Bad Blood (Dad’s Version)

Well, we’re still in the hospital – Dad’s hemoglobin levels were trending up after two transfusions, but they dropped yesterday, causing the need for another transfusion so he was not able to get discharged like we had hoped. (We got problems, but we think we can solve ‘em.)

Even so, we’re looking for joy throughout the day. Yesterday for dinner, Jannae and I went to pick up bahn mi sandwiches; Jannae got a free baguette and was so excited and even had me take a picture of her holding it. Once we got in the car, Jannae put her baguette in the passenger door cupholder and closed the door, promptly smashing the baguette in the process! Cue the screams of anguish from Jannae and the laughing on my part. When Mom told Dad what happened, he rolled his eyes. His nurse overheard and laughed as well. [Jannae aside: my stream of consciousness during this incident was as follows: “Ah yes, this door cupholder will be a great place to store my baguette! It fits perfectly, and now I have enough space to hold all this food, I have a free hand to put my seatbelt on, AND I don’t have to put my baguette on the floor – this is fantastic! I love bread! Mmm mmm mmm, guess I’ll close the door now so we can get going…OH NO MY BAGUETTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S CRUSHED!!!!!”]

We’ve been so blessed by the generosity and support of friends and family and those that have signed up to bring us a meal. We set up the Meal Train earlier this week and are in awe at how quickly the dates filled up. Thank you to everyone who signed up to provide us with a meal; I can’t wait to eat all the yummy food!

Praises: 

• Provided meals for the next three months! 
• Full refund for the recliner that I had purchased for Dad since one of our friends offered their extra power recliner to us. 
• Installation of a grab bar in the shower to help with Dad’s stability by a dear friend. 
• Dad’s slowly gaining some of his strength back.
• Jannae will be going back to WA for a few days, but one of our aunts will be coming to stay with us to help out while Jannae is away.
• Home health will be completely covered by Dad’s insurance! They will come and assess if Dad needs any additional services like PT/OT and can conduct blood draws to make sure that Dad’s numbers are trending in the right direction.

Prayers:

• Swelling subsides in Dad’s feet and right hand.
• Bloating to decrease so he can have an appetite to eat.
• Discharge in time for the consultation appointment on Wednesday with the oncologist at HOPE Duarte that we’ve been trying to see since he was diagnosed. If this does not work out, we will continue to see Dr. K as our oncologist. (Not a bad thing because we really like Dr. K!) 
• Safe travels for Jannae as she returns to Seattle this upcoming weekend.
• Rest and increased energy levels. It is not easy to sleep soundly in the hospital since people are constantly coming into the room to check in, so Dad has not had a restful night’s sleep for almost a week.

[Clarification: although Dad is an established patient at HOPE, he is not able to go to the HOPE Duarte Evaluation and Treatment Center (i.e.hospital) unless he’s being seen by an oncologist at HOPE Duarte. Thus, we are at Huntington Hospital since Dr. K’s office is at HOPE SoPas.]