Going Home

Yesterday was the first once a week Tuesday and the clinic was good. Dr Randall was there and decided to take me off of rapamune and put me on cell cept. We are hoping that this helps my shortness of breath problem. We had breakfast with Mike & Patty after labs, it was good to see Patty again, they were both a little apprehensive about the clinic because every clinic Mike has gone to they have found something wrong and sent him to the hospital. Mike got a good report today and no hospital, YAHOO. Mike Cooper wasn't feeling good and we aren't sure what came of his Dr. visit, will have to e mail them and see. Norman is still in the hospital, "14 Roberts" for some reason he can't get his O2 level up, the pneumonia is almost gone but still low O2, will say a prayer fro him & Mike Cooper. We got back home to Pampa @7:30 and had a party with the family & some close friends, lots of hugs & kisses. The cats all remembered us and were all as glad to see us as we were to see them. I still didn't sleep even in my own bed,and my shortness of breath is worse here than in Dallas, will see if the removal of the rapamune will fix that or not. That's about it till next week. Thanks again to all for support & prayers.
Love Mike & Donna

Here They Are

Well I have talked about several of these people and have referred to them as our extended family, here they are. I feel like without them this experience would have been much harder on Donna & I. They made me want to get up on Tuesday's & Friday's and gave those day's more meaning than just going to see the doctor and see if I was healthy or not. I also had someone else to worry about also when one of them got sick or had some complication, that gave Donna & I a purpose for the day to check on that person and give them some love & support and to me it is as important to give those things as it is to receive them. Donna & I will always remember and love you guy's and hopefully you will have fond memories of us too. Oh by the way all the transplant patients were men except Lea & Judy, there was also a lady named Janet but I don't have her pic. There are a couple of others and due to circumstances I don't have access to their pics yet, Donna was going to wait till we got home to add them, I post them then, sorry.Well I guess that's about enough mush, till tomorrow and our first once a week clinic.
Love always Mike & Donna

20th Annual Reunion

Well yesterday was a nice luncheon sponsored by Lively Livers. There were lots of people there, those of us who are weeks post transplant to those that are years post transplant. We were all liver transplants and so we all had that common thread. The 20th Annual Reunion was Heart & Lung, Kidney & Pancreas, Livers, Blood & Marrow, Children's Medical Center & Baylor All Saints Liver, Kidney & Pancreas all together and it was really great. Good food about 40% of our extended family and just a beautiful day & location. Donna & I stayed about 3 hrs and ate twice took pics chatted and just had fun, also got lots of free stuff regarding transplants & organ donation. Mike Malouff showed up and ate and socialized then had to go watch his horse run, probably with his buddy Tony. Well that's' about it, just another special day with special people.
Love always Mike & Donna

The Last Friday

Well today is week 8 and this is the last of the twice a week hospital visits. The clinic went routine with no change other than a sleeping pill and hopefully I won't need one when I get home. Brother Bill was looking really good today as was Mike Cooper, I am so glad to see those two doing good they have been through a lot and deserve to feel good and be healthy. Mike Malouff was still in the hospital and wasn't in very good spirits, then Dr. Reiz came in and told him he could leave the hospital and just return to the twice weekly clinics, this changed his outlook and he was up and ready to leave right then. The Dr. were having a hard time pinpointing exactly what his problem is, most of his numbers look good, oh well maybe if he gets away from the hospital for a while his problems will go away. Norman Olson, the older man, is in a room on 14 Roberts and his pneumonia is healing fine we visited with him and his wife this morning also, he should be out of the hospital by Monday. We also saw Mike Gunter and he wasn't doing so well, he had an incision infection, will see how that turns out this weekend. I am posting on the actual clinic day (Friday) because tomorrow there is a party @Twice Blessed House for transplant patients and we are going to go, then Sunday there is an anniversary party @ the Tom Landry building and we hope to attend both of these little parties. I realize that I didn't make it clear last Tuesday the results of my prostate exam, anyway after the invasion his findings were inconclusive, he couldn't tell if the prostate was swollen or not, that's great and almost all for nothing. Oh well I guess that's the way it goes, the flowmax hasn't done it's thing yet but he said it takes several day's so I hope it kicks in soon. Well that's all for now, we will be home sometime Tuesday evening, YAHOO. Thanks again to all for your prayers & support.
love always Mike & Donna

Last Week in Dallas

Well the Dr. told us yesterday that we can go to once a week next week so after chemo on Tuesday we are headed home. The clinic was routine with no changes and probably won't have any for a while, my glophil ( a test of the kidneys to show true function ) won't be until May 1 and then there may be some change in meds. The chemo was quick and easy as usual then came the urologist, he did a UA and found nothing then did a sonogram to see if I emptied my bladder and I had so he then did a prostate exam, I guess it was inevitable that I have one but that doesn't mean I was ready for it. I can't believe that in this day and age with all the technology that man can't find a better way to check a prostate than to have stick his finger........ Oh well it's done and I shouldn't dwell on it. Our friend Norman Olson, the older man that is such a character is back in the hospital with pneumonia, we went to see him and he was doing better but not for sure when he will get out, will have say a prayer for him. Then there is Mike Malouff, his rejection is better but he is still in the hospital taking steroids and being observed. Donna & I had lunch with him & Shellie his sister and he is really ready to get out of the hospital and get on with his recovery, I can understand the impatience, but we can only go so fast and we all have to find our own pace and take it a day at a time. We found out that another member of our evaluation group named Mike Gunter had his transplant last week and we saw him & his wife yesterday, that makes 4 of us from the same group and he said there were 2 more still in the hospital, that just blows my mind. i have asked other patients how many of their group were there and nobody else has anyone or can even remember who was in their group. Well I guess that's all for now, thanks again to everyone for the prayers & thoughts, I guess I'll probably wear out both knee caps just paying ya'll back in prayer LOL.
Love always Mike & Donna

7 Weeks and Counting Down

Well another good clinic, no changes even though the Dr. kinda wanted to make a change but decided to let things ride till Tuesday. My shortness of breath has gotten less severe with the reduction of the Rapamune but is still there, the Dr. thought I needed more time to see if the med change was working. I have to see a urologist on Tuesday to address the other problem. We went to a nutrition class between lab & clinic and it was packed, which is good all the "family" was there. Norman, the older man was there but was having a real breathing problem and had been in the hospital taking intervenes antibiotics for his respiratory infection. Mike Malouff had some bad numbers and was sent back to the hospital to do some testing. The Dr. told Mike he was rejecting and will treat him with large doses of steroids to stop the rejection then go back to the other meds. I hate that he is having these problems but he is in a good state of mind about it and that helps. We think we have next week then the following Tuesday then we should be able to come home, the Dr. said a week and a half, we'll see. Well that's about it for now, thanks again for the prayers & support.
Love Mike & Donna

6 1/2 Weeks, Still going

The lab was full yesterday morning which is good, slow but good. We saw everybody which means nobody was in the hospital. I was so glad to not have to go back to "Roberts 14" to visit a friend whom had had a relapse or some other problem. My test results on my thyroid were normal and the urine test was negative so the Dr. decided that the Rapamune (rejection med)could cause the shortness of breath so he cut the dose in half, it's only 2 mg once daily but if that's the problem then we'll see if 1 mg will do the job and give me back my air. He also requested a chest ex-ray and is showed nothing. He thinks the up all nite peeing thing is my prostate, oh great that's just what I wanted to hear, oh well if a urologist can fix it and I can sleep all nite it will be worth it. Like I said all our "family" were out of the hospital and most were doing good, Mike Malouff was a little leary about saying he was doing good and he had to go do a biopsy after clinic because his numbers were out of whack, haven't heard from him yet on that issue. There is an older guy Norman Olson whom is quite the character, all the nurses know who he is and most of the patients, anyway he is having some breathing issues also. We say him early just after lab and he was winded and couldn't talk but later when we say him he was cutting up and being Norman. Mike Cooper was doing pretty good, hasn't put on any weight yet but he is eating. Brother Bill is having eating issues, can't get his apatite back and that is hard on you believe me, He's a surviver though and with all the prayers and support he'll make it. Well that's about it again thanks for your prayers & support, we hope to be coming home in about 2 maybe 3 weeks. Love to all Mike & Donna.

Great Week

I'm a little late on this post, but I been busy. Clinic was good even though I lost a couple of pounds, I also had some lower numbers on my liver so the Dr. upped my neoral (rejection med) from 125 mg twice daily to 150 mg twice daily. He also did a thyroid test to see if that is what is causing my shortness of breath and a urine test to see if there is a reason for so many late nite visits to the john. I feel good except for this inner temperature thing which keeps my cold all the time, and when I get real cold I have a shortness of breath. Brother Bill got out of the hospital and is doing ok, he did such a fast recoup the first time and this time it si going slower so he has a little problem with that, he'll be fine I think. Mike Cooper had a big smile on his face when I saw him and is obviously doing much better. Mike Malouff is still in the hospital but he is going to start eating real food again on Saturday and maybe out by Monday. Donna & I went to San Antonio on Wednesday and met my friend Monty Guitar Tyler and his lovely wife Pam, and they welcomed us into their home open arms and hearts filled with love, just like I expected from Monty. We had great BBQ and just visited it was wonderful. Then Kenneth & Suzie came down on Friday and we went to Shreveport where Kenneth & I went and saw Mike Zito, he put on a great show and came and sat with us at the break. We bought CD's and got autographs and it was really fun and entertaining. Well that's about it, it was a great week, till next time love Mike & Donna.

Same Old, Same Old

Well it was another routine clinic day, not much change. I did lose 2 pounds but I am not in danger at 171 lbs. so the Dr. didn't have much to say about weight. My blood pressure is still a little high but everything else looks normal even factoring in the chemo. The hospital has split the tuesday clinic into 2 days (tuesday & wednesday) as there are just too many of us right at this time so I hope that is why we didn't see Mike Cooper & his wife yesterday. We did stop an see Mike Malouff and he had another surgery, the anti-rejection drug ulcerated his lower intestine and it twisted. They found and repaired it and Mike looked good this morning and said he feels much better. He may be out of the hospital by the end of the week. Bill Milan looks better every time we go see him and thinks he will be out of the hospital by the end of the week also. I think that's about all there is to tell until friday, so thanks again for the support & prayers. Love to all Mike & Donna