Home

 Tony had his groshong catheter taken out Tuesday. It was not an enjoyable experience. The first nurse tried to pull it out and couldn't, and 40 min later sent up a different nurse and it took her awhile to stretch out his skin enough to pull it out. Lots of pain and lots of blood, but he was happy to finally be free. They had towels ready to catch the blood, but it still soaked his hospital gown. 

Tony came home yesterday afternoon around 3. He was so happy to be home. He packed up a few boxes yesterday to get ready for our move. And he was able to have cheesy hashbrowns, and a chocolate croissant for breakfast this morning. (We're really going to miss Lidl). 

The moving pods were also delivered yesterday so we are very busy getting those filled.

On My Way

Tony had his bone marrow biopsy yesterday. They were able to do it the "good" way again this time, which he is very happy about. Results should take about 3 days. We're hoping for Thursday. 

He is getting his groshong catheter out today. They put in a peripheral line in his arm for them to use today and tomorrow. 

Doctor Orloff stopped in this morning and said everything on his blood counts looked really good today. They all jumped quite a bit, but his platelets and neutrophils specifically took a very large jump. He said that is a good indicator of a remission, so we are really hoping the biopsy results are positive. Because of the significant jump in his blood counts today, they are moving him to oral antibiotics today and are planning to send him home tomorrow! Yay!

We dropped Stacey off at the airport yesterday, and Tammy (Tony's mom) flew in. We made a pit stop at the cherry blossoms while they were both here. 

Less than a week until move day. John Lee (Tony's brother) flies in Thursday night to help us finish packing and load up the pods. 

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Tony's blood counts were a bit higher this morning, so he is trending in the right direction. We are guessing he will not be able to come come until at least Tuesday. His bone marrow biopsy is tomorrow. 

Last night while the nurse was flushing his line, the cap blew off the groshong line. They've put in a temporary fix, since it's extremely dangerous to have an exposed line. The people that would normally fix this are not at the hospital today. So he will either get it fixed tomorrow or they may just pull out the groshong catheter all together since he's near the end of this round of treatments. 

Tony's mom flies in tomorrow morning and his sister, Stacey is flying back home tomorrow. Stacey has been extremely helpful with packing up the house. I was absolutely terrified to attempt to pack the boys rooms as their rooms have become an absolute disaster in the last month. Now they are completely cleaned out beside the beds, dressers and empty bookshelves. We move in 8 days, so it's so wonderful she was able to help so much with this. She was able to come up to the hospital to see Tony with me today, while a friend of mine watched the boys. 

There's Green in the Gown

 Yesterday marked one month of being in the hospital for Tony. Stacey is here and the boys are feeling a bit better so I was able to go up to the hospital to visit Tony for most of the day. He had some Irish Nachos from Grille 13 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. If you are in Southern Maryland and haven't tried them yet, you should definitely remedy that. They are basically waffle fries with corned beef, bacon, gravy and nacho cheese. He wants everyone to know that his hospital gown has some green on it, so he is safe from pinchers. 

His appetite has been pretty low, which is frustrating him since he can finally eat solid food again. He is feeling pretty antsy to get back home, but his blood counts are all still very low. He didn't have to get any transfusions today besides his normal saline with potassium and his antibiotics. 

My aunt got him some really comfy pants that he is absolutely loving. Mixed with his "bald-man beanie," fluffy pillow and his soft blanket, everyone is doing their best to keep him as comfortable as possible in the hospital. I made him take off his beanie momentarily to show off his bald head today. Cody is a big fan of Tony's bald head. He thinks it looks so cool. Here, he can be seen perusing the hospital's extensive menu. Tonight, he settled on a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

Limbo

 We've been stuck in limbo the last few days. Originally, we were hoping Tony would come home today. Now it's looking more like sometime next week. At this point we are just waiting for his blood counts to come back up. He is back on solid food, but he is still needing platelet and blood transfusions almost daily. He will get another bone marrow biopsy on Monday. 

We had a bit of a setback at the Roring house as well. We had a stomach bug come through which has prevented me from being able to visit Tony. I'm trying to use the time to pack, but it is been an emotional few days. 

Lara and Matthew went home early Monday morning. And Tony's sister Stacey is flying in tonight to help us get through this next weekend. Tony's mom and brother are coming next week to help us in the final stages of the move. And then Tony and the boys will fly back to Utah with them on the 28th. And my little brother, my friend Shay and her mom are all coming out to help me drive the vehicles to Utah. 

I am just so grateful for everyone who has helped or reached out. Thank you again. 

Regular Food!!!

 They finally allowed Tony back onto a regular diet this morning. The first thing he ordered were some grapes. Then he had more grapes for lunch and a sandwich. He is very excited about this important step forward. His blood counts are keeping us on our toes. Sometimes they go up, and sometimes they go down. Once they really decide to go up, it should happen quickly. But for now the numbers are nominal. 

Tony is also excited about not having to do the pee pee dance all the time now. (direct quote) He is not intaking as many fluids intravenously, so now he doesn't have to get up a billion times at night to pee. 

The Kennedy's have been out here for almost 2 weeks helping run our household while I am up at the hospital with Tony. I absolutely would not have survived the last 2 weeks without them. Lara went above and beyond and even planned a birthday party for Jack. And Matthew took Jack to see a touring Broadway showing of Fiddler on the Roof. This week, they were supposed to be in the Bahamas, and the weekend before we were all supposed on a cruise together. But they decided to cancel all their vacation plans, and come and pick up all the pieces as I continuously fall apart. I am so grateful for Lara. She has truly held me and my kids together through these impossible weeks. She always seems to know exactly what I need before even I do. They are leaving tomorrow, and I am already looking forward to living within 20 minutes of each other again once we get to Utah. 

It's a Smoothie Kind of Day

Tony is very excited to announce that he can finally eat some soft solid food again. He is still a bit nervous to see how it goes, but he had some chicken noodle soup, some mashed potatoes and gravy and a smoothie.  They are trying to switch him to taking his medications by mouth instead of through the IV in hopes that he can come home next week. The potassium pills are definitely a pain, as they are huge and the second they touch water they start to dissolve. They're switching to pills one at a time, so hopefully by early next week he'll be taking the antibiotic in pill form. 

We celebrated Jack's birthday yesterday. He was very excited about it being his golden birthday. (10 on the 10th). We visited Tony and played a few board games, then he ordered lunch from Smash Burger, and then we had a "fruit" cake. He says it was a good birthday.