May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us. Psalm 67:1

Happy Sunday. We got done early today at the clinic. We were home by 10:45! Our wires got crossed about the chemo schedule. Frank actually got the Melphalan yesterday. It only takes about 20 minutes to infuse the chemo. Most of yesterday's time was spent chewing ice. "huh" you might be thinking.....I'll explain. The theory, although not scientific, seems to work. The Melphalan is strong and effects the mucous membranes in the GI tract from start to finish - or attic to basement - :) To help prevent mucositis, patients chew ice before, during and after Melphalan is administered to help constrict the vessels of the GI tract so the Melphalan avoids contact with the membranes. The drug is metabolized quickly and out of the system within hours.

Today he got discontinued from the back pack of pumps and fluids. He's free!! He's so happy he doesn't have to carry that around anymore.

His counts are starting to drop today. He's neutrapenic already. (That means his white count is below 2.00) So he has his mask now and will have to be careful about germs, etc.

WBC 1.61, RBC 3.71, Hbg 11.1, Hct 34.6 Platelets 71.

Frank gets stem cells on Monday. His 6th of 7 bags! Then ~ we all know what happens next! We wait on levels to come back up! There is such comfort in knowing what to expect each day. It seems routine at times, but we never take for granted the seriousness of it - nor the miracle of it! Keeping free from infections and knowing the cells are grafting in the marrow is so important. Thank you for your faithful prayers for those specific things.


It's quiet here without the kids but the time alone has been nice too. It always gives us the opportunity to talk and pray together. Being away from our home isn't easy, but there are nuggets of gold tucked all around. That is one of them.


I miss our furry friends. Moses, our cat is very fond of my mother, but Casey,the golden retriever, follows my dad everywhere. I think he hides bacon in his pocket!


Until later....