Not A Good Father's Day!!!!!!!

We just got home from the hospital(10:30 pm) We just thought we were going in JUST for a coumadin level. The nurse took his oxygen level and it was low so they made him walk around the unit 2 times and it went down, not a good thing!!! So they drew more blood and sent him for a chest x-ray. It looked fine so Dr. Salzman decided a CT scan needed to be done today. So we were there 3 hours on Saturday and today we spent 8 hours there. He had 2 CT scans today, one on his chest for the lungs then we were called back for a lower scan on his abdomen. He has air trapped right below his diaphragm(don't know why)but suspected a "perforated bowel" but it wasn't, thank the Lord! That would have meant surgery. His feet are still really swollen and they did blood tests that proved he has fluid in his lungs. He is now on lasix and potassium to get the fluid off. They suspect fluid around the heart so he is going back tomorrow to have an ecocardiogram done. He is losing all his electrolytes so today he drank potassium and also got an IV. He got magnesium through an IV too and pills! This is all related to the heart and the nurse asked us if he had a certain kind of chemo(Donarubison) and he had gotten it in Carraway. This chemo can do alot of damage to the heart and a body can only stand a certain amount in a person's lifetime. I am very tired but wanted to let everyone know to keep him in your prayers. We have made it this far with God's help and your prayers! Will update tomorrow after we get home. Love to all! Alyce

Port Pulled Out!

We went to the BMT today for photopheresis and met with Dr. Salzman and she decided his temp port should come out, so they used it one last time. Then one of the fellows pulled it out. We discussed his swollen feet and the color of them and they did not seem to be TOO concerned. This will all go away in time after he is off the steroids. He is going down on the dosage tomorrow to 2 mg every other day. He should be totally off by July 16th. We asked about going to the family reunion(Thrasher's) in Guntersville next weekend and a trip to Mobile the first of August. They seemed to be ok with it as long as we did or didn't do certain things. We just have to be SO careful! He goes back Saturday for a coumadin level to make sure his blood stays this enough not to get another blot clot. We are discussing some surgery but won't know for sure until some tests are done in July. I will update again soon! He doesn't go back for photopheresis until the middle of July. YEAH!!!! Butch is taking him tomorrow for his second round. There is a little girl in Children's that has AML just like T. She is 8 years old and is going through her third battle with chemo and when I say battle, that is exactly what it is!!! It's not a fun thing and it is making her very sick. Her name is Victoria, please pray for her! You can visit her caring bridge site and look at her story. It is at www.victoriasutton.caringbridge.com. She is a brave little girl! We love all of you for hanging in here with us! BIG hugs and kisses! God Bless You! Alyce

100% His Donor(Karen)

We found out today that he is still 100% donor and that would be Karen! I had asked that question two weeks ago when we had gotten our great news but the test was not in yet. So today I made sure we found that out! That is SOOOO great! Many patients have problems and sometimes loose their transplant or keep having to get t-cells from their donor. We are SOOOO blessed! We came down on the steriods again, only 6 mg every other day. His feet are looking better but definitely NOT normal! Hopefully soon he will be able to get around more people and go back to work soon! But not TOO soon! We are getting together with Butch, Jackie, Rick and Karen this weekend to celebrate with them. I thank God for Karen and for being here for him! God always has a plan for all of us! We love all of you and thank you again for hangin' in here with us! Hugs and kisses! Alyce

We Made It!

We always would say, "if we could make it two years, they would say you are cured!" I can't believe it has been those 2 years! We are so blessed! We celebrated by praying to God, thanking him for seeing us through it and getting us to where we are today. Thanking him for Karen and her being able to give Terry a new life! We ate homemade tacos and had ice cream cake from DQ! We gave him a picture of the Beatles walking across Abbey Road to hang in the studio! Patrick had one in his and he admired it! It is great to be able to celebrate his 2nd birthday from transplant and hopefully we will celebrate for years to come! Again, thank you to all of you who have prayed with us and for us!!! Couldn't have done it without you! God Bless You! Hugs and kisses! Alyce and Terry

God Has Answered Our Prayers!!!!!

Well, it has been 2 years since his transplant this May 26th! We got great news today! Terry is leukemia free! There are no signs of leukemia cells at all! Praise Our Lord and Savior! He has listened to all of you out there praying so hard for this! We are so blessed! He is one happy man, I mean woman(Karen his sister), just kidding! We can breathe a little easier for another year, it will be done again then(the bone marrow test). Thank you to all of you who have stuck with us through this journey(that is what it says on the UAB journal they give when you go into having a transplant)It is a journey! Nobody could have told us that we would experience what we have the past 2 years and a half!!!! I just thank God for seeing us through all of it! He will go next week for his photopheresis Wednesday and Thursday and we will again go down on the steriods. Hopefully in a couple of months he will be able to return to work, but he will have to take it slow. Yeah, take it slow! He's not a take it slow kind of person! But we have learned patience through this all! Especially me! We love all of you and appreciate all the prayers that you have sent up on our behalf. God Bless All of You! BIG hugs and kisses! Alyce

2nd Year Tests Done

We had the two year tests done today. Pretty much mostly blood work, chest x-ray and a pulmanary lung test done. The biggie was the bone marrow aspiration. He didn't get that, instead he(Dr. Vaughan) went into his chest to the sternum. Because of his coumadin level, they chose not to go into his back bone. Less chance of bleeding doing it in his sternum. Looked painful to me but he said it wasn't as bad. It took three times to get what he needed but he did not stop until he was satisfied. Kristina watched very closely as he did the procedure then offered her to do the next patient in line. She is very observant and knew all the medical termanology he used. Its "greek" to me! He has slept most of the day which is expected, they gave him some ativan and demerol. But who would want to stay awake while someone drilled three holes in their chest bone. I'm sure he will be sore tomorrow! Dr. V is supposed to read the tests results in the morning and I expect a phone call some time tomorrow. I will update after I get some results from the tests, just wanted you to know what was going on and keep praying the results are good! Hugs and kisses to you all! Alyce

Big Test Next Week

We went to the BMT unit today and Dr. Vaughan said he was very pleased on his liver counts and everything looked good. His platelets are a little low and not sure why but not low enough to get platelets by no means! His arms and hands are so damaged from the steroids, coumadin and now low platelets. He has really bad places on them. He went to photopheresis yesterday with Butch and today with me because we see the doctor on the second day. He will have his "BIG TEST" next Wednesday, all the tests for his 2 year birthday from the transplant. Two years and a half you have been with us through all of it! Can you believe it! We have made it through 2 years! That was our goal, but so much more to go! His feet are REALLY swollen and it makes it hard for him to walk. His feet hurt with all the fluid in them. We will come down again off the steroids and will continue each week to reduce them! YEAH!!!! He should be totally off them by June 11th. Pray everything goes well next week and the leukemia is still gone! God is good and is watching over us! There are so many people up there that are relapsing, that is VERY scary! We hear of someone every time we go up there. We are leaving it all in God's hands and trust he will take care of it! We love all of you! God Bless You All! Hugs and kisses! Alyce