Visits

The little people got to see Daddy again today.  It was a lot more comforting this time around because he's able to get up and around.  He even took a shower!  (The neuro doc cleared him to take his neck brace off for showering and eating.)  It's amazing how much better he looks. 

He's still having quite a bit of bone pain.  It's improved slightly in his ribs.  (That had been interfering with his ability to take a deep breath.)  His back and hip are still troubling him, and that could continue for some time to come.

The pathologists were taking his tissue samples to a conference today.  That way more people can take a look at them.  Apparently, with T-Cell Lymphoma (the type he has), you often fail to determine which of the thirty types it is.  It might not fit neatly into any one category. 

For those who'd like a little lymphoma summary:  It falls into two categories- Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin (NHL).  NHL is further divided into B-cell (85% of cases) or T-cell (about 15%).  T-cell is further subdivided into many more types, all becoming increasingly more rare.

He has a good doctor.  A really good doctor.  That's a blessing.  He's had the same hematologist/oncologist (Dr. Lyons) since 1996, and that means there's already a level of trust there.  I can't imagine what it would be like to be hit with all this while being bounced from one oncologist on call to another.  Plus, good doctors know other good doctors.  A friend of Dr. Lyons who only does T-cell lymphomas will be consulting with him on Bryan's case.

Because Bryan is starting to feel better, he's getting more active.  Now it's my job to make sure that he doesn't overdo it.  We need him to put his energy into healing.  So, with that in mind...

Visitors are the spice of hospital life, but to make sure that the spice doesn't turn into Five Alarm Chili, here are a few guidelines:

• Call, text, or at least check in at the nurses' station before visiting.
• Always knock and wait.  (Hospitals gowns, though eminently stylish, are not very modest.)
• Keep it brief.
• Bryan's visiting hours will be 10 AM- 12 PM, and 5 PM- 8 PM.  That will allow time in the afternoons for napping and resting.  (If you absolutely can't make it during those times, just call and we'll work out a time.  As long as he gets some quiet time each day, he'll get the rest he needs to recover.)

Thank you for being so wonderfully helpful and encouraging to us during this time.  Bryan just said today that he is so touched by the outpouring of love we have seen throughout this trial.  Jesus said that we would be known as His disciples when others saw our love for each other, and our family can bear witness to that right now.