A better day!!

Kent had a better night last night. When I laid down with him this morning, he took my hand and ran it over his head. Sometime during the night he had gotten up and shaved which included his head. It had been a couple of days since he felt like shaving. The pain that he was having in his chest yesterday is much improved. It isn't so difficult for him to get in and out of bed. He has been given blood plus platelets today. Hopefully, he will have more energy. He is exhausted. The blood in the urine has cleared up. Guess it must of been from his platelets getting so slow. Tomorrow, they are going to do a bone marrow biospy to see how it compares to what it was when they did it two weeks ago, before chemo. Nicole, my daughter from Arizona, came today. She came up for Women's Conference. She is skipping tomorrow session and coming to spend the day with us. Teresa and Scott, Kent's oldest daughter and husband, came and visited today. I can't believe that there were snow flurries this afternoon. We received a package from the Primary children in our ward, today. They made get well cards for Kent. They were so sweet. If anyone is reading this blog, that is connected with the Primary in our ward, a big thank you to you and the children. It brightened our day. Thanks for all of the prayers.

Another rough day!!!

Kent had a really bad night and it didn't get better until about 4:00 this afternoon. He is having problems with the muscles in his chest and the pain goes around into his back. He has been taking pain medicine, using Icy Hot and a heating pad. He is finally asleep for the night. Hopefully he has a better night. He did get a platelet infusion this afternoon. The blood in the urine is better. They think that keeping his platelets up higher will help with the bleeding. It seems to be working. Chris, Becki and Becki's boss Charlie came to visit this afternoon. Genette was here also. She brought our mail to us plus some clothes and medicine for me. Thank goodness for kids. Our dear friends Nila and Phil Panter came to visit this evening. It was great seeing them. Kent seems to do better when there is someone here visiting. I think it gives him something to focus on besides the pain that he is feeling. He is so concerned about me. He is always wanting me to get out and go do something. I just want to be here with him. If I was gone for any length of time I would worry myself silly about him. I guess that pretty much covers the day.

Rough day!

Today has been rough. About 5:00 this morning blood started showing up in Kent's urine. They don't know if it from his platelets being to low or if it is from the tumor that is in his bladder. His platelets were at 16,000. They normally do an infusion at 15,000. They have now decided to keep his platelet count at 75,000 to see if they can stop the bleeding. Normal platelet count is anywhere from 140,000 to 440,000. So you can see that his count is very low. It was down to 9,000 before we came into the hospital. We met with the transplant group today. The odds for someone Kent's age aren't very good. We have some tough decisions to make here in a few days. I am so afraid that Kent is throwing in the towel. He just isn't use to being weak and not feeling good. His sons all came tonight and buzzed his hair. We noticed today that some was starting to fall out on his pillow. So it was time. He doesn't look to bad being bald. I would love him whether he had hair or not. Glen says that it will probably come back in white. Wouldn't that look nice!!! Pray for a better day tomorrow.

Another good day!!!

Kent has rested a lot today. He was really weak when he got up this morning. They gave him two units of blood this afternoon. It has perked him up. He has been up and gone for a couple of walks around the ward. Becki, Chris, Bret and Hillary, and Glen and Genette were all here to visit today. Genette brought Kent some of her famous homemade dinner roills. He had me go right to the microwave and warm him up one. He hasn't lost his appetite as of yet, thank goodness. He really enjoys eating. He says the hospital food isn't to bad. Glen and Genette brought in some posters to put on the wall of our room. They were from some friends, the Muellers, that we know that live near them "You can do it Kent!" (adidas) "Kent Biddulph gives 100% " (Livestrong) and "Go Kent" (adidas). They also sent us each a "Livestrong" wrist band and a Livestrong dew rag for Kent to wear when he looses his hair. Actually, that will be tomorrow evening. Kent is giving his boys the chance to get even with him. He use to buzz their heads when they were little now he is going to let them buzz his head. Tomorrow is the big day when we meet with the stem cell transplant broad. Hopefully, one of his sisters will be a match for him. Keep your fingers crossed.

Better Day!!

Kent has had a much better day today. He still has some headache but is being able to control it will Icy Hot on the neck and a heating pad. He has gone for a couple of walks around the ward today. This was a day of rest from all treatments. He actually doesn't even have an IV at this time. This is the first time for nine days. They will start it again tomorrow. Today I went out to the car to go to the grocery store and the battery was died in the car. Chris and Becki, two of the kids, came with a battery and got the car going again. They are certainly appreciated. Glen and Genette visited this evening. Genette took the laundry home. We appreciate all that the kids are doing to make this easier on us. My best friend's daughter came to visit this afternoon. It was fun to see her. She and Nicole have been best friends forever. Kent has a little fever this evening. They are running some test to make sure nothing is going on. Guess that is about it for today. We are watching the Jazz and Houston game. Keep praying for us.

Not so good a day!!

Kent has had a pretty rough day. He had a headache when he woke up this morning. Actually, he has had it a couple of days. Well, today it got out of control. He was scheduled for an ultra sound and wasn't allowed anything by mouth for four hours. It got so bad they finally had to give him something anyway. On a scale of one to ten, he said it was a fifteen. He tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom but couldn't do it on his own. Once the medicine kicked in he started feeling better. He had a round of chemo this afternoon plus his platelets were low and they gave him an infusion. Lisa, one of his daughters, came a few minutes ago. She just stayed a minute. I don't know if he realized she was here or not. He is probably out for the night. Chris came this afternoon for a while. Actually, he visited with Kent while he was getting the platelets and the chemo. I am sure it helped to pass the time. I make my daily trip to the grocery store to buy things for my lunch and dinner. Chris has a small refrigerator that he is going to bring in and put in the room so that I don't have to go out every day if I don't want to go. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. Keep us in your prayers.

All in all it has been a good day!

It was another quite day. Jodi, Kent's daughter, came and visited this morning. He enjoys having the kids around him. Hopefully, they can get caught up on some of the lost time. Chris, one of Kent's sons, came to visited this afternoon after he got off work. Kent has done alot of sleeping today. He says that he is feeling weaker, that is expected with the chemo. He has another chemo round tomorrow. Just one of the three that he got earlier in the week. There are still no new leukemia cells in the blood steam. Hopefully, when they do the next bone marrow bisopy it will show improvement. Kent has had a headache most of the day. The nurses here are awesome. It sure makes the stay a little easier. I went out to the grocery store this afternoon and got stuff for my lunch and dinner. It is only four blocks to the store. Kent is still not allowed to have water to drink or anything that is water based. The reason for that is that they are having a problem getting his soduim under control. Not enough sodium. It snowed here today. It was hard to talk to Nicole, in Arizona, this morning and hear her tell her daughter to hurry and shut the door because it would make the air conditioning come on if she didn't. All in all it has been a good day.

Another great day!!!!

This has been a great day. The doctor was in this evening and reported that this is the third day that there has been no leukemia cells present in the blood stream. Keep those prayers going up. We have a meeting at 3:00pm on Monday with the doctor and the stem cell transplant team. Things sound like if all continue to go well that Kent will be getting a stem cell transplant in the future. Kent has two sisters that we hope will be a match, if not we will go to the donor bank. Hopefully, we can find a match. The doctors are very please will his progress, as we are. Time is passing rapidly. We are doing well in our small quarters. I am doing some crossing stitching of Christmas ornaments it certainly helps pass the time. First on my list of things to do daily is to see to Kent's needs. Today while one of his girls was here, I made a run to the grocery store and picked up a few things. That's the first time I had been out of the hospital for six days. It wasn't a very nice day so I hurried and got back. We have had several visitors today. It is nice to see faces from the outside of these walls. We have gone for three walks around the ward where we are spending our time. Will update you tomorrow. We are enjoying the comments.

A day of rest!!!!!!

Today has been a quite day. No chemo. Kent did receive a blood transfusion along with other medications to get everything working the way their suppose to. Lots of changes take place during chemo that has to be checked on night and day. Kent didn't sleep well last night; but wasn't in pain. I finally got up about 3:30, when he went to the bathroom, and laid down with him. It was nice just to snuggle. We spent about an hour and half that way. As said in an earlier blog that it is really diffcult to be alone, in the dark, when you can't sleep. Genette, our daughter-in-law, came to visit this afternoon. She brought our laundry back. The kids are being awesome. Kent is certainly enjoying spending time with them. They are always checking to see what we need before they come to visit. They have decorated the room with family pictures and pictures that the grandchildren have made for their grandpa. We did get some good news today. When they did the spinal tap on Thursday there were no leukemia cells in the spinal fluid. Yea, Yea!!!!! Things are going better than expected. Thanks for all of the prays. Keep remembering us. We need all of the prayers that we can get. We know that they are helping, we can feel it.

Another good report

Kent had a better night last night. He still didn't sleep well but at least he wasn't in pain. You know how it is being in the hospital. You never get a good nights sleep because they are always coming in to check on you. They are in and out a lot drawing blood and checking his urine. They are doing a great job keeping every thing in check. We have had awesome nurses. Today we received the news that all of the Leukemia cells are out of the blood stream at this moment. There was no chemo today. The next treatment will be on the 25th. He is holding up well. There has been no nausea so far. Thank goodness!!!! Kent has to contact his sisters tonight about being a candidate for stem cell transplant. They will have to be tested to see if they are a match with him. The test is just a blood test. They can come down to LDS Hospital to be tested or be tested at a lab where they live and UPS the blood to the hospital here in Salt Lake City. Alison, my daughter, and her husband Jeremy came this weekend and picked up our dog "Kenai". He will be living with them until we are able to come home to Arizona. It sounds like he is adjusting to his new home pretty well. He hasn't been around kids alot and they have two children that will give him a lot of love. I can't think of a better place for him to be at this time. I made her promise that we could have our dog back when this is finished. She said that she didn't want a dog, she wanted a baby. I think after having Kenai for a few days she is deciding that it isn't to bad having a dog again, especially one that is already trained. Kent's eight children at here in the area. We really enjoy having them come to visit. It certainly is the highlight of our day. Also the phone calls are appreciated. Keep in touch!!!!

5thday of hospital stay

This is our 5th day in the hospital and Kent's 3rd day of Chemo. He is doing well but has his bad times. Last night was a bad night for him but he didn't wake me. I am sleeping at the foot of his bed in a rollaway bed furnished by the hospital. He is feeling better at this time. We will see how this night goes. I told him there is nothing worse than feeling like you are by yourself, in the dark and being in pain. I think he is concerned if I don't get my rest I will get sick. I am trying to eat good so that I don't get sick and will be able to take care of him. We will be here for several weeks depending on how the treatment goes. The doctor was in this morning and the report was very postive. The blood work showed that there was only 1/20th of the cancer cells today of what there were yesterday. We realize that we have a long way to go but we are on the journey together. I guess the living in the motorhome have trained us to live in small quarters. Being in the hospital room 24 - 7 isn't getting to me.

1st day of many to come!!!!

Today was the first day of a long road ahead. Kent has received his first day of chemotherapy. So far there has been no adverse side affects.