May 27-30th update on Dad's condition

Thank you all for the constant prayer.  My Dad needs every prayer and well wish you have!  It's been a few days since an update, and things are happening in there so constantly and quickly, so if we don't write it down its easy for things to "mush" together, so I'll do my best to give a summary of the past three days or so:

He has concluded his cycle of chemotherapy, but will continue to feel terrible as long as the chemo is in his system.  He has encountered a few scares over the past few days with his kidneys and his PICC line which they had to remove, and is being watched extremely carefully by Dr. Raman (the infectious disease physician), in addition to Dr. Pacheco-Garcia (the pulmonary critical care physician we had close contact with while we were in ICU), the other Hospitalists and of course his Oncologist Dr. Nguyen who are all monitoring him closely.  

Nurses and CNAs are in and out of his room constantly, which makes it hard for dad to sleep.  He has had a rough encounter with the hiccups, which jar his whole body with each one thus making it difficult to sleep for this reason as well.  Dr. Nguyen tried a new medication to help with this, we'll see today (5/31) if it worked! He has received several blood and platelet transfusions and will continue to.  His blood pressure and blood sugar levels continue to remain very high, all due to the chemotherapy.  He will go from feverish and ice pat downs to freezing chills, all part of the chemo.  He is also being treated as a preventive measure for a few other side effects of the chemo.  We are still monitoring his lungs and he still receives breathing treatments and has been asked to do a couple breathing exercises an hour.  Even with his setbacks, he has and will continue to overcome these sidebar issues! This is why he must remain in the hospital for a few more weeks.

He has been too weak to get out of his bed so he hasn't had further physical therapy, until yesterday (May 30th).  Dr. Nguyen came by for a visit around 9:30 pm and was pleased with where dad is currently.  The nursing staff is on the phone all throughout each day with Dr. Nguyen's office, which is wonderful that everyone is working in sync so well.

Dad's White Blood Count (WBC) is currently at .1 - the lowest it can go and which is what we want, but this means he has zero immune system.  Dr. Nguyen said that he will perform a bone marrow biopsy on dad next Tuesday to test the bone marrow to see if there are any cancer cells remaining.  We should have the results of that test by next Friday.  Prayer push request:  Let's pray for a clear bone marrow biopsy result and for NO more cancer cells in there! This would be a HUGE step in the direction to full remission.  Prayers, prayers, prayers!!! Thank you SO much.

Sweet messages from Dad's "GrandGirls" and from a few friends!

The kids are missing their Papa and Papa is missing them....so we did some recordings of the girls to take to the hospital and show Dad.  Brooklynn sent her well wishes and couldn't help but show dad her very first loose tooth!  Nicole's girls were taped sharing with Papa what they have been up to, whats upcoming, and of course wishing him well.  Below are a couple of Dad's friends doing a selfie, love it! Feel free to text us your selfies with signs for Dad, he would love to see them!!

Birthday Push!!!!!

Dad's birthday is in 4 days on June 1st. I'm positive he would be so thrilled to hear from you all.  Even if you are friends of Nicole and/or friends of mine and don't know him personally, that is ok!  He is so touched by everyone who has taken the time to read this blog and the comments that have been left.  Over 2,000 views, amazing!!  We can't thank you enough. Here's the request: please leave dad a birthday wish and when we celebrate with him Sunday in the hospital,  we will read each one. Thanks everyone!

Memorial Day Monday- May 26th. Great progress!

Today was a night and day shift in how my Dad felt from yesterday... Thank God! He looked great, had his therapy and walked down the hall of the hospital!  No intense side effects from the chemo today. His voice is back to normal just about, and is much less "breathy" when he speaks.  We were all encouraged today by what a great day it was....Lord willing there will be many more days like today!

Sunday May 25th

Hello readers.  Yesterday was a hard day...Dad was feeling intense side effects from the chemo and was very sick all day. No physical therapy, as he was so sick.  Dr. Nguyen came by last night and stated that Dad was on track with the induction chemotherapy plan, however reminded us that this is just the beginning.  The plan as of now is to get through the 7 days of chemotherapy,  have a rest period of 2 weeks, then test the bone marrow in the third week to see if the cancer is in remission.  He will be hospitalized for a minimum of 30 days. Please pray for him everyone, for a positive outcome, perseverance,  strength,  and that God hears us and continues to answer all of our prayers!  We will get through this!!

Feel the Love

Dad's art wall has grown in the last week. Ava, Tessa, Brooklynn, Aubree, and Kaylee have drawn beautiful pictures that express how much they love him and miss him. Since the little girls are not allowed in the hospital to visit, their sweet drawings are the next best thing. We show these drawings off to dad when they are delivered, and now they are hanging on the wall he faces to brighten his day. He truly cherishes these little girls and misses them immensely.

Saturday May 24th

Hey guys.  Today was a really good day! Dad is more alert each day; his voice is becoming stronger as well and starting to sound like his again.  His mouth and throat are still recovering from all the tubes and ventilator from ICU but its almost there!

He had a physical therapist come in again today (as he will every day from this point on) and it is so extremely beneficial for him and his recovery.  He was able to walk from his bed to the door twice with his walker and his blood pressure instantly goes down significantly when he's doing this and his other exercises.

I never knew chemotherapy was such a harmful, harsh drug.  He must be treated with it, but it is causing a little havoc on some of his other internal functions.  He has some swelling, elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and the staff are watching his liver and kidneys closely.  However, this is all secondary to fighting the cancer.

The great news is that my Dad's white blood cell count is down to nearly 0 (normal count for a male is between 4,000 - 10,000).  When he was admitted it was 56,000.  This means the chemo is working! However, it is CRITICAL he has no visitors for the remainder of the chemotherapy, which is three more days.  He is in a highly risky state for outside infection, as his body doesn't have an immune system right now like yours and mine.  We still need the love and support, so please continue to pray, comment, text, call my mom, but just especially for a few days we can't have visitors.  Thank you SOOOO much for your understanding.

At times when my Dad wakes he does impressions and is cracking jokes, its hysterical.  He is hanging in there and is so incredibly strong.  My mother has achieved a level of strength that I didn't know existed.  She is by his side at every second of the day.  My Dad knows if she steps outside for even a few minutes and starts to ask for her.  Continue to send the love, we are reading your comments to him and he enjoys hearing your positivity and encouragement.  Love, Jen & Nicole

Lots to Celebrate on Friday

Hello faithful readers!! Your prayers and positive thoughts toward my dad are really paying off, so please be diligent and keep 'em coming. Today there were lots of wins.... First off this morning he had a speech pathologist come by to test his ability to swallow whole foods. He was able to swallow pudding, ice chips, and applesauce. Yay!! He's cleared to eat soft solid foods! Second win was the physical therapist came and dad was able to move his ankles and feet, sat up, stood up, stepped side to side, and stretched his arms. Being as mobile as possible is huge in helping his body stay strong to fight his battle. Another big win, dad is out of the ICU!!! He has been moved to a larger private room which is much more quiet too. Lastly, he has been talking to us today and his feisty self has been showing up too! Jenny, mom, and I are so thrilled at his progress, just like you probably are as you read this. He is on day 3 of chemotherapy and will only be able to have a very limited amount of visitors from here on out. His immune system is taking lots of hits and the more people around him the more he is exposed to, which could be dangerous. Thank you for all of your prayers and your well wishes. Any comment you share on here we are reading to him each night. We love you all! Nicole and Jenny

Thursday Night activity - May 22nd

All,

Last night my Dad reached a HUGE milestone, his lungs proved strong enough to move him successfully OFF of the ventilator!! He was extubated last night; lots of happy tears flowing.  This was done sooner than both his pulmonary critical care physician and his hematologist/oncologist predicted.

That being said, we still have an uphill mountain to climb.  He has more milestones to hit before he can be moved out of the ICU and we can focus solely on the chemo and kicking cancer's a**!  It can and will be done by the strong will of Dad, the medical staff and certainly ALL of your prayers.  God is listening, and answering the prayers - we couldn't be more thankful for that.  In my sister's words and I couldn't agree more, we had a "dream team" of a respiratory therapist and primary nurse last night, they were utterly incredible.

My Dad is currently in a responsive state, he wants to speak so badly but he needs to gain more strength first.  He is alert and opening his eyes, and already telling my mom to be quiet and speak a little softer! LOL.

Continue to pray everyone and know we will be reading your well wishes to him, he needs all the support he can get.  xoxo, Jen and Nicole

Late Night Family Visitors

Last night we read all of the positive comments from this blog and from Facebook to dad! I know he loves hearing all your positivity, just like we do!

Thursday May 22nd

If you are reading this update, bless you. Our family, my dad in particular, is so lucky to have people like you who are praying for him to make a full recovery. My mom shared that the staff in the ICU have been very attentive to dad and really great about answering our continuous questions. She has also noted that his blood pressure is up this morning, which is a positive step. The overseeing hematologist/oncologist came to check on him last night and said he's still in a highly critical state. He needs lots of love and prayer, especially in the next 2-3 days. Doctor also told us there will be no more visitors. Since he has started the chemo and is extremely sick, he is too immunocompromised to have visitors in his room. Thank you again for sharing his story so more of God's family is praying for him!!

Wednesday update

Well friends, today has been rough so far. Dad had his surgery and then some setbacks. Just got good news from the intensive care pulmonologist. PRAYERS ARE NEEDED!! He'll be starting chemo later today and needs all the positivity we can pour his way. Nicole and Jenny

Tuesday, May 20th

First of all, thank you to all the prayer warriors out there who have my dad and our family in your prayers!!! His journey is going to be long and draining, so we are truly grateful that you are sending extra Godly love his way. For those of you just reading that Bill is sick, he has been diagnosed with AML, acute myeloid leukemia. It is an aggressive blood cancer, but with chemo, it is possible for remission and survival. Yesterday Bill was taken to the hospital in an effort to help eliminate intense pain in his back. He is currently in ICU and they are prepping him for surgery today to place a PICC line in his chest. This is the first step toward starting the chemo process. Jenny and I will be first responders with questions, thoughts, or phone calls, so please call us rather than Louise. We are going to update this blog regularly and it will also be a great spot to send well wishes to Bill and we can share those with him. Love you all!! Nicole and Jenny