Hanging in There

Thank you all for your concern and prayers. I think every conversation I have recently, whether on the phone, via email, via text or in person, begins with, "How's your dad?" As of late, the "{answer seems to always be, "hanging in there."

And that's exactly what he's doing. He is exhausted and has a constant pain level but every day he gets out of bed, he eats when he has no appetite and he manages to smile and have conversations with us throughout the day.

Yesterday he had two units of red blood and a unit of platelets and the doctor said that his body is holding on on it's own (meaning without the help of chemo). But this morning the nurse called and advised them to hold off on some medications because his white blood cells are droppingfast.

Again, despite it all he is hanging in there, he still has a lot of fight left in him and we are enjoying this time we get to spend with him.

Home With Daddy

I was planning on waiting until after Marley's birthday and birthday party to come home. But as Karen mentioned, after Skyping with Dad on Sunday (he looked extremely weak and tired; and was falling asleep as I was talking to him), both Conway and I agreed that I needed to come home right away.

So Cohen and I took a red-eye on Tuesday evening and arrived here in SLC on Wednesday morning (Marley's 4th birthday).

We landed at 7:30 am so my dad was still sleeping when we got home. Cohen and I both crawled into bed with him and I wrapped my arms around my sweet daddy, lay my head against his chest, and fell asleep to the sound of his precious, beating heart.

I have been so impressed with him since I've been here. He is obviously exhausted but I have seen him ride his stationary bike despite the fatigue. He has no appetite (he has lost 18 pounds since his doctor's appointment less than two weeks ago), but still forces himself to eat an orange or a sandwich at our request.

But he is in good spirits and even manages to laugh when we crack silly jokes or when Mom parades around in the new high heeled shoes he bought her for Valentine's Day.

The two of us have been enjoying one of our favorite pasttimes: watching NCIS marathons on USA together and believe it or not, he looks GREAT! If you were to come see him right now, you would agree. I like to think that my presence has been just what Dad needed this week. (I am his baby girl afterall:)

As I write this, Cohen just gave Grandpa loves and kisses and my dad just said to me over his shoulder, "I love you sweetheart; I'm so happy you're here."

I miss my daughter and husband in Hawaii so much it hurts.... But that last statement from my daddy is exactly why I am here and why it's worth it.

Dad wasn't doing very well over the weekend. On Sunday, mom and I were so scared because he wasn't very coherent and couldn't do much of anything. I was so afraid to leave him that night for fear that I would get a call that something bad had happened. Diana had skyped with him earlier that evening and immediately booked her plane ticket to come be with him. He had a dr. appointment on Monday morning and we didn't think he would be able to make it but to all of our surprise he not only made it to his appointment (thank you brother Fenton) but he was so alert and was able to talk and manage to spend most of the day at the hospital. He is still fighting very hard, he exercises when he can and gets around as much as he can on his own but mom is always right by his side, checking on him and taking great care of him. He is very blessed to have such a caring ward, family and friends. Thank you to the Beehive's for the wonderful dinner you brought him tonight! He is still planning to go to Huntsman for treatments for as long as he has the energy. They have taken such great care of him there and they have not given up on him either. Whenever he needs anything, they are always happy to help him and show so much compassion and love as well as friendship (dad and mom always make friends with their doctors and staff). We truly appreciate all of you for your thoughtfulness and willingness to help. I personally have learned a lot about service from all of the wonderful people that have been here for us.

Today was a tough day for us, we met with dad's doctor and nurses up at the cancer institute and they confirmed that dad's trial medication is no longer working. They wanted us to decide as a family what we want to do as far as treatment for dad.

They said that they can continue to treat him by giving him a drug that will "hopefully" help control his white blood count along with a steroid, and blood transfusions as often as he wants. The other option would be that he have hospice care and they will come in and keep him comfortable.

Dad says that right now he really feels like continuing treatment with the team at Huntsman. They have taken such great care of him and are very compassionate people. We unanimously agree that as long as he can, he should get treatment.

We are very grateful that he has fought as long as he has and that he has never felt like giving up. What an amazing man! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful and loving father and can't imagine our lives without him in it. I personally am glad that I have been able to spend nearly every day this past year with him and that my boys know their grandpa. We love you so much dad!!!!!!!!!

Dad is back home again, where he loves to be. He was released yesterday afternoon (thank you Brother Lewis for being such a great chauffeur and for all your help). He doesn't remember much about the first day in the hospital but he is doing much better now.

Thanks for all of the phone calls and support.

Keep up the good work dad, we all love you so much!

Doing Better

After a rough morning, dad seems to be doing much better. There was awhile there where he wasn't responding and they were going to transfer him to the ICU, but his vitals stabilized so they transferred him over to Huntsman instead where they are running more tests. April said he looks twenty years younger now than he did a few hours ago. He should be getting a blood transfusion today, which always gives him a little boost of energy. Hopefully he won't have to stay there long because I know he would prefer the comfort of his own home. We love you dad! Stay strong!

Not So Good Night

April sent me a text at 2:00 this morning to let me know that they were calling an ambulance to help with dad. He had trouble with his C-PAP during the night and his oxygen levels got extremely low and he wasn't responding well. He is on his way up to the University Hospital right now where hopefully they can get him stabilized.

Also, he met with his doctor yesterday and was told that his leukemia was peeking through again. The doctor said that since the other two chemo's have failed him, he is really afraid that this one is/or will too. They still haven't figured out what the infection is in his lungs and he has been feeling tremendous pain in his right side. He was supposed to go in this morning for two liters of red blood cells just to give him some energy, since he has been feeling so bad lately. I'll update more later on today.

Thank you to everyone that is reading this! Thank you for keeping him and our family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you to everyone that brings meals to them or that drops by to say hello or to hang out. Though dad may seem a little incoherent at times, I know that he appreciates feeling so loved. We all appreciate the love and support they receive on a daily basis.

Love you all!

Karen