The Jewels of a Willing Heart

This is the devotion I did for our ladies meeting last night.  I had 2 other devotions almost done, but didn't feel good about them.  I was talking to Whitney about the jewelry craft we were doing at the meeting and it was like the Lord hit me up the side of my head that I needed to do a devotion on jewels!  So, as soon as I got home from church, I typed "jewels" into my Bible program and read all the scriptures that contained the word, "jewels" and here's what I came up with.  Hope you enjoy it!

The Jewels of a Willing Heart

Exodus 35:22  And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.

…       Tablets  (kuwmaz) worn by Hebrew women, seems to denote any form of necklace or bracelet, perhaps formed together with beads.
 

…       Moses gives instructions for the laws, feasts, priests (etc, etc) and the construction of the tabernacle beginning in chapter 19 and then in chapter 35:4, 5 said, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord:  whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass,…….”

…       The jewels came from Egypt

Exodus 11:2  Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.
Exodus 12:35  And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:

Those who were willing, whose hearts were stirred, had no problem bringing what was asked of them to help build the tabernacle.  And those who were not willing were not forced.

Comparisons between the tabernacle and our church

…       Moses was on Mt. Sinai 40 days and 40 nights receiving instructions from God on the building of the tabernacle and order of worship, duties of the priests, etc.  Jesus was in the wilderness 40 days and 40 nights where he fasted and prayed before beginning His work of building His church.

…       Moses did not force the people to make offerings toward the building of the tabernacle.  The Lord doesn’t force us to work in building His church (our church) today.  It is a privilege to take advantage of.

…       The building of the tabernacle didn’t happen overnight.  The project consumed their lives for many months!  Exodus 19:1-3 tells us that Moses “went up unto God” “in the third month” after they left Egypt.  And then in Exodus 40:17 we are told, “in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month” the tabernacle was raised up.  Imagine how excited they were to finally see the fruits of their labors!  I can imagine that those who were not involved were excited, too, but I think some of them probably wished they had done more!  Our church is not going to grow overnight.  You know how exciting it is to see visitors come that you have invited!  Those of us who go out on visitation are excited and encouraged when we see the fruits of that labor.  Kathy is a direct result of that ministry.  We were faithful in going and the Lord was faithful in bringing her in!

…       The building of the tabernacle took a personal sacrifice on the part of the people.  It wasn’t going to build itself.  The work of this church is also about sacrifice.  A sacrifice of our time, talents and abilities (our jewels).  God will use anyone willing to work for Him, while there are some things that He only wants men or women to do specifically, He will put anyone to work for Him that has a willing heart to do so. In fact, He gives us the skills and talents we have to be used for Him at any given time. Ephesians 4:11,12 reads,  “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

…       The tabernacle was all about the sacrifice made by the priest to cover the sins of the people.  The church is all about the sacrifice Jesus made (our high priest) to not just cover but take away the sins of people.

Jesus Christ is the heart of every Christian.  Those who faithfully serve Him do so willingly.  The word willingly means, of our own free will.  We have the opportunity to see some amazing blessings in our lives.
1 Corinthians 2:9  says, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”  Let’s all examine ourselves and give willingly of our jewels to the Lord’s work!

Prayer
Lord, thank You for the privilege of serving You.  You have given all of us certain talents and abilities.  All You are looking for is a willing heart to serve so You can do mighty things through your humble servants.  Lord, lead and guide and prepare our hearts to be eager to diligently study Your Word so that we can effectively serve You in the areas of Your calling. We love You and ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Day 19 and Forward

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Since the last dose Tim received was at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, November 8th,  I didn't post anything for the rest of the hospital stay.  Here is an abbreviated review.

They began administering 40mg of lasix every 12 hours beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, and then again at 9 p.m. .....give or take.  It wasn't a strict schedule as some of the doses were off by 1/2 hour or so.  Still having problems with his oxygen levels.  Very weak and tired today.

Lost 4 lbs of water weight, if I remember correctly.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Still not much rest at night as the nurse keeps coming in and checking vitals and making Tim raise the head of the bed to help his breathing.

Here is the final result of what my bed looked like.  2 hospital blankets and 2 of our blankets folded up then a hospital sheet over the top of all of them to "hold them in place."  As you can see, to make the "padding" thick enough, there was not enough to cover the entire bed, so my feet hung over the bottom and my pillow was lower than the padding, which made the pillow not thick enough, but I survived!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Didn't think we were EVER gonna get out of that hospital!  Tim was still taking lasix and by the time we left, he was 2 lbs away from his original weight from when he entered the hospital one week ago today.  He could not wear his shoes, however, so had to go home in his house slippers.  He was given a prescription for 2 more days of lasix at home.

Finally, at around 3 p.m. a nurse practitioner of Dr. Stewarts came and released Tim!  He was not allowed to walk out on his own, so we waited for another hour for "transportation."  It was somewhere around 5 when we got home.

I unloaded Tim and went to Walmart to get the lasix and a few groceries.

We both went to bed at 8:30 and was asleep in no time!!!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

I know you know how great sleeping in our own bed was!  I woke up around 4:45 with a headache and got up to get some aspirin.  Tim got up to use the potty and came back to bed as he said, "I feel like I can sleep some more!"  And he actually slept about another hour and a half or so!

Tim is still wearing house slippers, but he said he can tell the water is leaving.  He had a sore throat today and was very raspy.

Some of the ladies from church brought food.....chicken and dumplings (best I ever ate and Tim even liked them, even tho he doesn't do "soggy bread" ), crockpot full of home made spaghetti sauce and Pizza Hut bread sticks, chicken pot pie, a couple of Pepperidge Farm cakes and a wine cake!

Tim is still weak and tired.  He wanted me to block the light coming in our bedroom window so he could take a nap.  He slept a good 2 hours, which began in his recliner before he got up and went to bed!  :D

Tim got a total of 10 doses of IL2.  We were told the average was 6-8.  Since he did so well and was able to receive so many doses, Dr. Stewart is giving him more time to recoup before he has to go back to the hospital for the second round of treatment!  December 9th is the day!  Thank you, Lord!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Tim's throat is not sore, but still very raspy!  He was asked if he was going to be able to preach.  He said, "Nothing is going to stop me from preaching tonight!  Just turn up the volume on the microphone!  I'm preaching!"  YUP!  Said like a true preacher!  :D

He squeezed his feet into his shoes somewhat tonight!

One of the other ladies of the church brought us some jello salad tonight!  Reminded me of the green jello salad mom used to make.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

YAY!!!  Did our thrift stores today!  Ate lunch out and then used the gift card Tim's sister had given him and ate at Applebee's for dinner!  Tim is feeling stronger and stronger every day!

Friday, November 15, 2013

Uneventful day.  We are eating left overs of all the food that was brought to us!

Tonight we had a Ladies Meeting.  The agenda included a meal, a devotion and a jewelry craft.  We had a great turn out!  14 total!  It was very exciting to see so many people show up!  It was good to have visitors, too!

Here we are eating.  Menu was:
Vegetable Soup and corn bread
Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches
Fruit Salad
Tossed Salad
Crackers
Cup cakes
Beverages

I forgot to take a picture of the ladies working on their jewelry.  They made bracelets or necklaces.  Here, Sharon is finishing up her necklace and Whitney is working on a necklace for Joy who ended up being sick and couldn't come.

My devotion, to go along with the craft theme, was "The Jewels of a Willing Heart."  I'll post it later.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Been doing the usual Saturday laundry and cleaning of bathrooms.

I saw this video for "arm knitting" posted on facebook during the week.  Watched the video and decided I had to try it!  It called for 6 ply bulky yarn, which I didn't have enough of.  So, I used 3 strands of a yarn that was 4 ply (instead of 2 strands of the 6 ply).  Turned out pretty nice!  And was pretty quick!  It is joined together at both ends and called an "Infinity Scarf."  The yarn is a "medium coral."

This is the "wrong side."  For whatever reason, the yarn looks orange in the light of my craft room and using a flash!

Here's the "right side."

I'm going to make another one, not quite as long and leave the ends "open" so I can tie it several ways when I wear it.

Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Day 18 Fluid Build-up

Long night. He did receive the midnight dose. That's 9 and counting! Even though the major chills were prevented, he woke up around 3 cold. He went to the bathroom. He was very weak. He struggled getting all the covers back on and it wore him out. I had fallen asleep for a bit while all of this was going on. Something caused me to stir and I realized he was struggling with his covers. Got up to help him. He is breathing heavily again and they have increased his oxygen. He has been coughing off and on. I am wondering if he is getting pneumonia. They listen to his breathing often and have not said anything about it. I told him not to exert himself but to call out to me and I would help him.

Despite how badly he feels, the night nurse told us that he is the most stable IL-2 patient she has ever had! So, that was encouraging! Tim said he sure hoped that all of this was worth it. Even if it doesn't, how can you not at least try? I didn't say that to him.

At least his urine output has increased and the diarrhea has decreased/disappeared for now. Since he is struggling to breathe and is on the oxygen, he is drinking more because his mouth is so dry. He is back to breathing with his mouth open again.

He needs to eat more, I agree. But with his appetite being so diminished and his taste buds so messed up, I can understand how he doesn't want to eat. He has gained 20 lbs and finally yesterday I could see his feet were swollen. I really can't see it a lot anywhere else, but you know it is there.

So, all in all, the nurses comment of him being the most stable of all her IL-2 patients, I am glad that he has not been told the doses need to stop. His BP right now is 104/50 at 5:14 a.m.

5:40 a.m. - He has a chance to receive 3 more doses. However, the nurse said they are not going to administer the 8 a.m. dose because of the problems he is having breathing. They are starting 40mg lasix to get some of the water off so he can breathe better. The doctor feels confident he will get the afternoon dose, or at least one more dose! So, I still figure it will be Monday before he gets to go home.

 6:40 a.m. - The lasix is working. Running a bit of a fever, so the nurse is going to give him some Tylenol. His magnesium is still a little low, so he will get some more of that, too.
Already his breathing is much better!

1:40 p.m. - All liquids they were "feeding" Tim have been removed for now to concentrate on getting more fluids off of him. The Dr. said he would give him some more lasix but the nurse has not received the order yet. He did eat a few bites for lunch and is resting right now. They have given him some antibiotics and something else that I don't remember which they injected right directly into the port. He also had a chest x-ray today. They weighed him a little while ago and he has lost about 3 lbs of fluid weight today. Praying he will be able to take the 4 p.m. dose and then the midnight one! That will be the last of the doses for this round. Then they will begin to work on getting the rest of the fluids off to within 5 lbs of his original weight when he entered the hospital. When he is released, he will be home for a week before being admitted to the hospital for another week just like this one. Then home for a month and PET scan and MRI to check the tumors to see if they have shrunk.

3:45 p.m. - WOOHOO!!! We are on for dose #10 at 4 p.m.! Dr. Stewart said, I'd sure like to see you get 12 doses, even if it takes us into Saturday! Not sure if he was serious about that or not! We shall see! Let's all pray to that end!

6:00 p.m. - He is wrapped up like a cocoon in his heated blankets so those nasty chills have no chance of making an appearance! He will stay wrapped like this for 45 min to an hour. We've already warned the nurse on duty that I will smack her hands if she touches the blankets!

Tim ate some dinner tonight.  1 slice of skinny sandwich bread with Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad and 2 saltine crackers loaded with chili.  He ordered some gatorade and coffee from room service (cafeteria).  We are just kinda hanging out and waiting to see if he will be getting the midnight dose.  I took my pms at 7:10 as I have a tired headache.  So, when I close this post, I believe I will drag my chair bed out into a bed and lay down while it is relatively quiet!  We are coming to the end of the first week.  Please pray that God is already working a miracle on Tim's body and healing him.

    

Day 17 Discouragement

Not much sleep for me til after 4:00 which is when the nurses finally stayed out of the room for awhile. But, the best news is that Tim was able to ward off the chills last night (midnight dose) with the early warm blanket procedure! Soooooooooooo thankful for that! That was awful watching and not being able to do anything about it! He ended up having to get oxygen after that and is still on it this morning. They have added some magnesium to his pills, so they are watching all of that stuff very closely, to which I am thankful!!!

Dose 8 is going as we speak! At 9 Nurse Mary will bring in 3 heated blankets and he will wait about an hour to make sure the chill-zone has passed and then he will order breakfast! He still has no appetite, however. One thing about taking the oxygen is that he has been drinking a bit more water. However, he is not outputting much liquid. His BP is 112/46. His respiration is fluctuating around 30. His oxygen is 94 and his heart rate is 90. So, looking pretty good!

The nurse gave him some benedryl last night and that helped him to sleep much better. His skin is very pink, but at least it is not an itchy rashy mess! He told Nurse Mary about the warming procedure to ward off the chills and she said if the chills is the worst that happened to him, he was doing great! To which we said, that's because it's not you having them! She laughed and said there was one guy that was going crazy and ripping off his clothes. Tim said, "my church members would love to hear something like that happening to me!" Everyone laughed!

Infusion 8 is complete! 15 minutes! I think I'll make a post on facebook (I'll copy and paste the information I have given you this time) and then get my shower.


Unfortunately, diarrhea hit Tim pretty badly today.  I hadn't even finished my shower when he had to break in and use the potty.  But it was too late as he messed his clothes.  Poor guy!  I had planned on making a trip to the house and checking the mail and taking the trash cans back to the house anyway.  So, I just included the laundry in that trip!  :D


I got all of those chores done at the house and then headed back to the hospital.  I made a stop at KFC for a buy one get one free  2 boneless piece meal.  Tim couldn't eat it, however.  His taste buds are all messed up and he thought the chicken was just way too salty!  Some of the drinks he has been drinking that he normally drinks have tasted way too sweet to him.  I'm sure not having an appetite doesn't help either!


He had tried to walk some laps while I was gone but he was weak and kind of unsteady on his feet, not to mention that he had to get back to the bathroom.  So he only got 3 laps in today.  They had to add magnesium to his pills and he is still on the oxygen.  He still is not urinating much, even though they also started him on dopamine today to try and kick his kidneys into gear!  If he doesn't urinate more than he has so far, he will probably miss the midnight dose, too.  He is discouraged.  Please pray!

Day 16 Missing a Dose

I got to the hospital around 9:30 - 9:45. I absolutely PRAISE THE LORD for the little blessing of saving parking spots that are so convenient and close to the pedestrian walkway that goes right into the building where Tim is! THANK YOU, LORD!

Met one of the ladies from the church who volunteers here 4 hours every Wednesday as she was walking through the lobby. She had been up to see Tim around 9.

I've got to stop bringing so much stuff to this room! I almost couldn't carry it all today! And I have maxed out the stacking room in my little corner of the room, as you can see from the picture.

I stopped at Aldi and ended up with an arm load of groceries! Then I stopped at Mickey D's for a large sweet tea and ended up getting 2 egg mcmuffins for myself and 2 egg and sausage mcmuffins and hash browns for Tim (which went into the fridge because he has no appetite). After McDonalds, I went to the Dollar Tree for some puzzle books, plastic silverware and a bag to carry all the groceries I bought, LOL!

So, I ended up with a bookbag (with wheels and a suitcase-type handle) full of my stuff for spending the night here, a pocketed bag with more soup, bowls, crackers, mail, tylenol PMs and another bag with the groceries and had to rearrange everything to fit the Mickey D's stuff and the sweet tea (which ended up spilling out)! After rearranging everything, I still had to carry the blueberry muffins separately in my hand and fix my purse strap so I could carry it across my chest and around the side of me, if you know what I mean! I probably looked like a pack rat or a homeless person! I know by the time I got to the room I had to get rid of the sweat shirt I was wearing!

So, enough about me. Even though Tim couldn't get a treatment because of his temperature, he said he was feeling fine. He really thinks all the heated blankets helps in the temperature spikes, however, I guess the spike lasted longer than usual. He got more sleep last night in his new bed, but still not great. Such is life in the hospital!

Nurse Robin told us that he would lose his appetite, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. He has only had 1/2 of an english muffin and a banana since the 1/2 bowl of chili last night. The only reason he ate the banana was because he was taking a med that would upset his stomach if he didn't eat something.

Dr. Stewart ordered some lasix to get some of the fluids off. Tim has gained 8 lbs of fluid since he has been here. Remember, he will probably gain 20 or more. And if he is not eating and weighs in at 20 lbs more than what he started at, I figure it will actually be more water weight than they are calling it since it seems he would be losing weight if it were not for the water retention. Does that make sense?

He had me strip all the added blankets off the bed that kept him from getting the chills last night with the midnight dose. Then he got up to sit in the chair for awhile. He read the cards, etc that the kids had included in his care package, which you can tell he enjoyed!

We are waiting for the nurses to come and change his bed and unplug him again so he can take his shower and do some walking. I'll give you another update later on in the day. His temp is back down to 99, so as long as it stays down, he should be good to go for the 4 p.m. dose. BP right now is 110/62!

2:00 waiting on being unplugged so he can walk before taking a shower. I made him walk 1/2 mile around the nurses station today! Remember I mentioned that 25 laps = 1 mile. He had 10 laps in mind. He depends on me to do the lap counting, and when he knew we were at 10 laps he headed for the room. I told him to do 3 more to get the 1/2 mile in. He was doing just fine!

3:00 After getting back from the walk, they "dressed" the port for protecting it against the water from the shower.

4:24 Vital signs at the beginning of the 6th dose.

4:53 Getting warm to offset the chills and talking to his blind friend, Anthony, on the phone. A few minutes after 5 he called for the heated blankets when the nurse didn't come on her own. The nurses have been extra busy with someone else in the unit today. You know what they say about the squeaky wheel...............

Right now he is napping. I pray he sleeps through any chills that may still be in there!

I asked about the missed dose if it would be "tacked onto the end" of the treatments. The nurse said no. It is just missed. But, she assured us it was not an unusual thing. Most miss doses. Tim was disappointed that he missed a dose, but it is just one of those things. Dr. Stewart came back in right around the time for his dose and checked Tim and told him he was good to go for the next dose! Thank You, Lord!

5:35 p.m. Unfortunately, another nurse came in to cap off the dose line, then pulled the warm covers back and raised his shirt to check things and he now has started chilling!

6:10 p.m. WOW! That was scarey! We will definitely be telling the nurse to WAIT the next time!!!! His vitals were going crazy!  I don't want to watch him going through that again!  I wanted to try and fix it, but couldn't!

Day 15 Combatting the Chills

Once again, this will be a copy and paste from what I posted on facebook today, so if you follow me there, no need to read any further except that you may have missed a few excerpts over there!  :D


What time I am afraid, I will trust in YOU! Psalm 56:3

Didn't like coming home to an empty house last night.
Went to bed at 9:30. Woke up at 10:30.
Slept til 3:30. Slept til 4:30. Woke up at 5:30 with a horrendous headache.
Took meds and laid back down. Back up at 6.
Kitchen cleaned up.
Fruit washed to take to hospital.
Pot of chili made to take to hospital.
Church sign ready to switch out.
Heard from my sweetie who said it was the longest night of his life.
His BP dropped to 99/47. BP is the determining factor of how many doses of IL-2 he gets. PRAY his BP holds so he can get as many doses as possible!!! The max of 14 would be great, but only 2 people have made it that far.
Time for a shower so I can get the rest of my TODO List done before going to the hospital.



I got to the hospital a little after 11 this morning. Tim looked and sounded really tired.....which he is! You know what it is like being away from your own bed at night. You know what it is like being in the hospital where they don't leave you alone. Combine both of those and you have one terrible night of sleeplessness. Plus the mattress needs more air in it but the nurses could not figure out how to do that, so they are going to switch out his bed while he is taking his shower later on. But, before he can take his shower, they need to unhook all of his tubes! Waiting patiently!

2 hours after his first dose of IL-2 yesterday at 5 p.m. Tim got the chills. About 1 1/2 hours after the 2nd dose at midnight he got a heavier dose of the chills. This morning when I got here the white blankets showing folded in the chair (8 of them) had all been on him at one point trying to get rid of the chills after the 4 a.m. dose (that was on top of the sheet, thermal blanket - the brown blanket had fallen to the floor during the night). These blankets had all been heated toasty warm, too, and it still took about 1/2 hour for the chills to subside. The nurse told him he was on the verge of the rigors (convulsive-type chills/shaking). When that happens, they will give him a small dose of morphine to help them subside. FYI - "rigors" is pronounced with a long i.

He had a good breakfast of sausage and eggs, hash browns and coffee. However, it all feels like it is "just sitting there" in his stomach, so he hasn't had a desire for lunch. I brought some fruit, so maybe he will feel like eating some of that later on. But, we were told his appetite would diminish, just didn't expect it to happen quite so quickly.

For those of you interested in the vitals, his BP right now is 98/57, which is what was registered right after I took the picture of his vitals. The bags of fluid include: potassium chloride, sodium chloride and dextrose.

More later. Thanks so much for your prayers! XOXO

My sweetie was wiped out this morning when I got there!

8 warmed blankets had been thrown on him to combat the chills from the 8 a.m. dose.

Vitals at 1:01 p.m.

Sitting in the chair for a change of pace.

3 bags of fluids he is hooked up to at all times trying to keep his BP levels up.

Tim was able to get unplugged from all of his "juices" and take 8 laps around the nurses station (25 laps = 1 mile) before getting a shower today. While he was taking a shower, they changed out his bed. He called it a cadillac compared to the other bed. He is sleeping at the moment, for which I am very thankful for!

He has gained 5 lbs in the last 24 hours and so we know, even though he doesn't look like it yet, that he is beginning to hold fluids. Already he is dreading the doses because of the chills it causes. So, he is trying to prepare himself by being under cover and getting warm BEFORE the shakes begin. However, it is 4:30 and the pharmacy still has not sent his 4th dose of IL-2 yet. But, I'm glad he is sleeping some, anyway.

After his shower and getting reattached to all of his fluids, they changed the dressing around his port. While they are doing that EVERYONE has to wear a facial mask, including him.

They are finally getting ready to administer another dose of IL-2 at 4:34. So, probably around 6, the shakes will begin. Pray they are not too bad!

Changing the dressing around the port involves lots of protection.  EVERYONE in the room, including Tim, wore face masks and the nurses didn't touch any part of it without gloves.

The round discs were added for protection.

Then the whole area was covered with a clear tape.

BP at 4:45.........102/61. 4th dose is going............

5:45 - The heated blankets have been applied! Hopefully that will nip those chills in the bud! 

6:45 - Praise the Lord!!! No chills!!! The blankets seem to have worked!  

7:45 - Tim had about half a bowl of chili about an hour ago. His BP is 104/62. Still NO CHILLS!!! Next dose will come at midnight.

New symptoms today.....cold/flu type sneezing, runny nose. But he is feeling fine. 5 lbs. heavier and 4 doses down!

Talk to you tomorrow. Love you all! 

Day 14 First Day of Immunotherapy

It has been a very long day!  I left Tim to himself at around 7:20 and was still waiting on security to walk me to my car at 7:45!  I had NO CLUE how to get back to my car from where I was in the HUGE complexity of buildings knows as Wake Forest Baptist Hospital!  WHEW!  I am concerned about finding Tim again tomorrow!  :D  Pray that he gets some much needed rest and sleep tonight!  He was told that at midnight he would receive his second dose of  IL-2.  That is only 7 hours from the time he received the first one, so I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't get it until 1 a.m. or so.

So, for those of you who are not following me on facebook, here is a run down of the activity for the day in getting Tim settled into the hospital.  I am copying from facebook, word for word, picture for picture, so if you saw it all there, you need not read any further, unless you want to get the whole picture here in one spot!  :D

A Room with a View.....or not!

We arrived at the hospital at 7:00 this morning for our 7:15 appointment with Nurse Robin. She was delayed, so we went ahead and went through Admissions and went to the outpatient radiology waiting room for Tim to get the port inserted under his skin. At 8:15, he was finally taken back for that procedure.

In the mean time, Nurse Robin took me to Tim's room to get him set up. I wish I had had someone take a picture of all the STUFF ..... suitcase, brief case, laptop bag, purse, 2 grocery bags. Oh, my aching back!

Nurse Robin had made the call from the radiology waiting room to find out which room to go to. She wanted a room with a view! Well, the only "view" from Tim's vantage point when he is in bed is the side of one of the many buildings here on the Baptist Hospital "campus." BUT, at least it is a window instead of a solid, bland wall!

So, here is home for Tim for the week. A good-sized private room.

We are feeling very much at peace, praise only to the Lord for that!

I will be sending out text messages to family and church members with room number and phone number.

DO NOT send flowers!!! NOT allowed on this floor, which is the Bone Marrow Transplant floor.

If you would like to send him a card, and need the home address, send me a private message.

9:30 a.m. - Tim was rolled back to the "operating room" for the port at 8:15. I am sure that there was a wait while the anesthetic took affect before the procedure started. The nurse just called and said everything is going fine and they are getting ready to "close up."

BTW, Nurse Robin told me the first high dose of Interleukin-2 will begin at 4:00 p.m.

I was standing at the window sending a text message to some of you with hospital room and phone # when I heard a noise and looked up and Tim came WALKING into the room! He said he really was awake through the whole procedure of the port insertion. He got to the room at around 10:15.

It is hard to see in the picture, but he has all kinds of green sterilization from his hair line down and around on his arm.

The nursing staff has been in and out since then getting beginning vitals, etc. And when they finally called in Tim's diet to the cafeteria, he hopped right on the phone to order lunch! Chicken Salad sandwich, Vegetable Beef soup and a tossed salad! It was all good!

Waiting on lunch in the photo. Does he look sick to you? Praise the Lord that he is healthy other than this dreaded disease that God is gonna knock out! BUT, if not, we will still trust Him and love Him because He loved us first!

The fluids have begun in preparation for administering the IL-2. The small bag at the top, which you really can't see too well, is Zofran for nausea and the big bag is Potassium Chloride to keep his potassium up. He is reading some information on a study concerning the use of the high dose Interleukin-2. It is a study conducted by the manufacturer of the IL-2. Nothing really involved except collecting data.

First dose of IL-2 scheduled for 4 p.m. Pray that the "could be" side affects are quite minimal for him! We want to get as many doses "down" as possible with each stay! To put it in Tim's words, "We want to get our money's worth!"  

Waiting patiently for the treatment to begin. We played a game of Phase 10 Dice (one game as I beat him royally, but don't tell him I told you so.) Then we decided to take a little stroll before he has to be in bed for the treatment. Since this is the Bone Marrow Transplant unit, Tim had to wear a face mask while out of his room. We basically walked around the nurses station about 4 trips and since it was so boring, that was that! Back to the room for snacks that the kids gave him in the care package they made up for him!

Dose 1 began at 5:00 and is done. Now he waits for 8 hours before the next one begins. Dinner is ordered!  

Supper was very good! Herb crusted baked chicken, g.beans, baked sweet potato with brown sugar & cinnamon, and apple crisp for desert! The sweet tea left a LOT to be desired, however!

We skyped with Elisabeth and the kids tonight at 7 and then I got ready to leave.  I've got dishes to do, but I think I'm going to bed!

Thanks to all of you for your love and support and most of all for your prayers!  XOXO