My walk

Ever since we arrived in Arkansas in March the area across our busy street has been under construction. They completed remodeling War Memorial Stadium a while back. The 1/4 mile walking trail is now opened. So, watching it out the apartment window is one thing; seeing it up close is another. After giving Deb her supper and seeing she was able to do without me for a while, I took a walk.

The stadium door was opened so I asked the guard if I could duck in for a moment. He said a planning session was underway for a breast cancer walk. I told him my wife was here for myeloma treatment and he said his brother who is from Little Rock was also being treated for multiple myeloma at UAMS. He let me in.

The Arkansas Razorbacks play two games a year in this stadium. Several other local colleges play their games here. On Friday and Monday nights High Schools play here. Pretty impressive, huh?

Nurses uses Deb as an encouraging example

Today we had a nurse that had helped us when we first came to Arkansas. She said she was so glad to see Deb because she uses her as an encouraging example to other patients. She said she tells them that Deb was virtually immobile when she got here and needed total support. Now she is able to get about and is doing so well. She is an encouragement to others.

Several days ago we had the APN who had admitted Deb to the hospital when she had pneumonia for 11 days. She commented on how sick Deb had been. She said that Deb had been critically ill and is now so glad to see her doing so well.

I had been so impressed at that time because Nadine had seen Deb slide way downhill over the course of three hours and had acted very aggressively to get Deb the care she needed. I was so impressed!

We are so grateful for those who care for Deb! They are healing angels sent to minister to her. Thank you Lord for those you have equipped for this difficult ministry!

Homeless Man

We started coming to Arkansas last March.  Across the busy road we live on is a 5 acre grass field with several concrete picnic tables similar to the ones in the roadside parks in Georgia.

There is a homeless man who lives on one. He sleeps on the top unless it is raining. Then he sleeps under it. He hangs out there all day. His possessions are about the size of a pillow. We see him just about every day as we ride by on the hotel shuttle.

None of the staff here knows anything about him.

He has a story. He has/had parents who love him. God loves him. That's about all we can figure out. Pray for the un-named homeless man if you will.

Thursday afternoon

Deb is sleeping now after a tough night and morning. The bad part of chemo is upon her. Her CRP was creeping upwards so we had a round of blood tests. This shows the potential for an infection. The white blood count was OK because she's been getting those belly shots daily. She is weak and hot-cold-hot. She has had tummy cramps. Other than these minor irritants, she' s doing fine!

 While we were waiting for the hotel shuttle to pick us up. she sat on a concrete ball in the warm sun.

She was starving when we got home so I prepared her a lite lunch. Deb has found out what we baldies have known, an uncovered head is a cold head! Thirty percent of your heat loss is thru your head.

A photo angel sent us the laminated prints from the blog which we placed on the bathroom mirror to remind us of loved ones. Thanks photo angel!

Managing Meds

Managing Meds is a tough assignment for a caregiver. I seen all kinds of ways and think our way is the best for us. We have these miniature ziplock baggies that fit into my shirt pocket nicely. The drugstore here sells them.They are labeled with a felt tip pen - breakfast, lunch, supper, bed and one thru seven.

I took the doctors orders which have the med name and dosage and gave each med a number. I wrote that same corresponding number on each bottle of medicine. Then I created a plan on a piece of paper for the breakfast, lunch,supper, bed meds. So, I can look at the plan, see that Deb gets a number five for three days breakfast and bed, and put the pills in their bags. Then I lay the baggies out in order.

Note: every med seems to have two or three different names. I use the internet to look up unknown names when I need to.

Since we end up all over the apartment, hospital and clinic, I can always have today's pills with me in a compact organized fashion. If she misses a time, the bags indicate what she missed. There are some pills that are 'take as needed.' I have those in a separate bag so when she wants one, I have it. The main point for me it to never leave home without them; especially pain pills.

Weds evening

We went for labs at 8 am then into the clinic at at 10 am. Deb had two painful shots in her tummy and was released for home {the apartment). She spent  the day between bed and the bathroom. (That's code for one of the severe affects of the chemo)

She has hardly eaten anything. One M&M with a peanut and a sliced and peeled pear some angels sent us. Thanks pear angels! So far, that's it since morning.

Sheetrock angels invaded Deb's sun room  project back home and have about wrapped up that part of the project.  The scriptures written on the posts and pillars are now hidden to man underneath the sheet rock but we are told the Word of God will last forever. Thanks angels!

We think that Deb will have a number of bad days which will be miserable. Please pray for us to endure.

The weather here has been heavenly with morning temps in the fifties and daytime temps in the low eighties. Blue skies prevail. In flying lingo, it's 'clear and a million'. Rare days!

Deb's mother, suffering from Parkinson's disease and two broken wrists, is in limbo back in Warner Robins, Georgia. She is completing  the stay in the rehab facility but has not yet had any rehab on her broken wrists; only on leg strength so she can walk safely with her walker. Brother Tim is having to navigate the insurance, medicaid, the old assisted living facility, the new one which has a deposit on it, and limited resources. Deb and Tim talk often but Deb is not able to do anything. It's complicated and we ask prayer for wisdom and favor as we enjoy being members of the sandwich generation.

A number of classmates gathered yesterday and today to share information and encouragement. There are some wonderful brothers and sisters here going through hard times together.

Relationships are so important. I wished I had known just how important they were years ago.  An observation I've made is that I have tended to think of people as they were years ago, not as they are today. It's been as if their personalities and values were frozen in time. Duh! What a weird way I've looked at folks. I am trying to 'refresh' my thoughts about folks and see everyone as they are today. Scripture helps me with this: 'His mercies are new every morning; great is his faithfulness.'

Vern

Tuesday night

After we completed our clinic time today, we heard someone playing a beautiful melody on the Steinway on the first floor. The sound wafts throughout the twelve story atrium. Deb went over to the atrium on the fourth floor and enjoyed the music. Eventually we elevated down to the first floor and stopped by to thank the lady playing. She continued playing some favorite tunes and we soon joined in singing along with her. Finally we found out that she is here as caregiver to her husband who was here for a checkup. They live in Savannah,Ga and he has been in remission for 5 years.  That was encouraging!

Deb requested continuing prayer from each of you. She peaked out yesterday and this morning. This afternoon she began the downward spiral that will make her very sick and vulnerable over the next week or so. You see, the chemo is not too bad while taking it. It's the days after that it does it's important near-death-causing impact on the body. In the next few days Deb will have to begin wearing a mask in public plus life thru some bad side affects.

We met a Indian couple this morning here for a five year check. Their life is now near-normal they said. We met a lady from Deb's childhood Tennessee home. Our classmates are encouraging one another.

Monday-A good day!

Deb has one more day carrying the chemo bag. Then, over the next week she will have her immune system killed off and rebuilt. Today she was very hungry. The meds do that. Soon I'll have to entice her to eat anything. We've been here before! It's not a fun ride!

Her APN said her numbers looked great today. She is doing well. That does NOT mean it's an easy battle.

It was cold this morning so Deb wore her new long sleeve outfit. The pix is at the pickup point outside the main hospital with a perfect flying wx sky!

Doesn't she look great?

Saturday Afternoon

We had an 11:30 show time today and before we left I fed Deb a plate full of my famous home made spaghetti. Candy was our nurse today. She's a lot of fun and has an unusual and loud laugh. When Candy laughs, everyone hears it and you will probably join in with her. Well, today she was unusually quiet. Deb and I plotted to make her laugh. I selected an old Utube video of Tim Conway on the Carol Burnett show doing the dentist with a shot needle routine. It worked! She laughed! Then I played video clips of John Denver songs while she cared for Deb. It helped pass the time and keep Deb calm.

Before we leave home Deb takes a handful of steroid pills. At night she takes the thalidomide. Then she gets more pills and shots before the IVs in the chemo chair. Then the bag gets two bags of chemo. While taking one, she must continuously crunch ice and popsicles to prevent mouth sores. That chemo is strong stuff! At home she takes a thick orange 'magic mouthwash' which protects her gut.

Right now,4 pm, she's napping and I'm watching the Arkansas-Alabama football game.

Deb is blessed to respond well to the Total Therapy.Not everyone does. Today Eva sat in our cluster and was upset because she has been here 11 months and is unable to produce stem cells for collection and can take very few of the meds without them killing her. She thinks she has no way to ever leave here. She's about forty and from Austria.

While we were waiting for our ride, another classmate sat with us and sadly told us that they had gone home for a 3 week break and they got called back to the cancer clinic because the at-home blood work showed her blood proteins indicated that her cancer was acting up.

What do you say to a friend with such bad news?

Science and theory of treatment

Deb's Day

The Cancer Center
It's like the enemy is trying to get Deb to loose her cool. Little irritating events have made her life less pleasant all week; nevertheless, she has responded sweetly even though she has had to pay for others' errors.

Today, the med nurse forgot to order her chemo. We had arrived at the clinic at 9:45 for a 10 am appointment. We got into the chemo chair by 10:30 and waited. And waited. And waited. Our care nurse checked. I inquired through several layers of supervisors. Still, we waited. The pharmacy had run out of some ingredients. Then, their staff went to lunch. Three hours later we finally got started. That moved our Saturday morning appointment back to 11:30 because of the length of time it takes to infuse a bag of chemo. Oh well!

There apparently is a local football team here that folks are crazy about. Most nurses dressed in their colors today. One patient dared to wear his Alabama duds here for treatment. I think it's not wise to irritate those bearing needles!


Other nurses like Candy were more normal.{crazy?}

Deb has meds which we take at the Apartment. The Chemo lab has meds.There is the chemo given in the big chair.
Then, we have the electric chemo pumps we carry about 25x 7. Then, we have the infusers which are the size of baby bottles which we typically hook up at home to the lines in Deb's neck(4 of them)

Dr. Al dropped by for a visit. He is saving his vacation for his first trip home to Pakistan in seven years. He is so nice and we have become friends.

We met up with classmates Iva Jo and Bubba and had 5 minutes to compare notes. They were having insurance difficulties.

I ran down to the hospital cafeteria for a bite and saw my friend Tundee from Nigeria. He is a student and has a vision of using his construction management degree back home in Nigeria to help build the infrastructure of his nation. I once trained Nigerian pilots.

Because Deb had not been able to walk the past few days, she took special delight in taking the stairs down this morning.

While waiting in the Markham House lobby for our ride, we bumped into Steve(owner), Chris(a driver), and Cynthia(general manager). They are so kind and look after all the patients so well.

Med School

Everyone talks about how hard it is to get into a med school. All I have to do is walk through these doors. What's the big deal anyhow?

Evelyn in cool weather

Brussels was a high of 62 degrees F, low of 53 today.

New Statistics

This was posted on the Myeloma Institute Bulletin Board today.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As reported by the National Cancer Institute through its SEER program, 34% of patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 1995 and 2001 survived at least 5 years.

At the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy (Arkansas), 57% of patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma during the same time frame survived at least 5 years.

FIVE YEAR SURVIVAL RATES AT THE MYELOMA INSTITUTE ARE NOW GREATER THAN 65%. MEDIAN SURVIVAL IS 8.5 YEARS.

Years of Survival | Number of Survivors | Survivors with clinic Visit week of 9/20/2010
___________________________________________

5-6.9 years //1,100 //35
7-9.9 years //952 //25
10-14.9 years //772 //9
over 15 years //253 // 2

Praise for good news!

We had our Doctor's report of all the tests Deb has had...it's good news! This photo shows her reaction to the news!

'No measurable cancer cells', 'all your numbers look great', 'you're doing great!'

Deb got her port installed in her jugular. It's needed for 10 am chemo tomorrow. We had to travel all over campus in order to meet all our appointments. Don't get in the way of this gal with her chariot!
Because tomorrow is a big day, and Deb gets hooked up to the 24/7 chemo pumps, and because it had been a hard day, and it was late for the cook (me) to start supper, I suggested we get the hotel shuttle to drop us at a nearby restaurant. Rita was on the bus and wanted to go also, so the three of us went to the restaurant. Deb was starving! She had a big salad and TWO bowls of soup!


We got to know Rita. She's seventy years old and lives in New Jersey. She is originally from Guiana. She's lived and traveled everywhere. She was originally treated at Johns-Hopkins. She left there very unhappy with their treatment plan. She loves it here in Arkansas.She is one step ahead of Deb in the treatment plan. She gets her second stem cell transplant tomorrow. We enjoy chatting with classmates in order to know what to expect.

Weds am

Deb got up to 'test the rest.' She could not walk unassisted. I fed her a good breakfast and she went back to bed for more rest. We see Dr Nair tomorrow.

Got a call from Dave Kilgore. He had been by the house to check on the men's group that is sheet rocking the sun room. He said there were 7-8 older gents there working. Apparently the 'pro' directing this work is a resident of Christian City assisted living where Deb's mom had resided before her move to Warner Robins. The other men go by and 'break him out' to supervise sheet rock jobs.

We are so grateful for the creative ways the Lord continues to bless us!

Thanks for each one of you too as YOU bless us!

Vern

Tuesday-Left walking; returned in a wheelchair

It's been a long day. Deb had a lengthy PET scan, blood, urine, MRI,and painful bone marrow test. By evening, she could not walk. We used a wheel chair to go see the APN (advanced practice nurse). She consulted with the doc on duty who suggested rest until morning. He said bone marrow tests sometimes end up like this.


The pix shows the sugary drink Deb has to drink after getting the radioactive isotopes that reveal her innards to the PET scan. The sugary drink is drawn to any tumors.

I got Deb to the apartment and into her recliner. A good supper and she felt better, but still no walking.

We met many new classmates today. One was wearing this T-shirt, which Deb really liked.


A number were first-day classmates and as scared and helpless as we were a few months ago. We were eager to share what we'd learned. Like one beggar telling another beggar where to find food! We are so grateful how God has provided and directed us!

Some new classmates from Conyers, Ga had been given the run-around at Emory for a while. Another had similar experiences at the Mayo clinic. This seems like the best place for multiple myeloma.It is for us!

We heard from Deb's brother Tim who had taken their mom back to the ER in Warner Robins. So for now, we do not know what's going on.

Blessings all!

Monday morning-back in Arkansas!

We left Georgia slightly past 8 am. Vern flew us out and Jon Abarr flew Gracie back to her Ga roost.It is uncanny how often Deb has a tailwind when we fly. At times this morning we were traveling over 200mph over the ground. Wow! The Lord even blesses Deb with tailwinds! Note the arrow on the lower right .That's the tailwind component.




Jeff Sims picked us up at home this morning and drove us to the airport. We had a send off team waiting and Steve McDonald with Julie Kilgore in his rear cockpit did a formation takeoff with us. We flew around the pattern for photos in tight formation, then Steve and Julie broke off for some acro while we headed West towards Arkansas.


We made such good time that we beat Calvin the limo driver.He's almost always been waiting on us to arrive.Today we turned the tables. We were welcomed to the Markham House Suites, room 309 and our three boxes of stored goods were delivered. We unpacked and walked next door to Sammie's Serious Sandwich Shop for a serious sandwich! Then, as I organized, Deb took a nap. The room had a very large recliner so I swapped it for a petite -sized one that is more comfy for Deb. After all, she practically lives in recliners. Might as well be comfy!

After I go to Kroger and buy grub, we'll be fully settled into our Arkansas home-away-from-home! The heavy action starts early in the morning.

Thanks to all the angels who helped us get here! We are so grateful for each of you and can't imagine being here on our own.

Sunday afternoon

All the clothes we own are clean and sorted around the house. The suitcases are opened on the bed, mouths agape, ready to be loaded. A John Denver special is on Public TV, giving us a pleasant background music as we contemplate the weather we face in the weeks ahead in Arkansas. The mailman was notified to hold mail until we return. Our mental checklists are being run: what to take, what to leave?

Deb was able to attend church this morning. We were warmly greeted by many friends and prayer warriors on our behalf. Deb tired as church was ending, so we quietly slipped out the back before the overwhelming crush would have done Deb in.

So, here we are: eager to be back in Arkansas when we are in Georgia: eager to be in Georgia while in Arkansas. Caught between our two worlds.

So, we hope to leave about 8 am in Gracie. The weather looks like perfect fall weather. Pilot-angel Jon Abarr will bring Gracie back to her Peachtree City roost.

Tuesday will be a very long and painful day of tests.

Blessings all!

We are so grateful for each of you and all the Lord has done!

Vern

Active Saturday

This has been a great and very active day. Painting and caulking started very early. Later angel couple Jeff and Cassy Sims came to help. While Jeff helped on the outside to clean up, paint, work on gutters,go get parts, Cassy took Deb out to pick up a few needed things and get the laundry ready for our Monday morning departure. Thanks friend angels!



In the evening long-time friends Dave and Cathy Hicks came by for a visit. Dave had recently returned from India where he and his whole family are deeply involved with helping people.

As the day closes, we feel grateful for the blessings of friendships and are mentally preparing for another round in Arkansas.

The past almost three weeks has been very productive. We've accomplished much, visited with many, but leave with an even longer list of others we wish we could have seen. Perhaps next time we come home?

Friday evening hangar social

Our social lives have been very limited for months. Tonight Deb was up to a short time at our hangar party for the airplane group I belong to, the Falcon RV Squadron.

Grandchildren

Grams=Deb's official grandmother moniker; effective immediately and subject to change

Evelyn


Eliana