seems to be getting better each day. He did not sleep much at all during the day. His sister Carol was with us most of the day offering much needed love and support for both of us. This evening his nurse told us he would be receiving an anti-fungal drug tonight (purely a precaution) through his IV that can have some pretty yucky side effects. She's affectionately nicknamed it "shake and bake" as it can cause chills with extreme shaking and or a fever. He received tylenol at 9 p.m , benedryl at 9:30 and they would start the drug around 10. It will take about 3 hours and she says during the last hour if he gets up it seems to be what causes the chills. If that happens they give him demarol to stop the drug and after that takes affect they would start the IV again. He will have this medication everynight until his counts start to go up. It was very hard for me to leave knowing what could happen during the night, but he and the nurse both assured me they could take care of him. There's a good possibility if his appetite doesn't increase tomorrow they will start giving him nourishment in his IV. He really hasn't eaten much since Sunday. As you can see from the photo we posted today he looks good, his hair is even growing back. We thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. We have a long road ahead of us, but your love and support will help us get through.
In His Hands,
Ernie and Debby

April 24

Hi everyone,
I'm happy to report that they were able to collect all the stem cells they needed from Dan today. They said based on Ernie's height and weight they needed 5,000,000 stem cells and they collected 10,000,000!! (That's right thats million) Ernie still does not feel good, but is much better than the last couple of days. He managed to eat some breakfast and lunch and keep it down. The nurse said they will start meds in the morning about 1/2 hr. before he gets the stem cells. She also said there's a good chance he will sleep most of the day due to all the pre-meds. We won't know if Dan's cells are working in Ernie for about 12 days or so. Brian sent us a picture today of his bald head, which he says will stay that way until his Dad's hair grows back. I plan on showing my support in a different way, sorry Ernie. Please continue to pray for us.
In His Hands,
Ernie and Debby

Monday April 23

Hi everyone!!
The internet is working in my room as of today, but I'm not feeling very well so Debby will be writing for me until I feel up to it. I got my last dose of chemo Saturday night and unfortunately ever since then I have been nausious. Today I can't seem to keep anything down. My doctor said this particular medication is pretty harsh and getting sick from it was to be expected. They gave me anti-nausia medication, but that makes me drowsy and I don't like that either, but I guess that's better than being sick to my stomach. The nurse told me if I continue to get sick ,rather than throw it up, don't eat and let them give me nourishment through my IV. If I don't feel better soon I will let them to that. The dietition came by to talk to us about the low bacteria diet I'm on and I had to ask them to step into the hall to talk. Just hearing about food bothers me. Tomorrow my brother Dan gets here at 7 a.m. to start the stem cell collection process and Wednesday they will give them to me. THANK YOU DAN!! He had to give himself two shots a day for the 4 days prior to his procedure and he says he doesn't feel great but it's manageable and it got him a couple of day off work. Debby's sister Sue is here for a few days and on Thursday Dana gets here. Please pray for Dan tomorrow and that my body accepts his cells.
God Bless you All
Ernie (Debby)

Saturday April 21

Hi everyone
Well the day is finally here, I had to check back into the hospital today. The internet won't be working in my room until Monday so Debby is writing this for me from my sister Carol's house. My sister lives about 10 minutes from here, so Debby will be staying there most nights. Thank you Carol. We checked in about 1 this afternoon, the nurse gave us a brief tour of the 6th floor. The air in the whole ward is filtered so even when my counts are low I can walk around outside my room as long as I wear a mask. Anybody visiting has to wear a mask. We found out today I can't have fast food or restaurant food for 100 days after my transplant. Debby can cook food and bring it in as long as I eat it within 1 hour of it being prepared. My doctor said I needed to be hydrated for 8 hours before I get my last dose of chemo, so I won't be having it til 10:30 or 11:00 tonight. Hopefully I'll sleep right through it. Tomorrow they'll start me on my anti-rejection medication. Now that I'm back in the hospital and things will be happening I'll write again on a regular basis. As always thanks so much for your prayers. Please keep it up we can use them!
In His Hands,
Ernie (Debby)

April 19

Hi Everyone,
I have had chemo 4 times this week and will have it on Friday as well. Then on Saturday I will be admitted to the hospital and get another kind of chemo that day and then will be done with the chemo. I haven't had any side effects so far. The blood cultures that they took on Monday haven't shown any growth so that was great news! This means they won't have to replace my Hickman catheter or put me in the hospital earlier than expected. Thank you all very much for praying for me!! Hi "Ernie's Angels"!!!! I hope you are all studying hard!!! God bless you all,
Ernie

April 17

Hi All!!!
We checked into City of Hope yesterday and had blood drawn, then saw my doctor, and then had my chemo treatment. We are staying at what they call the Villages, which are like motel rooms with kitchenettes. They are very nice and are on the campus of the hospital, but close enough to walk to the clinic or to the hospital. We are supposed to stay there until Saturday when I am scheduled to go into the hospital. My doctor was a little concerned that I had a fever last week, so he is giving me more antibiotics. He also had them take more blood cultures, which will show if anything is growing in my blood that shouldn't be. This will take about 2 days for the results. He says if I still have something there, I will have to go into the hospital and will also have to have my Hickman catheter removed until they get rid of whatever's in the blood with antibiotics. He said that putting the new catheter in when they weren't sure that my blood was clean can cause the infection to come back. He says that some of the infection might have gotten into the new catheter and still be there (he calls it seeding), so they might be able to clean my blood but the infected catheter will re-infect me if they don't take it out. I'm sure not looking forward to that because of all the soreness I still have from the surgery on Friday. Please pray that my blood is clean of this infection. I would like to stay in the Villages and not have to go thru another surgery!!! I've gotten two doses of chemo so far (one Monday, one Tuesday) and all is well, I haven't had any side effects which is good news. They charge for any internet time in the Villages if you use your own computer, but they have a computer room with computers for us to use and that is what I am on right now. I will still try to blog everyday. God bless you all.
Ernie

April 14

On Friday I had my Hickman catheter replaced. I didn't have any soreness when I got my first one, but this time I was really sore both where the old one was and where the new one was put in. We got home about 5pm to find a message on our answering machine that Kaiser had left at 1:30am Friday. We had stayed overnight at City of Hope Thursday night because I had appointments Thursday and Friday so we weren't home when they called. The message said that one of the cultures that they had taken Monday night when we went to the emergency room was positive and that I should contact my doctor immediately. When I finally got a hold of my doctor's nurse, she contacted my doctor and I was told to go to the emergency room again. I asked the nurse if we could just go to urgent care in Lancaster and she said that would be fine. We went to Kaiser Lancaster, waited for two and a half hours to be seen and they gave me an I.V. of antibiotics and were told that we still had to go to the emergency room at Panorama City. We didn't leave Lancaster until 11pm, went to Pan City and spent hours there only to be told that I was OK and could go home. We left Pan City at 4am and went home two very tired people. We realize that when we need to go to urgent care or the emergency room it will take a lot of time, and it sure did!!! LOL!!! The soreness in my chest on Saturday is less, but it still hurts quite a lot. We go to City of Hope on Monday to begin chemo for my bone marrow transplant, and although I am anxious to get things moving I still have reservations and hope everything goes well. Please continue praying, I can't get thru this without you all!!! God bless.
Ernie

April 11

Hello to everyone reading this blog!!! I have been enjoying myself while out of the hospital. It sure feels good to relax at home, but we have taken some trips as well. Deb and I and Jim and Joan took a trip on our motorcyles. We left and made our decision of where to stay the next night that morning and it felt good. We would like to take a much longer trip that way too, just going wherever we feel like going! My daughter Dana and her family drove out from Denver so I could see her kids because I didn't get to play with them last time they were out at Christmas and it was really great to see them. They usually fly because it's such a long drive (15 hours) but they drove because her kids seem to get sick right after flying (catching colds and the flu). Deb and I have taken that drive and it seems very long so I really want to thank Dana and Dave for doing that for me!! It really wore me out playing with the grandkids but it was sure worth it!!!
I am definitely going in to the hospital (City of Hope) on Monday April 16th. I have had many tests this week and on Friday I have to have my Hickman catheter replaced because they can't withdraw blood from it anymore. I had a fever on Monday and had to go to the emergency room at Kaiser Pan City. We got there at 6:30pm and left at midnight. They didn't find out why I got the fever but gave me some anitbiotics. The tough part was that we had to get up at 5:30am the next moring to be down at Kaiser Sunset. We were pretty tired that day! When I come home from my transplant I can't have animals in the house and we couldn't find anyone to take our cat so Dana took the cat until we move to Denver. Good luck Dana!!! LOL!!! My brother has gone thru all his testing and everything looks very good for him to be my donor. He sure is stepping up to the plate for me and I really appreciate him helping me like this. He has to give himself shots for a few days before they take the stemcells and he is really good about it. He actually already gave himself a practice shot so he knows what it's like. Yea Dan!!! He will have to sit in a chair and they put needles into both arms with tubes coming out of them. His blood will come out of one arm and go into a machine that collects his stemcells and then the blood goes back into his other arm. They say the process takes about 5 to 6 hours and that he might have to do it for 2 to 3 days, but usually it's just one day. This will be on April 24th. The next day they will hang his stemcells over me and they will go into me just like a blood transfusion, it just drips into my I.V., and I don't know how long it takes. Blood transfusions take 2 to 3 hours to go into me so I expect the same amount of time for the stemcells but I'm just not sure. I will already have had 6 days of chemo to prepare my body to accept his stemcells. There might be side effects with the chemo so we'll have to deal with that, but there might also be a rejection factor. With bone marrow transplants my organs might not readily accept his bone marrow (it's call graft vs. host disease) and the doctors will have to stay on top of it to make sure my body accepts his marrow. This is what will keep me in the hospital longer than the one month they are expecting. Thank you all so much for praying for me and encouraging me. It has meant so much to know that so many are doing this and I hope I do much better at communicating my encouragement to others who are going thru things like this. I know pretty much everyone who is reading this is going thru some sort of trial or difficulty in their life right now, so keep your spirits up and keep putting one foot in front of the other if its that bad for you, because no matter what we are going thru, if we perservere, if we just keep on fighting, we will get thru it one way or the other. I know when I've experienced bad times in my life, there were always good times that followed, so hang on to that as well. We spend low times in the valleys, but we also spend great times on the mountain tops too!!! God bless you all,
Ernie

Mar 30

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to update you on what's happening. I had a blood gas test last Tuesday and have a heart test next Monday. There are several other tests that must be done before I get my bone marrow transplant. My brother Dan (my donor) will be having tests done as well. They are tentatively putting me back in the hospital (City of Hope) in about 25 days but that could change by a week or so. That's about all as far as my condition goes, but I'd like you to add someone to your prayers for the next little while. Our friends, Mike and Kim are adopting a little girl from China but she is very sick. Her name is Chen-Chen and her liver is failing. They are bringing her here early to do a liver transplant but they say the trip will be very hard on her, so please pray that she will make it here and get the transplant and that everything will go well for little Chen-Chen. Hi "Ernie's Angels"!!!
Thank you so much for praying for me and for little Chen-Chen. God bless you all.
Ernie

Mar 20

Not too much to say today but Susie Lydon sent me the following and I'm going to do it. Hope you all will too!!! I tried to check it out on Snopes.com but they didn't have anything on it, but it's a great idea anyway!!!
Someone has said if Christians really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. (And personally I believe that!) Did you know that during W.W.II there was an adviser to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England , its people and peace?There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America .If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 pm Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States , our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along.Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR BELIEVING FRIENDS!

Mar 19

I had a bone marrow biopsy on Mar 12 to check for 2 things. One was to see if the leukemia had come back, and it hasn't! The other was to see if I indeed had the bone marrow disease called Myelodysplasia, and the results of this aren't in yet. I had some great news this morning! The doctor told me that my sister Carol and my brother Dan both match me for my bone marrow transplant! This makes the chance of rejection much smaller so there is a greater chance that I will be able to use their stem cells to replace my bone marrow cells. They are leaning toward using my brother's for several reasons, most of all because if the donor is a female and the recipient is a male there is a greater chance of rejection. When I heard the news my whole body felt so much relief I could hardly keep my emotions still for awhile. My sister Mary was actually disappointed when she heard that she didn't match and I found out that they were each hoping it would be them who matched me. Thank you Mary, Carol and Dan! I love you guys! Deb and I took off after my appointment last Monday and went to Phoenix to see the Angels play a spring training baseball game. It was hot that day and we had a great time! We then went to Laughlin and spent a few days there and we left some of our money there for them to hold for us! LOL! We got to visit my son's family in Las Vegas and had a lot of fun playing with our grandkids. We won't know much more until the end of this week and I'll let you all know more then.

Mar 8

I called the bone marrow doctor today and he told me that since my white counts were down a little in May of 2006, they think that I have a disease of the bone marrow (can't spell it!) that developed into my leukemia. They believe this is why my counts are still not back to normal and so they think the best thing to do now is a bone marrow transplant using a donor. My brother and sisters have all taken the test and now we are waiting for their results, which won't come back until about March 20th. Please pray that my brother or sisters match me and that the bone marrow transplant will go well.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Mar 6

I went to see the bone marrow transplant doctor today at Kaiser Sunset. It turns out that my brother and sisters should have had their tests two weeks ago so he could see if they were a match for me. Now we have to wait two more weeks for these results. This means that I won't be going back into the hospital til then which is good, but I hope the wait doesn't jeopardize my end results. The doctor didn't seem worried though. I am still not back to normal as far as my strength goes, I still feel light-headed when going up stairs. My blood counts still aren't back to normal either and they were by this time last session, but the doctor didn't seem worried about this either. I went to Desert Christian School last Friday and met "Ernie's Angels"!!! They did a presentation using sign language which was really beautiful, and I got to go to their classroom and meet them. They had many questions, great questions, and we had a great time together! Thank you again "Ernie's Angels" for letting me come to meet you all, and thank you so much for your prayers and all your support. God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 21

I'm home!!! As soon as I got my blood counts this morning and realized that they might be high enough for me to go home, I had my nurse leave a message for my doctor. She was nice enough to come up and discharge me at about 9:15am. She usually doesn't come until after noon, so she must have known how desperately I wanted to go home. As soon as I called Deb she came down and we left the hospital at about 10:30. Wow, it sure feels good to be home. This is the half-way point for my hospital stays anyway, I have two more to go and they will probably both be at City of Hope Hospital. I feel pretty tired today and I haven't done much, just a few things around the house tired me out. I have an appointment at Kaiser Sunset to meet with the bone marrow doctor on March 6th, so I won't have any details until then. I have an appointment with my doctor this Friday and they will make sure my counts are still going up. I am still on the low-bacteria diet until they are back to normal. Like the last time I was home, I probably won't write every day until I go back in the hospital again. God bless you all and please keep praying!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 20

My counts weren't high enough to go home today. The blood test they did this morning didn't turn out right so they drew more blood later in the morning. When the doctor saw those results she didn't think they were valid either so she ordered more blood at 2:30pm. The results of that test were higher, just not high enough, but the doctor is pretty sure they'll be high enough tomorrow for me to go home. My regular doctor comes back from vacation tomorrow so who knows what will happen. It's frustrating to have to keep staying here when I could possibly have gone home, but I want them to be cautious and do the right thing, and the doctors do this every day. Maybe tomorrow. WAITING
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 19

Another doctor came by today (mine is on vacation) and said that I should be able to go home on Wednesday. This was disappointing because on Sunday the doctor told me I could go home on Tuesday. When today's doctor saw that I was disappointed, she said let's just see what happens tomorrow. I think this might be the hardest time in the hospital when it's a day to day decision for when I go home! I really want to go home too, but here I am WAITING again! LOL! I still feel very blessed. There is a man who keeps calling the nurses very loudly every few seconds for 5 minutes at a time and he sounds like he is hurting or needs something very badly. I don't know about this particular man but the nurses say that they get people in here with dementia who don't really know that they are yelling. I still feel sorry for them. Do you know who I really feel sorry for? I feel sorry for the children and their families who get cancer or some other debilitating disease. It must be very frightening for them to go thru all they must go thru. It just came to me that when we think of people like that who get cancer or whatever that because it doesn't affect us directly we just kind of blow it off and forget them after we walk away from them. We sometimes have the attitude that it will never happen to us, or we don't want to even think about it because we know that it can happen to us and we don't want to think about all the bad things that will occur if it does. I remember the first week when I was diagnosed, it was a tough week. It was really sobering when I was told that I had leukemia, I almost felt like it had to be a mistake, like they got names mixed up and I would get a call the next day to tell me that everything was OK. It makes me want to do something to try to make people feel better when they go thru this stuff, but I don't know what that would be. Maybe I'll think about that!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 18

Late Saturday night I was all set to go home in the morning but I got fever, chills and nightsweats. My joints and my teeth and gums were hurting and I had a lot of trouble sleeping. I had to have blood cultures taken from my arm and my catheter, a urine sample, and a chest x-ray. The doctor that saw me this morning said that it would probably be Tuesday when I can go home now. He gave me antibiotics and will continue them every 8 hours until I go home. Today I haven't felt well, I've had headaches, my body hurts and my teeth and gums are hurting again. // I didn't have any recurrence of the chills, nightsweats or fever tonight so I hope it's over for this time. Maybe I can go home tomorrow.

Feb 17

The doctor that came to see me today said that he wanted to keep me one more day to check on my eye and my counts. He said that I'll be able to go home early tomorrow. Hopefully! Waiting again!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 16

They had to stick me again this morning because my Hickman catheter still isn't working and I'm starting to bruise. It really doesn't hurt much so it's not that big of a deal and there are many places they can draw from. The doctor that saw me today said that maybe I can go home tomorrow so that is good news. I'm pretty sure I'll be going home sooner this time than last time, which was 4 weeks. Sunday will be my 21st day this time. They had to give me some more hydrocortizone today because my eye was still swollen, hopefully it will be completely down by tomorrow. Deb has been spending a lot of time with me, in fact most of the time and what a great help it is to have her here. Deb and I are not only married but we're best friends as well and as her sister Sue pointed out a few days ago, this illness has allowed us to be together much, much more, and we're still getting along great! LOL! The thought of dying still comes up in my mind, but I try to push it out and think thoughts of living for a lot more years, and Deb helps me with that. She's always been an optimist and I've been more of a pessimist.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 15

I should have put this on yesterday's journal but I was pretty tired and didn't want to go back and put it in. Late last night they gave me a blood transfusion and the blood didn't get here til about 11pm, so I didn't sleep well cause they have to monitor my vitals much more often while they transfuse. This morning my platelettes were low so they are giving me a platelette transfusion today sometime. The platelette transfusion is easier because it only takes about 30 minutes. The red blood transfusion takes about 5 to 6 hours. My doctor said today that she thinks I'll be able to go home over the weekend so I hope she's right. // I got my platelette transfusion at about 5pm and soon afterward got an allergic reaction. My left eye got so swollen I couldn't open it, so they gave me steroids and now (10pm) it's just about normal. God bless.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 14

My counts went down again today but not enough for a transfusion. They drew more blood at 3:30pm but the nurse came in at about 5pm and drew it again because the lab said the first one she did wasn't good. My doctor said she thinks I should be able to go home by Monday and possibly sooner, but not today. Debby and I are celebrating Valentine's day by having Deb go and get Tommy's for dinner, pretty romantic, huh? I'm still on the low bacteria diet so I can't have fresh fruit or vegetables but I still get the chili!

Feb 13

Nothing much to say today, my counts dropped a little more but not enough for a transfusion.

Feb 12

This morning they had trouble getting blood from my Hickman catheter and the nurse said that sometimes happens when my counts get low. My doctor came in and said that I couldn't go home until my counts went back up so I'll probably be in here another week at least, maybe two. The last session it took 4 weeks to come back up so it's probably going to be about the same amount of time. Oh well, things could be worse. It might get to the point where they have to stick me to draw my blood, but they're only doing it once a day this time.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 11

My counts were down today, my white counts so low they put me on the low-microbial diet, and my platelettes were so low they gave me a transfusion. I still haven't had fevers though which is what my doctor seems to be the most worried about. I had a restful day (I have them every day! LOL), and watched some sports on TV.

Feb 10

Here is my tentative schedule. When I get out of the hospital this time I will meet with the bone marrow transplant doctor to see when they want me to go thru the rest of my procedures. Whenever they want me back in the hospital (it will probably be 2 to 3 weeks after I get out this time) I will go thru a session of chemo exactly like I went thru this time. One day on, one day off, on, off, and one final day on so I would have 3 days of chemo consisting of two bags per day twelve hours apart and one day in between each day. Hope that makes sense. That session will probably be at City Of Hope unless they don't have any beds available when I need to go in. If not I'll go to Kaiser Panorama again. When my white counts begin to come up on that session they will harvest my stem cells to insert back in at the time of my bone marrow transplant. The way they harvest and then put them back in is they put a needle in my arm that's hooked up to a machine that actually takes out the stem cells and then lets the flow of blood go back into my body thru my Hickman catheter. My doctor wasn't sure what size Hickman they put in so if I don't have the large one in me now, they'll have to take mine out and put the large one in. This would mean another surgery so let's pray that they put the large one in initially. I'll ask my doctor to check on what size they put in already. My next hospital stay for a chemo session (the one to harvest the stem cells) will last 3 to 4 weeks and the bone marrow transplant session (definitely done at City of Hope) will be one month. That's what I know of my upcoming schedule. Deb and I are talking about taking a short vacation when I get out this time. It will probably be just a few days but we both need to get away and we're probably going to go somewhere by the beach (we both love the ocean) just to relax and try to forget life for a while. So that's the definite plan, unless things change, of course! LOL! IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 9

I did it. I asked/begged my doctor to go home today...... and she just laughed and said not yet. She still thinks my counts might drop and I'll get fevers, but she did say that on Monday if nothing happens til then I might be able to go home. She said, "We'll see". I guess that's that. Oh well, a few more days won't hurt too bad, I've had it pretty good because I haven't had any symptons. Thank you all for your prayers and keep them coming, I still need them.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 8

My doctor said I couldn't go home today because she thinks I will still be getting fevers. This is day 10, day 1 was the first day of chemo, and from day 10 to day 14 is supposedly when the symptoms normally show up. I think I'm going to try to talk her into letting me go home tomorrow, and if not then on Monday. She only works certain weekends and I'm not sure if she's working this coming one, and if she's not she won't be here to sign me out until Monday. I have been doing pushups and situps in my bed (a little sloppy but possible) so I can keep some strength. I was surprised last time I went home to find that I was weaker than I thought I would be. Even just going upstairs was tiring. It didn't take long for me to get back to feeling better when I exerted myself but I want to be more ready this time. It doesn't take much time for muscles to go away when you don't use them at all, and when you're in bed most of the time you don't use them much. God bless,
Ernie

Feb 7

Waiting. This word has come to mean much more to me lately than it has ever meant in my whole life. Just about everything I am involved in in the last month and a half has involved waiting. I wait for results, I wait for meals, I wait for my doctor to come, I wait for the nurse to come, I just plain wait. I wait in my room all day long for the next day to come, I wait for the next hour to come, I sometimes wait for the next minute to come. I wait for Deb to come back, I wait for the dietician to call, I wait for the sun to go down. I wait. Waiting has in some ways been a curse to me, nothing seems to happen quickly, and I dearly want it too. I want to be done with this disease, and I want to move on and live my life now! Sometimes in life, however, we don't get what we want and we just have to make the best of what comes along. That's what I'm dealing with right now, making the best of my current situation, and waiting. I am learning to be patient in all this, more patient than I have ever been. It's much different than anything else I've done in my life. Usually when problems come along we can actively do things to take care of them. I like to be proactive when I am faced with problems, I want to take action. In this case, however, there is not much I can do except follow the doctor's instructions. I not only cannot be proactive or take action, for the most part I must be inactive and stay in my hospital room and I am very limited to what I can actually do. Even when I was allowed to go home, I was very limited in the things I could actually do, as my blood counts weren't all the way back to normal for a lot of that time. And so I wait, and realize that I am not the only person in the world who has had to go thru this or any situation like it. I think of all the people who have had leukemia, gone thru all the waiting, and have survived. I think of people who have been prisoners of war for years, and have survived. I know for a fact (and many of you may know of some) that there are many, many instances of things that people have gone thru that are much worse than mine, and have survived. And so I wait, knowing that I can do what I must do, but also knowing that I have help. I know that because I have given my life to God, that although I may have to go thru something unpleasant, God will be there for me. God, the One Who created this world, Who keeps it going, is there to help me, Ernie Brady and I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the whole world.
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 6

Not much happened today, my doctor didn't come by but my counts were still ok. I was applying eye drops every 6 hours to prevent pink eye until last night and that's done.

Feb 5

Boy did I eat too much yesterday, I guess that's what Super Bowl parties are all about! My counts are still good and I had my Hickman catheter dressing changed today. It has to be changed every 7 days at the longest. Deb had two doctor appts today, she was released from her podiatrist and got 30 more days off from the Kaiser doctor to cope with my illness. My doctor told me that I would possibly be able to go home in one week, but she's not sure yet, she has to keep an eye on me for a while.

Feb 4

I finished my last chemo bag last night and don't feel too bad. My teeth and gums are a little sore, which happened last time and my chest seems a little sore but other than that I feel good. The room they put me in last night has a decent view. They have metal plates that deflect the sun in the morning so the room doesn't get hot, but they are like slats and I can see thru the 5 inch gaps between them. It looks like a beautiful Super Bowl Sunday out there and I wish I were at home, but the sooner I get thru all this the sooner I'll be done with it all. //Deb came down with Chinese food for lunch and for the game she brought candy, cookies, celery & peanut butter, and the onion rolls. The onion rolls are made by taking green onions and ham slices. You spread Philadelphia cream cheese on the ham and roll it around the onion and eat it, mmm good! Needless to say we didn't go hungry! Talk to you tomorrow!

Feb 3

It's Sat and the last day of my chemo. I have one bag dripping now and will get another one at 10pm tonight and then we just watch my counts go down and back up again. Tomorrow is the Super Bowl and Deb and I are going to watch it together. She is going to fix some snacks but we don't know what I can have yet, we have to wait for tomorrow's blood counts to see if I can have certain foods. I did fine with the bag of chemo this morning and feel good. It sounded like my doctor thought that I might get out a little sooner this time than last time (4 weeks). I sure hope so, "Ernies Angels" are planning on being part of the school chapel on Mar 2nd, so I'd really like to go see it and meet the kids. This whole experience has made me think about life, and the way I would have like to live it. I wish now that I would have made certain decisions much differently, but I guess that's just a part of who I am. Knowing that God has forgiven me for the things I've done wrong is so comforting I can't begin to describe it, it has brought a great peace to my life because God doesn't go back on His promises. If any of you out there would like to be forgiven, please go back to my journal on Jan 5th and read thru Jan 10th. No matter what you've done in your life, God will forgive you, and if you're one of those people who think they don't sin as much as most people so they think they'll get to heaven because of it because they're not that bad and have done good things in their life, it's even more important that you read Jan 5th thru Jan 10th!!! At about 8:30pm they came and said we are moving rooms to a private room in a few minutes. This is good for them because I have been in a room with two beds and now they can put two people in it. With my certain chemo I have had to be in reverse isolation so I couldn't be roomed with anyone else. It's not so good for us because Deb now has to sleep in the chair/bed again and not in a regular bed. Oh well, God is still taking good care of us! God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Feb 2

I had another good night's sleep aside from the necessary visits from the nurses. I finished yesterday's second dose of chemo at about 12:30 this morning and I feel good except for some constipation and they said they would take care of that. Deb is having breakfast with friends and family so she'll be down a little later in the day. My counts are all still normal but they aren't expected to drop drastically for a while. My Hickman catheter is still working well, they have been able to draw blood from it so I don't have to get stuck every time they need blood. The last two weeks of my last stay they weren't able to draw blood from it, but this last Mon when I came back they put something in it to disolve the clotting and it's been working well every since. Another small victory!!! LOL!!! I wanted to thank you all out there again who have been praying for me, especially "ERNIE'S ANGELS" at Desert Christian School. Having a 5th grade class take me on as a mission project is totally awesome and I am really honored that they would do that for me!!! Those of you who pray I know it's not easy sometimes, life happens and we don't find the time to pray, I do it myself. It makes you feel different about it when you're on the receiving end so thank you, thank you, thank you!!! My constipation is gone now!!! I have an appointment with the bone marrow transplant doctor on March 6th to find out what we have to do and what is involved. My transplant will be done at City of Hope Hospital and possibly my next round of chemo too. My brother and sisters will be tested as possible donors but they will try to use my own marrow first. The best chance for a match is with your siblings, even better than with your own kids. There is a period of about 3 or 4 months after the transplant when I will be susceptable to infection and will have to be watched very carefully, so I will be confined to the house for a while.

Feb 1

I asked for something to help me sleep last night and I got a great night's sleep. I have to qualify that by saying that the nurses were in doing something or other every two hours or so, but otherwise I slept great, until almost 8am! After breakfast, which is usually at 8:30am they began getting my pre-meds ready for the two chemo bags today. They only give pre-meds once a day so at night they just give the chemo. The morning bag didn't affect me but I still have one more bag to go today. I know a lot of prayers are being answered for me because my symptoms have been very minimal! Deb left about 4pm so I think I'll watch a movie on the laptop. The movies seem to pass the time really well, like mindless entertainment. GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME, ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!!!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Jan 31

Deb spent the night last night and it was good cause she used the other bed in my room. Before she had to sleep on a chair that folded out and wasn't near as comfortable. She had to do some things at home so she left right after breakfast. Not much happened today. Chemo again tomorrow.

Jan 30

Debby took Dana to the airport (LAX) and they had to be there at 5am, so when Deb came right to the hospital she was tired and got a few minutes sleep but not much. They had to give me a different bed this morning because the bed I had was an orthopedic bed with bars and handrails on it. They had borrowed it from another floor and the floor wanted it back. The bed they gave me was just the other bed in my room and I found out that the TV sound is much better where I am now. I am amazed at how much the little things can cheer me up, a thing as little as the TV sound could make my day! Sounds like a pretty boring life right now, but it's all I've got! LOL! They gave me pre-meds at 9:45am and my chemo started at a little after 10am. The reason they are spacing the doses out and skipping a day is that the chemo is much stronger this time, so I'm hoping I won't have many sypmtoms, but please pray that I won't. They give it to me again on Thu. and Sat. and then I'm done with it. After that we watch my blood counts fall and then wait until they build back up again. It's frustrating knowing that I'm going to be in here another month. The room they have me in this time has a view, you can see the sky and the new Kaiser hospital that they are building, not much to see but the other room I had you couldn't even see outside. This room, however, is a two bed room and as soon as a private room becomes available I'm sure I'll move there, I just hope it has a view as well. They gave me my next dose of chemo at about 10:15pm and I went right to sleep.

Jan 29

I had an appointment this morning at 9am to go back into the hospital and my doctor reiterated that I was in complete remission. She said she had sent a referral to the bone marrow transplant doctor and that he would be talking to us when I get out of the hospital. We went to the chemo clinic and she had me hooked up to a regular I.V. and said that as soon as a bed became empty on the chemo floor that I would be going up. Deb and Dana went back to the Antelope Valley to take care of some things and then came back down and brought me a double-double from IN & OUT at about 2:30pm. Just as I began eating it, they came with a wheel chair and took me up to the hospital, so here I am blogging again! LOL! This stay will be from 3 to 4 weeks. They will give me two doses of chemo, twelve hours apart tomorrow. They will repeat this on Wednesday, and then again on Friday. Then I will again wait until my blood counts go way down and then back up again, and I can't come home until the counts are pretty much normal. Dana was here from Denver over the weekend but is going back in the morning. She came alone this time and we had a great visit! Please pray that the side effects will again be minimal and that I will be able to go home soon. God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Jan 25

Hi Everyone!
Just got a message from my doctor. She said my leukemia is in complete remission! Thank you all for all of the prayers you have sent up for me, keep them coming, they are definitely working!!! I still have to go thru at least 2 more chemo sessions and possibly a bone marrow transplant, but things are looking up! This is the best news I've gotten in a while! I have to report to the hospital on Monday for my next session of chemo, but I know what to expect this time so I won't be as anxious. I think they said I would be in for 3-4 weeks again if all goes well, so I'm hoping it's not longer. God bless you all!!!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Jan 22

Hi Everyone! I went for my bone marrow biopsy today. This one hurt. I don't know what she did differently, but it did hurt. The whole process takes only about 5 minutes and it wasn't unbearable, but I'm still feeling soreness at 6:30pm. They first use a small needle and inject you with lidocain (to numb you) at the point in your lower back/upper bottom where you can actually feel the bone there. It's about 3 inches from the middle. Then they use about a 6 inch needle and inject more numbing stuff close to the bone. They then cut a small incision in the area and insert a sharpened tube type of thing (like the terminology?) that they push thru your bone and into the marrow. As far as we can tell when they pull the tube out, the marrow comes with it in the tube and they put it and the blood on many slides to test. Most of this was told to me by Debby because I couldn't see what was going on (thank goodness!!! LOL!). Anyway, I don't think the doctor is going to tell me the results until next Monday when I have an appointment with her. They also took a blood test for my counts and found that my counts are all pretty much back to normal so I can eat anything I want now, cool! My doctor said it would be one to two weeks until I have to go back into the hospital for my next chemo session. I went to the retirement office and filled out the paperwork to retire on May 1st. Then I went to my work to see the guys and take my personal belongings home. It was nice to be back there (in a visitor's role! LOL!) and great to see the guys again.

Jan 18

Not much to say except that its nice to be home. I probably won't write everyday in the journal until I go back in the hospital, which will be one or two weeks. I thought I would be able to do more than I actually can, I get tired easily. It's frustrating but I have to realize I've pretty much been laying around for 4 weeks, and muscles get smaller very quickly when not used. I think I'll try a few pushups and situps tomorrow. My bone marrow test is Monday. IN HIS HANDS, Ernie

Jan 17

I think Deb is getting tired of the chair/bed! Let's hope we get out of here today and get to sleep in our own bed! The nurse came in with my counts, white = 2.9/ hemoglobin = 11.1/ platelets = 249 which are all very good! She said she is going to call my doctor at 9am to see if she'll come up and discharge me. The doctors usually do clinic in the morning which means they do their appointments so we're not sure we'll see the doctor until this afternoon, which is when she normally comes. Deb has packed up most of our stuff and is taking a load down now. I am really getting excited about going home! I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up but it's pretty hard not to, today makes it 4 weeks that I've been here. // Its 11:20am and my nurse just said that my doctor told her to call a certain surgeon to come and see me. She called the surgeon and the surgeon said, "I'm not on call so I can't come". This means that now we have to wait for my doctor to come and examine me, and hopefully she'll just say I can go home. The incision is back to where it was a few days ago, because when the doctor yesterday was poking it, it started draining, so now it looks OK. Still waiting and rolling with the punches!!! LOL! // At 11:45am the surgeon came and said everything looked good and that my doctor told him that she would be up here soon, so it looks like things are finally happening! My doctor got here about 12:10pm and said I could go home and gave me parameters to follow. After she left I thought it would be soon, but we didn't leave til about 2:30pm. // It's 4pm and I'm home, wow it feels good. It sure was a hassle getting out of the hospital, but it was worth it! I have to go for my next bone marrow test next Monday and they'll check my blood counts again, they should be normal by then, hopefully. We're going to bed early tonight, we're both pretty tired. God bless you all!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie

Jan 16

Deb and I both slept good again. The lab got here early (5:30am) to draw blood and we got the results about 7am. My white counts are 1.6 so from what the doctor said yesterday I should be able to go home today. The doctor got here at 11:30am and she said everything looked good except the incision that was made when the catheter was put in. It looks red and like it needs to be drained so she said she was going to have a surgeon look at it, so I might not be going home today. While waiting for the surgeon, the incision swelling went down, but the surgeon hasn't been here yet (2:45pm). Still waiting. // There was a lack of communication between the doctor and the surgeon so it looks like I won't be going home today. Just for the heck of it, Deb and I ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut, we're splurging!!! // Well, it's official, I'm staying another night, they never got a hold of the doctor who saw me today, oh well, roll with the punches! Actually, this is the longest day I've spent here, by far!!! On a good note, Dan got our heater going, the coils were plugged and he cleaned them and its working now! Yeah! So all of you who have central heat, go out and replace your filters once a month. You can buy a box of them for not too much money, you just have to measure the one you have now and get the right size. We watched American Idol tonight and it was pretty funny! Well, good night and God bless you all for now!
IN HIS HANDS,
Ernie