thosewhowait

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

spring has arrived...

the first aid kit and the soccer chairs are back in the van...

tim is going in one direction and i in another...meg has work and ashley and kelsey have soccer practice and soccer games and kelsey has softball practice and soon to start softball games.

the laundry piles higher than one can even describe...

spring has arrived.

thanks for checking in...

tired tim and tired tammy

Sunday, March 25, 2007

a beautiful sunday morning...

...last night i worked my last NIGHT SHIFT weekend. back to a "more normal" sleep schedule.

tim is doing well. some minor side effects from the new drug that he is on, but i think each day gets a little better. we really won't know too much until he is on this medication for a bit.

not much to say...i will try to update early in the week when i am more awake...i am going on fumes this morning so nothing would make any sense anyway.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

cGVHD

chronic graft vs host disease

throughout these last 9 months or so this is the monster we have been looking out for...because tims body received a brand new immune system things sometimes get confused. the funny part is that it is not tims body rejecting the new immune system...it is the new immune system rejecting tims body!!!

we were at the doctor yesterday. i was explaining to someone the other day that we are fighting two separate battles. the first one is the cancer itself...hiding out in remission. the transplant has knocked it down and we pray everyday that it will never reappear. the second one is the rejection issue...will mark (tims brother-the donor) and tim be able to get along for an extended period of time.

right now the cancer is not an issue.

the best way i can explain what is going on is that if you were to throw two siblings in the back seat of a car and start out on a very long journey...eventually the one will start to "pick" at the other. a funny look or a poke or a punch and soon it turns into an all out battle about nothing.

well...the battle has begun-so far it is just a little poke or jab. tim is having some symptoms that are no doubt cGVHD. the two most common areas affected are the skin and the GI tract. (although it can also affect the eyes, mouth, liver, heart, lungs, ect...). the symptoms that tim are having are minor but are definately something to address. a little skin rash on one arm and then the other arm, itchy skin on the back, stomach pain, dry mouth, swollen tongue, blotchy face...not one of these symptoms alone are very alarming, but when you put them all together in a post-transplant patient the doctors take notice and react.

we are now going to add another anti-rejection drug to the mix. this one is very different than the other one that he is still on. from the best we can tell they have been avoiding putting him on this particular drug because of the side effects. this one works "like" a chemo drug and because of that it may suppress his immune system and mess with his liver!!! the two things we have worked so hard to fix-the white count and the liver-are now in danger again. i guess they figure that we need to fix the immediate problems first and deal with the adverse results later.

keep in mind that TIM IS FINE...minor little side effects have just thrown up a flag that we are having to deal with. (although emotionally i think we both took a hit yesterday-physically he is OK). i tell you all this so that you can keep informed on how tim is doing, plus for those of you that have so faithfully been praying for us...you can know how to pray. we expect there to be bumps in the road but when they hit it good to know that we have such a large support system who love and care for us and will pray for our needs.

i will keep you all informed...

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Saturday, March 17, 2007

snow and college basketball...

i guess if it was going to get cold again this is a good time-i can't really think that there is anything tim would rather be doing than watching the NCAA tournament. tim and megan-having something to talk about-it is a wonderful thing. i am clueless-my favorite teams are based on the color of the uniform or if i like the mascot.

we were thinking back to this time last year and remembering at what stage we were at in the cancer and the chemo and were actually laughing at some of the "chemo" memories tim has. (thank goodness he can't remember a lot of what he went through) he was reminding me of some of the wacky dreams that he had and some of the times he gave the nurses a scare. i have to admit that i was not sure that we would ever be sitting around and laughing, but it is kinda funny in a weird kinda way.

he is feeling the effects of doing some shoveling...nothing that a few advil can't take care of (if i left any in the bottle). tim and kelsey and i were out shoveling last night sometime around 10:30pm. once again i have to admit that it was a nice feeling to be out there with tim and watching him do some physical activity.

this years march madness is much nicer than last years march madness...

have a great rest of the weekend.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Thursday, March 15, 2007

more milestones...

...two nights ago tim looked over at me and asked me if i noticed anything different. as usual, my brain was fried and i said no. he then proceeded to mention that for the first time in over one year he was sitting watching tv with me and he had a short sleeve t-shirt on (instead of under armor and a sweatshirt). we are loving this warmth.

he is working today. had a very long day yesterday. we go back to see the oncologist on monday morning. so far things seem to be holding steady...some minor stomach issues and some dry skin, but everything else seems pretty good.

i have to get to work myself today.

thanks for checking in

have a great day.

tim and tammy

Monday, March 12, 2007

a touch of spring...

...and we are loving it. yesterday tim actually got the grill out of the ice bank and for the first time in over a year he grilled the kids some "steamed" clams. it is the little things that remind us how far we have come...and we need those reminders.

he had a "restful" weekend. being back to work is a good thing, but it certainly wipes him out by the end of the week. but each week we see improvements in his daily routine. his mind seems sharper and his energy level seems better (although both have a ways to go yet, but so does mine). it was a saturday full of basketball...how one can sit and watch that much basketball in one day is beyond me and we haven't even hit the NCAA tournament yet!!!! (oh goodie). i am convinced that every basketball game should start with a 58-58 tie and two minutes on the clock!!! the game would still take about an hour to watch with all the time outs and foul shots.

the kids are good...ashley has been dealing with some throat and respiratory issues but seems to be improving. the twins are heavy into soccer right now...indoor on the weekends and outdoor middle school practices everyday after school. meg has a new job working a few hours after school for a group of attorneys and seems to really like it.

hope everyone had a great weekend...enjoy this weather and get outside the next few days.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Thursday, March 08, 2007

good day to all...

so far this has been a pretty good week for all. tim is settling in to a routine of going to work every day...some full days and some half days. keep praying that he stays healthy. it is hard to imagine how "aware" we have become of the "germs" that are all around us. we go to work, we go to school, we go to church, we go to the grocery store...i am convinced that sick people just don't stay home any more!!!!

i suppose that while on: anti-viral medicine and anti-bacterial medicine and anti-fungal medicine and anti-rejection medicine and a few other anti-this and that medicines that we have him pretty covered...but it still scares me when he is out-keep praying.

well, i have to go into work early this morning so i must be on my way. have a great day.

thanks for cheking in.

tim and tammy

Monday, March 05, 2007

the weekend is over...

...and a new week begins. i worked nights this weekend so most of it is a blurr...but overall i think it went OK. tim is still having some minor stomach issues, but he had a decent weekend. the kids kept us very busy this weekend with sleepovers and soccer and musicals (nice job bethany). my parents came down sunday and brought tims dad so we had a nice visit with them.

i am off today-tim is working today.

the kids are excited...we finally got our insurance check for the damages downstairs after the flood. this week they are going to pick out a new tv and dvd player and futon. all the other repairs have been made so things are finally coming together-that was the day after christmas!!! the kids will finally have their "space" back.

well, time to get everyone up and moving.

thanks for checkin in.

tim and tammy