What's goin' on

We were all a bit worried that Karl may have been on his feet a bit too much at the Rock N Bowl, but he was so pumped up from that night that he did surprisingly well...until about Tuesday when his hemoglobin dropped to 7.2 (normal is 13-15). That's a normal side effect from chemotherapy. Its job is to destroy fast-growing cells such as a cancerous tumor. But then it also stops hair growth as well as red blood cells, ergo the drop in the hemoglobin count. He received two units of red blood at Herrick Medical Center on Friday, and was feeling much better on Saturday and his appetite picked up a bit, although he can't taste much these days.

We've also been busy trying to find a place to stay in Rochester, which has been particularly difficult. We know we'll be there for more than a month so we'd like something more than just a motel room with a refrigerator and microwave in it. I'm confident it will work out.

And speaking of housing, we will be putting Karl's house in Adrian on the market (by owner) and so we've all been busy cleaning, sorting, packing, etc. I have to tell you, because I find it so darned funny, that Karl was incredibly prepared for any possible food shortage brought on by Y2K eight years ago. Karl had even labeled Saltine cracker packages with "stale" on the outside. Now who on earth puts a stale package (actually, there were 3) of crackers back in his cupboard? Karl explained that he kept those in case he needed them for cracker crumbs. "Ohhhh," I said, nodding my head in presumed understanding. I have to admit that I still don't get it.

Today Karl is getting his monthly MRI and CT-scan and tomorrow, July 3, we see Dr. Scheutze for a follow-up appointment. We are also hoping he'll tell us about Karl's PET scan in Washington, D.C. Karl will fly in to D.C., brother Kirk (who lives 2-3 hours away near Philadelphia) will pick him up, take him to the appointment, and then get him back to the airport. What, you may be asking yourself, is the reason he has to travel all the way to D.C.? The answer is because it's free of charge. For purposes of the study in which Karl is participating, the PET scan will determine how much the chemotherapy regimen has affected the cancer.

Anyway, we still have bunches of photos to take (mostly hats), post and label for this blog, but I have a feeling I won't be getting to that anytime soon. I know I'll have time once I get to Rochester. I'll let you know as soon as I hear about a definite surgery date.

Until then, keep the faith!

Kerry

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:11-12