Where to start...

Hello all. We're taking a cue from the Carroll family and starting a blog that we can use to spread the word about what is happening with dad on a regular basis. Before I get too far along I should probably get everybody up to speed (well as best I can, I'm an engineer not a doctor).

In early April dad got to spend his first night, ever, in a hospital. He had some chest pains one day and after some poking, prodding and measuring they determined his heart was OK but his blood sugar was very high. Dad has been taking oral medication for diabetes for a while now and was recently put on the infamous Prednisone for a muscle condition and as we found out is really good at raising blood sugar levels. After that first hospital stay we thought maybe his blood sugar was causing his problems. About two weeks later dad got to take another trip to the emergency room while experiencing some back pain and over all "not good" feelings. Early on in that visit they found his platelet counts to be very low and therefore gave him a couple units of blood and some fresh platelets. The Veterans Affairs hospital called the doctors here Rock Island and told them to take dad off of one of his medications that could possibly lower his blood counts. After three nights making sure things were stabilizing he was back home. During the week of April 27, 2009 he started making the rounds between the VA clinic in Bettendorf, IA and Iowa City for some tests and more poking and drawing and testing and poking and looking. On Thursday, April 30th the VA clinic in Iowa City saw some things on a bone scan from earlier in the week that they didn't like and had him come back out that afternoon for some more tests and to be admitted into the VA hospital. The doctors sort of prepared us for some bad news, we just didn't know how bad. Friday, May 1st, 2009 we got the news that dad may have some sort of cancer along the lines of Lymphoma, Leukemia or Mieloma. Bad news indeed but we still didn't know the level of crappiness.

Monday, May 4th, 2009 dad should be getting the results of his tests and we will know the name of the something that has been making him sick. The doctor talked of starting his treatment once we know what it is we're up against. They've already started him on a new regiment of drugs to prepare his body.

So for the next 24 hours we're still in a waiting pattern. I'll be updating the blog until dad gets out of the hospital and back home. For now his blood counts are low enough that we're asking that visitors be limited to the immediate family so we don't run the risk of him getting an infection. If you've been to Mexico in the past year stay away from Iowa and Illinois please. Also we can't use cell phones up in dad's room due too all of the fancy monitors and things so if you call one of our cell phones it might take us a bit to get back to you. Think happy thoughts everybody.

Eddie