Settling In and Reconnecting

Dear friends and family, it is good to be back.  We cannot thank you enough for your loving support, help, love, and prayers.

Michael has made great progress getting off the ventilator.  He has needed only additional oxygen for the past 2 days.  We may go back to the vent if needed, but this is the longest he has gone without it.  Since he is doing well without the vent, they have been able to alter the trach, allowing him to talk, and eventually eat and drink.  It is a blessing to hear his voice.

He is making progress as well in his physical and occupational therapy, sitting up in a chair most days, and becoming more dexterous with everyday tasks.  We're hoping he can get more therapy in the next week.

As you know, Mike is extremely immuno-suppressed, so we are constantly on the alert for infections which could delay his recovery.  So we are always wiping down the room and being careful to follow all sanitary procedures.

Mike's pleuritic pain seems to be slightly better, and his itching is definitely better.  But today's he's had a bought of nausea, which is definitely no fun when you're trying to recover, so we're hoping it was caused by one of oral drugs he's on, or perhaps by the small amounts of liquid he's been eating for his tests to determine if he's ready to eat and drink.

Mike's white cell count is looking great, but he still requires transfusions for platelets and red blood cells (FYI, we may be asking for donors soon), so our hemotologist/oncologist will be calling for a bone marrow aspiration in a few days to determine how his bone marrow is working.  So we ask for your prayers for Mike's bone marrow to start picking up the pace in platelet and RBC production, and that the bone marrow aspiration gives us positive indications that the transplant is taking effect.  The faster his bone marrow starts to work, the sooner he will be able to fight off infections and speed up the road to recovery.

Mike told us this week that he is glad he is back in KC.  As soon as he is ready, we'll start the parade of visitors, as we're all excited to reconnect.

Mike does get on the computer a few times a day, so if you're on FaceBook, you can write on his wall or send him a message.  Or you can comment on this blog, as he checks it too :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you.