Back to the Grind

Aside from getting pneumonia, which I'm still recovering from, I've managed to put on about 7-10 more pounds and I've went up one full waist size. The lower portion of my body is extremely swollen. I'm not sure why, but I'm guessing it's due to the antibiotics and fluids they gave me while I was in the hospital. My waist, legs, knees, ankles and feet are all very swollen. Although I'm back to work today, it's very difficult to walk around. My legs feel very stretched and ballooned. They did prescribe me a diuretic which I have to pick up tonight. So, hopefully that will help.

Sometimes it can be really hard to stay positive after all this. I keep thinking, 'jeez - what's next?' But I have to remember that overall I'm doing pretty good. Until the last few weeks, I hadn't gotten sick at all. Which is pretty good for someone who's had a bone marrow transplant and his immune system erased. It just seems like when I really start to bounce back, something happens and I get knocked back again. One step forward, two steps back. But I can't look at it like that. I came home a weeks earlier than I was supposed to after my transplant. I haven't gotten a cold or the flu. I returned to work 2 months sooner than I was scheduled to. But I got an allergic reaction-related pneumonia over the holidays. Big deal. What else you got to throw at me?

Bring it.

Getting Closer...

My doctors still believe I have Eosinophilic Pheunomonia. So far, my blood cultures and other tests have all came back negative for infection, be it viral, fungal or bacterial. That also means I'm not contagious, which is good.

I was able to walk the hospital halls yesterday without oxygen. My breathing is still far from normal, but it's getting better every day. My doctors tell me if I remain on this track and continue to do well, they're going to send me home tomorrow! Yes! Finally!

I still be taking a pretty healthy dose of Prednisone, but that's okay. It does wonders for my appetite anyway. Speaking of that, my weight is still slowly rising too. I weighed in at 183 this morning. I'm still about 10 pounds lighter than I was before all this started, but I'm definitely on the right track for gaining it back. (Probably thanks to Taco Bell.) Ha-ha.

Daniel - my camera is unfortunately stuck at home, so I haven't had the chance to take more pictures with it. My wife brought a lot with her for me at the hospital. Everything but the kitchen sink actually. But when I return home, I'll get back to that! Promise.

Eos-something Pnuemonia

Well, after nearly 5 days of deliberation, the doctors here, all 187 of them, decided I have something called Eosinophilic Pneumonia. Huh? Yeah, I still can't pronounce it either. Now, what does that mean? Here it is straight from Wiki:

Eosinophilic pneumonia (EP) is a disease in which a certain type of white blood cell called an eosinophil accumulates in the lung. These cells cause disruption of the normal air spaces (alveoli) where oxygen is extracted from the atmosphere. Several different kinds of eosinophilic pneumonia exist and can occur in any age group. The most common symptoms include cough, fever, difficulty breathing, and sweating at night. EP is diagnosed by a combination of characteristic symptoms, findings on a physical examination by a health provider, and the results of blood tests and x-rays. Prognosis is excellent once most EP is recognized and treatment with corticosteroids is begun.

So, in other words, they're putting me back on Prednisone. I had just finished that drug in mid December and now I'll be back on it again. I don't know what it is but it seems like that is this hospital's answer to everything problematic with me.

"He's got a rash?"
"Put him on Prednisone!"

"He's got pneumonia?"
"Put him on Prednisone!"

"What? He broke his foot!?"
"Put him on Prednisone...seriously."

He-heh. Doctors.

I feel okay otherwise. I'm still very short of breath when I get up to do something. But as of today it's not taking me as long to re-catch my breath, so that's good. I'm still on oxygen for right now, but the plan today is to get me off of my IV meds/fluids and starting taking my steroids orally. Which, is a good sign that I could be returning home in the next day or so. I hope so....because I don't know how much longer I can handle being in the hospital. I think I've done my bit and part for hosptial stays for 3 people in the last year.

More later folks.

No updates, no news

Today has been very slow.  No new tests for Jonathon, and no results from any of the tests the last few days.  So... we're just in wait and see.  Again - thank you to everyone sending prayers. We are so grateful to have so many caring wonderful people in our lives.

Back to Chicago for complications

Well, they promised us that Jonathon would end up back in the hospital at some point after the transplant, and despite going over 6 months with no issues, here we are.  Some kind of infection is trying to take over Jonathon's lungs, so we're in Chicago to get things fixed since a round of antibiotics at home didn't help, and things just kept getting worse.  Today he got a bronchoscopy so that they could get a sample of whatever it is growing in his lungs, and then hopefully they'll be able to grow whatever it is and target it with the right drugs. They have him on oxygen since those levels were kind of low and an IV antibiotic.  There have been a number of CT scans and xrays and such too.  We've seen a pulmonologist and an infectious disease specialist.  So far, he's feels pretty much ok other than being super fatigued and coughing occasionally.

Thank you everyone for the prayers and positive thoughts.  We know they helped before, so we're sure they'll help now too.  We don't know how long Jon might be here, and he's hoping to get back home to South Bend real soon.  We'll keep everyone posted.

Age, Christmas & Cameras

Hard to believe nearly a year has gone by since I started having health problems. Nevertheless, we're ready to close the books on this year and enter 2010 with new beginnings. Though, I'm a little more humble (I think), a little more gray in the hair, we're progressing as though nothing happened. Speaking of which...I went to Wings Etc. yesterday with a few friends at lunch when the topic of age came up. Our waitress brings our drinks and asks,

"How old are you?"
"How old do you think I am?" I said.

I always get a kick out of watching people deliberate on their answer while they study my face.

She looks at me for a moment and says,

"39?"

I'm going to assume my eyebrows raised up Spock-style. I didn't say anything yet, but I'm pretty sure I was half-smiling. Al is snickering to himself and Jeff is bubbling laughter into his water. She then tries to correct herself and says,

"43?"

I'm like, then I said,

"Well, I'm actually 34, just turned."

"Omg, I feel terrible..."



So, I think my goat-tee's days might be numbered in effort to make myself look a little younger I guess. I don't know...we'll see. 43? Really??

My wife and I will be traveling to Green Bay for Christmas. We'll be there for 5-6 days. I'm looking forward to being off work and spending some time with family.

On Sunday, my family pitched in for my birthday and Christmas and bought me a new camera. It's a Nikon D5000. I am like a little kid with this thing. It's freakin' awesome. It takes astounding pictures and video. It has a lot of bells and whistles that I haven't gotten to know yet, but so far it's been really easy to use. Here's a few shots I took just playing around with the focus...

I am by no means a photographer. But I love taking pictures. Sometimes they turn out good, and sometimes they don't. I hope to be posting more pictures on my Deviant site and on my personal site soon.

'Till then, I wish everyone a safe, Merry Christmas and a fantastic new year.

Remission...Still!!

Late Sunday afternoon, I received a call from my doctor in Chicago, stating that my 6 month bone marrow biopsy came back free and clear of any cancer cells. This was great news. Before the biopsy they drew blood to run labs on my counts. I found out that my counts were holding steady and really couldn't be better.

Hemoglobin - 14.0
White Blood Count - 8.7
Platelets - 167

So I knew from those counts that everything should be fine. But it was a big relief to hear it from the doctor himself.

Thanksgiving went well and was fairly festive. I surprised my wife by secretly flying her sister in for the holiday. That was a tough one to keep under wraps. Here are some pictures from the weekend...Katie and Kelly are so photo-genic, it makes me sick!

Katie and I.

Katie and her sister Kelly


Katie and Kelly, the white coated duo


From left: My sister Jen, myself, Aunt Judy, Aunt Sharon, My Dad, and Uncle Frank