Deb spent the day in the corner room at the myeloma clinic. She used the walker for stability and I've been right beside her all day in case she falls. She came home late afternoon and went to bed with chills and a drop in temperature-indicating about 97+. I covered her with all the blankets and the bedspread and laid beside her to contribute heat. Within several hours her temperature had gone to 99+. She requires help to get in and out of bed and get to the potty. Please pray! It looks like a tough night ahead.
We were sent home with infusers to fight infections.
Her white blood count was well below the danger cutoff: 0.74. 3-12 is normal health with ability to fight infections. It can go as low as zero.One of the things that keeps us going is clean water. At the clinic they installed patient-quality water filters. At home we filter tap water with a pitcher that has a carbon filter. It cost about $25. It really improves the taste of the tap water.
Today we shared the cluster with a couple from Hyderabad, India. He is the patient and is a tiny bent-over man now, having lost many inches of height and lots of weight. He is a chemical engineer and remembers being exposed to a chemical derivative of Benzine in 1999. He was a marathon runner at the time and says he remembers several years later being unusually tired after a run, but he shook it off. In the early eighties he fell and broke his collar bone. When he was x-rayed, they found the bone lesions so common with multiple myeloma. He was treated at MD Anderson in Houston. They exhausted their options with no remission. His daughter, much like our daughter Amanda, found out about UAMS on the web. After meeting with Dr Barlogie, they began a regimen which has significantly dropped his 95% cancer level.
Hang tough, sweet Deb. And know that there are sunnier days ahead of you!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!
ReplyDeletesusan walton
Susan,
ReplyDeleteYou encouraged Deb so much. You are like a ray of sunshine to Deb!
Deb: I am praying for you tonight. May the Lord surround you with His healing power, His peace, His love, and His Presence as you sleep thru the night. Keep holding onto the hem of His garment thru these last days of treatment so that the time to go home goes quicker. Keep seeing yourself on that bright sunporch, looking at the sunrise, looking at the birds and of course the SQUIRRELS. They are FUNNY, aren't they? Also, just can't wait until I see one of your beautiful artworks. Note: I am just now trying to learn to email pics as attachments, too. I am seeing you healthy, and I am sooo excited. Love in Christ, Deb Cook
ReplyDeleteThe image of you laying along side your dear Debbie to provide her warmth is such a lonvely picture of how you have tenderly care for her all these months.
ReplyDeleteYour story reminds me of the theme in the book of Job...it's not about the suffering...but your and Debbie's faithfulness in the midst of unbelievable sufferings.