Passing the pain

Well, it has been an eventful couple of days at the hospital. The doctors were concerned that Troy's blood wasn't thick enough, so they gave him products to do just that. Turns out those products may have produced very large (some the size of a quarter) blood clots that accumulated in his bladder. As you can imagine, passing those was not a pleasant experience for Troy. However, it seems that things are calming down now.

They also started one of the new chemo drugs today - hopefully it will cut down the MM and give Troy a break before the donor stem cell transplant scheduled for later this month.

Please keep the positive energy and thoughts heading his way - it has been a rough summer, but Troy will win this battle!

Hangin' in there

Troy is still at Northside. He is doing well despite the countless bags of fluids, medications, and chemo he gets daily. He has been walking around the floor and doing some bed exercises to keep up his strength. He is also growing a few hairs on his head!

Although his voice is a little stronger, he is still raspy and sometimes has a hard time getting all the words to speak clearly. However, I'm sure he would still love to hear your words of encouragement and funny stories - anything to "transport" him out of the mundane hospital room.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Well, because of all the fluids they have had to give Troy, and because he is not moving around much due to his lack of energy, the fluid has backed up a little bit on his lungs (his heart is not successfully flushing out his system as it should). So, they have had to give him Lasix (a drug that pulls fluid off the body) to get him back on the right path.

Troy has been through this sort of "back and forth" thing with Lasix many times over the past few months - so there is no need to be worried. However, it just sucks that he can't get "ahead" of this thing. Hopefully he will begin to turn around in the coming days.

They will also be starting his new chemo treatment tomorrow (I think) - so there is another piece to the puzzle.

Please keep him in your thoughts - he has almost no energy and can barely stay awake long enough to finish a sentence. So, as much as I know he would love to return your phone calls and emails, he just can't right now - but keep 'em coming nonetheless.

A little dip

Well, Troy is back in the hospital again because he didn't really eat or drink anything the past few days. The doctors say he looks good "on paper," but he wasn't feeling good and had no energy from the lack of nutrients.

The lung and blood infections seem to be clearing up, but they have detected a slight rise in some of the bad protein levels. Thus, the doctors are discussing a change in his chemo regiment - it is like the MM is "smart" and learns how to get around any chemo they throw at it.

They are still working on the stem cell donor and are proceeding with the necessary tests for that person, but we still don't have an exact date for the transplant. As you can imagine, Troy's disease needs to be under control and he needs to be strong before they can proceed.

Keep sending the positive messages and encouragement!

Home again!

Troy made it home again this afternoon! His white count is still extremely low, but hopefully that will be turning around soon. His spirits are up and we hope to get to the donor transplant soon - they did many of the necessary tests while he was in the hospital this past week. Although he will have to continue his daily treatments at the clinic, let's hope he doesn't have to go back into the hospital until the transplant!

If you, or anyone you know, is looking to purchase a nice two bedroom house in the Duluth area - give Troy a call. He has recently put his house on the market.

Gettin' by

It seems Troy can't get too comfortable at home these days. He went back into the hospital about a week ago after having a few dizzy spells at home. Turned out, his blood pressure was drastically dropping every time he stood up. So, they checked him in, messed with his blood pressure medication for a few days, and have finally gotten him somewhat stabilized. However, it wasn't without a cost - they gave him more chemo, which upset his stomach something fierce - but that is under control now as well.

So, he has been there over a week now - and things are looking up, but they are keeping him there until his counts come back up from the chemo (which is always a long process). They are hoping to move Troy to the donor transplant soon and have begun the necessary tests to make sure he is fit to do so (the ONE advantage to already being in the hospital!)

Thank you for all of your thoughts and positive energy - IT IS HELPING! Although he is not in the best situation to accept visitors at this time, please keep sending cards, emails, texts, and phone calls - all of which help Troy get through the day!