(Dave’s Turn)

Looking into life’s great pool of reflection, what do I now see?

I see that my wife has ‘passed’ from a sentence of death ……   to a new life.

In exchange for ‘nothing’, a remarkable young man stepped forward last August and gave his very life blood (specifically for Kay), so that my precious wife (of 40 years) and mother of 5 could live beyond year 2022.

In so doing,
Fear, pain and sorrow have flown away and left in their place
Healing, Faith and Joy  …….
Just as if she had actually been raised from the dead,
for all of us that know and love her deeply.

In retrospect, on June 2, 2022 as we met at the MDA cancer clinic in Houston, her magnificent champion of a doctor (Dr. Richard Champlin — look him up) pronounced the death sentence on her physical life, and then promptly provided her with a possible CURE    —    A STEM CELL TRANSPLANT  —.  

“In might just work,”  he told her.  And then asked her if she wanted to give it a ‘go’.

And She said,  “YES”.    The Rest is now history, as they say.

And just as I was very glad that she said ‘yes’ to me over 41 years ago, to the idea of a ‘New Life’ together (for she and I), I now, and hopefully all of you too, now  rejoice again that she said ‘yes’ to her great physician when he offered to her a ‘New Life’, with more days of victory to celebrate ahead. 

From the very start of this (October 2021) most recent cancer episode for Kay, until this very day, we continue to see God’s hand and purpose in our lives.

It has been 150 days since her Donor Stem Cells were infused on Sept. 23, 2022!

Please rejoice with us on this latest milestone and as we thank our God for each of you that have stood with us in prayer asking Him for His grace and strength for each new day.

We will (all of us) need it for the days ahead.

Godspeed,

David

It has been a month since our last update. It is SO GOOD to be home!!! Overall life has been good. We have had several wonderful family times- our traditional Chinese Christmas Eve lunch (on New Years Day this year); Christmas gatherings; time with our college grandson before he went back to Tampa; time with other grandsons for meals, Yahtzee, billiards, theater performance, robotics competition. Grandgirls times of meals, making Valentines for a local ministry, watching Cinderella, gymnastics meet. Breakfast with my older two daughters; a music jam session at the Flanegans; a trip to the Badlands Observatory with the Flanegan family. A visit from Mary, Lucas and the girls from AZ; Cardio workouts with Natalie a couple times a week; Meals and fellowship with a few close friends. All those along with weekly labs, PT and doctor appointments. 

This may sound like a lot but my ‘bubble’ is very limited to family and a couple close friends. I am supposed to live life yet cautiously. I wear my mask everywhere and keep my distance from others. I nap almost daily. I wash my hands A LOT! 

My medical teams both in Houston and locally are quite pleased with my progress.  I am too, though I still deal with gut issues every so often. Some days I am more energetic than others. My teams remind me I am only four months since transplant and healing can take a year or more. 

I am impatient at times and want to ‘get to my new normal’’. Yet I know God is in control of my healing process through my medical teams, my family, my increased strength and wellness and the prayers of you, my many friends. 

What is ahead? Keeping my bubble small. Being very cautious not  to get sick. Going to appointments. Keeping my focus on the Lord and His goodness to me. Back in May, I asked one of my MDA doctors, what my life expectancy was if I chose to not have the transplant. He said 3-6 months. I have too much to live for to not keep on this journey. It is still hard but I am improving almost daily. 

Next update will be after my six month visit back to Houston near the end of March- unless a need comes up.  Praying that will not be necessary!   

Thank you for loving us with prayers, thoughts and many other ways. 

Kay and David

Today, January 1st is my 100th day since transplant. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and encouraging words throughout these months . David and I are praying now to be: CANCER FREE in 2023!!! 

We hope each of you has a beautiful, blessed and joy-filled year in 2023!  Keep looking up because that is where our help comes from. 

God bless every one of you. 

Much much love and prayers for you, Dave and Kay

Early yesterday morning my labs came back great! So I asked my PA, Tobi, if she could arrange for my Central Line to be removed.  She said she would see what she could do. I have a bit of a special line due to previous infections in my first two lines so I needed a special person to remove it. Being Christmas week, there may have not been anyone available. She called us at 11:10 and said a procedurist at the Vascular Access Unit st MDA could do it at noon. We jumped into the car. This was a huge answer to prayer as I wanted the line removed at MDA.

The procedure was done by 2:00. We went back to our tiny house to finish packing and got on the road by 4:00.  Stopped at 10:00 just shy of the Oklahoma border. We slept really well and got on the road by 10am today.  We will stop soon in Hays, KS for the night. Hopefully back in Rapid City by dinner time tomorrow!!!!!

Dave asked me if I have pinched myself to see if this was really happening. I said “No. I am with you so I know it is real!!!”   

God is SO good!  He moved mountains to get us on the road yesterday. Thank you faithful ones for all your prayers for us even when you didn’t know what we were specially praying for.  We cannot wait to be home!

Much love, Dave and Ksy 

As many of you know we did not make it home for Christmas due to my white counts being extremely low.  We prayed as did our family, about that decision. On Christmas Day both Amy and Natalie said they had boys with colds. God is so good. Our water in the RV park got turned off at Thursday noon due to hard overnight freezes here for several days. We did fine with no running water, heating up bottled water to wash up, do dishes and cook. We settled into a quiet weekend with movies,(our traditional “It’s a Wonderful Life”), reading, Scrabble and good home cooked meals.  Talked with Andrew on Friday and he sent photos on Christmas Day. Texted with Josiah before he left on a week vacation. Spoke to my brother Tim on Christmas Eve. 

On Christmas day, we had traditional cinnamon rolls and eggs, opened a couple gifts, had FaceTime with the Haan family. The little girls had to show us all their gifts. It was fun to share in their excitement. Then we had FaceTime with Slacks. The boys talked with us about gifts and plans for their break from school. Skiing, family and friends top their lists. After my nap, the Flanegans called. I had requested when I thought we would be there for Christmas if we could sing some carols. So over FaceTime we sang carols together while Keith and Isaac accompanied on the piano. It was lovely.  

After that call, we heard a POP and the power went out!!! The power company estimated 3-4 hours so we see waited to see. In the meantime, I was able to FaceTime with my Michigan family.  It was nice to see them all, except brother Ron who, like me, has low counts. .  

As the sun went down and we still had no power, I was thankful for a charged tablet with a book on it and for my ‘always  prepared’ husband who had thought to bring two flashlights with him. At 7pm we packed an overnight bag and headed to a hotel for the night. We hadn’t eaten yet so stopped at McDonalds for takeout dinner. Not much open on Christmas night!  

We had a comfy, warm sleep, lights to read by and a long hot shower (after 3 days). (Thanks kids!!!)

Certainly not the Christmas we expected but one to remember!!!

God is always in control, even when things don’t go as we hoped. 

God is always good!

We were all set to head home for Christmas, but are pumping the brakes. After much prayer and discussion (and a pretty sleepless night) we are pumping the brakes on going home. My white blood counts are extremely low. I am severely neutropenic and very susceptible to infections and illnesses right now. My doctor was hesitant in saying yes to traveling yesterday but knew we were packed up to leave today. As hard as it is to not be home for Christmas, I really need to look out for my health.  We will see how my blood is doing next Monday to see if we can leave next Tuesday. Thank you for your prayers.

A new friend/neighbor in the RV park heard of our disappointment and brought this tree for us. 🎄🎄🎄

We were gifted a two night getaway condo this past week. This was from the owner whom we have never met but have stayed at her property previously.  She knows of my cancer battles and graciously gave us some time away from Houston and our tiny house. The condo balcony overlooks the Gulf. It is beautiful- except when foggy then we couldn’t see anything. 

We have been to Galveston a half dozen times over the past almost five years of coming to MDA.  It was fun to find some new things to do-Railroad Museum, Paddlewheel boat cruise, watch and listen to the waves crashing against the rocks and a new restaurant and to do some of our favorites again- ferry ride, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and mini golf. 

We also drove around to see Christmas lights which was s bit disappointing but went to Moody Gardens and were delighted to be able to walk around their displays. 

The last three days I have felt quite well. I did a lot of walking in Galveston and wasn’t exhausted. Monday and Thursday are my next appointments so we will see how my labs and bone marrow biopsy come out.  

The countdown to leaving Houston and heading to Rapid City has begun! We plan to leave Dec 20 and be home Dec 22! 

We spent Thanksgiving with another patient/caregiver couple here in the RV park.  She did the cooking and I made two pies.  She said she is used to cooking for 15-20 and she tried to cut back.  There were plenty of leftovers!  We enjoyed eating with them on our screened porch which we were thankful for due to the rain that day.  

Sunday was a beautiful day here in Houston.  Sunshine and almost 80 degrees.  We took advantage of it and visited a town nearby called Pearland (Pear-Land).  In Rapid City, we have statues of the presidents on the downtown street corners; in Custer South Dakota, they have fiberglass Buffaloes with various paintings on their sides.  Here in Pearland- you guessed it- they have 4 foot tall pears scattered throughout the city parks that are painted by local artists.  There are 20, we located 9 choosing to stay more in the downtown area.  Afterwards, I found a delicious BBQ restaurant for a late lunch, Killen’s.  It was really good.  My pork sandwich was huge (I could only eat half) and so tasty.  David had brisket tacos and roasted Brussel sprouts.  Today, we ate the remaining BBQ pork on tortilla chips with cheese- something I learned at the Rendezvous restaurant in Memphis, TN more than 17 years ago. (Nod to Amy and Keith for taking us there when Isaac was just a baby.)

Monday was appointment day.  Labs, dressing change and doctor.  All went well. I brought up to my doctor that my Potassium level has been good for several weeks.  Did I need to continue taking the Potassium pill or could I try every other day? (Before transplant, I took NO Prescription meds; now I take 12 different meds for a total of 16 pills a day.)  He said I could stop it for a week and we will see how my Potassium level is next Monday.  YAY!!!  We are still on track to leave Houston on Dec 20.  

Today is another beautiful day but definitely more humid.  We walked around our lake twice.  On the first go around, God blessed us with seeing a bald eagle!  He was standing on the edge of the lake and took off soaring.  Such a beautiful sight!

My total steps (not around the house) most days is increasing. Some days 1500; some days 2000; appointment days are usually close to 5000; today 2500.  I am thankful for the warmer weather here so getting out and walking is enjoyable instead of on a treadmill.  

David and I were curious about the history of Stem Cell Transplants.   He found a good article.  If you are interested, here is the link:  https://www.bmtinfonet.org/node/5621   It is a 24 minute video or the transcript is below the video.  

Thank you all for your encouragement and support over these months.  

Love and blessings, Kay and David

Today is 60 days post- transplant.  I am feeling really good. Yesterday my post-transplant PT/OT evaluation went really well. The therapist was ‘very amazed’ at how well I am doing. My labs are all good and my doctor/team said Dec 20 for going home still looks good.  I did start my maintenance chemo lite yesterday.  One pill on days 1 and 3 of each 28 day cycle.  So far so good. No noticeable side effects.

Natalie arrived last Saturday and Dave went away to the Lake Livingston area of Texas about 100 miles north. He did some bike riding, reading, exploring and (hopefully)some resting!  Natalie and I have had some great conversations, watched a Rom-Com, went to the Museum of Natural Science, ate out and cooked at home. She also spent the day at MDA with me yesterday.  It has been rainy and cool here so not much outside time. 

An update on the young family (7 boys)- Their mom, Sara, passed into the arms of Jesus yesterday afternoon. She was having heart/ lung complications and had been in ICU for a couple days. Prayers for the husband, Caleb and the boys as they navigate this loss and life without their wife and mother. They are blessed to have a support family here, a supportive church here and supportive family, friends and church community back home in Missouri.  Continued prayers appreciated. 

I feel more like normal all the time.  I am eating better, walking farther and am able to help Dave with more household chores. I still need to continue building strength. God is good. Life is good. And I am so looking forward to Christmas in Rapid City!!

God bless you all for your faithfulness in prayer and your encouragement in so many ways.  Love, Dave and Kay

Celebrating 56 days (8 weeks) post- transplant with an afternoon movie and a late delicious Tex-Mex lunch! So good to feel almost normal! Kay