Author: Cassie Henriksen

Tim started the next round of chemo today. He was very happy to see several of the nurses again! He enjoyed walking the halls (in the air conditioning) and then enjoyed sitting outside when he got a little chilly. 😁

After the first treatment, he is feeling well, and hopefully it will remain that way. He does have a few things going his way this time too. He came in pretty healthy and that should help a lot.

PRAISES:

Thank you all for praying for Tim’s back. He started off the day feeling pretty rough but all the walking has been helping and it is feeling quite good. Please do pray that it continues on that trend.

Tim has very much enjoyed reconnecting with the nurses here. Several stopped in to say hi and ask how graduation was. He is enjoying seeing them and we are so grateful for the wonderful care he receives and how much they care about him and his family.

We had a good weekend celebrating our granddaughter’s 3rd birthday, celebrating with a niece at her wedding, and celebrating with Cassie’s family for her mom’s 85th birthday. With Tim’s immune system doing much better now, it made celebrating with everyone all the better.

Tomorrow Tim will start the next round of chemo. He will not have 24/7 chemo like before. It will be 2 doses, 12 hours apart, every other day. So, he will have 2 doses on Tuesday, have Wednesday off, 2 doses on Thursday, have Friday off, and then 2 doses on Saturday and, if everything goes as planned, will get out on Sunday.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

We are told this round of chemo is not as bad as the previous one. We are praying that holds true and that he is able to feel much better throughout this round.

Tim has been having some lower back pain (very common for him). Please pray that eases and does not flair up during his stay.

PRAISES:

Energy and immune health good enough to enjoy much time with family and friends over the last week.

For a quiet evening tonight. After all the activity of the weekend, we are enjoying some quiet time with Sarah tonight before we ramp up for the week ahead.

After talking to the Iowa City oncologist, it sounds like the plan will be to wait for the next biopsy test results. That biopsy will occur 28 days after this next round of chemo which starts Tuesday the 26th. If everything goes as planned, I should be out of the hospital on Sunday the 31st. While waiting on those results, we will still be moving forward with some of the testing that is necessary for a transplant. This will minimize the time I would need to wait if it is determined that I need to have a transplant.

Most of you know we traveled to Iowa City today to see an oncologist there. She gave us quite a bit of information. The biggest piece of information she gave us is that Tim may not need a bone marrow transplant. She thinks he can beat this cancer with 4 more rounds of chemo. That information is based on one set of markers from his first bone marrow biopsy which puts him in a “favorable” category. There is another set of markers from that bone marrow biopsy that could put him in a “high risk” category, but some of that information was permanently destroyed when his first sample was misdelivered and became “deteriorated”. The oncologist will meet with the transplant team on Wednesday to discuss/decide which route is best. There are three possible answers: no transplant, yes transplant, or wait and see what the numbers are looking like after the chemo.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Please pray for wisdom for the doctors/transplant team as they make decisions regarding further treatment options. Obviously, not having to have a transplant would be Tim’s preference but, he also would like to have a good more number of years with his family and is willing to do what it takes to make that happen.

We have several family events this Memorial Day weekend so prayers that he stays healthy before, during and after the festivities would be appreciated. He is set to begin another round of chemo on Tuesday, May 26th.

PRAISES:

Tim is feeling very good right now. He is able to walk more than a mile at a time and is not having to rest as much as he did at the beginning. He has gained some weight back (he really lost too much too fast) and is feeling like eating isn’t the chore it was.

We were able to spend time with two of our granddaughters whose birthdays were Saturday and Sunday.

We have been busy with Sarah’s graduation, moving her home, all of us getting settled back into an at home routine, and keeping up with all the at home meds Tim takes. He has had two Dr appointments this week for blood work and everything is looking very good. His white blood cell count was good enough to get rid of one of the medicines. Yay!!

Tim was able to go to church on Sunday, made a brief visit to his work today to see his co-workers, and also got to stop in at his old workplace this week to see some of his co-workers from there. It has been good for him to get out a bit.

He is feeling well enough to do some chores around the house and even managed to mow the lawn this week in a few different chunks of time.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

We are heading to Iowa City on Sunday evening as we have appointments there bright and early Monday morning. Tim will have blood work, a bone marrow biopsy, and consultations with the Drs there. Please pray for safety as we travel and for all the information that we receive. I think it could be an overwhelming visit!

We are starting to get clarifications on some insurance things and some of Tim’s disability coverage. It sounds like it may still be awhile before he is able to get any payments from disability. He has to be off work 90 days before long term disability can be applied for. Prayers for us to make wise financial decisions as we wait for him to have a little income and as our costs for insurance increase.

PRAISES:

Being home!

Being able to visit with friends.

Being able to do some work around the house.

Food still tastes “funny” to Tim but he has been able to eat fairly well and is gaining some weight back.

What a great day we had today. It was a beautiful day for Sarah’s graduation!! We want to thank everyone that has been praying from the beginning that Tim would be able to make it for her big day. A few photos from the day!

PRAISES:

Tim is being released today!!!!!!

His counts have been rapidly rising and he is able to be released today. Four weeks of being in the hospital! His brother Rob is there to help him pack up and head home. He is also going to be able to attend Sarah’s graduation! He has to take a few precautions but we did not think this would be possible even just a couple days ago! God had it all worked out though!! PTL!!

We will probably not be posting every day for the next couple weeks , so we encourage you to sign up for emails that tell you when we post. If you have any trouble with that, reach out!

Next up are a couple weekly visits to the clinic for blood draws. On May 18th we go to Iowa City for testing and then, provided all is going well, he will start maintenance chemo on May 26th. That will be 5 days of inpatient chemo to help things stay away while he is waiting for the bone marrow transplant. These chemo rounds are not as harsh.

We will continue to keep this page going and keep you all posted on his progress.

Huge shoutout to all the wonderful nurses who took such good care of us. To all the family and friends who visited, sent cards, wrote words of encouragement, and blessed us in so many ways. We can’t even begin to thank you enough. To our kids who have been there every step of the way. We love you all so much!

The journey is definitely not over. There is still a long road ahead but this section of the hurdles is over. We continue to run the race. Just running at a slightly slower pace for the time being.

This morning the Dr told us that Tim’s blood numbers were improving enough that he could be discharged tomorrow or Friday! We could hardly believe it. He MAY actually make it to graduation. 🤞

He has gone all day without having to be hooked to his IV pole. He took advantage of that and got in a couple walks for a total of 1 3/4 mile.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Still having skin irritation issues and the drippy nose. His mouth sores are improving and we are told the other two should get better as his blood counts rise.

Getting discharged brings a whole new set of challenges. It is extremely exciting and scary at the same time. There are many things we will need to watch for and he will need to have clinic visits 2-3 times per week.

PRAISES:

That Tim might actually make it to graduation.

That his blood counts are improving rapidly.

Since today is Cinco De Mayo, we are celebrating the good news we received yesterday. Had a good conversation with the Dr. this morning regarding the next steps in Tim’s treatment too. He is also celebrating a nice new bed here at the hospital. Even has a Purple mattress!!

Tim had a nice visit with Timmy and Michaela’s pastor today. He brought Tim a Chipotle burrito bowl and Tim managed to finish the whole thing!! Talk about a Cinco De Mayo celebration!!

He got two half mile walks in today. Had a round of phosphorus and a few antibiotics but that was all. It’s nice that some of his medicines are starting to slow down a little. He is able to spend more time NOT hooked up to the IV pole and that is so freeing.

The Dr is thinking that Tim will be able to leave the hospital early next week (likely Monday). We are looking forward to a little normalcy in our lives. Then we have the appointment in Iowa City on May 18th. They will do another bone marrow biopsy that day and once the results are back, we will start the maintenance chemo (rounds of chemo for 5 days a month). He will likely do 2-3 rounds of those before the bone marrow transplant (or also called a stem cell transplant). These are just general timelines but it gives you an idea of what probably lies ahead for us.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Tim’s skin and mouth sores are still quite an irritant as is the drippy nose. The nose is improving but slowly. It is very dry here in the hospital and that does not help with the dry, irritated skin.

Tomorrow I, Cassie, will be heading to Wayne, NE to spend a little time with our youngest daughter Sarah before her graduation this Saturday. Tim is already starting to miss me. His brother Rob will be staying with him during this time to help Tim be able to watch the livestream. Tim is disappointed to not be able to be at Sarah’s graduation.

PRAISES:

We are seeing steady improvement. It is slow, but steady. The Dr told us this morning that his blood numbers are also slowly but steadily improving also.

Words of encouragement from all across the country. The messages we receive are so uplifting. We cannot thank you all enough for them. They help us keep going!

Praise for our son-in-law Mitch and grandson Wells today. Happy birthday to them both!!

Today we learned that the first round of chemo killed enough that Tim doesn’t have to go right back into another round of chemo! PTL!! He could be released from the hospital in the next 5-10 days. Depending on when his numbers rebuild, he will have to come back for a second round of chemo but the timing of that all depends on numbers. We still have our appointment in Iowa City on May 18th also.

Tim was a bit more tired today. He needed more platelets, phosphorous, and potassium today. He spent some time in the rooftop garden enjoying the sunshine and got a couple walks in.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Tim continues to struggle with digestive issues, mouth sores (which make it very difficult to eat), skin irritations, and a very drippy nose. Please continue to pray that these issues clear up.

Prayers that Tim’s levels will build and we can be released from the hospital. We have been here for almost 4 weeks and are ready to fly the coop!

PRAISES:

Obviously, we are praising God for the wonderful news we received this morning!

Tim enjoyed a better night of sleep last night than he has had for a few days.