Changes

It's been over two years since that last post, when I didn't think there would likely be a reason to post again. It's now been over four years since the transplant, and that gift continues to function like a champ through everything that comes its way, for which I am ever grateful.

At this point, though, I'm going to co-opt the blog in order to pass along some other health news. Many of you may already know what follows; if so, thanks for being part of this journey.

Over the last three months of 2018 I began to feel more and more fatigued and generally out of sorts. In January I began having back pain which defied my doctor's efforts to diagnose and alleviate. It became more debilitating until the doctor told us to go to the ER where they could do an immediate CT scan to try to determine what was causing the pain. So we went, they did the scan, and I learned that I had stage four prostate cancer which had metastasized to my spine and other areas. It is an aggressive form which likely got its foothold due to my compromised immune system (part of keeping my body from rejecting the transplant).

That was March 27, and I was admitted that evening. I don't remember much of what happened over the next five and a half weeks, although I went through a whirlwind of tests, radiation treatment for the cancer in my spine to relieve the pain, blood clots, cellulitis, pneumonia twice, delirium and nightmares due to meds, etc. During that time I was in eight different rooms, ranging from ICU to oncology. Nancy was with me every day and slept in the room with me every night, and the kids were around as much as they could possibly be.

Several people have told me that when they came to visit, they didn't give me much chance to make it. I was aware at least twice that I was close to not making it. The second of those was on Good Friday, when a doctor told me that the pneumonia was not responding to treatment and that I had two days for that to happen or else. The next day Dr. Agamah ordered an infusion of immunoglobulin, and the following day, Easter Sunday, I was feeling better and on the road to recovery.

Nancy brought me home on May 3. While I was definitely better, I was very weak. I had to use a walker to get around, and even that exhausted me. Getting up from bed or a chair was a struggle, and often I needed help. I'd lost 40 pounds, much of it muscle mass. I started getting stronger, but two weeks after coming home I got an infection in my blood which threatened sepsis and put me back in the hospital for three days. That set recovery of my strength back a bit.

Since then things have gone pretty smoothly. I've moved from a walker to a cane to now walking without any support or assistance. Next hurdle is gaining the strength to go up and down steps. I've gained back about 20 pounds, even though nothing tastes right, probably due to my meds.

Chemo will likely start late August and consist of six cycles of a treatment followed by three weeks of recovery. I'll need all the strength I can muster, so building that up is the goal until then.

One of the blessings of this experience has been the time I've been able to spend with my family. We had some wonderful conversations as a family and also one-on-one. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity and the ability to have conversations that so often get put off until it's too late.

Many many thanks to everyone for their expressions of concern and support. We have been so blessed and awed by all of the help we have and continue to receive.

I'll close this with some thoughts that Nancy wrote a couple of weeks ago:

How can we thank you? You all have been amazing. All of our needs have been met.

We are finally caught up on life. Although not back to normal yet, there are a few moments of normal. Considering Tim almost died on Good Friday and couldn't hold a cup of water to walking around the house with a cane, we are overwhelmed by God's grace and mercy.

But, I must boast more about the overwhelming Peace that exists in our hearts! Your prayers have held us up when we could not pray.

 

God has blessed us with very, very special and intimate times with our kids. Tim says that he would not trade the special times he's had with all of us during this time for anything!

We take a day at a time and try to enjoy each moment.

Hopefully, he'll be starting chemo soon, but in the meantime, he will just be getting stronger.

Thank you, again!

Love,

Nancy