June 29 - July 9 Updates

June 29 at 3:53pm
Yesterday Mike went to Patient First b/c he was running high fevers & his his body felt very weak. They said that his platelet count was very low so they transferred him to Johns Hopkins for further testing. This morning he was diagnosed with leukemia...we do not have all ofthe details yet, but he will be in the hospital (at Hopkins inBaltimore) for 4 weeks while he receives his first treatment. Please continue to keep us all in prayer. We know that God is in control over all & He nevers gives us more than we can handle. We are praying that Mike's body will respond well to treatment & that this will all go as smoothly as possible. Thank you all so much for your concern & support.

June 30
Latest update on Mike: He has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. They are doing a bone marrow check today & a spinal tap tomorrow- at that time they will give him his first chemo treatment. Most of his treatment will be in a pill, but he will get the chemo injections once a week. They have decided to treat him here (at JohnsHopkins Bayview) and monitor his progress for about a week. If everything goes well & the test results come back good, he will be able to leave the hospital & do his treatments on an outpatient basis. Thanks again for everyone's prayers & support. We know that we have along road ahead of us, but we are keeping a positive attitude in walking it out & getting to the other side.

July 1
Today Mike was scheduled for the procedure to insert the port on his chest (for easy access to veins during treatment) but his platelet count dropped to 14 so they do not want to risk doing the surgery today & have postponed it until tomorrow. They are going to do the spinal tap & a platelet transfusion this afternoon. He just had an echocardiogram done. We are just continuing to pray for favorable results on all tests. Mike spends most of his time resting between the high fevers. He sweats an unbelievable amount during those periods...its hard to witness-especially when he is sleeping. It looks like rain just falling from his forehead.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT MIKE CAN NOT HAVE FRESH FLOWERS IN HIS ROOM & SHOULD NOT BE VISITED BY ANYONE WHO MAY BE SICK OR HAS A COLD. If you would like to send cards, you may send it to 515 Ponderosa DrBelAir, MD 21O14. That is where we will be staying when we are not at Hopkins. Non-floral arrangments can be sent to Johns Hopkins Bayview 494O Eastern Avenue Baltimore, MD 21224. Right now he is in room 64O.I will keep you updated if he is moved to the 5th floor.Thanks again to each of you for your encouragment. Every word inspiresus each day. :)

July 1 at 8:20pm
Mike has been moved to room 542. The platelet transfusion went well this afternoon. He had a small outbreak of hives, but went away quickly with Benedryl. The spinal tap, surgery to install port & first chemo treatment are scheduled for tomorrow. Right now he is resting comfortably- praying for a decent night of rest.

July 2 at 8:06pm
Today was kinda rough. Mike's spirit was very heavy through out the day as he faced several procedures. His plaelet count was still too low to insert the port-cath so they just did a small line through his neck. This allows them to access his veins without sticking him everytime. He also had the spinal tap which the doctor seemed pleased with. He received his first chemo treatment & so far has responded well. (Thank God). The doctor gave him medicine to reduce his stress & now he is a lot more comfortable & less anxious. We had a very nice visit from a close friend which brought a lot of peace to Mike. We're just taking one day at a time, trying to stay positive & keep looking to getting past all of this.

July 4
Just want to let you know that Mike has been resting comfortably since Thursday evening. He slept quite a bit yesterday. The results from the spinal tap came back good, so we are thankful for that. The only thing we are still really waiting to hear about is the bone marrow biopsy. If that comes back with favorable results, he should be released from the hospital very soon to continue his treatments on an outpatient basis. If for whatever reason that test comes back and the results are not favorable, Mike will likely need a bone marrow transplant in the near future. So please guide your prayers toward getting favorable results: specifically that the Philadelphia Chromosone is NOT present in his blood. I am hoping to get Mike up and walking around a little today, and maybe to find a good window to try to catch the Harbor fireworks this evening. Some of the nurses brought in 4th of July goodies for the patients, so we are not missing out on too much. ;-) We are continually grateful for everyone's prayers and support through this time. Your encouragement is helping us get through every day.
We hope everyone has a very safe and happy 4th!! Do something for me & Mike today and take these moments to really appreciate those around you.
All my love, Kristy

July 6
Well, the weekend was fairly uneventful. Mike was mostly awake through Saturday and Sunday. We had several visitors stop by to lift our spirits and bring encouragement. We tried to watch fireworks from the hospital, but we really couldn't see them. We saw several displays over the bay, but they were really far away. It was nice to see something, though. When I left to get clean clothes on Saturday Iwitnessed an accident on 95 about 5 cars ahead of me at about 85mph. It was very scary. Many people pulled over so I kept driving, but Iwas very shaken. Life is just so fragile...
On Sunday Mike's platelet count dropped dramatically so they gave him another transfusion. He's been getting hives, but Benedryl takes care of it. He got up and walked around a little bit. It was nice to get him out for some fresh air.
Johns Hopkins has chosen our family for a "case study" to try to learn more about the disease and how it affects families on a personal level. There are times that Mike feels like a "guinea pig" because there are so many doctors in and out, but they have really taken timeto get to know us personally - which you dont see everyday. One doctor we spent some time with said that he felt like he was forever changed by getting to know us and that he would always keep our family in his prayers. He was a little choked up leaving our room, so I actually think he meant it. So there have been a lot of touching moments already. Some of the nursing staff has been amazing - just going above and beyond to do anything and everything for us. We dont get that from everyone here, but most of them have been really great. We are hoping to be discharged today. We know it is pretty busy at the hospital today, so it may end up being tomorrow. We are trying not to get our hopes up too much, so we are not disappointed. But weare REALLY looking forward to getting into the comfort of "home".They are setting us up with a home health nurse twice a week. He will have to come down to Hopkins for blood tests every other day and chemo once a week until the end of July - after that he will only get treatment one week out of every month, but it will last for a full week. At that point, I think we will head back to Tampa so we can get settled back at home and get the kids ready to start the school year & hopefully get back into dance. The hemotologist has a doctor-friendat Moffitt (Cancer Center in Tampa) who studied at Hopkins with him,so we feel very good about transferring his care there. We miss our puppy and I am certainly ready to get back to work soon.
Thank you again to EVERYONE for EVERYTHING!!! We appreciate you all SO much! Every text message, Facebook comment, email...everything just encourages us like you have no idea! Every word from each of you individually has done so much more for us than you could ever know. And to everyone taking care of my kids, my house, my mail, my lawn...I LOVE YOU & APPRECIATE SO MUCH!! May God bless you abundantly for your generosity and willingness to help us!
Love you all, Kristy

July 9
Mike has had severe head aches since yesterday morning & had a low fever this morning. When he came in for chemotherapy this afternoon the doctor decided to admit him until at least Saturday to keep an eyeon him. They are concerned that there may be an infection...so its better to be safe than sorry. It was a very hard day for Mike. But on a lighter note, we have a much nicer hospital room this time. We have not heard results on the bone marrow yet. Please keep praying.