Happy Holidays!!

Well, as most of you know, last week before Thanksgiving Dad narrowly avoided being readmitted to the hospital. The physical therapist had been working really hard with Dad and Tuesday he was hurting pretty bad. Wednesday, they noticed his knee was swollen again as well as his ankle. This was pretty painful for Dad, so much so that is was very time consuming and difficult for him to walk. He was so upset and depressed he was convinced he would be put back in the hospital just in time for Thanksgiving. He even told mom to have Dr. Kazhdan meet them at the hospital. Thankfully, Dr. Kazhdan was able to get in touch with Dad's primary care doctor to have a look at his knee. In his office, they were able to drain some of the fluid and give him a couple of new meds to keep the gout from causing swelling and pain. So Dad really had something to be thankful for--he was otherwise doing great and he would be able to spend Thanksgiving at home and not in some hospital room. Turkey day was great- I was at work, but Dad was able to enjoy it with Mom and some friends. It also helped that the Longhorns romped over the Aggies.

Over the weekend, Dad's knee steadily got better and better. His back still hurts some, but he was able to do his exercises again to regain some strength. Monday Dad started his new round of chemo. All of his labs are great and so everything went smoothly. They also paid a visit to the transplant hospital to drop off his records. Now that we are halfway through this 4 round cycle of chemo, Dr. Kazhdan wants for Dad to start talking to the transplant services for his bone marrow transplant. He didn't actually speak with them on Monday, it was just a paperwork visit.

Yesterday Dad met with the back specialist, who told him to stop physical therapy. At this point his bones are extremely fragile. He does have several breaks in his back, the highest being at T6. Any higher could cause problems with paralysis. Dad can't bend down, twist or make any sudden movements as this could cause another break. Sometime down the road they will look at fixing them, but that will be a while yet. They want his bones stronger, his heart fixed and his transplant done before they can do this. Because Dad's back is so fragile they recommended that he stop physical therapy. He can still continue to do leg exercises, but any back exercises are to be stopped immediately. They also do not want him walking with a cane, since it puts more stress on his back bones. Mom and Dad asked about a new brace, but the one he has affords him more mobility than the alternative. They also asked about a tingling in his thigh, which is caused by nerve compression. They can fix is, but it would require surgery that is very invasive. Instead Dad said he could live with tingling.

We had dinner with Dad last night which was good. He was in great spirits and very motivated to set some goals for himself. He plans on returning to the office soon, working from home is driving him crazy. He also wants to go back to Vegas at some point, as soon as his back is stronger and all of the heart and transplant are behind him. I think he is also hoping to make some Ferguson trips this year too.....Aruba watch out- Dad might just be on the loose!