Category: Status Update

It has been awhile since we last posted. Tim has been doing quite well. Has been feeling good, his blood counts have come back like they should and in general, has been boring. We needed a little of that in our lives!!

He had a great Father’s Day weekend. We had many of the kids home over the weekend and got to host all his siblings and their spouses (and a few kids) today. It was the first time they had all been together since 2023.

Tim starts the 2nd round of maintenance chemo tomorrow. If all goes as it should, he will get out of the hospital Saturday evening. This morning he had another biopsy. The results will take about a week to a week and a half. This one will tell us whether we will be continuing with more rounds of maintenance chemo or whether he will need a transplant.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

Tim’s back is bothering him again. We ask for prayers that it clears as quickly as it did the last time and that he won’t have trouble with it while in the hospital.

We ask for prayers for good results on the biopsy. While chemo is never fun, the alternative (transplant) is so much more daunting. It would require a very aggressive round of chemo, 4-5 weeks in Iowa City, many trips back and forth, and, likely, at least a year of recovery. It would not be the road we want to have to go down.

PRAISES:

Tim (and I) are very thankful for all of you that reach out with words of encouragement and telling us that you are praying for us. We have mentioned this before but we really are very grateful for all the love and support we have received since this journey began. It is very humbling to know people all over the world, some that don’t even know us, are praying for us!

For family that is close. We are so blessed to be able to have our immediate family close by and to be able to see them as often as we do.

Tim has been feeling good despite his blood counts dropping following chemo. He did have to have platelets yesterday, but that is all he has had to have (so far) this time around. We are praising God that things have been going much smoother this time.

Tim had an appointment in Iowa City today with the transplant doctor. She gave us a very brief rundown of how things would go should Tim need a transplant. She was not really interested in going too deep as she feels it is still premature to talk about a transplant. Once the results are back from Tim’s next bone marrow biopsy, which is currently scheduled for Monday, June 22nd, we will have more information on the next steps. Seems like we keep saying ‘After this next test, we will have more information’, but that does seem to be the way this goes!

We did find out that, based on the testing they have done so far, there are 2 donor matches that are 10/10 and 12 donor matches that are 9/10. She thinks Tim would be a good candidate for a transplant based on age and overall health. Obviously, if a transplant is the direction we need to go, there would be lots more testing to make sure she is correct.

The rest of this week and next are his rebuilding weeks and he will just have lab work. He pretty much goes 3 times a week for those. He is scheduled to start the next round of chemo on Tuesday, June 23rd. If we continue with just the chemo, he would have 2 more months of these rounds. If, the results of the BMB indicate he would be better off with a transplant, that will likely start pretty quickly after this next round of chemo.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

For Tim to stay healthy while his immune system is currently significantly compromised. He has done well so far and we are working to keep it that way.

Prayers that he won’t need the transplant. While that may be the way we need to go, we are praying that the chemo does what they are hoping it will do and he won’t need a transplant.

PRAISES:

That Tim had insurance when this happened! The first hospital stay (basically a month) was a rather LARGE amount of money.

We want to thank you again for all the prayers, cards, words of encouragement, and gifts that we have received. While we may not be able to respond to them all, they are all VERY valued and VERY appreciated!!

Tim had a phone appointment with his oncologist in Iowa City today. She told him that now that all the information is back from the last biopsy she still believes he is in the favorable category. She also believes that his cancer can be treated/cured with just the chemo. (There are still 3 more rounds.)

He will need to have blood tests (frequently for quite a while and then yearly for the rest of his life) but that is a small inconvenience to make sure the leukemia is kept at bay.

They will still continue to move forward as if he needs a transplant so that, if something unexpected should happen, we are not starting at square one. We will meet with the transplant Dr on June 10th in Iowa City.

They are still very interested in the results of the next biopsy which should occur around the end of June. It typically takes 1-2 weeks to get all the information back from this test.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

While this information all seems very positive, there is always the chance of something changing. We ask that you continue to pray for Tim to be able to be healed with the chemo only.

PRAISES:

This optimistic report deserves a lot of praise! It is sometimes hard to feel good about a report knowing that the other shoe could drop at any moment but for today, we are choosing to celebrate this victory.

Tim’s back seems to be back to normal;) He is feeling good. He had bloodwork today (part of the normal protocol following chemo) and it was all good enough that he didn’t need any transfusions. That is a praise as well.

Praises that this round of chemo was much less taxing on his body than the last time. That is a HUGE morale booster.

Today was Tim’s 5th & 6th rounds of chemo for this time. He has felt quite good this whole week and was able to leave the hospital tonight about 9:00 p.m. His white blood count had dropped by about half this morning (to be expected) and will drop more this next week (and possibly longer) before starting to recover again. We are extremely grateful he has felt so good all week!

It will be important for him to stay as well as possible this next week, so he will likely not venture too far from home, except for the Dr. visits.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

That Tim stays healthy and that he feels as good as possible all next week (which could be the worst week for him).

PRAISES:

That Tim is home! Although this trip to the hospital was MUCH less eventful than the last one, it is always good to be home and to have him home!

Today is rounds 3 & 4 of this 2nd round of chemo. Tim is still feeling quite well. A little more tired but that is expected. He has actually been a bit bored in the hospital and so far today he has walked over 4 miles (in the air conditioning) to keep himself busy.

They are going to try moving rounds 5 & 6 up in time on Saturday in the hopes of being able to get him home later Saturday evening rather than Sunday morning. Tim is very excited about that. He was not looking forward to staying another day.

Thank you so much for all the prayers. It is clear they are making a difference!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

His back has been much improved but he does still feel it every now and then. It is usually worse in the morning and then kind of works itself out as he walks and moves about. Please continue to pray for that.

Next week, Tim will have to have at least 3 visits to the clinic/hospital to check his blood levels and possibly have transfusions and/or platelets. There will be a lot of running next week! Please pray for safety in the travels. If Tim is feeling well enough, he will be able to drive himself but, if not, Cassie will need to help with the running.

PRAISES:

We are praising God that Tim continues to feel as well as he does. They say that days 7-10 are typically the worst, so prayers that when he is home he continues to feel as well as possible.

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.