4-20-09 (-: Bone Marrow Transplant Today:-)

The nurse came in this morning at 8:00 am and said they had scheduled Larry's stem cell transplant (transfusion) for 11:30 am and he would be getting 3 bags. Two nurses came in the room at 11:00 and gave him a bag of benadryl through his IV to keep him from having an allergic reaction to the transfusion. They started the stem cell transplant (transfusion) at 11:45 am. Another nurse that was assigned to him yesterday came and sang Happy Birthday to him and Larry said "It's not my birthday" and she said "yes is is, it's the first day of your new life"!!! We were both very moved at her thoughtfulness. Each bag took about 30 minutes to complete and they were through at 1:00 pm. Larry was very groggy and would periodically fall asleep only to be suddenly awakened by his LOUD SNORING. The nurses stayed in his room the whole time monitoring his vital signs to make sure his body was accepting the transfusion. When the transfusion was over they left the room but would return every 30 minutes to make sure he was still doing OK.

At 2:15 pm Larry ordered his lunch and received it at 3:00 and ate everything on his plate. He laid back in bed and with the remote in hand would flip through a couple of channels then fall asleep and wake himself up with his LOUD SNORING which went on til 5:30 when he looked over at me and I was snoozing too. He woke me up and said he felt like walking and wanted me to go back to camp so I gathered up all of my "stuff" and he walked me to the elevator. He called me at 8:00 pm and said he had been snoozing off and on all evening but all in all he was feeling OK. He said he was going to turn early tonight and would see me in the morning.

We have felt the presence of the Lord all day today.......and I can't imagine anyone going through this without him.

Larry has been enjoying all of your replies to our emails and we thank you all for your love, prayers and support.

4/18/09 - Two days till transplant!!!

Well, it's almost here and we are praying for the best. Larry's still got his sense of humor. The nurse came in a couple of times yesterday only to find Larry gone, when he finally came back to his room the nurse asked where he had been and he told her he had a hankering for hot chicken wings so he went down the street and picked some up......they tasted so good that he had them all eaten up before he got back to the hospital! The nurse said "you mean you went down to the cafeteria" and he said "no I went down the street to the corner of Main and Fannin, they have the best hot wings in Houston". The nurses eyes got real big and she said "Mr. Roberts, you're not suppose to leave the 11th floor much less the hospital"? Larry looked at her and just laughed and said "I'm just kidding, I've been walking around in the halls and went to the break room and got some coffee". I told the nurse that she needed to watch out for Larry because he likes to kid people alot and to be on the safe side if she saw his lips moving then he's probably telling a story. After she got a little color back in her face she looked at Larry and laughed and said "Mr. Roberts, I'm going to have to keep an eye on you, aren't I"?

Larry had chemo on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and they started the anti-rejection medication today. He's had platelets every day and had to have blood twice this week. He said he's ready to take a leave of absence so he can go home for a day or two so he can see all his furry animals, especially his "baby" but I don't think the doctors are going to go for that......do you????? He hasn't been sleeping well since he's been in the hospital and he just now figured out why-----he's been drinkin coffee in the evenings......duh!!!!!!!!

The doctors come in every day and check him out and they told him he was responding well to the treatments and they were pleased with his reports, Larry looked at them and said "I haven't written any reports"! They looked at him kinda funny and ........once again I had to step in and tell them that he was just messin' with them. I'm sure in a day or week or so they will realize that he's just a kidder.....or not:-)

Your continued thoughs and prayers are so much appreciated.
We love you all!!!

April 15, 2009 <><><> Preparing for Transplant

We arrived in Houston Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 5:oo PM. We unpacked the truck and ate supper. Larry is tired from the busy week end. He went fishing with Linda on Saturday morning and visited his mom again. We finally got our riding mower fixed an Larry came back from his moms and mowed the yard. I was at a friends house helping with some crafts for the Cowboy gathering that will be held this Saturday at our church. It will be an all day affair with all kinds of events going on, there will also be vendor booths and cook offs and.............so much more and I wish Larry and I could be there but may be we can make it to the one next year.

Monday morning Larry had a blood test and saw the transplant nurse. She told us to go to the admitting office and they would call us when a room was ready for him. They called at 7:00 pm and said for us to come to the hospital because a room was available. We got to the room at 8:30 pm and they started taking blood tests and told him they would start chemo at 4:30 am Tuesday morning. I came back to the camper because I knew they would be very busy with Larry most all night and sure enough they were. He got a platelet transfusion and also received 2 bags of blood. They started his first round of chemo as scheduled Tuesday morning. Larry says they come in every morning and give him a cup full of pills at 4:00 am and get a blood test, then at 4:30 am is another round of chemo. By the time that is finished they have the results of the blood test and they start pumping him full of platelets and blood. He's had two days of chemo and I think he will get two more by Friday then he will get a rest until Monday or Tuesday and they will give him he transplant.

As of right now Larry doesn't feel any effects of the chemo but he says they keep him so busy that he doesn't even get much rest during the night and he can't even take naps during the day because of all the visits they make in his room. He's also upset because he can't find anything good to watch on TV (oh brother, here we go again). I feel an attitude adjustment coming on......I just hope I'm prepared!!!!!! I brought the EMERGENCY KIT but it's here at camp, I just hope I remember to take it with me tomorrow when I go to the hospital. Larry and I have to take some kind of class tomorrow at 2:00 pm and I've got this funny feeling that he's not going to set quietly during the class. Please pray that he will remain cool, calm and collected during that time.

You're prayers are much needed during his stay here in the hospital.

More updates later......................

April 10, 2009--Transplant Schedule???? Maybe:-)

Larry had an appointment yesterday (4/9/09) and his doctor said he wanted him to come back Monday morning and they would put him in the hospital that afternoon. Larry asked if he could come home for the week end and the doctor said it would be fine but he wanted Larry to have a platelet transfusion before he left Houston.

I got home at 5:45 pm and Larry wasn't home so I called him to make sure he was coming home. He said he was about 30 minutes away from the house and he would meet me at the pasture so he could see his "baby" first thing. For those of you who don't know who that is, it's his paint horse "Sadie". We met at the pasture and he just loved on his "baby" and then an hour later....as we were leaving he remembered that he'd forgotten "what's her name" and decided to lean over and give me a hug and pat on the head (he luuuves me!)

(4/10/09) Larry got up this morning and had breakfast with his mom. He said he really enjoyed visiting with her. After leaving her house he went to the Tyler Oncology office and visited with the staff, he has become very fond of the people there and can't wait to see them. He get's the biggest kick out of messing with them and they love to pick at him as well. He had several errands to run and also went to his work to check on everyone there and catch up on the latest scoop. By the time he finished running around Tyler he was a little tired so he headed home and took a nap. When I got home from work he just had to tell me about his day and how much fun he had visiting with everyone and how good it felt to be back home. We went to the pasture and fed and messed with the horses and he brushed and talked to his "baby". He said he has been so blessed and thanks God every day for all he has done for him.

Still waiting on a SCHEDULE!!!!!

April 1, 2009
It's me again,
Larry made it back to Houston on Sunday just fine. He was hoping that they would start his chemo before now but when he got back to the hospital on Monday they said his insurance wanted another test run before they would ok his transplant. I'm sure you know what happened next..........yes he lost his cool and called the insurance supervisor and gave her a piece of his mind free of charge (he is so generous) and told them they should have gotten all the tests that they needed a month ago. Later that day he had the opportunity to do the same with the hospital business office because they forgot to send the test results to the insurance company. I know it's hard for Larry to understand that everything the hospital does has to go through certain procedures especially when he has to hurry to this appointment and wait then hurry to that appointment then wait. I'm real proud of the way he has such a positive attitude and he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

For those of you that are new to my updates on Larry I will try to bring you up to speed on his sister Linda Huff. Shortly after Larry was diagnosed with MDS in 2006 the doctors told him that a bone marrow transplant was the only way of having a chance to be cured. They said if he had a sibling with a match it would be better than trying to find someone on the donor list. Linda was tested and was matched 100% which was such a blessing.

On Monday,March 23rd Linda went to Houston to have preliminary tests run and they started giving her neupogen shots, two shots in the stomach a day which were on the 27th, 28th and 29th . She got one last shot before they started extracting the stem cells ( bone marrow) on the 30th. The goal was to extract 4 million stem cells which usually takes two days which is 4 hour sessions a day but they collected 4.5 million in just one session and everyone was just amazed.

Linda called me yesterday afternoon and said she just got home and she was so glad that her part was over with. She had been stuck so many times since the 23rd that she felt like a pin cushion and she couldn't even imagine what Larry has had to go through all this time. Larry and I are so very thankful for her love and selfless generosity. This past week has been very chaotic and unconfortable for her to put it mildly but she has stayed strong and her determination to help her brother is undescribeable. I just want to say "Linda, thank you so much for your gift and we love you dearly".

I just talked to Larry and he said he just got through getting a platelet transfusion and leaving the hospital to get something to eat. He is scheduled to have an echocardiogram at 1:00pm. His next appointment is on Friday which consists of an EKG and complete pulmonary function test and he will probably need a blood transfusion as well. The hospital will wait for the test results before they schedule the transplant so as of now he is still waiting. I am waiting too because as soon as he finds out when he goes in the hospital I will be heading to Houston to be with him. I've got my bags pack and my emergency first aid kit almost packed, you know like...........uh, where is my list-_-_-_-_-_I'VE LOST MY LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK, I'll just make a new one:
1. DUCT TAPE
2. SUPER GLUE
3. BUNGEE STRAPS
4. BALING WIRE
5. MAGIC MARKER
6. WD-40
7. METAL BED PAN- scratch that cuz the hospital provides those (did you know that they make great helmets??)

8. _________________
9. _________________
10. _________________
Please I need your help, I know there are 10 very important things I always carry with me when we go to Houston (to keep Larry in line) but I forgot what they are. If any of you can think of what they are or have any suggestions please fill in and return this to me. Someone has to keep their witts about them and fortunately thats me:-)

I will try to keep everyone informed as soon I hear more from Larry. Your prayers and support for Larry mean so much to us.
Thank you and we love you:-)