i see a pattern...

sunday wednesday sunday wednesday...

i am not a huge fan of patterns so watch...i may be mixing up the days soon.

well, tim went off to work on monday very willingly...i can't say the same about yesterday...but he eventually got there and that is all the counts right now. he had a headache yesterday, but seemed to work his way through it but i think it is time to call our friend dr bloom (hi barbie) and set up an eye doctors appt. i think his headaches are related to his vision a bit and i think he needs glasses. now if i can just convince him that he will look just fine in glasses we will be half way there. i told him that barbie has the coolest selection of glasses in the area but i am not sure if we should take the three teenagers along to help pick them out or not-one has "plaid" glasses and the other has "orange and blue" glasses!!!!

well...i have to get the kids moving. the farther into the week we go the more times i have to call them out of bed. overall things are going pretty good. tim has welcomed the warmer weather and is glad the ice banks are finally starting to melt...thanks go out to a co-worker of tims that came last saturday and (while we were gone) chipped and shoveled our driveway wider so we could get in and our of our vans with ease!!!

have a great day and as always=thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

wintery mix???

i guess we are in for another mess on the ground. yesterday tim was outside trying to widen our sidewalks abit before the next storm comes through...i hope he can move today. it is so amazing how easily he gets tired when doing any physical activity. he is trying to build up his stamina each day abit...but he is afraid it is going to be a long road to another berwick marathon (but i believe he will get there).

he was able to work about 30 hours this week...WOW!!! he had a couple of "off-site" meetings which he thought went well. his only complaint last week was having to hang out in the COOLERS in the stores. he had a hard time warming up. i was very proud of him...i know he doesn't "feel" like getting up in the morning, but he does-he has been a trooper.

well, i have to get things moving here...we have church this morning.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

mid-week already...

this week is flying by. things are just about appearing to be normal. yesterday the kids went back to school after a 6 day unscheduled break. (thank the LORD they are back in school) tim went into work and i even went into work.

there are days that i wish i had another job. (actually winning the lottery would be nice). incase you are not aware, i work at the medical center where tim is being treated. what i do there is work in a dept called hematology. i process blood on patients and count cells, looking for normal cells and abnormal cells. there are many many reason why one would have a blood count done, but where i worked yesterday the primary reason is to follow-up on cancer patients. yesterday i had to call one of tim's doctors and tell him that one of his patients (that we have gotten to know) had the cancer come back...i haven't told tim and probably will not...but some nights i just don't sleep as well as other nights!!! the doctor was so sad, i was so sad, but this is where one's faith and trust in GOD has to come into play. we have to hold on to the faith that we are going to beat this cancer. keep praying for us...

tims medication changes are causing some minor side-effects but so far he seems to be working through them. he is determined to get OFF those steroids before they start messing with his bones. long term steroid therapy almost always leads to hip problems...so he wants to ditch the steroids as soon as he can. speaking of hips-my dad came through his hip replacement with flying colors-way to go dad!!!

i think tim is going into work again today...infact if all goes well, he is planning on working a bit each day this week. i am off until friday. i guess i have to re-organize the house today-after having the kids pretty much house bound with their friends for 6 days, it is in need of some TLC. (and some groceries-man those kids can eat)

well, as always thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

sunday morning update

good day to all.

just wanted to update you on tim's last appt. the doctor was pleased with how well tim has recovered from his last two issues (the viral errruption and the sinus infection). they have decided to make some minor medication changes which is encouraging on one hand but scary on the other. every time they mess with his steroids we have had some problems, but they have to keep trying to wean him off of them so here we go again. he is going to drop the level of steroid and eliminate one of his stomach meds but they want him to stay on the anti-viral medication for an additional three months or so.

he is feeling a bit better overall, but this cold weather stuff has got to go. he only made it into work part of one day this week but is hoping for a much more productive week coming up. he is glad to be back into the working world-it does tire him out-but he feels good about it.

we are hoping to get to the gym to start walking again...we had been doing so good before this cold weather hit, but now we have to get back on track.

good news on meg...she picked up another part-time job and starts the week after next. she is going to put in some hours working for a local lawyer. she is excited. she also impressed us with competing in a solo female vocalist competition through our church called FINE ARTS this weekend. she did a great job and qualified for districts which is held in carlisle the week before easter...we are excited. there were so many talented kids that love to sing and perform for the LORD. it was so cool to see that many christian kids together using their GOD given talents in this way.

well, i have to get everyone moving in this house...one has nursery duty today and one has the 3 and 4 year old class today...we have been so blessed to have such great kids!!!!! we thank GOD every day for the three girls we have.

have a great day. try to get out to church somewhere today.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

ps...thanks to my brother and his wife for taking the time to check on this blog from HAWAII. hope you are having a great time. bring us home some pineapple.

kids are home again...

...and loving it.

it is thursday and day 2 of having a house full of wet boots and gloves and hats and empty hot chocolate mugs all over-but i am loving it. at one point i think we had 9-thirteen year olds in our house last night. they were having a blast. the snow was a bit on the heavy side to shovel, but i had the kids helping and a neighbor so we made out fine, just a little achey today. i don't think i have ever seen so much ice before. (i think i like the snow better). our vehicles were so frozen that one of the kids had to crawl in through the back hatch and start it so it would thaw and we could get the doors open.

we were just praying that we wouldn't lose power...i think tim would have driven to the carolina's if we had to go without heat for any length of time. we were lucky-the power lines held. tim's two major ailments seem to be getting much better. we go to the doctor tomorrow. he was bumming a bit yesterday because i wouldn't let him out in the snow. i told him we could go for a walk out in the snow today...but no shoveling for him.

well, i must be going...time for more advil for these sore muscles. (i am getting old) have a great day.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

"200"

this post will make the "200th" time that i have entered an update on tim since this whole mess started. thanks for hanging on all that time.

the latest update on his condition: tim is on an anti-viral medication for one month for the violent viral erruption that he had in his mouth and throat. he also developed a wicked sinus infection (like about half the harrisburg population) and is on antibiotic for 10 days. over the weekend he was in terrible pain between the two and also started on some heavy duty pain meds. i am happy to say that today-sunday-we are starting to see a definate improvement. he has been able to eat a bit more and has gone from a bright red and blotchy face to a pale and pasty face to a much better color face today.

thanks for all your prayers and concern over the last few days. we have been so lucky that he hasn't had to battle anything really major since his transplant about 9 months ago. this was a bit of a scare...when he gets hit with something he really gets hit hard. his energy level took a dive, but already is coming back a bit. each day gets a bit better...and i am now off for a couple of days which usually helps.

take care and as always thanks for checking in (the last 200 times).

tim and tammy

update on mouth...

tim had to go to hershey today for some bloodwork and they put him on an "anti-viral" medication for one month. his mouth has gotten worse with the ulcers and they have even started down his throat. his whole face and head hurts. we are hoping that this medicine helps in a hurry. (with what it costs he should be all better in a few hours).

we go and see the doctor in one week for his regular appt and to follow up on this situation. they are hoping that he is dealing with a major viral erruption...and not a GVH rejection issue, but only time will determine which it is. if he responds to this new medication then they will assume it was a viral thing, if not then we will start messing with his anti-rejection medicine levels.

pray that this gets resolved quickly. he has really been hit hard with this set-back, although we feel that it can be turned around in a couple of days. he probably hasn't been in this much pain throughout the whole transplant.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

mid-week update

greetings to all.

(love that snow this morning)

just wanted to give a quick update regarding tim. he is still not quite himself, but i think doing a bit better. this cold weather is not helping plus he has a bad mouth. it is very common for chemo patients to get ulcers and sores on the gums and it makes everything hurt and it is hard to eat. we have a call into the transplant coordinator to see if there is anything that they can do for him...we are waiting to hear. i guess the tough part is to decide if it is from the chemo or if it is a viral thing or if it is a GVH rejection thing.

we will keep you all updated as we hear more about it. the house is coming along very nice. repairs are done and now it is just a matter of putting everything back into its right spot. as simple as that sounds this project could take weeks-we rearranged SO MUCH STUFF to make room for the restoration company...it should be fun. we haven't received any "funds" yet to go out and replace anything, but i am assured that the money is coming...soon a 2nd TV again. that will be nice. there is only so much "family time" that 3 teenagers want to have, and i think we have just about maxed them out!!!

as always, thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

its cold out there...

...which means it is hard to get tim out from under that electric blanket!!!

the last day and a half have been a bit shakey. nothing major, but just not right. i am keeping an eye on him. hopefully it is just a dis-like of this weather.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

it is thursday...

i hear we may be getting alittle snow tonight...that is exciting!!!

tim is good. he actually went into work on monday and wednesday and worked out of the house a bit on tuesday. he is taking the day off today because i am off until midnight tonight. so far most of his time is being spent refreshing and clearing off about 600 e-mails. it has been nice having him go off to work-it gives us something different to talk about in the evening (if he is conscious) these days have him on the couch pretty early, but other than a headache here and there i think it has been good for him.

i have been working a little extra and swinging shifts a lot so i hit the couch a bit early also.

we now have a ceiling in our basement and a bathroom vanity in our living room. we are getting there. they are coming back today to finish up the basement and work on the bathroom and the flooring in the hallway.

say a prayer (or two) for some medical insurance issues we are dealing with...i would rather not go into details on the blog, but we could use your prayers.

well, hope you all have a wonderful day.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy