Brian kept complaining that he didn't feel well yesterday and I thought he just over did it this weekend but turns out his counts were literally 'rock bottom'. He will be getting some more units of blood tomorrow. They were debating on whether or not to give him platelets because those were very low but we are attempting to go with out a platelet transfusion. His white blood cells (WBC's) were very LOW, so that means extra sanitizing for this girl. Going to the Iowa Game probably wasn't the best idea but at least I had him covered head to toe so if someone did cough on him it wasn't getting on his skin!
Brian attempted work today and made it a half day. He was bummed he couldn't work a full day but when he came home I could tell he was not feeling so good. He was very pale, fatigued, and quiet. I felt bad for him so we went and made a TCBY run. He goes in spurts on food cravings and the past two nights have been ice cream. He is still has a funky eating thing...some days his appetite is good other days not so much. Sat. night/sun. morning he woke up STARVING...and made him self a huge salad. Not my midnight snack of choice, but he was so hungry he woke me up scarfing it down (with a brownie on the side).
After ice cream we stopped by Hy-vee to grab a pain med prescription and we were waiting in line and one of the pharmacist saw us told us to come to the side and she checked us out. I guess that is the perk of constantly being at Hy-vee they all know us by name so we get 'red carpet service'.
On Friday when we went to Iowa City we got to visit our friend Carolyn. Brian and Carolyn became close during there treatments at Methodist together. She is now in the middle of her transplant. We were able to go up to the 7th floor and see Brian's future home. Carolyn warned us it would be overwhelming, and even with a warning it was still overwhelming. It was nice to visit with her for a bit. We pray for her every night and hope that she recovers quickly and stays healthy so she can get out soon. It was nice to see what the transplant is all about before we go, somewhat peace of mind. The fear of the unknown is the worst part about fighting cancer so taking one small piece out of the unknown is a huge relief. We realize now how careful we are going to have to be to make sure Brian is safe and stays healthy.
Brian has been curled up on the couch all night sleeping but he wanted a quick update posted.
Words can't express how thankful we are for all your prayers and cards. It helps mentally to have a mailbox of cards to come home to, especially when things change. Thank you for thinking of us. Keep the prayers, verses, comments, and cards coming Brian really does love them and some days he relies on your strength to get through.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
What A Weekend!
Friday Morning and Afternoon: Stacey and I went to Iowa City met with our awesome Stem Cell Transplant Doctor and got all of the test completed for that. Just in case your wondering I passed them all and I didn't even study! We are excited to work with the staff in Iowa City and when I do finally do my transplant it will be right next to Kinnick Stadium. Hopefully I get a room with a window so that I can wake up to it's greatness every morning!
Friday Night: Mom, Dad, Rick, Lindsay, Stacey and I went with Lindsay's good friend Laura to take pictures in the park in Iowa City. Laura did a great job getting a lot of different poses and incorporating the beauty that is the great state of Iowa. We had pictures by the river, in the park and by some beautiful fall trees. We had a blast. Then to celebrate our new pictures Mom and Dad took us out to Black Stone in Iowa City. It's Stacey's favorite place and the food there is fantastic. Thanks Mom and Dad! It was great to see my whole family again. They are an amazing support for me and we love them dearly. Then Stacey and I went back to my hometown of Center Point, Iowa to stay the night with my parents. We had a cold one and laughed it up. Life is good!
Saturday Morning: Mom, Dad, Stacey and I slept in and Dad decided to make some brunch for us. It was delicious and really hit the spot. Everyone knows that on Saturday the key is to eat big early because there is a lot of college football to be watched. Then we went to Kohl's in Cedar Rapids to do a little shopping. (Mom loves that place) One time they ran out of carts so she and my Aunt Rosie (who also loves Kohl's) took one of the employee's flatbed carts. Mom said "You gotta do what you gotta do". Being an ex-Kohl's employee I found this story really amusing.
Saturday Afternoon: Football! I don't think that there is anything quite like College Football. I can watch any game that's on TV no matter who the teams are. It's just the best sport there is at the best level of the sport, the collegiate level. I was anxious to leave Kohl's and go watch some so that's what we did. We went straight to Stacey's parents house, cozy'd up on the couch and watch the early games. (Sorry about your Badger's Quam, I know what it feels like buddy the AZ game was the same way) Then Roy, Sandy, Ally, Stacey and I loaded up our tailgating gear and headed down to Iowa City for the game! I was feeling good so Sandy gave me her ticket to the game. (Wow! What a treat! Thank you so much Roy and Sandy!)
Saturday Night: I don't know if you heard but it was THE University of Iowa's Homecoming this weekend and they went all out for it. The atmosphere at the tailgates were great, the weather was beautiful and everyone had there beautiful Black and Gold gear on. It was surreal when I stepped into the stadium to see whole place striped in Black and Gold under the lights. We were 5 rows up from the Hawkeye sideline too and since it was homecoming a lot of the NFL players were back. Chad Greenway (Vikings) and Tony Moeaki (My Kansas City Chiefs) were right down on sideline about 20 feet away the whole time. It was awesome! And what a performance by the Hawks! The D was unbelievable and the Offense had it going early. Any time you beat a ranked Penn State team by 21 points that is definitely one to remember!!! GO HAWKS!!! Then Stacey and I booked it back to Des Moines right after the game and got home around 12:30 AM Sunday morning.
Sunday?: Were resting for sure! It was an awesome weekend but we are tired! We are so blessed to have such generous family that treated us so well all weekend. Thanks for everything that you have done for us. We are truly blessed. God is Good!
One final thought about my Chiefs: They have a bye this week so they are the only team that is guaranteed to be undefeated though week 4! Go Chiefs!
Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! It has meant so much to Stacey and I! Keep up the good work!
Brian Pritchard
GO HAWKEYES!
Friday Night: Mom, Dad, Rick, Lindsay, Stacey and I went with Lindsay's good friend Laura to take pictures in the park in Iowa City. Laura did a great job getting a lot of different poses and incorporating the beauty that is the great state of Iowa. We had pictures by the river, in the park and by some beautiful fall trees. We had a blast. Then to celebrate our new pictures Mom and Dad took us out to Black Stone in Iowa City. It's Stacey's favorite place and the food there is fantastic. Thanks Mom and Dad! It was great to see my whole family again. They are an amazing support for me and we love them dearly. Then Stacey and I went back to my hometown of Center Point, Iowa to stay the night with my parents. We had a cold one and laughed it up. Life is good!
Saturday Morning: Mom, Dad, Stacey and I slept in and Dad decided to make some brunch for us. It was delicious and really hit the spot. Everyone knows that on Saturday the key is to eat big early because there is a lot of college football to be watched. Then we went to Kohl's in Cedar Rapids to do a little shopping. (Mom loves that place) One time they ran out of carts so she and my Aunt Rosie (who also loves Kohl's) took one of the employee's flatbed carts. Mom said "You gotta do what you gotta do". Being an ex-Kohl's employee I found this story really amusing.
Saturday Afternoon: Football! I don't think that there is anything quite like College Football. I can watch any game that's on TV no matter who the teams are. It's just the best sport there is at the best level of the sport, the collegiate level. I was anxious to leave Kohl's and go watch some so that's what we did. We went straight to Stacey's parents house, cozy'd up on the couch and watch the early games. (Sorry about your Badger's Quam, I know what it feels like buddy the AZ game was the same way) Then Roy, Sandy, Ally, Stacey and I loaded up our tailgating gear and headed down to Iowa City for the game! I was feeling good so Sandy gave me her ticket to the game. (Wow! What a treat! Thank you so much Roy and Sandy!)
Saturday Night: I don't know if you heard but it was THE University of Iowa's Homecoming this weekend and they went all out for it. The atmosphere at the tailgates were great, the weather was beautiful and everyone had there beautiful Black and Gold gear on. It was surreal when I stepped into the stadium to see whole place striped in Black and Gold under the lights. We were 5 rows up from the Hawkeye sideline too and since it was homecoming a lot of the NFL players were back. Chad Greenway (Vikings) and Tony Moeaki (My Kansas City Chiefs) were right down on sideline about 20 feet away the whole time. It was awesome! And what a performance by the Hawks! The D was unbelievable and the Offense had it going early. Any time you beat a ranked Penn State team by 21 points that is definitely one to remember!!! GO HAWKS!!! Then Stacey and I booked it back to Des Moines right after the game and got home around 12:30 AM Sunday morning.
Sunday?: Were resting for sure! It was an awesome weekend but we are tired! We are so blessed to have such generous family that treated us so well all weekend. Thanks for everything that you have done for us. We are truly blessed. God is Good!
One final thought about my Chiefs: They have a bye this week so they are the only team that is guaranteed to be undefeated though week 4! Go Chiefs!
Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! It has meant so much to Stacey and I! Keep up the good work!
Brian Pritchard
GO HAWKEYES!
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