Counts are on the way up

Tim's white blood counts have gone up - all the way to 4,000! His platelets are also being produced on their own, so he will not need any more transfusions. He is experiencing bone pain, but that pain is an indicator that he is producing bone marrow, so the pain is a good thing. His taste is coming back, but things still don't taste exactly as they should. That will improve over time. His nausea comes and goes, but it is decreasing in intensity. His energy level is still very low, and it will stay that way for a while.

The doctor and nurses are amazed at how well he has done. While it has been hard, God has been faithful and sustained Tim through the worst part of the treatment. Of course, we know that it is because we have 100's of people praying for him! We are so grateful that he did not have to be admitted to the hospital and that he was able to go through this at home where he could be comfortable. Now, he is in recovery mode. He will need to be careful because as he begins to feel better, he will have the tendency to over do. Tim is not one to sit still, but he will have to continue to rest and let his body completely heal from this ordeal. That will take several weeks. We have one more hospital visit on Wednesday and then if his levels look good, he will graduate from the transplant program. Then, he will have monthly visits for several months.

Many people have asked if Tim has lost his hair...Well, no he hasn't. There are a few friends that are waiting to have a shave your head party in support of Tim, but that hasn't been necessary. It has thinned a bit, but it has not come out like all the nurses said that it would. It may still in the next week or so, but we are amazed that so far, he still has most of his hair! :)

Stacie's parents are on their way back to Georgia. We can't say how much we appreciate all that they did for us while they were here. Dad repaired the washing machine, put in a new ceiling fan and light fixtures and even started organizing Tim's tool table for him. He can't sit still -hmm...like father, like son-in-law??? :) He also went to the hospital with Tim on several occasions to allow Stacie to stay home a few days during Tim's treatment. Mom did so much laundry- we lost count of how many loads she did. She had forgotten that when you have kids in your home, the laundry breeds itself. You can have it all done one day, and the next day, the basket is full and it needs to be done again. She also pulled Stacie away a few times to go shopping - very therapeutic! Anyway, we know that they are just plain worn out! They are retired and used to a quiet home. Being back in the business of family life can be stressful on grandparents, but they handled it with class...even daring to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese' s one day. Now that's brave!!! We are sure they will take several days to recover from being here! We are so grateful to them - just wish we lived closer to each other.