Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Update # 125

16 Months

Good Morning,

Yesterday was rainy and cold on the outside but our inside visits were bright and sunny.  Jeff had early labs and appointment at Siteman at Barnes in StL.  The blood work came back very good.  That red count is as close to the normal range as you can get!  Dr. DiPersio was pleased to see Jeff and said overall he is doing well.  He commented the GVHD is slight but yet affecting Jeff.  There were two meds that Dr. DiPersio had considered stopping but with the GVHD still present he said to discontinue one but not the other.  He feels Jeff is too susceptible to things (like the pneumonia in Jan.) and wants to protect Jeff longer.  Fine by us!  Jeff has been experiencing more cramping in his hands (his feet are better) so that medicine was upped a bit.  Dr. DiPersio wants to see Jeff in another 4 months and an appointment was made for August.

The lady we wanted to speak with about Jeff's donor was not in yesterday.  I did talk with her on the phone this morning.  We just want to be sure the paper work requesting to meet the donor has actually been delivered to the donor. So she went ahead and put in a second request.  What a great summer vacation that would be!!!

Our next visit to Costas at Cardinal Glennon was very enjoyable.  It was great to see Dr. Gauvain, the nurses, and all our other family there.  They were thrilled to see how well Jeff is doing and we loved spending time with them catching up on things.  

Jeff had driven to our place on Saturday.  Sunday night we saw "Jersey Boys" at The Fox.  That was fantastic!!!  It immediately became one of our top show favorites.  Do attend a performance when you get the chance.  We again stayed Sunday night at the hotel connected to the hospital so our morning commute was a few minutes walk instead of the drive from Hillsboro.

After our two visits, we spent the rest of the day in StL doing some shopping and poking around -- Ted Drewes of course.  Before coming down for this appointment, Jeff had checked the Cardinal schedule and sure enough they were in town.  We saw a good game (although we lost 4-3) but it was cold and breezy.  The game time temp started in the low 50's and kept dropping.  I told Ken when it hit the 30's I was heading for home but the game ended before then!

No, there is still no second part time job for Jeff.  The Cobra insurance ends tomorrow and we were able to get Jeff insurance through the state of Iowa.  It's for people who cannot get regular insurance.  It does not cover quite as much as what he had, it has no dental (we're hoping to get some of that somewhere), and of course the coverage is better for Iowa doctors.  It will still help out with his StL appointments but just more comes out of our pocket.  So Jeff will have some limited insurance as of May 1st.

Now, the next saga of Jeff's life.  His apartment flooded early Friday morning about 1:15 AM.  Fortunately, he works nights and still happened to be up.  They had a lot of rain last week and Thursday night received a huge downpour.  Friends came and helped him move the vast majority of his place.  Things went to his garage, a friend's garage, and a friend's apartment.  The complex maintenance guy came within minutes of Jeff's phone call.  They even had a carpet company there by 3:00 AM.  The water was caught early and people were there quickly so the entire place was not flooded.  The carpet people worked on the place Friday, Sunday, and Monday.  The maintenance people let them in since Jeff was down here.  (Don't worry I'm checking with the apartment manager about mold.)  When Jeff returns to Iowa today, he should be ready to put things back.  Ken and I are also going to Iowa today to help Jeff with this and make sure it's clean and safe for him.  We plan to return home on Friday.

We still need your prayers for Jeff to keep the GVHD at this slight amount (maybe even decrease), more work hours with insurance, and the apartment is healthy.  We know what complications he could be enduring and we are so thankful that Jeff is doing this well.  

Jeff has an Iowa City eye appointment on June 26th.  I'll update after it.  His next StL appointment is on August 11th.   

Our prayers are with each of you.  We daily give thanks to God for your steadfast love and prayers for Jeff.  You are the best family and friends anyone could have!  Enjoy the rest of your Spring.

love,

Marcia