I guess everyone needs a vacation...

So Dad's staging labs were drawn last week. The only thing is that Dr. Kazhdan is on VACATION! At least someone gets a vacation. She is getting a much deserved and needed week off in Cancun. In the meantime we will have to wait to hear about Dad's staging.

The weather in San Antonio has changed. A huge cold front came through yesterday. Dad made it to work on Monday and was going in on Tuesday except for the cold front. With the sudden drop in temperature from the 80s to the 40s Dad thought it would be better to stay indoors. I don't think his joints tolerate sudden changes in temperature. The last time his gout flared on him there was a cold front. So instead Dad had to settle for having a conference call and sending emails from home. When we talked yesterday he was frustrated with the cardiologist's office. They have drawn lipid (AKA fat) levels on his blood several times. Each time, they told dad that the labs weren't done or weren't sent. One time...no problem, but now this has happened more than once making Dad very frustrated.

I talked with Dad this morning before he went to work. He said he had a good night, which makes me relieved. I was worried his knee would swell and cause him pain, but thankfully no. Hopefully when Dr. Kazhdan gets back we will have some great news! In the meantime Dr. K----enjoy the sun!!

Just a little trip to the ER

Monday Dad spent the morning at the office. He had meetings and went to lunch. The strain on his back was tiring, especially with the trips up to the 2nd floor where is office is located. Tuesday evening he had some heartburn.....something which alarmed Mom since he had a pretty mild dinner. The last time dad was complaining of heartburn he had his heart attack. Wednesday morning at 2 AM they went to the hospital since he was having some bad chest pain on his left. They gave dad 3 doses of Nitro, ran labs and everything looked good. Just to be safe they kept him until Wednesday night so that they could follow serial labs and make sure his heart looked okay. He went home Wednesday night.

Thursday he had some pain in his knee again. Dad was worried his gout was flaring up. They did give him a shot in his knee to help with the pain. Turns out it wasn't gout but bursitis- just some irritation to the joint. When I talked with Dad this morning, he was still having some pain but was otherwise okay. We should find out the results of his latest staging labs for the myeloma. They drew them this week so that we could see just how much Dad's levels improved. We are all confident and hopeful that his M spike is down! Pray!!

Just another long day at the office....

Dad has done really well these last few days. Today he went to the office, and actually made it up the stairs to HIS office! He used the cane and took it one step at a time, but he did it. I could hear in his voice the enthusiasm of getting back to work. It has been hard for him to work from home and by phone. He loves being able to walk the stores, spend time talking with the troops and welcoming customers. He's been able to do these things briefly, but today he was able to be there for most of the day. We'll see in the morning how much pain he will be in, but he said it sure felt good being back.



Friday is his last dose of chemo...everything so far has gone really well. The date for the bypass will be confirmed the first week of February. In the meantime, it looks like it will be on Feb 12th. We just have to make sure that it works for the surgeon.

Keep praying, we are almost done with chemo for now. Now we can finally concentrate on healing the rest of dad!

Lots of doctor's visits, so little time.

This week has been a long, doctor's visit filled week. Dad finished his antibiotics on Monday and then started chemo again. In the meantime he has been in and out of different doctor's offices. The infectious disease doc wanted to see him again- nothing new to report. The neurologist wanted to see him to talk about his numbness and tingling in his legs and feet. It isn't nerve compression- but because of the Velcade he's getting. They are also tentatively scheduling his bypass for Feb 12th. Then that should put his transplant 4-6 weeks after this.

Today he had the second of 4 doses of this last round of chemo. Everything again went well. As long as we can get through this last round without any complications or infections, we should be able to proceed with the bypass.

In the meantime, they are trying to manage the intermittent pain Dad is experiencing with as little pain medication as possible. If it gets any worse, they are talking of adding a new medication- cymbalta. Most of you have seen the TV ad's for depression, but they also use it as an adjunct pain medication. Hopefully they won't have to go to this, one less pill to take, but if so they at least have a game plan.