Tests & Busy Days!

To say that we've been busy lately is putting is mildly. Of course there are the continuing regular trips to the Moffitt Cancer Center but in addition to that we have been busy getting Dad & Randy's things packed & miscellaneous ends tied up in preparation for our passing the "Caregiver Baton" over to Ray's sister Karen. 

Our son, Ray III & Ray's older brother Roger brought our car & a few more things from home down to us this past Friday. It was a nice visit. They left back for Indiana early Sunday morning with Randy & Dad's van. Our two youngest grandchildren (ages 6 & 8) arrived very early Sunday morning to spend the day with us. Their mother (ex daughter-in-law) had brought them down during their Spring Break so that they could see their Pap before his transplant. We loved having them here & it was a fun day! Great Grandpa enjoyed them a lot too.

On Tuesday because we had to be at the hospital all day, Jim & Greg Sheesley graciously escorted Dad to the Tampa airport to catch his noon flight home to Indiana. Whatever would we do without family & friends!? Thank you Jim & Greg! Dad is safely back at his Indiana home. I understand he had an interesting person sitting next to him on the flight - someone with nose rings! Ha ha!

So now it's just me & Ray here concentrating solely on tasks we need to get completed before his April 21st Stem Cell Transplant. The past three days consisted of full days at the hospital as Ray was put through numerous tests to ensure he is healthy enough for the transplant. A couple of the tests didn't show the best results & therefore a few more have been added for next week to rule out any unforeseen problems. The lung test detected some small spots so they want to do an infection test to make sure those aren't a problem. The heart scan showed that one of his valves wasn't pumping as well as they would like so we were told that when it's below 50% (his was 45%) they like to do an Echocardiogram just as a precautionary measure to make sure it's ok.

Ray developed a couple of other conditions this week as well. His right eye became very bloodshot & was throbbing somewhat. We then needed to see an eye doctor right away to get that taken care of. Fortunately right across the street from the hospital was the USF Eye Institute so I just walked in after his tests & literally begged them to squeeze him in & they did. It wasn't pink eye but possibly some sort of infection going on so he was put on antibiotic eye drops & now after two days of that, it's much better. Also a few days ago he nicked himself under his nose while shaving & it swelled up & became inflamed & tender so they prescribed some antibiotics to nip that in the bud too. Needless to say, I went right out & purchased an electric razor for him!

The Moffitt Center requires that I have an alternate caregiver for Ray in the event that I would get sick & be unable to be around him. If I even come down with the slightest illness, I would have to keep my distance. Because I won't have any family here to assist me I asked a close neighbor & friend of ours if she would be willing to be my alternate in case that would occur. Thank you so much Donna Holbrook for generously accepting that responsibility! We hope it won't be necessary but one never knows. Donna actually volunteers two days a week at the Moffitt Cancer Center & is very familiar with the things Ray & I find ourselves now facing. She is the perfect choice for us.

My plans now for the next couple of weeks are to get our place cleaned really well because once Ray has his transplant, 100% of my time will be devoted to his care. Plus it's important to get things somewhat sanitized to protect Ray. We've already installed good filters in all the air vents & changed water filters, etc. Working now on deep cleaning inside. (Carpets, walls, windows, blinds, curtains, etc.) It's what I do best so no problem. Ray is still able to help with a lot of it & I make sure he wears a mask & keeps washing his hands. I'm not letting him off the hook quite yet. He's still able & willing to do things. Besides they encourage him to get lots of exercise so I'm just making sure he does by helping me around here! Of course there are some things I will NOT allow him to do such as outside tasks that would expose him to things he must avoid.   

Oh! We did learn this week that Ray's donor is a 18 year old young man. Young Blood!! We don't know who he is nor where he's from.

This should bring everyone up to speed on where we're at now. All is well. ~Pam~