Post Christmas Update

Just when you thought things were starting to settle down for the DiComo's.... Matt woke up yesterday (Dec 26th) with double vision. I ended up coming home from work and we headed to the pediatrician, who sent us to the ER for a CT. The ER doc sent us to the on call opthomologist. The good news is that no tumor or bleeding was found in the CT. The Opthomologist diagnosed the problem as a nerve failure in Matt's right eye. He is trying to get us in to see a neurologist/opthomologist today. Apparently there are only three in South Florida -- luckily the one he wanted to send us to is supposed to be back today. Matt said it was better when he woke up today, so maybe it will just go away. They may want an MRI and I told them if they do we really need to do it before Monday.

Other than this new twist to our lives, we are doing ok and had a great Christmas. We had everyone over our house for Christmas Eve as Trish wanted. I made her famous Christmas tort (see pictures) and loaves of home made french bread for use with the sausage and peppers we grilled. Everyone brought some food and all had a good time, despite the laid back look in most of the pictures I took. We went to my brothers house for Christmas day.

Enough for now, I hope your New Year is great and uneventful.

Christmas is Coming....

Merry Christmas! Later this weekend I will try to make Trish's Sundried Tomato and Pesto Tort -- I have renamed it: Torta Trisha.

You know I am not a big believer in mysterious signs, coincidental messages and the like. This despite a deep faith, but there are some "signs" that I thought I would take the time to share with you today.

The Saturday that I brought Trish into the ER, after she was brought up to the CVDL surgical suite, I headed back to the apartment across the street to wait the several hours she was in surgery. I decided to start cleaning up the room. I went to take off the orange Beat AML bracelet that I wore everyday and it snapped and broke. I have to say given what was going on, I did worry about this "omen".

After some cleaning I went up to Weinberg 5B and waited in Trish's soon to be new and last room for her to return from surgery. I watched the Gators play Georgia. The Gators were favored to easily beat the Georgia team. The Gators looked very good early on, but quickly and very unexpectedly fell decisively to the Bulldogs. It was shaping up to be a bad day and possibly another small "omen".


Yesterday, I went to Doris' Italian Market to pick up needed supplies for Christmas Eve. On the way out they had Baci's in small two packs and I picked one up. Trish loved Lindts Lindor truffles; I have the same affection for Perugina's Baci's. Baci is Italian for kiss. Each pillow of hazelnut and chocolate includes a small message of love akin to a fortune cookie message.

I ate both candies. Didn't even bother to read the message on the first one I hate and flung it back in the car. After eating the second one, I read it's message. It seemed to come from Trish. I almost bit Matt's head off as he picked up the box with the message inside on the way home from church. We receive messages all the time. We choose which ones to listen to, believe, respond to. Whether incredible coincidence, divine guidance or sheer luck. I choose to believe Trish has sent me a message.

The Message: "If ever two were one, those two are we"

An Update

Greetings! Since my last post saying that I wouldn't be sending out Christmas cards this year, I thought I should at least take some time here to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a great New Year. Also to once again thank you for your love and support during the toughest two years of my family's life.

2008 may start out tough for us as well. I received word on Friday, that I am part of my company's next round of RIFs, due to the declining housing market. My last day of employment is Dec. 31st. I have to admit that I am looking forward to some downtime after the two years we have just been through. From Trish's Aunt Mary to just about everyone at Hopkins, they will tell you that between my caretaking duties for Trish and my work, bills and insurance -- my days were full and stressful. I slept and relaxed very rarely if at all.

Trish would be quick to remind me that I am a work-a-holic and help get me back to work quickly. She could tell if I was enjoying my work or not, sometimes even before I realized that I wasn't she would know. I am going to miss her guidance and direction moving forward. She was not a business person in any way shape or form, but sometimes she gave me the best business advice.

This Friday, we will hang Trish's picture on the Christmas Tree at church during a special memorial Mass for family members who have passed away this year. This Sunday, the 7pm Mass at St Bart's is being said for Trish. This is where we met in 9th grade and where after college we met again and after a lot of racket ball and youth ministry -- fell in love. It's where we were married and both our boys were baptized. It will be strange to be back at St. Bart's, but I am planning on attending this Mass.

Our neighbor Sandy is helping to type up recipes for the cookbook, with her help and my new found time without a job -- we should be able to publish a book early in the new year. I'll use the email list to let everyyone know when it is available.

Have a great holiday and new year!

Some thoughts....

Just a few random thoughts, I know many folks will not see these, but for those still checking.....

* Something's gotta give and for me this year it is Christmas Cards. Thanks to the few folks who have sent us cards to date, but I won't be sending any out -- heck we are still working on Sympathy thank yous....

* Many people have asked if the Trish DiComo Assistance Fund is still open. It is, but I have removed the contribution button from the web site. We will likely close it out by the end of the year as we pay off Johns Hopkins. If the bills run more than the fund has we will arrange for payments with Hopkins. We did run out of insurance and the fund will assist us in paying these bills.

* We received many nice memorial gifts -- trees in Israel, American Cancer Society Donations, Mended Heart Donations and Donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I was asked when Trish died, where I wanted money to go in lieu of flowers and I said no where -- meaning I wanted to give Trish a grand send off with flowers and in deed you provided that grand send off. While the most obvious place to send memorial gifts is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), since Trish had Leukemia, but there is actually another foundation that provided us with much more assistance than the LLS did. It is Trish's college sorrority foundation. They provided us with the single largest donation to the Assistance fund. I'd like to suggest that if there is anybody out there still looking for a way to honor Trish that you consider a donation to this foundation. They even have a memorial brick program. Trish was a founding member of the Delta Gamma Chapter at the University of Central Florida. Donations can be made by contacting the Foundation: Anchor Grant Fund, Delta Gamma Foundation 3250 Riverside Drive; Columbus, Ohio 43221 or by calling 1-800-644-5414.

* Recipes. I am working on pulling togeher a cook book of Trish's favorite/frequent/most loved recipes. If you have a suggestion or request, please email me.

Getting Along....

Just an update to let you know we are ok. There are good days and bad days, but they keep going on and that's what matters.

I seem to be discovering retail therapy. I've been buying things that Trish and I talked about getting, but never did or things that we could use around the house. This is very out of character for me and gives me more stuff to do and frustrates me because I am not getting other things done... I have made progress on the boxes in my bedroom, but it feels like a gerbil on the wheel, it never ends. This Saturday, Matt has an all day debate and I am judging in the tournament. So there goes another day of working around the house.

We haven't gotten a Christmas Tree yet or started decorating, hopefully this Sunday we can do that. I have also started putting together recipes for a cookbook. I was thinking I could get it done before the holidays, but that's just looking very unlikely.

You know when you get married, you are told that you should become one, that you are no longer two people, but one. You laugh and accept that as a figure of speech. You only realize how much you have or haven’t become one when you lose the other half. Trish and I were as complimentary and necessary to each other as I could imagine. We were truly one. I feel like a car with two flat tires many days. It is only her desire to have me move on that keeps me going on those days.

You keep viewing - I'll keep writing...

Just thought I would write something for the over 100 of you who keep checking the web page. First and foremost we are 'ok'. And OK is a relative term, but we really are ok. Trish would be mad at me for the dinners I have prepared this week. Monday Matt and I had TV dinners (Boston Market chicken parmeasan) -- he was real good about it, not a single complaint. Though he did say it was just ok. Heck, on the Trish scale of goodness it was downright inedible. Last night I totally forgot I had to deal with dinner and called Matt who was waiting for Andy at physical therapy to order a pizza and I would pick it up on the way home from work. You see, Matt has every restaurant and pizza joint within 10 miles of our house programmed on his cell phone. So the food thing may indeed be the toughest part of our new life so far. I think dinner tonight may be Outback (thanks Tammy).

I still need to unpack our boxes from Baltimore and find Trish's address book so we can send out all the Thank yous to everyone. And a lot of you have been following Fr. Jeff's advice and calling and emailing me to check in. I appreciate it. Fr. Jeff's dad just passed away too.

Tomorrow we will have Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. We are thinking about hosting Christmas eve at our house. Trish really wanted to do this this year and I would like to honor that if the boys are up to it. She knew she wouldn't be able to cook as much as she normally would and planned it to be a lighter affair, so hopefully we can make good on that.

For now, please know that we are greatful for all the love and support you have shown us through this difficult time. For me the saddest thing was that we were on our way home we knew this and expected nothing else and than bam -- we got slapped in the face with another reality.

Trish's cell phone is a good indicator of how focused we were on going home. Her original cell phone, about 3-4 years old started acting up and not working sometime in late September/early October. I wanted her to have a reliable cell phone that worked, so we went out to get one. At the time we thought we might be going home to hospice care, because the doctors weren't sure that the graft versus host disease had been stopped. we were waiting on a liver biopsy to tell us this. Because of this situation we looked for a cheap phone that would not extend our contract. A few weeks later, when Trish was in the hospital for her gall bladder issues, the SA threw her phone out with the sheets. We were pissed, but happy the phone was cheap. We had just gotten the news back that her liver biopsy showed that the GvHd had been stopped by the cytoxan treatment and that we would be going home to wait for her liver to regrow and that the prognosis would be much better. So we ordered Trish a really nice phone which extended our contract by two years. It was ok, because now we were going home to start our lives again. The phone arrived on the Monday after Trish was admitted via the ER and our hopes and plans started to dissolve.

For much of the two years we battled this thing, I lived every day knowing I could lose Trish any day. She lived knowing that she could lose her fight, but she would fight to live and be with her boys. She ended up losing the battle during a time when we finally lost sight of the fact that we could lose. A time when hope of a positive outcome far outweighed the reality of any negative ending. A time when we both were suddenly unprepared for how things would end. For me, that's what sucks most about how things ended. There is nothing you or I can do to make that better. We just need to use her example and move on.

I have gotten several requests for a copy of Andy's comments at the Mass to be posted, he latest from cousin John. Well, here's the thing....he didn't prepare them in advance and had nothing written down. I have asked my master debater to try and write down what he said and elaborate if he wished (he told me afterwards that he had about two minutes more, but he ended it before he got emotional. If I can get him to write something, I will post it here, but don't expect it this week. He is off to Chicago tomorrow to complete in a debate tournament.

My brother provided me with the link below, as I sat teary eyed opening up more Mass cards and reading emails. I have to say this lady who is also newly widowed sums up how I feel pretty well.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101239.html?referrer=emailarticle

Scary too, she was married for 19 years, just like Trish and I, but they waited a little longer to have children from the ages.

I am working from home this week, so that I can move back into my house, sort through stuff, wash clothes and the like. I also don't think I am quite ready to start a routine of being in the office. I'll do that next week.

Tonight, I'll go to a Lacrosse meeting for the boys at school. Trish missed much of the boys Lacrosse seasons as a result of her treatments. She was so looking forward to seeing them play this year.

and he still posts.....

Remember that this is therapy for me as it has been since October of 2005 and may continue to be for some time to come.

Trish was laid to rest yesterday. Her Mass was incredible. The church was full and everything was just right. I didn't realize it, but our friends who I asked to read at Mass were coupled in our wedding party. I knew the were in our wedding party, but didn't realize that they were each other's escorts for the service until the reminded me. I couldn't have planned that if I tried. At the end of this post, I will include the readings we used during Mass and the lyrics for THE SONG (Here, There and Everywhere), as well as some pictures that Trish's cousin Rick took. I also hope to have the tri-fold recipe sheet the funeral home made available for download on the website earl this week.

Our son, Andy, spoke during the Mass. He not only memorialized his mother, but assured everyone that she was in a better place and that she wanted everyone to celebrate her life and not be sad. My wife and sons are amazing people.

I spoke briefly (big surprise to everyone). I told no stories (happy or sad) about my beautiful bride. I did what I knew she would want me to do. As simply as I could, I said thank you. So for those who missed it at Mass: Thank you. Thank you for your prayers, your good cheer, your financial support, your friendship and now thank you for your memories and support as we begin a new, harder life, without the lady that has guided and held us together for over 19 years.

Our house is filled with and surrounded by flowers today. I wanted to bring them back to the house, so that our guests could enjoy them, and only left a few at the cemetary.

Now I must focus on moving back into my house and continuing. Trish was a very practical person. She dealt with adversity head on. She spent no time in self-pity and very little in sorrow. She knew how to pick up and move on when it was needed. I now must ask her to help me learn how to do the same.

If you would like to sign the online guestbook, it will remain active through Nov. 20th, please try to do so before than. I am printing these up with the
emails we have received and creating a book along with all the cards.

Also, if you would like to attend one of the South Florida masses being said in Trish's honor, I have posted a list of local mass dates and times and churches (look for link on left).

Funeral Mass Readings

A reading from the book of Proverbs:

When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.
Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar.
She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household.
She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms.
She enjoys the success of her dealings; at night her lamp is undimmed.
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle.
She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.
Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land.
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come.
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel.
She watches the conduct of her household, and eats not her food in idleness.
Her children rise up and praise her; her husband, too, extols her:
"Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all."
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.

This is the word of the Lord.
---
A Reading from the second letter of Timothy

For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

This is the word of the Lord.
---------
From the Gospel of Matthew:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.
"No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 17
Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?'
All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, 19 and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.

This is the Gospel of the Lord
----------------

Here, There and Everywhere

To lead a better life I need my love to be here...
Here, making each day of the year
Changing my life with a wave of her hand
Nobody can deny that there's something there
There, running my hands through her hair
Both of us thinking how good it can be
Someone is speaking but she doesn't know he's there
I want her everywhere and if she's beside me
I know I need never careBut to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there
I want her everywhere and if she's beside me
I know I need never care
But to love her is to need her everywhere
Knowing that love is to share
Each one believing that love never dies
Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there
To be there and everywhere
Here, there and everywhere

……..John Lennon, Paul McCartney

A word about this song. In the 9th grade, I wrote an essay on this song for an English class. It has always been a song I liked. I even listed it as my favorite song in my Hgh School yearbook (didn't realize, but saw it recently). Until Trish came into my life, this song never had meaning for me. More something to hope for, strive for, but now the words are very real and meaningful and ingrained in my soul.

And you thought I was done writing.....

Since we have so many folks caring and sharing and not all of them could be with us this weekend, I thought I would jot down some thoughts about today before going to bed.

Flowers. A few posts back I mentioned that I was ok with lots of flowers versus folks donating on behalf of Trish. Boy o'boy did you all take that to heart. As I walked into the funeral home today, the flowers were everywhere and the funeral folks weren't sure what to do with all of them. There were over 60 arrangements and everytime I turned around more were showing up. They were all beautiful. We could only bring two to the church and raher than leave the rest at the cemetary, we picked 2 or 3 o leave at the cemetary and brought the rest home. Trish's butterfly garden in the front of the house is filled with beautiful arrangements and each table on our patio for he reception tomorrow has an arrangement and flowers fill the house. Tomorrow we'll pick up about 11 more and fill the backyard as we celebrate Trish's life.

While all the arrangements were wonderful, as I went around the room reading flower cards. I hit one and began to cry. It was from our friends Faye and George. Faye is also a patient at Johns Hopkins and the night before Trish's aneurism incident we shared what was to be Trish's last meal with Faye and George. Trish guided me through preparing a special pasta dish that was low fat since she had just had her gall bladder out and George picked up a special pizza and we enjoyed a good meal. Trish cheated and took a big bite of my pizza and it tasted so good to her. Thanks Faye and George for becoming fast friends and remembering Trish. I will continue praying for Faye each day.

People. My other surprise of the early afternoon was the number of people who showed up for the early visitation. As my brother put it, the early visitation is usually for old folks who can't drive at night. The room was filled. Tonight the room was standing room only. Not only did we have quantity, but quality. We had folks making sacrifices to say goodbye, from Trish's friend who drove in from Colorado to folks who flew in and out for a few hours to be with us today or drove 10 hours or more just to see us today and say goodbye to my beautiful bride and the boys loving mother.

The folks who accidentally came across Trish's obituary and showed up today really made my day as well. My long time friends Rob and Ferny and "The Moms". Trish and I went to Amanda the Panda on Saturday mornings with the boys when they itty bitty and made some real good friends that we haven't seen for a while (as the kids are now seniors in high school), but they were there tonight -- Cindy, Darla and Alba. Wow. That really warmed my heart and made my night.

All of the folks who have come out and shown there support have been amazing. Your love and efforts meant so much to all of us.

The cookies. We received today two unique gifts worth mentioning. Both involved cookies. My friend Tony enrolled us in the cookie of the month club. Each month we will receive a bundle of joy that will bring us memories of Trish and her cookie baking. Trish's friend Susan, spent the day baking and fedexed a batch of fresh home made cookies to us. We might share some tomorrow, but the boys and I enjoyed them today.

Cards, letters, emails and guest book signings continue to pour in. My quiet wife, who avoided being the center of attention is sure attracting a lot of attention now. I better get to bed, we get picked up at 9:30am to say our final goodbyes before heading to Mass.

Here, There and Everywhere

In addition to getting the house ready for Saturday, I met with Fr. Jeff and the musicians today to plan the funeral Mass. Everyone is in agreement that I picked some good readings as Phil drove us home from Baltimore. Each reading either speaks about Trish's character in some way or about her struggles and rewards during this two year battle -- bummer, you may want to pay close attention to the readings Saturday.

We have some powerful music lined up for the Mass as well. My favorite song and my ringtone for calls from Trish will be sung b Sheree during after communion. I got to hear her sing it tonight and tried to hold back the tears. I think I posted the lyrics earlier this year. As I listened to Sheree sing it tonight, I realized that it is a simple and pure song -- much like Trish. There are no harsh words or phrases that can be interpreted in more than one way. It's message is very appropriate. Love is eternal. Love is pure. Just like my bride. Listen carefully to the lyrics. It will be a meditation song after communion.

In other news, Ashley and Patrick Boyd convinced me to put some recipes together and they will prepare memorial recipe cards for the taking at the wake. Trish has so many favorite recipes that I may put a book together later and make it available on Cafe Press at cost. In the meantime, the three recipes available tomorrow (Friday) will be: Sun Dried Tomato and Pesto Torta, Trish Ahoy Cookies (our friend MarcO nick named Trish's chocolate chip cookies this) and her Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Biscotti. If ou are looking for a good pizza dough recipe, Trish had three. They ranged from good, better to best and she chose which one to make based upon how much time she had. The best recipe took 3-4 hours -- yep just for pizza dough, not the whole pizza.

I told someone at the patient house recently that she even made toast from scratch. They said, so do I -- I take the bread out of the bag and put it in the toaster.... I said no, I mean really home made. She first bakes bread from scratch and than slices it and toasts it.

I don't think the boys and I will ever eat as well as we are accustomed to ever again.

We hope to see you Friday/Saturday and please stop by the house afterwards. If you can't make a service or just can't handle the services, please still feel free to drop by the house Saturday.

A lot of things can happen in 10 months...

I have been home for just over 24 hours now and find myself getting frustrated by the number of things that have either changed or broken in the 10 months Trish and I were away. No complaints, though, lots of things that broke were fixed without me even knowing there was an issue.

It just makes relaxing and preparing for this weekend slightly more difficult. I think I am at least as OCD as the nurse that took care of Trish (and us) on the day she died. He made sure that everything in the room was perfect. We try to be prepared in the same way when we have guests in our home and I don't want to let Trish down.

The Mom's and my Dad made arrangements at the funeral home on Monday for me while my brother and I were still driving home from Baltimore. They also met with the cemetery. I went there today to sign the papers and make the payments. My suit pants went missing in the 10 months I was gone, I suspect I'll find them eventually, but to make sure I am not naked this weekend (that scared a lot of you) I went to Syms to buy a suit today and they hemmed it while I waited.

Thursday I will meet with Father Jeff at St. Max to complete the plan for Mass. For those who attended our wedding, you'll remember that the clergy on the altar out numbered the wedding party. While we did invite Fr. Paul from St. Bart's to concelebrate, he has a parish renewal retreat this weekend and will likely not be able to attend. Fr. Paul married us and baptized both our boys. A dear family friend who was not a deacon at the time of our wedding, but is currently, Bill Cresswell, will be serving at the Mass. Much like our wedding, where we served as our own Eucharistic Ministers, we will personalize the Mass and involve family and friends.

Our son, Matt has prepared a music CD of songs that are important to each of us and our relationship to Trish. The music will be played softly during the wake. Andy would like to speak about his Mom at the Mass. The Mom's and Trish's sister Kath, went shopping today for clothes for Trish and will go to the florist tomorrow. It's been a busy week.

Kath told me today that an old friend -- "from the old neighborhood" -- is driving in from Colorado to be with us this weekend. I am getting emails and phone calls from as far away as Germany, where they will miss their Birkenstocks for cookies exchange program.

We continue to root for our friends at Hopkins too. Those who have made it home and hope to not be back, those who struggle to have the chance that Trish had regardless of the cost and those who simply do not know what tomorrow will bring as they inch a day closer to breaking our 10 month record of hospital care.

We have heard from many who will not be able to make it this weekend. If you are sitting on the fence and can be here, please do. Whether it is the Mass on Saturday or the wake on Friday, we would love to see you. After the service at the cemetery, everyone is invited back to our house, please feel free to bring a change of clothes so you can be comfortable -- Trish would insist.

Funeral Arrangements for Patricia Ellen DiComo

Friends may visit from 2-4 & 6-9 PM, Friday (Nov. 9) at Boyd's Hollywood Blvd. Chapel. Prayer Service at 7:30 PM.

Funeral Mass will be 11:30 AM, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007 at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn South.

Reception following at the DiComo's home:
15061 N. Longbow Bend
Davie, Florida 33331

See the funeral map link on the left for locations and directions.

Quick Note on travel plans, etc.

We have lots of folks volunteering to pick people up at the airport, etc. So if you are thinking about coming down please let us know if you would need a ride and send your flight info in an email to me chip@dicomo.net....

If there is anything else we could do to help you be there for Trish, please let me know. I don't want something silly that we could solve to prevent family or friend from being there for Trish. I want to fill the church, I want the funeral home to complain that there are too many flowers. I don't want anyone who wants to say goodbye to miss the opportunity. If you let us know you are coming we will make sure you know of any family events so you are not fending for yourself between the ceremonies. Trish and I always take great pride in our ability to make our guests feel at home and comfortable -- while we may never open up that Bed and Breakfast now -- I owe it to her to be sure everyone is cared for and no one is blocked from being there to say goodbye.

A note from the road.... My brother and I are driving Trish's van home from Maryland (as I type Phil is driving). It is fully loaded with 10 months full of stuff. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner/lunch just south of DC and I ordered meatloaf. It came with three side dishes. You have to have mashed potatoes with meatloaf, I like corn so that was my seocnd choice. I knew Trish would be mad at me. I've always thought of corn as a vegetable. She reminds me everytime that it is technically a starch. So to balance the dirty look I got from her, I ordered carrots as my third side dish. We will drive to Savannah, Georgia tonight. We expect to get there around midnight. We'll sleep and start out again in the morning.

Help making arrangements and getting around

We are negotiating a group rate at the hotel closest to Trish and Chip's, I have also put up a special google map with directions to all locations, please use this to help you get around. It can be access here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=26.034179,-80.343919&spn=0.008098,0.015986&z=17&om=1&msid=114487185303620847712.00043e1b44465790091c2

The Hotel is the Hampton Inn in Pembroke Pines (click this sentence for info).

Actual times should be available tomorrow, see earlier post for expected days and locations.

FYI - For planning purposes

Arrangements are not yet finalized, but here is the general plan if you wish to attend of send something.

Wake: Friday November 9, Boyd's Funeral Home; 6400 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, Fl 33024 ---- 1-800-662-2335.

Funeral Mass: Saturday November 10, St. Maximillian Kolbe 701 N Hiatus Road; Pembroke Pines, Fl 33026 ---- 954-432-0206

Home Address: 15061 N Longbow Bend; Davie, Fl 33331

12:25pm Saturday November 3, 2007.

Heaven has a new Angel and the food will be so much better in heaven starting today.

9:41am Saturday

Trish slept through the night. The last time she was lucid was Friday morning. Her blood pressure is now 44 over 33 and the end game is clear. She will be home soon in more ways than one. Our efforts were not in vain, without the trials of the last two years, she would have had no chance. We gave her the best chance and we just aren't able to make it across the finish line we expected to cross.

There will be lots of tough times ahead for those of us who remain, but we will meet our challenges -- as best we can -- using the example she always provided. She always met all of life's obstacles head on and without fear. She always was simple and pure honest and true. She didn't make excuses, she just did her best. We can all learn much from her example. I know I have and hope that I can only be half the person she is.

(As further information is available, please check the web site for details)

11:53pm Friday.

Trish has now had two periods of restful sleep today. But for us it really didn't appear restful. Her breathing is strained, she groans with each breath. She is sedated on the pain meds and should not be feeling any pain. I call for the nurse to give her a booster dose if I think she is in pain. Thanks to Trish's sister spending the night with her last night I slept for the first time in a week Thursday night. This is starting to become a long process and it is wearing all of us down. The boys are starting to forget the great visit they had with Trish Sunday morning and starting to remember her labored breathing of more recent days. We hope for something bright, but would settle for an end to her suffering. This knife edge is truly a tough walk for all.

6:09p.m Friday.

Trish is still pretty anxious. Her breathing still labored and her will still strong. She hasn't really been able to talk to us since early afternoon -- mostly in an anxious sleep state. Her vitals are still pretty good, her blood pressure fluctuates from normal to low.

They have given her two doses of haldor to try and calm her, they don't really seem to be helping. Maybe earlier in the week when she was more stable than now she should have had the dialysis. No one really knows for sure. She continues to fight. We continue to comfort and support.

Hello. I had typed out a nice update last night on my blackberry to send to Brian to post after responding to an email from Mike, but just as I was clicking send the blackberry disconnected and the message was lost.

Too bad, cause the update last night was more optimistic. They were considering dialysis to help clean up the toxins in her body and keep giving her the chance to surprise us all. Today they are not as optimistic about using the dialysis because her blood pressure isn't holding as well. Her breathing is more laborious.

They gave her steroids over night to help her adrenal glands, but tests show she probably didn't need them. They gave her anxiety and she was restless most of the night and morning. They discontinued them and she is seeming more calmer. She is still fighting though and the doctors are struggling to walk the line between keeping her comfortable and either staying out of her way or enhancing her chances of recovery.

Her chances for recovery are not great. Dr. Griffiths described where we are as walking along a knife edge. Any little breeze, hiccup, etc and we fall off. But she has surprised all of us a number of times, so we continue to make that walk as easy as we can for her. She may not make it to the other side, but we don't want to stop her from trying.

Wednesday late night post...Don't jump to any conclusions before reading the whole thing....

Since we seem to be in a less critical spot than earlier this week, I will be a little more reflective tonight. Maybe that will help put me to sleep, so I can get my best night's sleep in a while.

Perception is everything. Treat me like a king and I will believe I am a king. Treat me like I am dieing and I will die. It's been interesting that the nursing staff has treated Trish more like a hospice case than someone who has a chance since we came back from the ER and CVDL Saturday afternoon. Last night, Trish's siser Kath and I were sure we were witnessing Trish dieing as we held her hands and she coughed up flem. I have held Trish many times when she looked like crap and vomitted or coughed up bloody chemo filled flem, never before did I hink she was one her last stand. The way the nursing staff has prepped us this week, we were convinced that the only way this could end was in death. While Trish receives the sacrament of the Annointing of the Sick each time she is admitted to the hospital. She has received what sounds much more like the "last rites" (old name for the same sacrament) three times in the last four days.

All talk was focused on pain reduction and dieing. Along comes our favorite fellow -- who was slowed down by her own flu earlier this week (Dr. Griffiths)...Now we are reducing pain meds to find a happy medium between conscious conversation and pain reduction. I think we have indeed found that happy place on the pain meds and Trish is once again visiting with us and enjoying it. Previously she was just out like a light with occasional lucent periods.

They also took an ultra sound today in hopes of seeing if there was any other intervention necessary to restart the kidneys. Basically as a result of the internal bleeding, Trish had major system failures including her renal system (kidneys). Her kidneys which were susceptible to damage during chemo, have never been affected or harmed along our two year journey and before Saturday were chemically sound. Now they are the system of the most concern, Trish needs to purge a lot of crap in her bod and needs her kidneys to start functioning big time. If they don't start the docs can offer dialysis -- hopefully as a one time intervention to clean things out and than with less overwhelming conditions her own will kick in and help return the whole body to normal.

Speech and memory appear to be also affected by the truama of the lost blood pressure and bleeding. This may just be temporary until the toxins in her body can be purged or it could be the sign of damage due to oxygen loss from the trauma.

We are still in a very precarious spot and if Trish pulls off yet another recovery, from yet another set back, I will be more amazed than ever. It will also mean that we will likely be here well past our original go home date of November 9th.

A few days before this incident occurred, I called Trish my Timex. A very old commercial for the "affordable" watch featured John Cameron Swayse. He would show the watch in a rough condition, like on the bow of a motor boat, pull the watch off and put it on his wrist showing that it was still working. The tag line was " Timex. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." That's my Trish. Dr. G has shared with the medical team that she is a like a cat and has nine lives. By my count, these are the lives she's redeemed so far: 1) Vesivegal on her second night of chemo in Oct 2005, 2) sedated fall and hematoma in January 2006, 3) cerebellar toxicity and fall in April 2007, 4) Constipation which was really an infection which led to a hyterectomy in May 2007, 5) Bone Marrow Transplant in July 2007, 6) Graft versus Host Disease worse than anything else she has experienced in August/September 2007, 7) The great gelato incident of 2007 leading to removal of her gall bladder......that leaves only two lives left for her to work with and I am hoping that she will use one up here.

Please continue with the praying and positive thoughts. They can and will make a difference. It will still be a very steep climb for Trish to come out of this place we find ourselves, but with all of us by her side I am confident she will not let us down. I pray that her body is still strong enough to complete the journey.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support, your calls and emails and everything.

2:29pm Wednesday.
One more shot at a miracle. Dr. Griffiths came by and asked them to lessen her pain meds in hopes that her pressure would come up more naturally and with less help from the NEO drugs. They will also do an ultra sound to determine if there is any intervention that can be done to return her kidney functions (most likely draining fluid pressing on them). So there is a possibility - it however remains small. Still giving us reason to hope and pray.

8:29am Wednesday

Trish's condition deteriorated overnight. She spent much of the night coughing up flem. Her sister Kathy stayed with us in the hospital room and did much of the care-taking last night. Prognosis is poor.

6:40pm Tuesday.

Trish's latest chemistries are showing signs of weakness. Her kidney enzymes and liver enzymes are elevated. The "NEO" - the med used to raise her blood pressure - started this morning at .9 and is now running at 3.6, significantly higher showing that she needs some extra help maintaining her pressure. Her hematacrit is holding in the 30's still showing signs of no or reduced internal bleeding. We are in a day to day mode. Staying up with her last night really depleted me and I have asked her sister Kath to spend the night with us tonight so we can alternate being with Trish. While there is always still room for a miracle, she is showing signs of weakness. Her chest is starting to hurt feels like heartburn she says.

10:29am Tuesday.

News from rounds this morning. Trish's crit is good and holding, this is encouraging, but we are far from the miracle we are all hoping and praying for. Dr. Jones says Trish's billirubin is down as well - that's also good. As for Trish's swelling legs he says that's normal for the current condition and it will self-correct if she continues to get better. They tried to reduce the pain med to find a better medium between conscious conversation and pain relief, but Trish said she was starting to feel some pain, so they went back up. We will likely try again. If Trish continues to show signs of improvement they will begin nutrition in a day or two. She asked me this morning if she had epilepsy -- I think she knows that her speech and mind are slow right now (mostly from the pain meds we all think) and because of that she thought she might have epilepsy...I explained to her about the bleeding in the belly and she seemed to understand it. We can still go either way and you can still pray strong for that miracle, the doctors still feel it is possible and as you know -- the definition of a miracle is that it is something impossible.

7:38 am Tuesday.

Trish was up a lot last night. She could carry on a conversation. Sometimes they made sense, sometimes not. Dr. Matias Holdoff just came in, he's a fellow from Hamburg, Germany who worked with us during Trish's original chemo rounds. He told me that the bleeding appears stopped, Trish's Crit held again overnight. She still needs blood pressure meds to keep her pressure up. Her belly remains swollen with the leaked blood. Her legs are also swollen. She is coughing flem this morning for the first time, but she is able to cough and than I use the suction wand to get it out of her mouth. We continue to hope for a not so ordinary miracle today.

2:00 a.m. Tuesday. The rest of the family left about 10pm today. Andy came back for a short visit at about 11pm. Trish slept most of the day today, but has been quite restless in the time since Andy left. Just when I think she wil rest and I get comfortable in the chair, she'll call out my name and ask for some help. Because of the sedation or maybe her weakness or both it is not always easy to understand her. I remember talking to my grandmother after a stroke and having trouble understanding what she wanted to say or my neighbor with muscular dystrophy. This is so much harder for me tonight. I find myself calling the nurse in to help with things I have easily done before. Trish platlets and crit appear to be holding as of the just past midnight labs. Her legs are swelling with fluid. Her jaundice from the GvHd liver damage looks much better in her skin and eyes. She still has her big beautiful grin and it still warms my heart. She appears to be resting again now and I will try again to sleep.

3:26 pm Monday. Trish received some platelets today. So far her crit and pressures are holding. Her kidneys appear to be functioning today. They have always been perfect, but the trauma of the internal bleeding reduced her kidney function until today. Condition remains guarded, but she does appear to be stable and potentially recovering. The docs say they have never seen anything like this. The surgeons review the case each day to see if any surgical intervention is needed and so far it is not. No one is confident how this will end, but there is still reason to hope and pray, so please continue to do so. Thank you for your increased support at this toughest hour of our two year journey.

Monday 10:20am

Trish's blood pressure and hemtacrit held well overnight which was encouraging, but she remains in guarded condition and the prognosis remains grim. We are all with her this morning.

Expect and Pray for a miracle

Late tonight Trish's blood pressure is holding steady without the help of drugs. We are waiting to see if her crit is holding. While far from out of the woods, we can still pray for and expect a miracle.

9:25pm Sunday.

Trish is resting comfortably. She wakes up every so often and talks to us. The blood products have stopped and we are just waiting. We are all here with her and we know that that "we" extends out to so many people -- life long friends and people we have never met and many more in between. All of you have made our two year journey easier. Trish is an amazing lady. Many of you have told me how much she has taught you by her example in her journey.

I wanted to make a post to answer some questions we have received. Trish is resting comfortably and getting blood products in hopes that her leaks will clot. It's a quiet time as the boys and her Mom and sister get some rest and I am alone with her.

Trish was doing so well. Friday we went shopping and she ate and drank as normal. What happened overnight or Saturday morning was like you or I having a heart attack. It wasn't directly related to the Leukemia or GvHd, but by all means it was made worse as a result. On Saturday they repaired a leak in an artery (I think it was the hepatic artery - the one that brings blood to the liver), but they also noticed several anuerisms in other vessels in the same area.

The leak could have been caused by the gall bladder surgery, GvHd or simply an existing anuerism in a newly more weakened vessel as a result of GvHd. The area and Trish are too fragile to try any other sugical interventions to make repairs. The miracle we pray for is that the blood and other meds clot the leaking vessels and it would truly be a miracle if this happens.

We were so looking forward to returning home in about a week. Nothing could have foretold what happened yesterday to change our hope into despair. The doctors have done everything they could do. There are other issues too like nutrition, other systems slowing down, she is very frail.

Please keep praying.

The prognosis is not good. While they were initially able to stop Trish's internal bleeding yesterday, they believe it started again last night.

Trish's Mom and Sister and our youngest son Matt arrived last night around midnight. Andy our oldest arrived this morning, leaving from a debate tournament in Gainesville. Everyone is having a good visit with Trish. She slips in and out of consciousness, but still has her sense of humor and trademark smile.

The doctors have told us that she may pass between the next few hours or few days. I will insure updates are made by someone if I can't make them.

Please Pray for Trish Tonight

This is Brian Harrington posting tonight for Chip.

Today started out "normal" for Chip & Trish, but after she passed out twice, she was taken to E/R. She had internal bleeding from her gall bladder surgery. A procedure was done to stop the bleeding; however, she remains in guarded critical condition.

Trish needs our prayers tonight. "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am also"

Friday Update

Trish and I were up early this morning (Friday), she had ECP (photo pheresis) this morning. Her liver functions were better today, but not quite as good as they had been before yesterday. If you miss the update, always check he counts. I update that as soon as I get them from the nurses, even if I don't get around to posting an update.

We have the day off tomorrow (Saturday) and will head up to Aunt Mary's and will likely check out of the patient house on Monday. Trish will have an IPOP appointment on Sunday to prep for ECP on Monday. She should have a Mon-Wed-Fri IPOP schedule through our departure and next week will be her last week of two per week ECP treatments. The following week I have one appointment her at Hopkins and we hope to start 1 a week at Memorial West in Pembroke Pines the following week. Keep your fingers crossed and hands crossed in prayer that no hiccups emerge that keep us here beyond our current plan.

Just to get a taste of "normal" today. Trish and I went to Costco and had lunch at Chick-Fil-A -- She ate a grilled chicken patty and tomatoes (basically their grilled chicken sandwhich without the bread). Tonight we cooked a healthy pasta and shared with another couple here at the house. They bought a pizza and Trish was yearning a piece so bad, she took one bite of mine. The stomach ache she got after that should cure her of satisfying those cravings till her digestion gets better post surgery.

I'm tired and have a lot of packing to do tomorrow, so I'm going to get some sleep now, go get a gelato and enjoy your night or day....

The ride continues

You remember a few weeks (or maybe days ago) -- I seem to have lost the ability to know what time/day/date etc it is -- there was a roller coaster somewhere that got stuck. They were able to get the ride down, lowering the car into the station, but after the call arrived in the station, the hydraulic lines exploded and poured hydraulic fluid over all the riders.

That's kind of what today feels like for me.

We woke up after sleeping in and headed over to IPOP. Trish had a good night and was feeling good this morning. She looked good too. We were excited to begin the process of recovery to get home. Her platelet account was low and she was scheduled to get platelets today. I ran errands and worked while she was in IPOP.

Two roller coaster corkscrews came our way during this time. Trish (and most patients) get pre-meds before platelets -- it is usually Benadryl. Usually the side effect is sleep. Occasionally the side effect is anxiety -- you feel like you are wound up and jumping out of your skin. Usually Trish only gets this when they give her more than a dose of 37.5 (I forget the units). For some reason, when her nurse was about to give her 37.5 of Benadryl, Trish stopped her and said just give me .25 and go up if needed. Boy was it a good thing she said this....If she had gotten 37.5, she would have been a whole lot sicker. She got .25 and got the anxiety side effects. To counteract this, they give vitamin A -- Ativan (not really a vitamin folks). This of course makes her sleepy and now she is groggy instead of awake and happy as she started the day, her speech is slurred and she is resting.

This was the more mild of the two curves we rode today. The bigger and scary curve came when the nurse printed Trish's lab reports for us. Her liver function tests, if the lab test is accurate, have worsened. The billirubin is up about 10 points to 51.5. The ALK and AST also rose significantly (click on the counts link n he left column to see these and read the post from earlier this week for an explanation). This is scary stuff. We are all hoping that this is more lab error than anything else. The nurse did mention that the lab said the blood samples were clotting and difficult to test. Let's all hope and pray that's the primary issue and these counts are really lower. It seems everytime we get excited about a significant move forward, we get kicked down a few notches.

In other news, Dr. Bolanos-Meade made a special trip to talk to us today and let us know that he, Dr. Jones and Dr. Griffiths had tea this morning and all agreed that Trish should continue ECP at least once a week, once she is home. So I have already started the wheels turning to make thise appointments. This also means that we will leave Trish's catheter in place, until her body recovers to the point where she might prefer being suck with a needle weekly instead of having the catheter.

Folks, we are still far from the safe zone and today's labs serve as a reminder of that and spook us into less happier moods than we have known in the days since her gall bladder removal. Please continue to pray, send good cheer and root Trish on to success.

We will likely move back to Aunt Mary's this weekend. We have been residents of the Hackerman-Patz house since August 7th when Trish was discharged from the actual transplant and we are looking forward to actually being in a home again.

Quick Wednesday Update

Trish is undergoing ECP at the moment, but I'll pick her up shortly and we will head back to her room to be discharged.

Her first IPOP appointment is tomorrow at 11am. We hope to be in IPOP only for about two weeks and than on our way home - finally.

As always though, everyday is its own reward and challenge. We won't know we are really going home until we get in the car and start the journey, but we are closer than we have ever been.

So it is probably a good time to say thank you. This has been an amazingly tough two years, filled with unique challenges that have tested not only our family, but our friends and the medical team as well. So many of you have helped us along in this journey and in so many ways. We are eternally greatful to each and everyone of you. May God Bless you and may you know the Peace of God which is beyond all human understanding.

Tuesday Update

Tuesday passed without major incident. They removed Trish's pain pump today and she ate and walked some more. I cleaned up the apartment so that it is ready for her to get out tomorrow. The plan is that she will be discharged tomorrow and I alread setup her first IPOP appointment for Thursday at 11:30am....Our goal is to spend two weeks in IPOP and go home.

We had an interesting conversation with Dr. Jones tonight. Dr. Jones actually took the call from Dr. Fu to admit Trish back in Ocober 2005. This is the first time we actually met him -- he is the director of bone marrow transplants for Hopkins.

I asked him about Trish's liver function and the fact that two of the three liver function enzymes were nearly normal and the ALK was not descending with much enthusiasm and neither was the billi. He explained that this is a good sign and normal. The AST and ALT enzymes coming down, show that Trish's liver is functioning. The ALK and billi staying high are indicative of the fact that the liver was damaged by GvH. Together it is indicative that the GvH is no longer attacking the liver (they'd all be high and climbing if she was still under attack).

We asked him about ECP and how often Trish should continue it once we are home. He originally earlier in the conversation said Trish should continue the FK506 (Tacrolimus) and ECP when home, than he said that there really is no known proof that immune therapies are prophlylactic for GvH. Evenually all GvH stops, the goal of treatment is to stop it before it kills you -- especially in acute GvH. Since Trish's GvH is by all indications stopped, she may not need intense ECP anymore. It was originally started to help stop the ECP from causing liver failure. Now that the liver biopsy shows it is stopped, we may not need to continue it.

We will likel continue it until we come home and I'd say there is a good chance we will continue i at home, just very likely at a less frequent pace. This will be my ever nagging question over the next two weeks. Trish and I are looking to visiting Aunt Mary this weekend and possibly moving back to her house on Tuesday next week when our current payment at the patent house runs out....I feel like we will need a hyperbaric chamber to help us adjust to being home. It seems like home and the rest of our life is so disconnected to the life we have been leading since February.

My apologies for not getting around to posting the last 48 hours...here is an update....

I know that a number of you have been clicking away looking for an update since the good news Saturday post and have been worried because there has been no news.

Well someimes you just get carried away with stuff that needs to be done, sometimes you just get too tired. Please know that we appreciate your support and concern. There indeed continues to be good news.

Despite the lack of updates, you may have noticed that the Counts page has been updated and Trish's liver enzymes are nearly normal and her billi dropped significantly today. She was able to convince the docs to remove her nasal feeding tube this morning and has been eating ok today. I think the feeding tube was helpful. She is still dramatically underweight, but her legs, arms and face have filled out and she looks more normal now than she had looked in recent weeks.

She is slated to be discharged sometime after Wednesday. We will likely do at least two weeks of IPOP as an outpatient and than head home. I purchased tickets tonight, while we still have insurance. If we get to come home on the date I bought the ickets for -- we will leave on Friday Nov. 9 and be home around 2pm on Nov 10th. Don't count your chickens quite yet....we are still in day-to-day mode, even though it is starting to look real good.

It's interesting how things can change here. Our own story has had its ups and downs. From uncertainty over Trish's liver status to hope that things are going well. In recent weeks, we've been frustrated seeing people who were much sicker than Trish getting discharged and going home. We're not jealous, just frustrated. Now it looks like we will finally get our turn in a few weeks to be discharged, we will leave so many people behind who have been struggling for their own miracle. Hoping that they can be next. Hoping that they will not receive a set back. That they can move a step closer to freedom. To be disease free.

While you spend many hours praying for Trish. Trish and I spend our time praying for those who have become friends fighting cancers and other diseases along side of us. Do me a favor today, please remember our friends in your prayers today.

Saturday and the numbers are dropping big just like the Gators should drop Kentucky (I hope)

The Gators return to play this week after two discouraging loses and Trish is back with a vengeance as well. Two of the three liver enzymes have dropped so significantly over night that they are within 30 points of NORMAL for the first time in about two months. Additionally, the billirubin has also dropped. Her skin continues to look close to normal and her eyes remain a tad yellow (they are the last to change). If you haven't checked out the counts page in a while, now would be a good time. Look for the link on the left (Other Links, The Counts).

Folks things are truly looking up for the first time in a long time. Yet we both know that we are far from out of the woods yet.

The surgeons came by this morning and removed the surgical drian and her foley catheter was removed last night. She feels pretty good getting up and going to the bathroom now.

They ran the tube feedings last night at 10cc's an hour -- don't think they chose that to commemorate the band with the same name. That rate seemed too much for Trish and made her bloated. They stopped it and just resumed it around 11am today at 5cc's an hour. So far, that is working better. She wants to eat, so the tube feeding is really to help jump start her nutrition, while she eats things like cream of rice and wheat and jello -- not a lot of nutrition there. I may stop by Pitango's later today and pick up some sorbet for her. I think it will be a long while before we try any gelato (too high fat for a gall bladder-less person).

Celebrate our good news today, be nice to your liver, eat some gelato. Say a prayer of thanks. Breath deeply and enjoy the sun, the warm or cool breeze. Hug your son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife, significant other or hell, just find a willing stranger. Don't take the gifts of life or the gift of life for granted this weekend. Then, say another prayer of thanks. Amen.

Friday Update

Trish continues to recover from the surgery. Her fetynol is on continuous flow still, but she hasn't pressed the button for a needed exra push all day. I suggested to her that she ask about ending the continuous flow and put it just on push as needed. She did two laps on one walk around the nurses station today -- that was great, I really didn't expect her to do more than one and the nurses yesterday were impressed when she did one full lap. They only expected her to go to the corner of her row and back. Trish likes pushing the envelope, doing a little more than required to get by. Excelling with all her might. This is what has gotten us this far and what will see us through this challenge. Only things out of her control can stop her.

We are waiting for Trish Uncle Charlie and Cousin Sandy to visit. Trish is pretty tired so I hope they ge her soon. This will be a great visit that Trish is looking forward too, so I hope she is up to it.

Her next ECP treatment is Wednesday and we hope that they will discharge her by the end of next week. Tonight they expect to start feeding her via the nasal tube they inserted during surgery. The tube runs from her left nostril to her intestine. The thought is that feeding her this way will be easier on the liver, than TPN (IV feeding) and give her more nutrition than she can eat by mouth at the moment.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. We will be doing laps.

Thursday Update

Trish is mostly resting today, but she has spoken to a few folks on the phone. The nurses turned her bed into a chair so she could sit up for a while. After that she went for a lap around he nirses station. The one nurse walking with her said that she started slow and took off real fast for the rest of the lap. That's our Trish.

She plans on doing another lap later tonight. They are expecting to pull out the nasal feeding tube soon and have her focus on food by mouth only. This was a battle between the surgeons and the bone marrow team and I guess since the bone marrow team owns her, they won.

She is still in a lot of pain and presses the PCA every so often, but she is starting to move around. We are hoping to see the liver function numbers get better soon. Please keep praying for that turn around. Trish is still determined to get home before Matt's birthday on November 18th.

Trish resting back in her room in Weinberg

Trish is resting back at Weinberg now. She survived the very long hike from Blalock 7 to Weinberg 5B. She is using her PCA for pain as needed, but she still only rates he pain about a 5. The surgeons and the BMT docs debated putting a feeding ube in and the BMT didn't want it and he surgeons did. Since the surgeons owned her while she was under, she woke up with a feeding tube in her nose. We'll see if they use it or just pull it out in a few days. Trish would love to rest than eat. Her skin seemed a whole lot less yellow after surgery, so hopefully the liver will get on to the business of recovering now.

I unplugged her room phone and cell phone and will likely keep it unplugged for the next day. Recovery from this surgery is supposed to be about a week, I know my wife, she will find a way t o kick it much quicker than that. It's just how she does it. I have never known anyone who can face adversity quite the way she can. I am not even half as strong as her when it comes to that -- though I'd like to think I have other qualities that have helped her persevere. We are a well matched team.

If you are looking for something specific to pray for, wish for or will to happen, please focus on Trish's liver. That it can and does recover from the GvH damage and with the ugly gall bladder out of the way it finds a way to thrive.

Just spoke with Trish

I just left recovery. Trish is looking good. She just rated her pain a 4 and told me the pain was a little better than with the hysterectomy.

They said she is doing so well that they will keep her in recovery till about 3pm (which is longer than normal), but than they will move her back to her room in Weinberg rather than sending her to ICU.

Aunt Mary, John and I will go get some lunch now and see her after that.

Spoke to the doctor....

Trish is done and we are waiting for someone to let us know that she is doing well in the recovery/ICU area. They expect that to take about an hour. The doctor said the gall bladder was pretty large and adhered to most surfaces, but they were able to safely remove it. I asked him about the liver and he said that it looked pretty beat up, but they didn't damage it during this procedure.

9:48 - just got a call from the OR

and they are closing now. The doctor will be out shortly with an update, but all appears to be well. More after we speak with the doctor.

Just got a call from the OR

They just called from the OR at about 8:05am to tell me that they just started the procedure.

Surgery Update-a-thon

Welcome to gall bladder removal day....at least the third surgery that Trish has had in her struggle with AML and all of its effects.

I woke up early this morning (really I did), Trish called my cell a few times while I was in the shower to tell me they were coming at 6:30 instead of 7, but I was in her room by 6am and they didn't come till closer to 6:45.

Trish received a ton of platlets last night. They brought her platelet count up from 48 to about 122. Her INR (the bleeding coagulation time) was at 1.0 which is an improvement over the last time they had of 1.3. Dr. G told us that this is also one of the measures they look at to determine liver failure -- so o know that this improved and IS in the normal range is a good thing.

They wheeled Trish from Weinberg into Blalock, the original surgcal center on the 7th floor. I was kind of hoping they could do the surgery in the Weinberg surgical center -- it's newer, has a prep room before surgery and a better waiting room for me. BUT as this was a last minue scheduled procedure we had to settle for Blalock -- there's more operating rooms.

This time the let me wheel into the OR area with Trish and I was able to wait outside the OR with her before they brought her in to prep. At about 7:30 they brought her in to start the prep. They likely won't start the operation until 8:30 (afer the prep work is done and she is put to sleep). The nurse will let me know when the start the procedure, but for now I am in the waiting room.

I'll post updates as I get them. Trish is expected to be in surgery till about 11am or so and she will stay in the surgical ICU tonight. the nurse says she will have an intermediate care bed in the ICU -- this means that they don't expect her to need very critical care and the ICU stay is more precautionary. By morning, they should move her back to her room in Weinberg 5B.

Stay tuned. Keep praying. Thank you.

Update - Surgery times confirmed

Trish's surgery is scheduled for 7:30 tomorrow Wednesday morning. The OR is booked from 7-11:30am, though they are not expecting it to last that long. She'll spend most of the rest of tomorrow in ICU and than come back to her room on Weinberg 5B to continue recuperating.

A decision has been made!

We are stil waiting for a confirming CT to know that nothing else is going on, but the surgeons are looking at putting Trish on the emergency schedule for gall bladder surgery first thing in the morning.

We expect the CT to confirm that the gall bladder is bad and nothing else is wrong and that Trish will be in surgery first thing tomorrow morning.

They are expecting to perform the surgery "open" the old fashioned way instead of laproscopically. The reason is that it will be safer for Trish and easier to repair anything else that might be an issue or go wrong during the procedure.

Everyone expects that the removal will put Trish back on the track to recovery from the GvH and allow her to eat again.

The only down side to the open surgery is that recovery times goes from 2-3 days to at least a week. But than we should be able to move forward to get her liver back o regeneraing and coming home.

They will pump her platlet levels up to over 100 tonight (they are currently at 59. As much as we dread surgery we all feel this is Trish's best chance to get back on track to recovering her liver after GvH and Dr. Huff reiterated that it is possible that her liver can make a comeback after she can eat again.

YOOO HOOO!!!

Tuesday morning post

Well rounds just left and here's he scoop. Dr. Huff thinks that by the end of the day we should have an answer on surgery. They are having the surgeons and the GI team come by today to review the case and bang heads at a high level to make a call. All signs point to surgery to remove the gall bladder. They may still scope her stomach out before the final decision is made. Today should be a pretty quie day with a few visits from surgeons and such, tonight we should have a more substantiative update.

The covering resident surgeon did come by last night and she was very nice and very informative. She said from the records she reviewed it was definite that Trish had colesystitis (sic, bad gall bladder). She said that sometimes they can wait up to six weeks to rest a sick gall bladder before removing it. Hopefully Trish's 1 1/2 weeks of gall bladder rest was good enough. Based on imaging it might have been.

Look for an update late today.

OK so here it finally is, an update with a few teeth....

Ok, we do have an update and it has only a few teeth, but by the end of the week we should have a good plan.....

So here is the story:

Sunday we had the HIDA scan....the tech and radiologist said the liver took up the dye right away and the gall bladder remained "cold" - not visible - for the whole hour she was scanned.

They took her down for another picture this morning and never called her back for the second picture this afternoon that they told us they wanted when we spoke to them yesterday.

When Dr. Huff came in this evening to talk to us, she told us that the final report from nuclear medicine said that the scan was inconclusive.....that was kinda annoying. We related what the conversation was on Sunday and that the team Sunday thought that the scan supported an issue with either the gall bladder or the duct between the liver and the gall bladder.

Dr. Huff believes in her medical heart of hearts that Trish's issue is her gall bladder and that she can regenerate her liver if the rest of her is healthy. Her symptoms are digestive, it hurts when she eats and no more. The liver's only role in digestion is the production of bile -- which Trish has plenty of, so again it appears to be something effecting digestion, not the liver damage that is her root problem.

The nuclear med doctor was way more helpful on Sunday than today, Dr. Huff is trying to get with them again. She is also bringing in the surgeons again tomorrow morning and the GI team. By the end of the week we should have a definite plan, but it is looking likely to include removal of the gall bladder despite the image tests. They may still scope out Trish's stomach to insure there is nothing there that needs attention, but the focus is starting to form around the gall bladder (are you happy yet, Mike).

Trish had an ultra- sound right before starting ECP (about 3 weeks ago) and the tech asked her if she had eaten because her gall bladder looked like she had, but she hadn't. I think the gall bladder has likel been bad for a while -- quite possibly because of GvH. I am hopeful that this is the conclusion of the doctors. It really is a best chance out of the tunnel.

Hopefully we will have more frequent and good updates the rest of the week. Pray hard and thank you.

Just a quick note

My apologies to all of our friends and family who have been clicking frequently the last 24 hours looking for an update.

We have no NEWS yet. Trish did get the HIDA scan yesterday and it indicated a possible issue with the gall bladder. The wanted another scan today to confirm the situation and they took that scan early today. They thought they may need another scan tonight, but Trish said the were happy with the scan from this morning and wouldn't need another scan.

We are hoping to have some news tonight, but it may be tomorrow. Trish is feeling well and trying to progress her diet. She's hoping for a dry baked potato for dinner. Thanks to all of ou for caring and checking in and sorry to keep you worried. I'll post something tonight or tomorrow with any news we get. Keep praying.

Saturday second update

Just a quick update....Trish will get a HIDA scan tomorrow (Sunday) at about 10am....rish is also feeling a lot better tonight and has progressed her diet. She ate some jello at about 6pm and later ate some farina (cream of wheat). I am excited to report that all has stayed safely in her digestive tract. YEAH! Hopefully she will feel well after the scan tomorrow and have some more.

Saturday - No ordinary miracles today

Today was not the bright hopeful day we expected after the last two days. Trish's night was less than spectacular. She woke up tired and headachey and nauseous. They are trying a new nausea medicine today. It's supposed to work well and last several days on one dose.

Trish is feeling better now (about 6pm) and ate some jello, it appears to be staying down. There is so little in her stomach, that she says she can feel it (the jello) making its way down. We may try some farina before bed tonight. They are trying to schedule a modified HIDA scan for tomorrow (Sunday).

It was a big bummer for Trish and I to have a bad day today after a great 3 days and a nice two day visit with Joe and Cathy, but one day does not a trend make. Tomorrow could be the day to turn it all around.

Friday Night Update

Trish and I have really enjoyed our visit with Cathy & Joe these last two days. Trish looks and feels great -- that's what everybody else says when they visit her.

Today, the docs shared some results from the liver biopsy with us. The good news is that it appears the Cytoxan treatments have stopped the GvH and there appears to be no "active" GvH in Trish's liver. The not so good news is that Trish's liver was pretty "beat up" by the GvH before it was stopped.

So what does this mean? No one really knows. The liver is the only organ in the body that can regenerate itself. You only need about 15-25% of it to be good to regenerate. Regeneration can take months. People can live for months with a bad liver. Any infection or agitation can cause a setback to liver regeneration. There are optimists and pessimists on the doctor team treating Trish -- but no one really knows what will happen.

The goal is that they will stabilize her and that she will be able to eat a low fat diet to sustain her nutrition needs. Today was a jello only day and she did fine. Tomorrow we will add soft cereal. and build up through the weekend to regular low fat foods. The focus is still on getting us home by the second week of November.

We can still beat this thing, but it is pretty much anyone's guess on how things will unfold and we may not beat it despite all of our efforts.

I guess the thing we need most is a lot of prayer, love and friendship. Maybe even a little luck.

Cathy & Joe

Thursday - no news is no news, right?

Sorry to those who may have been clicking away today hoping for some news. Pretty much we have no new news.

Trish remains an inpatient. She remains NPO (no food). They want to continue to rest her gall bladder and try food again soon. They are also considering TPN (IV food) for her. They are trying not to stress her liver, while starting to help the rest of her functions become normal again.

They consulted three surgeons. One wanted to take it out, one didn't want to and the other was on the fence. So no surgical procedures are scheduled.

Trish had her fourth ECP treatment today. No way to really tell if it is working or not or when it will produce a result we can be excited about. Her next appointment for ECP is Monday.
One of Trish's best friends from high school, Cathy, is visiting today and tomorrow, it was a great visit today and more of the same is expected tomorrow. Cathy filled in my role as Dr. Huff stopped by the room, she did a great job asking all the questions I would have asked, but really nothing new to report.

To top off the perfect day, Dr. Griffiths stopped by before the end of her moonlighting shift of being on call till 11pm. We had a great conversation and she said Trish looked good and that the one element that they look at to see if the liver is dying wasn't that bad at all. One of the things we really like about her is that she doesn't hide behind the numbers and she tells us straight. Good or bad.

I'm not sure when I will have something significant to report , but the thinking is to try and let Trish eat and maybe discharge by Monday.

I'll keep you posted, but you may need to have more patience. I know I am learning to have some.

HIDA - No, LP - No, Surgery maybe

So this morning they prepped Trish for the HIDA scan (nuclear medicine view of the gall bladder), than they took her over t he scan. She did remember to mention that we had read that the billi needed to be below 20 for the test and the doctors said they wanted to try the test anyway. Apparently they didn't check with the nuclear med doctors.

Trish was wheeled in and wheeled out without having the test done. Nuclear med wouldn't do it with her billi so high.

The docs also cancelled the LP (lumbar puncture/spinal tap) they had scheduled for Noon today. They were going to use it to see if Trish had something in her spinal fluid responsible for the headaches. But the headaches are better since she hasn't been eating.

However, she just called me (I'm back at the apartment washing clothes) and told me that the surgeon just stopped by. He is on the fence whether they should drain the gall bladder or remove it. It's pretty enlarged and they may not be able to remove it laproscopically (i.e. they may have to cut her open to get it out). Their other choice, to drain it, would require it to be drained over several weeks. That would definetly postpone our return home. Regardless of what they do, it is likely to drain our insurance, patience and test us to new levels. At this point we both just want to get home.

The surgeon wasn't optimistic that the gall bladder issue is the problem with the billi being so high. He thinks that the billi is high due to GvH and that the gall bladder inflamation is due to Gvh too.

The are likely to make some sort of decision today and we'll keep you posted.

Late Night Tuesday Update

Sometimes the treatment is a bigger problem than the problem. Trish had her ECP treatment today (that wasn't a problem at all). In fact, she looked a lot better curled up in the ECP chair than she did curled up in her hospital bed. I truly think she has developed a mental allergy to being "in" the hospital. An allergy that triggers nausea and vomitting.

Today she looked pretty good, though she was a bit yellow. She was hungry all day today. She had jello for lunch and than during rounds she was made NPO -- no food, no drink, nothing. Tomorrow she is scheduled for a nuclear medicine test a HIDA Scan. The HIDA is designed to look for issues in the liver and gall bladder. However, one article I read says that if he Billi is higher than 15-20 the test is inconclusive. I told Trish to ask the docs about that if they come in before I get there to take her off to the test.

Dr. Griffiths came by around 1pm to do the LP (spinal tap). we were of course at the ECP session. She says she'll be back at Noon Wednesday -- so I guess the good news is she will do it and the bad news is -- it isn't optional.

Trish is wanting to eat pretty bad tonight and there in lies the problem. She has the desire, but isn't allowed to act on the desire that we have all longed to see in her. Ugh this really stinks.

So some options of what they might find.....

Damage in the gall bladder, damage in the liver, GvHd, etc. One thing that we are pretty sure of is that they won't find obstruction of the bile ducts, as all other imaging has been negative for this. Hopefully they will be able to come up with a quick plan to solve this issue. Hopefully once they solve the issue with the gall bladder, Trish's billi will continue downward and she will be good to go.

We expect to run out of insurance very shortly now, between the ECP treatments and the current hospitalization. Hopefully billing will be quick enough as not to create another problem (loss of HIPPA protection). I emailed the Hopkins financial folks o insure this isn't an issue.

Don' expect a post on Wednesday till late in the day.

Tuesday

Well the liver function numbers are mixed. Trish had a better night than the night before and she seems better this morning than yesterday. But her numbers are not significantly better and bulge in her belly is still there to some degree and the doctors are not that happy with her progress to date.

They didn't want to restrict her diet too sternly, knowing that she needs to keep her nutrition up, but today they are putting her on a "cold turkey" diet -- no not cold turkey, the meat from the bird. No food or drink, period.

They will also limit her narcotics, as this can cause the gall bladder to contract as well. If it were up to Trish, they would just rip the thing out. Bu they are being careful and cautious and trying to do the job medically and as surgery free as possible.

They have also ordered a special type of x-ray to take another look at the gall bladder and may do a spinal tap as well -- we put in our request for Dr. G to do the puncturing if it must be done.

We have ECP at 1pm and will get ready for that shortly. Trish is getting a little bummed over these latest developments - so some good cheer woudl be a good thing. Best address is the Hackerman House address and since she is more awake, I have plugged her phone back in today.

It seems everytime we take a big step forward towards the finish line, we take a giant step back. We continue to pray and be hopeful that the gelato euphoria we felt on Friday will come back our way again and linger a lot longer this time. Thanks for your continued support, prayer and friendship.

Welcome to Monday

The great eat a low fat diet experiment did not go so well. They are putting Trish back on clear liquids. It's a tough balancing act -- she needs to eat, she needs hydration -- but if they over do it, it comes with its own issues as well as rewards.

Trish had a bad night last night, vomitting and severe headaches. This is a lady that has had headaches her whole life and has a great tolerance for headache pain, but her current 8 on a scale of ten headaches are bringing her down. Heck headaches she rates at 5, are like a 20 for most people.

Some good news is that she hasn't lost any weight. Neither of us can figure this out, but we'll accept it. I made her a bowl of Farina this morning (Cream of Wheat to the non-Italians) and mixed in some dried Rasberries. She enjoyed it until the docs came in and told her she should go back to liquids.

The docs expect a 14 day regimen of the antibiotics. Hopefully they are not the cause of the pain - cause if they are it will be a long 14 days. She shouldn't have to be in the hospial that whole time. I'm hoping not, 'cause I was hoping we would be home before we ran out of insurance and it is getting closer each day.

Speaking of going home...We are still targeting the second week of November, barring any new unforseen circumstances. I posted a page with some do's and don't's for Trish's return (like get a flu shot, but not the nasal kind , still no live flowers please and more).

I have unplugged her room phone and cell phone while she is sleeping, so don't panic if you don't get an answer. Feel free to call or email me for an update.

Sunday update

Trish is tired today. I'd like to think she is depressed over the Gators loss at the end of a game they unexpectedly dominated, but I know that's not true.

Her potassium dropped low again last night. I knew this as soon as I walked into the room. They had an EKG machine in the corner. It was off and she was unhooked, but it was on and she was attached earlier. You see (and I had no clue until Trish got sick) potassium regulates the heart beat. Your body's potassium levels should be between 3.5 and 5.1 mEq/L. Trish's must have hit a 2.something to bring out the EKG machine.

Her billirubin is continuing a downward trend. YEAH! She will likely be in the hospital until at least Wednesday. Which means she will get her ECP treatment Tuesday as an inpatient.

She's feeling pretty weak, but hard to feel otherwise when you haven't eaten real food in a few days. The will put her back on a regular - fat free diet today.

Her hospital room number is 410-502-0322, if you want to say hi.

Quick Saturday Update

Have you had your gelato yet?

It is only one day after the start of antibiotics and already we have some pretty good news....Trish's billirubin dropped from 34 to 31 today.

That's the most significant one day change in her billi in a long time and it is in the right direction. Alleluia. Amen.

Trish is sleeping. The pain from her enflamed gall bladder made for a rough night last night. If you wanted to call I would suggest calling late in the day. She is sleeping off the pain meds today. This is a great sign and should keep us on target for Trish's personal goal of coming home the second week of November.

The Gelato that may save my wife's life

Click on the logo above to find out about the greatest little gelato shop on the face of the planet earth. Here's how they accidentally saved my wife's life.

Trish had a tough time this week. She woke up every morning with headaches and nausea. Whenever she ate her stomach would hurt and she would feel full regardless of how little she would eat. No one knew what to do for her. Her biggest health problem has been her elevated billirubin -- a result of her GvHd we all thought.

Last night I was tired, but Trish had some energy and really had a craving for some gelato. Last week we went to lunch with her Uncle and Aunts and stopped by Pitango's for gelato and sorbet (in Fells Point, Balimore). Trish had their sorbet. It tasted a lot like the homemade sorbet that Trish makes when we are home. Cold, with simple fresh goodness and no crap. She said it was the first time she had relief from her chemo induced dry mouth in weeks.

Back to last night. Trish was feeling pretty good and wanted to get out. I was tired and wanted to fall asleep watching TV. This was the first time in a very long time that she wanted to do something and it was a simple request -- a cup of gelato. How could I deny her that?

I headed into the hospital to pick up the car. Waited at security to get an ID badge, pasted the five stickers I needed to the parking ticket to get our car out of the garage ($20) and made my way back to the Hackerman house to pick Trish up.

We parked at Fells Point right across from the shop and walked over. My decision was easy -- Chocolate Hazelnut. Trish couldn't decide what flavor she wanted and I think they gave her two flavors mixed and she asked them to be less than generous with the portion, because she knew she wouldn't eat it all. They even gave us a friendly discount on hers since it wasn't a full serving.

We went back to the car and ate. We than headed to Safeway to buy some groceries. In the last few weeks when Trish accompanied me shopping, she usually sits at the in-store Starbucks while I shop. This night she walked the whole store with me. She really felt good.

We headed home. All of a sudden Trish was in pain. She was doubling over and lying in a fetal position with severe stomach pain. We called into the hospital and they told us to come right over.

After getting a CT scan this morning, they concluded that Trish had an infection of the gall bladder -- no gall stones, just an infected gall bladder. They began treatment with antibiotics. If it wasn't for Trish's craving and the fat in the gelato aggravating her gall bladder this might never have been discovered until it got very badly infected.

Here's another funny thing. Last week Trish got an ulta-sound of her liver and she was told to fast after midnight the night before the ultra-sound, which she did. During the imaging session, the tech asked us again if we were sure she didn't eat, we said yep - absolutely nothing. She peaked our interest and we asked why she asked repeatedly. She explained that the gall bladder looked contracted, the way it would have looked if Trish had recently eaten. That ended the discussion and I am sure she just t hought that we had lied about fasting. So I guess we did have evidence of an issue early, it just wasn't enough to do anything about and an ultra-sound is not as conclusive as a CT scan.

So, thank God for small cravings. Thank God for the gall bladder aggravation caused by the best gelato we have ever eaten. Thank God for a tired husband, who wouldn't stand in the way of his wife's cravings. Thank God for a positive CT scan, that may have revealed another cause for an elevated billirubin level.

Say a prayer of thanks and eat some gelato today.

Happy Anniversary, but did we have to celebrate this way!?!?

>>If you haven't read the post before this one, you may want to read it first<<

I titled this post Happy Anniversary - because it is. It is the 2nd anniversary of Trish's first admission to Hopkins. Now, why she had to celebrate by getting readmitted is far beyond me.

We now know why Trish felt pretty good after IPOP yesterday and REALLY BAD after we had some gelato. She has an enflamed gall bladder. They will treat her with antibiotics today and hopefully release her sooner than later. The fat in the gelato iritated her infected gall bladder, which may also be the source of her high billirubin -- which means once the infection is taken care of her billi should get back to the business of dropping. No guarantees, but we are hopeful.

Once again though her medical care, has put her on a diet that is contradictory to her need to gain weight. She is on a clear liquid diet. Jello, broth and drinks only. Had she not been feeling better and wanted the gelato, we may have never gotten the diagnosis she needed so it is a good thing I guess.

Dr. Griffiths came by and said Trish looked great! and she does, really....One of the many things we like about Dr. G is that she doesn't hide stuff, candy coat stuff. She just tells it like it is -- simple honest truth, just the way Trish likes it -- warts and all if need be. So we knew she wasn't just trying to cheer us up. She was also very happy to know Trish had a gall bladder infection, that could be why we haven't seen the improvements we were expecting to see.

More later....

Well it was a good night.....

Trish felt pretty good this afternoon. She ate, I worked and washed clothes, she read a magazine...Later she asked me if we could go out for some gelato. We found a really good gelato store in Fells Point when we had lunch with her Aunts and Uncle. We went for gelato and than to Safeway for some groceries.

She was doing pretty good. Around 10 her stomach started to hurt real bad and she vomitted. Trish is funny she always says she feels better after throwing up and after she eats a lot -- she always says I will feel better if I throw up.

I also gave her a fetynal lollipop for the pain and called into the IPOP on-call number. The doctor thought it best we came in to get some imaging and antibiotics. Whew...
Everytime things start to get better we find the pot hole in the road.

I'll stay with her tonight until the doctors get her history, etc. Than I'll go back and try/pretend to sleep. I probably won't have anything new to post until mid to late afternoon. Hopefully this will be a 24 hours and out. Hopefully it will be treatable and not too serious.

More later....