Day +2 thru +6

We can't believe it is day +6 already. The days are flying by. We have actually been here in our little apartment for 2 weeks today. Ken is amazed that it has been 2 weeks. We have had a wild few days. Ken has been having a tough time, but he is way better today.

On day +2, Wed, Ken's throat was again sore, though his pain meds seemed to be helping. At least he could still eat. His sore throat is due to the chemo attacking his esophagus. He said it was about 10 times what a normal sore throat with strep feels like. We were both pretty depressed on Wed. We had made plans with my kids to have dinner with them Wed. night. But our daughter, Stephanie, caught a cold and was sick herself. And with Ken feeling so sick, we just layed around all night. I really missed the kids.

However, when he got up on Day +3, Thanksgiving Day, Ken was so miserable, I quickly snapped out of my depression. We were in the cancer center at 8 am. Ken could hardly talk. They decided to give Ken a fentanol patch to wear that would distribute pain meds in a more even and consistent way. We had a little trouble finding a pharmacy open, but we had the patch on at noon on Thurs. Unfortunately, the patch takes 6-12 hours to kick in, so he was miserable all day. He kept taking his other pain pills and was at least able to drink a few things.

On Friday, day +4, his pain was the same. The doctors and nurses told us that there wasn't anything they could do to fix the sores. They can only help manage the pain. The sores won't heal until his counts start going up. They said to keep doing his swish and spit with soda water and to keep taking his pain med on top of his patch if he needed it. Our daughter, Tessa, came to visit us Friday late afternoon. She was coming to help us for the weekend. Ken perked up when she got here and he felt a little better. But by 5:00, he was running a fever over 101. So we called the doctor and he sent a home health nurse out to visit us. She started an antibiotic drip and taught Tessa and I how to administer the drip as well. We are now doing the drip at home 3 times a day, at 6 am, 2 pm and 10 pm. We will do this for a few days, till his fever stops and his blood cultures come back. It is weird to hook him up the IV pole at home. We were up late Friday night till midnight. Then Ken's fever spiked again at 2 am, so Ken and I were up from 2-4, calling the doctor again. We gave him Tylenol and after an hour, his fever finally went down. We are to call the doc any time his fever is over 100.5, day or night. We aren't suppose to give him Tylenol unless the doctor tells us too. They don't want to mask the fever and not know when an infection may be setting in. So we have to wait for the fever and then treat it. Hopefully, the antibiotics will help soon.

On Sat, day +5, I was up at 5:00, getting my shower and starting the day. I needed to hook Ken to the antibiotic at 6, so it was a short night. We went to the doc at 8:00 am again. Tessa went with us to see what life in the cancer center is like. Of course it was a holiday weekend, so it was pretty quiet. Ken was getting worse. He could hardly open his mouth to eat. He can't move his tongue around his mouth very well. Everything is hard to eat. So he is drinking with a straw and trying to eat Popsicles, banana flavor of course. Though his taste buds are all wacky, so the banana isn't very enjoyable. The doctor advised us to put on a second patch, so now Ken is wearing 2 patches and has twice the fentanol releasing. He is still taking his oral pain killer as well. As soon as we got home at noon, Ken's fever spiked again. I called the doc, gave him Tylenol and left him in Tessa's capable care. I went to Fort Collins to visit the house, get the mail, visit Ken's mom and run some errands. It was sad to be home without Ken. I was blessed with an angel when I walked in the door. I was expecting to need to put back all the furniture after our carpets were cleaned. But instead, my friend Terry had come over and put everything back. Bless her heart and hard work. I was able to spend my time looking for some stuff that Ken and wanted in Denver. Thank you Terry and Alan too. I really appreciate the help. Tessa took good care of Ken. She did his 2:00 antibiotic drip, connected his IV line. They watched a football game and talked most of the afternoon. By the time I got home, Ken was feeling much better. The second patch has kicked in. He actually ate 2 bowls of ice cream Saturday night.

Sunday, Day +6, was a completely different day. Ken didn't have any fevers during the night, so we both got some much needed sleep, even though we had been up till about 1:00 talking to Tessa the night before. Ken just felt so much better, he wanted to keep talking to her. Ken ate oatmeal for breakfast, about half of it. We went to the doctor and found out his counts that had been slipping every day, have finally hit rock bottom. They sent us to the hospital for some platelets. Amazingly, it only took a few minutes to drip the platelets, so it was a quick visit to the 4th floor. We were released by noon. Ken wanted to go somewhere, so we put him in a mask and walked around Target for a few minutes. We did a little bit of Christmas shopping and enjoyed the time there. I know, I am married to a man that likes to shop. Weird, but he just likes to look around. When we got back to the apartment, the turkey breast I was cooking in the crock pot smelled wonderful. I made some stuffing, mashed potatoes and corn. Ken was hungry and ate a little bit of everything. It is so good to see him eat again. He even ate pumpkin pie and then pears for dessert. His appetite is back, though it still hurts to swallow. At least I think we finally have the pain level under control.

Day +7 will be a long day. It is a 6 hour doctor day. Don't know what they will be doing for 6 hours. But they will be sending Ken for another blood transfusion afterwards. The blood takes about 4 hours in the hospital.

Let me catch you up on the baby calendar, if you are interested. It has been such a joy to turn the page every day.

Nov. 24th, 31 days 'till I see my Grandpa. Norah wrapped in her bath towel with a cute smile. It says, 'There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them' - Sylvia Plath
Nov. 25th, 30 days 'till I see my Grandpa. Norah in her Mommy and I love to shop shirt. She is sitting up in the corner of the couch. She is so cute and looks so much like Grandpa in this picture. 'In time of trouble...He shall set me upon a rock.
Psalms 27:5
Nov. 26th, 29 days 'till I see my Grandpa. Thanksgiving day. Young close up of Norah. She is so little. 'Never...Never...Never...Never Give Up!' - Winston Churchill.
Nov. 27th, 28 days 'till I see me Grandpa. Norah sitting in her chair that attaches to the counter. Her arms are in the air and she is looking right at the camera. 'Your courage is this big' - Norah Kaufman.
Nov. 28th, 27 days 'till I see my Grandpa. Norah a few months old in a very big pink snow suit. 'Give yourself room to grow'
Nov. 29th, 26 days 'till I see my Grandpa. Norah, curled up on her tummy, sleeping like a baby. It says, 'Do whatever makes you comfortable.'

Can't wait till tomorrow to see what the pictures is. Tomorrow is Norah's first birthday. Wow, she is a year already. Everybody say, Happy Birthday Little Norah. You have been a small and precious miracle that has helped Ken and me in abundant ways this year. Thinking of Norah and skypeing with her has been an amazing inspiration for Ken. Have a great Birthday Norah. We miss you and love you to the moon and back. Can't wait to see you again.