March Update 2016

Hi All,

So much to report on. Right now I am sitting in the hospital room with Steve. I brought him to the Emergency Room 3 days ago and learned he has pneumonia. Since being here there have been some additional problems, one being atrial fibrillation. Thankfully the care here at LCOM is phenomenal. He has been given breathing treatments, antibiotics, heart med's; all to help him get well.

Last night was pretty bad for him though. He is so sleep deprived, that the first night after taking the steroids (last night) was made worse being here. I think he got 1 hour of sleep. When I arrived here this morning he was in a lot of pain, delusional, and extremely agitated. So I have been doing everything I can to keep his room quiet and him calm so he can get some sleep.

He was scheduled to take a "respiratory walk" to see if he was ready to go home. But after getting here, I told them no way. He needs to feel better and think clearly before he starts walking around the ward. Prayerfully he will get over the tiredness and feel much better tomorrow so he can pass the "respiratory walk" and then come home, even with the oxygen.

Before the pneumonia Steve had been dealing with postherpetic neuralgia (shingles pain) and edema that comes and goes. It took 6 visits to the doctors before he was put on a pain medicine strong enough to stop the pain attacks in his head. Now there is just a chronic burning pain that diminishes with the medicine......we are hoping the pain will be completely gone soon. It's already been 3 months.

His last myeloma test revealed a lower M-spike....so we now know the lower dose of pomalidomide is working! Praise the Lord.

As always please pray for our friends.....

Julie, Cheryl, Natalie, Peanut, Doris and Jim.

And keep looking to the Lord for everything. He is a gracious and loving Father.

Mrs. L.

January Update

I always have to look back at my last post to see where I left off. When I last wrote I mentioned that Steve was just diagnosed with shingles. Little did we know how bad shingles could get. I mean BAD, REALLY BAD. The blisters were very painful, but it wasn't until Steve started experiencing pain "attacks" that he had finally come to a point that he didn't think he could continue living with that type of pain.
The pain attacks would cause him to scream and cry out, desperately looking for relief. They could last for up to 8 excruciating minutes, several times a day (or night). He described it as if someone was holding a blow torch to his head, neck and ear. We were both tested through this experience. After several doctor appointments and one ER visit Steve was finally given some pain medicine that helped him to handle the attacks, leaving him with more of a burning sensation throughout the day.

Soon after getting relief from the shingles, the edema came back in both of his legs. This time we are not sure why. He started the diuretics and I hope we will see some results soon. For the time being he needs to stay off of his feet as much as possible (have you ever tried to keep a toddler down) that's what it's like with him!

I forgot to share with everyone the newest family member to join us here at our abode!
Her name is Cindy and she is quite adorable! Although I think our dog BB is bit obsessed with her!
This was my present to Steve for his birthday……..I know, why a hamster. What else do you give a man who has everything? (He is a big softy and actually loves the little thing)

Cindy

BB Meeting Cindy

Oh I forgot to mention how the cancer treatment is going…..well the preliminary tests results we have show the lower dose may be working! Praise the Lord.

Please continue to pray for Jim, Peanut, Maricella, Natalie, Julie, Doris, Jim and Cheryl!

Blessings to all!

Deanna