All good news day!
Jaclyn is
improving on a daily basis. She finally gets her son, RJ home to! woo
hoo! She is speaking better, walking more, and her appetite has greatly
improved.
So Tuesday was quite an interesting one for me.
Started with a blood test, 10 tubes this time! Then off to get
admitted, just a bit of paperwork there. Then up to the unit I will be
staying at for awhile, but not quite yet. They put me in a temporary
room, told be that unless there were issues, I would go home tonight,
hmmmm. Well I wound up in a hospital gown and got wheeled down to
radiology for center line (cvc) implant. Very interesting experience. A
little different than I thought, it was actually put in the jugular,
then tunneled under the skin to exit out in my upper chest. They used a
very interesting ultrasound machine to locate the vein, put in the cvc,
then tunnel it down to where it needed to go. Way cool stuff, wish I
would have had the camera to take pictures of the equipment. The docs,
nurses, assistants, and porters were all awesome people. Unfortunately
for me, not only do I have strong bones, i also have tough skin and it
took a bit more work for them to put the cvc in. No pain from the
operation, but my neck is quite sore since it took more work work than
usual to get it done. So now I have my teeth healing, my bone marrow
biopsy almost healed, and now a new wound! It just doesn't get any
better than that! 8-)
My granddaughter Adrianna has started a facebook for me so please check it out, and pass it on!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?v=wall&gid=183407786579
Wednesday is my test chemo day. Should be quite boring (I hope) and yet, another new experience for me!
John and Jaclyn update #2
So it's good news all around! My daughter has been out of the icu since
Sunday and in her own room. She is now off of the ventilator, fully
conscious and able to speak, use the computer, and swear at people!
Life is good. I still can't see her because she is still contagious,
but at least she isn't in danger anymore! I got to see her last night!
Sort of... I was able to get a webcam system set up and her fiance set
up the webcam on their notebook. Yay for skype! Video and audio was
choppy, but at least we were able to finally talk.
7 days left! Then I start the stem cell transplant process. woo hoo? hmmmm, 8-)
One more of my tests is now complete. I survived my bone marrow biopsy and aspiration on late Monday afternoon. woo hoo! I did not have sedation for it, only local anesthetic. The doctor had a bit of trouble removing a sample of bone from my left hip bone marrow, (my bones are too tough he said) but after the 3rd try was able to complete the task. I was a bit sore from the process, but able to work all day today and didn't have to take any pain pills for it. Either I'm getting used to this stuff, or the pain will kick in this weekend! I am still feeling great, and looking forward to the transplant. Something new to experience!
I would like to thank everybody for the awesome emails and support over the last 10 days. It was a very trying time for my wife and I. Your support was incredible and greatly appreciated and helped to make a very difficult time more bearable knowing that Jaclyn and my family were in so many peoples thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
7 days left! Then I start the stem cell transplant process. woo hoo? hmmmm, 8-)
One more of my tests is now complete. I survived my bone marrow biopsy and aspiration on late Monday afternoon. woo hoo! I did not have sedation for it, only local anesthetic. The doctor had a bit of trouble removing a sample of bone from my left hip bone marrow, (my bones are too tough he said) but after the 3rd try was able to complete the task. I was a bit sore from the process, but able to work all day today and didn't have to take any pain pills for it. Either I'm getting used to this stuff, or the pain will kick in this weekend! I am still feeling great, and looking forward to the transplant. Something new to experience!
I would like to thank everybody for the awesome emails and support over the last 10 days. It was a very trying time for my wife and I. Your support was incredible and greatly appreciated and helped to make a very difficult time more bearable knowing that Jaclyn and my family were in so many peoples thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
John and Jaclyn status update
Hi all,
Yes, if you watched local channel 2/7 in Calgary yesterday or this morning, that was my daughter Jaclyn on the news. As usual, they did their usual crappy reporting and neglected to mention that she is my daughter, and that myself, Val, and her brother and sisters were all put on tamiflu and quarantined also. The good news, she is doing fine, they have taken her off of the paralytics, and they are trying to wake her up as reported. She is moving a bit now, still unconscious, still on the respirator, and we have been told that she should not backslide anymore! woo hoo! The bad part has been that none of her family has been able to visit her since last Thursday and we won't be able to see her till Saturday. The other good news is that even though my future son-in-law had the h1n1 also, he was treated with the tamiflu and recovered within 2 days. None of the rest of us showed any signs of the h1n1 either, thank goodness. It has been a very difficult last 10 days but the things are looking far, far better than last week!
If you are on facebook, the Pray for Jaclyn Bates group is: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=305679335506
Okay, my news. I am doing quite well physically, emotionally, Val and I are still a bit of a basket case, so bear with me the next couple of days. Since I will be going for my stem cell transplant in 12 days (12 days!!!), I am not allowed to see my daughter until she is moved out of the ICU. 8-(
My teeth are slowly healing, most people can't even tell I lost 4 teeth! I will not be in the office until Monday and then it will depend on how many sickies are there. If anyone is sick in the office, I will wind up working from home which will really suck. My brother donor ha passed all of his medical and he will have the stem cells harvested the same day they are put into me. I have the joy of my last chemo at the PLC tomorrow morning and then a bone marrow aspiration late tomorrow afternoon. woo hoo! Just what I need, can't see my daughter, and some pain to look forward to going into the weekend. Maybe I should just slam my hand in a door and get it over with! 8-) Kidding of course, as long as I can open my eyes, I'm a happy guy!
Johnism: Where there is breath, there is hope!
Yes, if you watched local channel 2/7 in Calgary yesterday or this morning, that was my daughter Jaclyn on the news. As usual, they did their usual crappy reporting and neglected to mention that she is my daughter, and that myself, Val, and her brother and sisters were all put on tamiflu and quarantined also. The good news, she is doing fine, they have taken her off of the paralytics, and they are trying to wake her up as reported. She is moving a bit now, still unconscious, still on the respirator, and we have been told that she should not backslide anymore! woo hoo! The bad part has been that none of her family has been able to visit her since last Thursday and we won't be able to see her till Saturday. The other good news is that even though my future son-in-law had the h1n1 also, he was treated with the tamiflu and recovered within 2 days. None of the rest of us showed any signs of the h1n1 either, thank goodness. It has been a very difficult last 10 days but the things are looking far, far better than last week!
If you are on facebook, the Pray for Jaclyn Bates group is: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=305679335506
Okay, my news. I am doing quite well physically, emotionally, Val and I are still a bit of a basket case, so bear with me the next couple of days. Since I will be going for my stem cell transplant in 12 days (12 days!!!), I am not allowed to see my daughter until she is moved out of the ICU. 8-(
My teeth are slowly healing, most people can't even tell I lost 4 teeth! I will not be in the office until Monday and then it will depend on how many sickies are there. If anyone is sick in the office, I will wind up working from home which will really suck. My brother donor ha passed all of his medical and he will have the stem cells harvested the same day they are put into me. I have the joy of my last chemo at the PLC tomorrow morning and then a bone marrow aspiration late tomorrow afternoon. woo hoo! Just what I need, can't see my daughter, and some pain to look forward to going into the weekend. Maybe I should just slam my hand in a door and get it over with! 8-) Kidding of course, as long as I can open my eyes, I'm a happy guy!
Johnism: Where there is breath, there is hope!
yah baby!! I survived!! woo hoo! Not only was it a very non-painful
afternoon (just a couple of painful moments), I only lost 4 teeth, and
got 3 temporary fillings! Wow, the dentist and people at TBCC dental
clinic rock! The freezing was out about 2 hours after is was done, but
it's not too bad for pain. Thank goodness for pain killers! Now if I
could just get the last 2 extractions to stop bleeding, I'd be one
happy guy. Ah well, my last cycle of chemo starts in the morning, so
only 4 more treatments at the PLC and I'm done. I'm looking forward to
the next few days as I heal from the dental work.
Next Johnism: Live for the moment, but be prepared for the future! (And have lots of fun doing both!!!)
Next Johnism: Live for the moment, but be prepared for the future! (And have lots of fun doing both!!!)
Well folks, the next big step is here. I get 7, yup 7 teeth yanked
today in 2 hours. I am looking forward to getting it done and start the
healing! As usual, I'll be a bit morbid about it and take a before and
after picture! 8-) Something to scare the kids with next Halloween!!
HA!
I'm feeling great, in good spirits, and expecting things to go swimmingly well.
Wish me luck!
talk to you soon,
John
I'm feeling great, in good spirits, and expecting things to go swimmingly well.
Wish me luck!
talk to you soon,
John