Guess who's back?

Wednesday was a great day for Wally! He and Ramzee walked to the Kiely's and back, which is over a mile!! Bill and Ann were not home at the time, so no one was there to hand Daddy cups of water and Gatorade like in his old marathon days! He arrived home and did some business over the phone with Lauren in Red River. John and Jerry came over for a visit and Daddy STOOD in the kitchen telling "Wally stories" with his usual animation. Christy said she looked at him standing there and thought..."Wally's back!!" He cooked steaks on the grill and finished off the evening with ice cream. I was so tickled to get the report last night!

I'm sure Daddy is spending today celebrating the birthday of one of his favorite singers and fellow Spicewood resident, Willie Nelson! Even with the rain, it looks like "Blue Skies" are smilin' on Spicewood today! :-)
Have a good one!
Wendee

If you're checking in...

Daddy had a great Tuesday! He began the day with a trip to the big city of Marble Falls. Christy had to go to the grocery store, so Daddy rode along and waited in the car. When they returned home, he took Mr. Ramzee for a short walk down the street and was later visited by his friend, Doug. (I hear they may have even consumed beer!?!?) John and Sherri came by and delivered a batch of stew, which Daddy enjoyed for dinner along with some macaroni and cheese. He also received a special delivery: a couple of new t-shirts from Edee! (She already knows how to shop on-line.:-)) We just couldn't resist the one above! Steve-O sent some Kentucky Derby hats and party gear. He and Daddy started a Kentucky Derby party in Red River years ago, and the tradition continues!!

He was sleeping in his chair when I talked to Christy last night. Sounds like my kind of day in Spicewood!

Hope you are having a great day, too! :-)
Wendee

Lazy day in Spicewood!

I just got off the phone with Christy, and like much of Texas, they are getting tons of rain today. Daddy hasn't had much of an appetite the past few days, so he is pretty weak. He did eat breakfast today, along with some yogurt, and he has requested spaghetti for dinner tonight. Christy was busy getting that together in the hopes that he would still be hungry after his nap.

Dr. Agura called today to check in after learning that Lowell, the PA, had sent Daddy home. :-) He confirmed that Daddy could skip his appointment tomorrow and relax in Spicewood for the next couple of weeks.

We're headed down that way this weekend, so I'll be taking some mail that was sent after Daddy was released. Eric will be "off-roadin'" for a wonderful cause...Wheelers for the Wounded...where he and other off road enthusiasts will be taking injured soldiers through trails and obstacles near Marble Falls. It is going to be a fabulous event for these American heroes and their families! After watching the weather forecast, it looks like we will all be playing in the mud!
XOXO,
Wendee

A BIG THANK YOU!!

Dad and Whiskey Bob...A few years and a lot of beers ago!! Ha!

Mr. Ramzee...sacked out on the couch in Daddy's office.

Uncle Jack on one of his many adventures!

We want to give a BIG thank you to everyone who has prayed, called, sent letters, brought gifts, or came by to visit while Daddy was in Dallas. We also need to give a HUGE "shout out" to Uncle Jack, a.k.a. Dick T., for staying with Ramzee for 11 days! Ramzee is more than a dog to Daddy and Christy, so it meant a great deal to know that he was taken care of. Daddy was beyond thrilled to be home and Ramzee has not left his side since they arrived!

We also need to give LOADS of thanks to our Whiskey Bob, a.k.a Terry, for coming to stay with Daddy for 4 days this week. It was above the call of friendship for him to drive from Houston and put his life on hold to make sure that Daddy had someone with him at all times. We have state testing at school next week and TeeLee was in the midst of Secretary's Day at the flower shop, so we could not be there 24 hours each day. Whiskey Bob volunteered and was a complete life saver!!

This trip home means so much to all of us and is a wonderful boost to Daddy's spirits. As you can imagine, being told day after day that they weren't sure when he could go home really took a toll on him. Even though we all stayed very optimistic, I'm afraid he was fearing the worst. God really answered our prayers and his timing was perfect! :-) Please continue to pray for Daddy, as he has another battle ahead of him when the transplant process begins on May 12th.

Now, get off the computer and go hug someone that you love! :-)

Wendee

Preliminary Numbers!!!

Well, Wendee is at Baylor with Daddy and Christy today. The doctor has not come in to make it official but the nurse let them peek at the Lab test results and........(drum roll please)............
his white blood cell count is 9.2..........remember he only needed a 4.0 to be released to go home for a few a week or so. They are waiting on the official go ahead after the doctor comes in to look over the results, but it's looking like a thumbs up on heading to the lake for a little while. I know that Daddy is SO EXCITED to get a little freedom. We have received the new transplant calendar and if everything goes well, we will start all of that on May 14th! Thank you so much for your prayers! God Is So Good!
P.S. Don't fret because even when he is home we will keep you updated here at the good old blog. Please continue to call Christy, TeeLee and Wendee for updates. Daddy is still extremely tired and probably doesn't need to be fielding phones calls himself. We love and appreciate all of you!

TeeLee
UPDATE: As of 2:00PM today, Christy's car was loaded and they were just about ready to head to the lake! Daddy also learned that he will not have to come back for his appointment on Tuesday because his numbers were so good. They took out his pic line and he is FREE until May 12th!! I should let you know that he ate Whataburger last night before receiving these outstanding results. I think we have a new cancer treatment on our hands...Whataburger, Flintstones vitamins and endless supplies of ice cream! :-)
Wendee

Up, Up and Away!!!!

Great news! TeeLee is sitting with Daddy today while he is "dripping," and I am happy to report that his white blood count is up from yesterday, in a big way! His count was 0.4 yesterday and is 2.0 today! He said it must be from his Flintstones vitamins! If he reaches the magic number of 4.0, he will get to go home for a few days. He is tentatively scheduled to have his bone marrow transplant beginning on May 14th, but that depends on how his blood counts behave! :-)

I'm going over in the morning to hang out with him while Christy goes to the store. I told him I want BIG numbers or I will beat him with a wet noodle! By the way, "dripping" is the name that Daddy has given to his daily clinic visits. He is hooked up to an IV and just sits there for hours at a time while they give him his medication/platelets/blood for the day. There has to be a nickname for everything!

Keep praying for that 4.0!!!!
Wendee

Ice Cream Delivery!

Praise the Lord, the white blood cells have finally started to reproduce. He had a whopping 4 of the little darlings in his blood sample today.....but having any is huge progress. Dr. Agura was not happy with Daddy's continuing decline in weight. He insisted that Dad start consuming more calories and gave him the thumbs up to eat as much ice cream as he wanted. Dr. Agura also prescribed a new, cutting edge cancer medication.......Flintstone Vitamins. Is that a hoot or what? Daddy was glad to know that they now have Flintstones Gummy Vitamins rather than the old chalky ones. So this afternoon I went and picked up Ben and Jerry's, Blue Bell, Hagendaz and Flintstone Gummies.....and prayerfully we will have him fattened up in no time. I'll be going back in the morning to relieve wonderful Terry so that he can head back to Houston. Then Christy will be returning tomorrow afternoon. We hope to do a better job of keeping you updated in the next few days. Thanks so much for checking in and thanks for keeping the sweet cards and letters coming Daddy's way! We are truly humbled by your prayers and love!
TeeLee