Dear Family and Friends,

9:40, Nan is in her faithful recliner watching What Not to Wear, trying to manage all her pills and yet not lose things. Today has seen real progress, tiny steps but progress just the same. Jason and Jo spent the night which is always a treat to have your kids come home again. I got up early while everyone was asleep and wrote and emailed out a report that was promised last Thursday. Then Jason came down and we made plans for breakfast, he offered to make the Belgium Waffles. First he and Jo had to make a run to get eggs and Starbucks. It took awhile to get out of Starbucks on Mothers day morning. Jason whipped the waffles out fast. Nan however could handle the smell of food so stayed behind her closed door upstairs. After we ate we opened the doors and cleared the air. Nan got up and came down. What that means is she turns and slips off the bed onto her feet, then walks from the bedroom to her stair chair, rides down and then walks from the stairs in the living room through the dining room, down the 3 steps to the family room and then on to her chair. She settled into her chair and Jason put the heated blanket over her, Starr joined her too. We talked baby, talked weather, talked past trips, talked about Jason's recent trip to Washington DC and New York, Jo's workload with her 11 eager kindergartens and we all watched little Timothy try to kick his way to freedom.

Nikki and Keanna arrived having fed and said good bye to Steve's mom and grandmother. They were on their way back to Apple Valley in Southern California. Nikki and Jo got their heads together about baby things and explored web sites together on the laptop, Jason snoozed, I played with Keanna and then Jason played with Keanna, then to the deck to blow bubbles with Keanna, then hide a seek with Keanna, then play the piano with Keanna. We watched a couple movies, Princess Bride and RV. Then all too soon Jason and Jo had to leave to get back for campus watch duty this evening and Nikki and Keanna had to leave too. It was too quiet and Mom was ready to rest. So she headed up to the bedroom where she settled in.

When I got up this morning I was so concerned about moms repeated vomiting episodes this morning that I called Terry the nurse who directed me to Nina, the on call pharmacist with Critical Care Home Health, then called Dr. Ganey who gave the order for some basic hydration for Nan. It was my opinion that she was a bit too dry because the TPN volume has been cut back by a 1/3 and she has not been able to drink due to continual nausea. The doctor agreed and based on my description of the urine color, pretty dark he ordered 500 ccs of hydration. Amazingly before noon it was at the door being delivered. I figured out to hang it and soon nan was getting hydration and the next time I checked the bags the color was improving and volume was much better as well. It appears to be that about the time the kids had to leave mom was beginning to do a little bit better. After she went to bed I came down and went to work writing appraisals. I called Longs and worked out my missing meds and arranged to pick them up before 6. At 5:30 Nan was still sleeping very nicely so I left her a message on a board beside the bed where I had gone and when I returned I took the board back. She never knew I was even gone. It was cute when she first laid down, she asked if Starr could be with her so I put Starr up on the bed but Starr would not settle down. I could hear Nan yelling at Starr at the top of her voice to quiet down or else. I liked it because she was getting excellent lung exercise. Starr did settle down and stayed the entire time of several hours right beside her mommy. Early evening nan mentioned that she was awake and of course I heard it on the monitor and raced upstairs to find her feeling some better, she was ready to come down and did. She talked to Sharon just before Sharon went to sleep and they had a good conversation. When she came down she let me know she might like some cheese raviolis so I started the water to boil. She had a few pieces of food. She also was finishing up her Coke Icee. When I was in town I thought I would try to surprise her so bought one and put it in the freezer when I got home. It was just right when she came and she drank on it for more than an hour.

Nan just had to wrestle with getting her pills down, not an easy process when the tummy is so upset. We used Kitril today, a different kind of nausea medicine that is given twice a day IV push. I think Nan is slightly better and stronger this evening than last evening. We think the primary reason she feels so rough is the strong antibiotic she is on three times a day. She only has 2 more days on one of the meds and 6 more on the other one. Antibiotics are really tough on her digestive tract and have often caused nausea in the past.

Jan let us know that she very likely can come to visit this Wednesday morning and stay through Sunday, that is wonderful news and Nan is delighted with the prospects.

We have had such blessings this weekend in spite of nan's very rough condition. She was able to be at the party and be comfortable yesterday and enjoyed the kids so much today. She will rest very grateful this evening for the successes of these last two days.

It was nice to have Nan finally get to sleep until she woke up on her own this afternoon. I think she may be finally catching up on all the lost sleep over the past few days. What a very brave trooper she is, if you want to see what courage looks like look to Nan. This family has been blessed with a very strong, quiet and determined lady who lived to care for those she loved. Today was a high day as she got to spend it with these precious souls.

Your prayers have lifted Nan yet she sure needs more lifting, more strength, more hope, more courage that only God can give.

Dr. Morgan, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston has agreed to read the scans and let us know his conclusions and treatment options tomorrow. We will certainly be glad to hear what he thinks. Today I am grateful especially to my family, to Dr. Ganey, To Anita the pharmacist who took time on her way to church to care for Nan's hydration, to Pam for calling in, to Mary for checking in, to Sharon for her calls of courage, to the delivery person who made the delivery on Mothers day of supplies, To Jan for considering coming to visit and to Irene for the ecard she sent, To Yvonne who encouraged me to get my meds and to our Heavenly Father who continues to surprise us with His mercy. My precious children were once again a pillar of strength for us today.

Thank you all

love

tim