Monday midday report

Dear Friends and Family,

Nan has had lunch and is at this moment getting her once a week PICC line dressing change. The oncology team is working on finding a bed at UCSF but of course Dr. Warren the surgeon we know there is at meetings in Chicago. His very capable nurse practiciner is working on locating a bed. So for now we wait here in Concord. Nan had a good night with several hours of sleep in a block. Had breakfast and the pain is controlled pretty well with dilotud every three or four hours. Nan feels well and has only a low grade temp ranging between 99 and 100+ a little. She is receiving good care here and we are in a holding pattern until the move. Sharon just called and since Nan is tied up with the special nurse I spoke to her a few minutes. How nice to hear a cheery voice filled with hope.

Today Nikki was fortunate to have the day off so she went to school with Keanna to help out. She was looking forward to it. Its fun to see Keanna in action, a very bright little person with a great personality and lots of energy and ideas. Nikki and Steve are doing such a great job raising this precious little lady. Nan and I are very proud of all three.

This waiting and wondering is very tough to cope with. Nearly every medical person we speak with has ominous comments about what needs to be done for Nan, none of their comments makes it sound simple at all. Of course the big question always hanging is, could Nan handle surgery again? Would surgery of some kind be a good idea? Those are questions we do not have answers to, just concerns. Right now Nan is receiving her pain meds and its been three hours, a few minutes ago she started to experience severe pains in her tummy area which reached around to her back near the kidney area. Now our lovely nurse is doing a type and cross since they have determined that Nan needs another transfusion, that her blood was down to 8.7. We are wondering where the hemoglobin is going? This is the third transfusion in about a week and a half.

Jason and Jo just called from Tahoe. They were about to embark on the Tahoe Queen, a stern wheeler which tours the lake and does a pass into Emerald Bay, one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Nan and I did it a summer ago and loved every minute of the trip. Jason and Jo have enjoyed their trip and liked their room with fireplace and spa. We are so glad they got a chance to get away and enjoy a few hours of total of R&R. These are hard working young people, its good to see them relax a bit with each other.

I drove home last night leaving Nan's room at about 8 pm and arriving home at 9. I quickly unloaded the few things I needed to get in and went to work, fed the fish, fed the cats, fed the dogs, clean out the cat box, LeAnn had taken great care of everything while I was away. I worked through the mail finding just two income checks and plenty of bills. Seems like someone somewhere wants something every day. I stumbled into bed at 11:45, Starr dove under the covers to help keep me warm. The animals are very hesitant, they miss Nan who talks to them, loves them and is their comfort person. I got up early and waded through conditions, value checks, set up orders, wrote payroll checks, got my desk basically clean again then headed this way at 11:30 or so. Much later than I had promised Nan but she understood. I may have to run to Lodi this afternoon to catch an appraisal that slipped through the cracks on us.

My constant prayer is that God will continue to protect Nan from all the physical enemies she faces right now. God has invested so much in her recovery and we are begging Him to continue His work. How we long to have some physical victories and to get back on track with recovery. Nan is so brave and committed to recovery, she never wavers and inspires everyone who meets her, nurse, friend, family member, we are all inspired by her calm faith and quiet convictions.

As always we seek your prayers in Nan's behalf.

with love

tim and nan