August 9, 2009 - Long overdue update

I apologize for not updating everyone on Larry's condition but......well, you know how it is.

Larry was put in the hospital a week before the 4th of July and didn't get out til July 15th. He was hit with the graft versus host disease and it threw him for a loop. It hit him in his stomach, gut and also had a skin rash all over his body. Larry has lost a great deal of weight because of the stomach being sooooo upset. They put him on steroids, high blood pressure meds and insulin shots. The steroids cause short term high blood pressure and diabetes. Larry was finally able to eat solid food and things were looking better so they let him out of the hospital. The steroids he is on do just the opposite to his muscles that the steroids the athletes use so he has lost soooooo much muscle mass that he can hardly get up the stairs.

On the 18th his dad came back to Houston and let me come back home to take care of all our animals and so I could go back to work. Larry has continually assured me that he is getting stronger and his legs and feet are going down (swelling of feet and legs are a diabetic side effect). He came in last Saturday Aug, 1 2009 and he weighs 152 lbs. The steroids and other meds are slowly being removed and as soon as he gets off all of them his personality and side effects should return to normal.

I know this is an awful lot of news to digest and once again I apologize for not keeping in touch. Yes he is out of the hospital but he has to go to the hospital every day for transfusions (magnesium and other stuff and occasionally platelets) so they are keeping a close watch on him and as I said earlier he assures me that he is improving daily.

The last few days that I have talked to him he has sounded more like himself and he’s even cracked a few jokes which makes me feel like he is finally on the road to recovery. I know this has been a very trying time for him but as long as he continues to fight and keep his positive attitude and most of all his faith in God then I feel sure his release from the doctor can’t be too far away. He told me last night that he had lost more weight and he is now down to 146 lbs. but continues to assure me that it is only fluid from his legs and feet and that his doctors are keeping up with what he eats and said this is normal and as soon as he gets off his meds that his appetite will return and he will start gaining he weight back. I hope this happens soon because I can’t see how they could let him lose any more weight.

Please continue to pray for Larry and his dad as I know they still have to deal with this each and every day. I do have some good news; all of Larry's Bone Marrow tests have been MDS free. I pray he can keep his strong attitude and continue to climb because he's almost to the top. He can't give up now; he has too much going for him.

Oour love to all of you,

Jean