Thursday, December 4th

Good Morning.

  Michele is still in the hospital. They have been giving her at least two different antibiotics to get the infection under control, and they seem to be working. She has not had a fever since they began the second antibiotic yesterday, although she did have the sweats, followed by chills last night. The Oncologist told us that her white blood cell count is coming back up, which is a good thing. The red blood cells and platelets tend to lag behind, but at least it has turned around. In our conversation with her doctor yesterday, he indicated that Michele will not need to endure another Methotrexate treatment, which was originally scheduled for next Monday. We are grateful that he knows when enough is enough. We still expect one more RCHOP and at least two Interthekel treatments (where a small dose of Methotrexate is injected into her spinal fluid).

  She is allowed to walk around a little bit, so that is a relief from the monotony of being restricted to bed. Michele has not eaten a whole lot this week, so she is trying to increase her intake to regain some strength. I think if her vitals remain stable today they may consider letting her go home soon, but I'm not making any predictions.

  I'm fairly certain we will need to give her anticoagulant injections at home for the blood clots. I had to do that when she had knee surgery, so I know what to expect, although I'm not looking forward to it. (I'm sure she isn't either!)

  That's all I can think of for now, so I'll close and get going on some household chores before heading back to the hospital.

As always, thanks for your continuing prayer support.

With love,

Tim and Michele