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

Thursday, March 27, 2008

thursday...

things are looking a bit better today...in a weird kinda way.

i have a wonderful new washing machine and my laundry is actually no longer overtaking the house.

tim was feeling well enough to actually go for a short walk around the block yesterday. it was a beautiful day.

his counts are doing what they are supposed to be doing. we are on the every other day going to the hospital for transfusion support. his platelets are starting to fall...yesterday we were dropped into the 50's. (they will give him platelets when they drop into the teens). his red cell counts are falling a bit and we anticipated needing a blood transfusion or two early next week. his white count is on the rise which happens just before the DIVE. (once they dive he officially becomes neutropenic and really really has to watch out for infections and stuff).

his stomach was unsettled earlier this week, but he wasn't sick at all yesterday. his mind...well, we may have a ways to go in that category. but i do see some signs of improvement. he was able to read (a little bit) again for the first time last night...he just hasn't been able to focus or concentrate on anything.

his blood pressure has been unusually low lately. they are keeping an eye on that and giving him fluids when it gets too low (like 84/48).

so...in a weird kinda way...things are a bit better.

i have had to take a few days off work to keep an eye on him...but i think i will be able to go in this weekend. meg and the girls will be around. plus his dad has been coming down pretty regular. he hasn't been able to drive yet so we will let you all know if we need any transportation help in the next few days...

enough rambling for one morning...we are back to the hospital on friday afternoon.

have a great day.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Monday, March 24, 2008

the day after...

today was a day hospital trip...tims blood pressure was extremely low so they made him stay for some fluids and then gave him his neulasta shot (this is the shot that will help him to recover from the chemo damage). his low blood pressure makes him a bit woozy too. a little unstable on his feet at times.

he is struggling this time round from what we call "chemo-brain". sometimes the chemo will seem to go right to his head...he gets really gittery and restless and paces and can't seem to relax. when he does sleep he has bad dreams and although we know this will pass in a few days it is still hard to endure.

he can't seem to focus on anything like reading or tv...these are really rough days for him.

he is losing his taste for foods and isn't able to drink much...pray that these days pass quickly.

we are back to hospital on wednesday to check his counts and see if he needs anything. it seems as though each time he has to go thru another round of chemo the side effects get worse. pray this is the last one he will need. we don't want to have to go thru another one like this one.

not really much good to report although megan and i are seeing signs of improvement from our colds and kelsey seems to be back to her old self.

hope you all had a great easter weekend.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Sunday, March 23, 2008

HAPPY EASTER

Saturday, March 22, 2008

easter eve...

well, tim is not going to get his wish tonight. the doctor assigned to him this weekend wants him to stay over until morning. his chemo will be done at 7pm tonight and the "little guy" told him he would be able to go home...but along came the "big guy" who overturned the decision. we can see no reason other than if he has to work on easter then we should be there on easter.

the kids made it to berwick on saturday afternoon...they are going to sneak us some homemade coconut cake back to harrisburg on monday when they come home. we decided to split the family this weekend and let the kids hang out with the relatives over the break. it does them good to get out of here for awhile. (plus, our new washer isn't being delivered until tuesday and they can take all their clothes to nana's to wash-sound's like my old college days).

march madness...what more can i say...tim is being entertained almost round the clock with bb games and highlights and interviews and those goofy announcers.

i hope you all have a relaxing and wonderful easter weekend...i know around christmas time we always say remember the reason for the season...but this weekend by far is my favorite (besides the fact we have all the chocolate we could ever want)...we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus...i always like the quote "belief in the resurrection is not an appendage to the christian faith. it is the christian faith."

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Thursday, March 20, 2008

quick update...

for all of you out there who want to come pick up my laundry (can't believe there are so many of you out there) you can rest easy...we are having a new washing machine delivered to our home within a day or so...compliments of a good neighbor and great friend.

we are truly blessed.

tim and tammy

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

we are all still alive....

...but that is the best i can do.

just when you think you have had just enough it seems as though one more thing just has to heap on the pile.

for example: today kelsey was sleeping so i decided to go downstairs and add some finishing touches on a "sound booth" they were making for school. (that would be a very large refrigerator box whose inner walls are filled with foam). so...while i am still struggling with this wicked cold and a monster headache i was trying to put another coat of paint on the refrigerator box and i look over across the room and my washing machine is overflowing (kinda like that episode of the brady bunch) and my phone is ringing...it is tim telling me that he just had a bad coughing fit and was spitting up blood.

there are days when i wonder if this is all just a nasty dream...but then i realize that not even i could sleep that long.

turns out the refigerator box will have to do with the way it is...the washing machine bit the dust...and tim is doing a bit better tonight. his esophagus is a mess again with those blisters and stuff so that is probably where the blood was coming from. he went to the day hospital today and we are still on schedule for admission thursday sometime. they call us when a bed comes available-which is usually between 2-4pm.

i know that by now there must be a few of you out there that don't know me very well and are thinking that "she must exaggerate when she updates this blog"...in reality if anything i do the exact opposite. there are many things that never hit the blog...sometimes at my husbands request and other times at my request. this my friends is the real deal.

i like to try and add some positive to all this negative once in awhile...so here goes. i have a friend back home in berwick who reads the blog faithfully everyday. today about 20 minutes before the washer died i got the mail and her and her husband sent us a card. in the card was a check...not quite enough to cover the cost of a new washer but certainly enough to take the pressure off having to buy a new washer in the next couple of days. God is good and God is faithful...He know our needs before we do and He always provides.

off to bed...

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

ps...for those of you wondering about meg...she was NOT able to sing tonight. sore throat, blocked ears and icky drainage puts a damper on a soloist. maybe next year. good luck to sammy and daniel who compete tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

rough day...

tim is still feeling a bit on the crappy side...his cold has resurfaced and brought with it a wicked cough. his stomach issues are still very much active plus a few more new things here or there. on a good note...the CT scan came back negative for any bizarre abnormalities. same old stuff on the scan and nothing new, but that doesn't give us any explaination for why tim feels so crappy!!!! we are still scheduled for admission on thursday.

kelsey started with a wicked stomach virus at about 2am this morning...she has had one "bad" day. she never really has been sick like this before and she is not liking it very much. she feels like she has been run over by a train (twice).

i started with a fever and cold symptoms early this morning...at first i thought that i was feeling crappy because i was up all night with kelsey but as the day progressed so did my cold...YUK.

megan is supposed to compete at the district fine arts female vocal competion tomorrow night at 9:24pm and she has a sore throat and some drainage issues. we will be lucky to get her feeling good enough to compete at her best...

other than that things are good...

and if you believe that one...

pray for us...kelsey is missing school and a couple of exams and the start of her high school soccer season...meg is trying to make it to nationals in this competion and can hardly talk...tammy is supposed to be working...tim is frustrated with this whole mess...ashley is ready to move out...

better days have to be coming.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

Sunday, March 16, 2008

a new week begins...

not much new here except that we are mourning the loss of the state championship game friday night...oh well, the boys had a good year.

the official girls high school soccer season gets underway this week. both of the twins play. the kids have a 4 day week (off good friday) with 3 soccer games. here we go!!! meg doesn't do the soccer thing...she is pretty busy this marking period...this weekend she did "habitat for humanity", wrote a research paper, worked on the yearbook, crammed for a honors physics exam, cleaned her car, helped teach a sunday school class, covered in the church nursery during the morning service and had time to attend a friends b-day party. not real sure where soccer would fit into that schedule.

tim has had a decent weekend...not a great one, but decent. we have a day hospital appt monday at 1pm and a CT scan at 5:30pm. (i think that rules out the first soccer game).

we are tentatively scheduled for admission on thursday (that wipes out the third soccer game)for more chemo...so much for the easter egg hunt too. haven't really heard too much about that yet...they will wait for the scan results to decide which way to go.

we will let you all know any info as it becomes available.

thanks for checking in

tim and tammy

Friday, March 14, 2008

big day today...

...well, it is a big day today if you live in susquehanna township!!!!


tonight we trek out to state college for the "rubber game" against steel high for the district III state championship basketball title. i don't usually get too excited over a boys bb game but i have been "dragged" out to so many games this year that i actually know a couple of the boys names. all my girls are in the high school now and have classes with these guys and they are PUMPED...so if they are excited about something I AM EXCITED too. (i didn't go so far as to paint my face red and white today...but i am excited all the same).


so, today we have decided to be excited about high school sports and not worry about the platelets and the liver and the chemo...tim goes to the day hospital at 1:30 this afternoon and then again on monday and wednesday next week. he has a CT scan of his abdomen on monday afternoon to check on the status of that liver and we are slotted in for admission on thursday for chemo. (they will decide next week after the scan which chemo he will be given).


but for today...we cheer on the INDIANS.


thanks for checking in


tim and tammy




Wednesday, March 12, 2008

did we get an answer today???

not exactly...but i will share what i do know.

it is obvious that tim is still having issues directly and indirectly related to his lymphoma. many times we have been told that tims cancer is a very aggressive lymphoma that is unpredictable.

the first time 'round we used a chemo regiment called hyperCVAD. this chemo was used before the transplant and put tim into remission for about 11 months.

the second time 'round we used a chemo regiment called ESHAP. this chemo may or may not have put tim into remission but we found ourselves back to square one in less than 6 months.

the third time 'round we used a chemo regiment called ICE. during the middle of the chemo tim started a new growth on his arm and it appears that this chemo has been totally ineffective up to this point.

we are still in what we call the third time 'round or the second relapse phase but we are frustrated with the results of the chemo as are the doctors. they have tossed around the idea of more doses of the same ICE chemo or perhaps switching to a new chemo called gemcitabine. this new chemo is actually an old chemo drug but is more recently being used for aggressive tumor cancers. we do not know all the details of this new chemo or how often it is given but we do know that we are in a "holding" pattern until tims platelet count comes up a bit.

they are having us come in every other day...until further notice. tims liver enzymes also are on the rise again...this could be medication driven but they seemed a bit more concerned today. they needed to give him more fluids today because his kidney function tests were on the rise again...this usually just means he is not drinking enough.

as far as how tim feels...he feels yucky. he has caught himself a cold (not unlike most of harrisburg) and it has him pretty run down. his arm hurts (off and on) where the mass is growing. he feels feverish tonight so we are taking his temp quite often...so far it is just a hair off normal. we are assuming that his general YUCK and aches and pains are mostly from having a cold...but as you can understand we are very leary to assume anything anymore.

we are being cautious and being seen every 48 hours...keep praying. tim is getting tired of this whole thing...AGAIN. (how could he not be) we have our bad days and we have our not so bad days...we really could use a good day in there once in awhile. i know that if you talk to him or see him he will say that he is fine...he is fine...i guess...as he says "it could be worse"...but keep praying!!! i hate to be a pessimist but i feel "it could be a whole lot better". we are a bit nervous having gone through 2 rounds of this last chemo and still feeling that we are no farther than we were a few months ago... i seem to be seeing a trend with each chemo they give him and i am not liking the direction it appears to be going.

thanks for all your cards and support and prayers.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Monday, March 10, 2008

after the weekend...

we ALL survived...tim had megan at home (in and out) plus fred came down to help out on saturday.

the 4 teenagers and i had an EXCELLENT time in the poconos...i drank starbucks and finished my book i started 2 months ago and read a magazine from cover to cover. the girls went skiing at camelback, shopping at the tannersville outlets and rode the slides at the indoor water park at our hotel.

as far as tim's health is concerned...he received a unit of platelets and some potassium on saturday. today his counts were good and he didn't need anything. we are still waiting to hear from the doctor on the next course of action. we heard from the doctor today that he should have a decision for us on wednesday.

we will be in touch...

thanks for checking in...

tim and tammy

Thursday, March 06, 2008

last blog update...

...until monday.

yes, today is thursday and tomorrow i am actually going away for a couple of days...just me and 4 teenagers heading to the poconos for a little R&R!!!! pray for me. pray for tim. this will be the first time that we have been apart for this long (i think since he was diagnosed in dec 2005).

i think it is a much needed break for both of us...i am a little nervous but i am sure that all will be fine. we got a little freaky today at the day hospital appt when we got his counts back.

the red cells are holding at a nice mediocre number.

the platelets are still falling-today at a whopping 18 (he will probably need platelets on saturday). he is being to bruise and bleed again...last two times he got them at an 11 and a 13.

the surprise was the white blood cell count...he went from no longer being neutropenic (having less than 500 wbc's to a huge jump of over 21,000 wbc's). they called the doctor and filled him in on the jump (because usually the counts that high mean an infection or some sort of bone marrow activity) but the doctor thought that we would just watch it and it was probably from the stimulus shot he got 2 weeks ago. his counts have never taken a jump like that before but they didn't seem too worried.

his renal (kidney) function test were on the rise again so they needed to give him some fluids.

his liver enzymes were on the rise again so they altered his medications again.

but the biggest issue we are dealing with is that even on the steroids and even with two rounds of chemo he is still growing something (mass-like) on his left (of course-where else would it be) upper arm. it is a different location than the arm mass (lymphoma) that started this whole mess...they have not biopsied or scanned this new mass yet...we are all just assuming that we know what it is...it has the doctors puzzled.

we are not sure if we are going forward with more chemo or perhaps switching to some radiation or maybe switching to another chemo (if we haven't already used them all)...it has been a bit frustrating to say the least.

so, with all that said I AM LEAVING TOWN ANYWAY...yes, we decided that things could get worse before they get better and i need a break. the kids need a break. maybe tim even needs a break (from me and the kids). (meg is staying behind to keep an eye on her dad-pray for her too).

well...that is the latest update from the dewalt household.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

midweek update...

sorry i have not been updating as regular as everyone would like...i just finished up working quite a long stretch and am exhausted. tim is doing decent and pretty much as expected. he goes back to the day hospital on thursday to check his levels.

i will update thursday night and let everyone know how he did and hopefully be able to fill you in on our (well MY) very exciting weekend plans.

pray that the river only "slightly" goes over the flood stage as they are predicting...you people up north have to stop sending us your water.

sorry for the express blog, but even my fingers are tired...i am going to hit the sack.

thanks for checking in.

tim and tammy

Sunday, March 02, 2008

sunday...it was a long one

lets see...i was up at 3:15am to get ready for work.

worked from 5am to 1pm.

went up to the day hospital and met tim for a 1pm appt. (his dad came down to help out and visit a bit).

his counts dropped significantly and he needed one unit of platelets and two units of blood plus a liter of fluids.

we left the hospital a little after 7pm...long day.

the platelets we expected, but the blood was a bit of a surprise, although it does explain why he has been so wiped out lately. they are going to call and tell us when he has to go back in...it will either be tuesday or wednesday.

luckily we have another driver in the house because megan had to bail us out and take kelsey to her 8pm indoor field hockey game (in hershey). i don't think tim or i had the energy to make that trip tonight plus we got home too late anyway.

keep praying...this round has hit him a bit harder than the last one and it may take him a little longer to bounce back.

we still have no idea what lies ahead as far as treatment goes...they are keeping it a secret. when we know we will let you know.

thanks for checking in...

tim and tammy