9/28/11 Wednesday

Whoooohoooooo Quintin's white blood count was 6.0 today!!! 4-11 is the normal range.  He is coming home tomorrow!!! Everyone is so excited.  Seems the transplant is working.  Thanking God today for his many blessings!

9/27/11 Tuesday

It has been a rough last 7 days.  His counts have been so low and all he did was sleep.  On Friday he started running a temp and was admitted to the hospital.  He had a rough couple of nights but is starting to feel better.  Sunday his white blood count was .2 on Monday they were .7........today they are 2.4 PTL  half way there.  He has not had a fever in 24 hours. So he is hoping to come home by the weekend.  We are praying that the rest of the week is full of good news.  The kiddos miss him so much.  Since he has been in the hospital I have been able to come home at night.  Thanks again for your prayers!!! They are working!

9-20-11

Quintin is doing well.  Just really tired.  With his counts this low that is to be expected.  We went back to the  doctor yesterday for his check up.  We go every other day now to check his blood levels and counts.  His levels are dropping like they are supposed to.  They will be completely bottomed out by today or tomorrow.  He began taking Neupogen shots today.  These will help boost his white blood cell count which is what has to be normal before we can go home. 

The doctor told us yesterday that his hemoglobin level was good.  This means he probably won't have to have a blood transfusion.  PTL  Just continue to pray that his levels rebound quickly so we can go home.  We miss our babies and our bed! lol

Love,
Tammy and Quintin

9/17/11

Transplant went well.  Q stays nauseated and very tired which is to be expected.  He came home with an IV bag connected to his chest cath that I change every 24 hours.  It has meds for nausea and other fluids that he needs to keep him hydrated.  We went back to the doctor on Friday to check his levels and they had not begun to drop yet.  The doctor said he should bottom out over the weekend.  Next week will be the hardest week for him.  His white and red cells will be pretty much zilch.  He will be extremely tired and weak.  He is such a good paitent.  He never complains.  He is such a strong person. 

The hardest part for us is being away from our kids.  I knew it would be hard on us I just never realized how hard it was going to be on our kids.  Even though they are with my mom who they adore and we skype with them at least 3-4 times a day....it is just not the same. 

Praying for a speedy recovery so we can be at home with our babies.

Day 3 9-15-11

Quintin did not sleep too well last night.  Just a little restless.  Woke up very nauseated and throwing up.  We go to MDA at 1 pm today to get the stem cells injected.  This is about a 3 hour process.  Please pray that all goes well and I will post more later,  Thanks

Day 2 Wednesday 9-14-11

Day started off great.  He actually felt like getting out for lunch and we ran a few errands. We got back to the room around 4 or so to disconnect his back pack and he started getting nauseated.  BJ went by Chick-fila and brought him some chicken noodle soup.  He felt much better afterwards.  Still a little queasy. 

Our good friend Bro. Chad Wilpitz helped me get my computer ready and we got to skype into GTPC for service!  It was so awesome.  We even got to talk to every one!  Not the same as being there but definitely the next best thing.

Peyton woke up with a sore throat and fever so my mom took him to the doctor and he has strep...please remember him as well in your prayers!

Transplant 9-12-11

Our day started bright and early with walking Halle to the bus stop, seeing her off and driving Peyton to school.  Both kids seemed a little nervous and worried about Daddy because today was the big chemo day.  Halle ended up coming home early from school due to upset tummy and vomiting.  Which I really feel was just nerves.  Please pray for our babies as it is very hard on them to be away from mommy and daddy and not really understanding what is going on. 

Got checked in at MDA around noon and started the process for chemo.  Which included lots of fluids and meds to help with side effect from the chemo.  Because we serve a GREAT BIG GOD, he has not had any side effects from the chemo such as nausea, dizziness or fatigue.  The nurse said he probably would not begin feeling tired until Sunday or Monday when his immune system will be at it's lowest.  We are staying in an extended stay near the hospital in case he gets a temp or any major side effects from the chemo. We go back to MDA on Thursday for stem cell transplant which is about a 3 hour process.  The nurse said it waws a painless process.  He is currently hooked to a back pack that is connected to his chest cath which administers nausea meds and other fluids to keep him hydrated. 

As you may know, hair loss is a major side effect from this type of chemo.  We decided that it would be a good idea to shave Q's head so the kids would not be shocked to see him with no hair.  We made this fun for the kids by allowing them to participate in the shaving!   We made a mohawk and several other funny hair do's for daddy.  (I will post pics later)  Even Papa Nick and Uncle Donny shaved their heads!!!  I will post their pics as well!  Both kids said they did not like daddy new do so he told them he would it grow back. 

Thanks to our friend Dave Massey we are able to video chat with the kiddos every day!  They love that!!! And so do we since being away from them seems to be the hardest part! 

At the end of the day we are thanking God for His many blessing and His healing touch.  Miss our family and church family more than you will ever know.  Life really is all about your loved ones and the time you spend with them.  Every day is another blessing!!!