I met Michael at the GI's office today and when I got there he was having an incredible amount of pain in his arms and collar bones. We went in to see the doctor and Michael was ready to start writhing around on the floor in pain. The doctor sent us to the ER. They loaded him up with dilaudid to alleviate the pain which helped pretty quickly. They did the ultrasound which was scheduled for today and realized that he has gallstones and he might have passed one through the common bile duct. I was initially relieved at this news but that was quickly followed by frustration. The doctors don't want to perform surgery on him to remove his gallbladder because they are worried he his is too fragile and won't heal well from the surgery. The other option is to send a scope down to see if there is a blockage and possibly remove it. The doctor, however, still thinks this procedure is risky. So instead they want to do some more scans to see if the common bile duct is blocked. They can't get him in for the scans until Jan 11. I feel like I'm chasing my tail! So we're home now and we're both trying to recover from this incredibly stressful day.

We got to the hospital at 7 AM this morning and Michael weighed in at 173. They gave Michael 2 units of fresh frozen plasma to ensure his blood was clotting. Then we waited for the surgeon. At about 11:30 AM he started the abdominal tap. The doctor took out 4 liters of fluid from Michael's belly. He could have easily taken more but he was reluctant to do so because he was worried his blood pressure would drop. The procedure only lasted about 20 minutes which consisted of waiting for the 4 empty bottles to fill up with the yucky yellow fluid that had accumulated. About 5 minutes after the doctor was done and gone Michael started experiencing severe pain at the injection site. He said the pain ranked a 10 which is bad. The wonderful nurses loaded him up with morphine and we waited for the pain to subside which took about 30 minutes or so. We got him back on the scale and he was down to 165...he had lost 8 lbs! That's how miserable he was!! I am not kidding when I say he looked like he was about 11 months pregnant! We got home about 3 PM. They are not sure how long before the fluid accumulates again...but it will. His liver is not functioning. His bilirubin was 18. Chemo is no longer an option.

He goes tomorrow to see the gastroenterologist and to have an ultrasound done of his liver. He is sick of me hovering over him so I am going to work tomorrow. I'll probably leave to go with him to see the gastroenterologist. I can only hope and pray that the doctor finds something that can be done to improve Michael's liver function. Please....everybody pray.....

Well....we didn't make it to Chicago this weekend. I was disappointed but my disappointment was soon overcome by worry about Michael's condition. He really had me worried on Saturday and I almost had him convinced to go to the ER to have the swelling in his belly drained. He is soooooo jaundice right now. I don't know if draining his belly will help with the jaundice but I can only hope. He felt better today, or I should say he didn't feel as bad today. I've read that there are a number of reasons that would cause his liver to not function properly and I'm just hoping that the damage can be reversed and he doesn't go into complete liver failure. Chemo is very hard on the liver especially a liver that is diseased. I'm holding out that the doctor at Froedtert has some good ideas for us.

Merry Christmas!!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I deliberated about waiting to post but cancer doesn't take a holiday. We spent the better part of yesterday at the doctors office. We went in to get the results of the CT from Wednesday. They weren't good. It appears that the lessions in the lungs have gotten bigger which indiciates they are cancer. And there appears to be some "caking" in the abdomin which means the cancer has spread to his stomach. His bilirubin is up to 13 and his belly is horribly distended. They tried to get him into a surgeon to relieve the swelling and a gastroenterologist to take a look at his liver but that's not easy to do over the holidays. We're suppose to go to Chicago tomorrow but I'm not sure Michael will be able to make it. If he's on his feet at all, the fluid from his belly goes right to his feet and ankles. The doctor seems to think Michael quit responding to treatment a few weeks ago...even though his tumor markers keep going down. He believes that Michael's liver is shutting down...so of course he felt the need to discuss a DNR with Michael. He wanted to admit him to the hospital but that obviously didn't happen. It was a LONG day!

So....my approach is to try and pretend like yesterday didn't happen! Just kidding!! I'm going to search high a low on Monday to find a surgeon to remove the fluid in Michael's belly next week. He is very uncomfortable. We go to Freodtert on the Jan 7 which I am going to see if we can move up but I'm skeptical because of the holiday. I'm praying that all the pressure from the fluid is preventing his liver from functioning properly. Yes, I'm grasping at straws but it's all I have right now.

I am so frustrated right now!! Michael saw the doctor today and had some blood work done. His bilirubin is now up to 11. The doctor wants to do another CT scan on Thursday. He thinks one of the tumors in his liver has gotten bigger over the last few days and now he thinks that Michael can't continue with chemo. We are scheduled to see a doctor at Freodtert January 7. I'm just not sure he should go without chemo for 4 weeks. And now Michael thinks there's nothing left to do. I've done lots of reading and there are a lot of things that can be done and there is other chemo that can be tried...

It was a hard weekend. Michael's body just doesn't want to cooperate with the things he wants to do. Any simple task exhausts him and he has to sit down and rest...even taking a shower depletes his energy. Once again, both his legs are terribly swollen which means he can't do much walking around. I don't think the jaundice has gotten any worse but he's still pretty yellow. The jaundice makes him itch and he's constantly scratching. His INR is back up to 7 again and the excess scratching causes bleeding which is hard to stop. His appetite is good and he's eating well...I just wish he felt better during this break from chemo.

I was pretty excited to see that Michael was up to 163 lbs yesterday. He definitely feels better this week. I'm sure the break will be good for him mentally and physically. His eyes are yellow and his face is a little yellow. I'm trying to get him to eat as much fruit & vegetables as I can while he feels good in the hopes that it will help his liver function. If his bile duct is blocked they might need to put in a shunt for drainage. But for now we're going to enjoy the holidays & the break from chemo!!

Michael & his doctor decided that he should take this week and next week off from chemo. His tumor markers are down to 296 which is good. The scary news is that his bilirubin is up to 4. That's higher than it's ever been. The highest it was when we started was 2.8. The doctor thinks that the tumor in his liver is getting bigger. Michael is glad he's taking a break from chemo but it worries me that his bilirubin is so high. I'm going to make an appointment with another doctor to see if anyone has any other ideas.

They finally got his INR straightened out with the transfusion. He was down to 1.1 yesterday so he's back on the coumadin. Hopefully he won't have to go through that again! He's been plagued with stomach pains still. Not sure what that's about. Michael's friend Andy was kind enough to send us a gift certificate for 2 nights at the Chicago Marriott so we're planning on doing that after Christmas. I'm looking forward to it...we'll try and pretend for a few days that everything is perfectly normal...no doctors or hospitals!

Michael's INR is still way too high. He is in danger of spontaneously bleeding. So on Friday he had to have a plasma transfusion. He had 2 units of fresh frozen plasma, a Neulasta shot (for his white blood cell count) and a vitamin K shot so it was a very long day. The fresh frozen plasma is suppose to prevent blood loss by increasing the amount of blood clotting factors. He goes back in on Monday to have his INR checked to see if his blood is clotting or if he needs more fresh frozen plasma. He is very tired and weak. I hope the fresh frozen plasma has some secret energy boosting properties!

I am completely mentally and physically exhausted! My boss gave me a gift certificate for a 45 foot reflexology massage and I plan on taking advantage of that very soon. The thought of someone rubbing my feet for 45 minutes sounds sooooo luxurious!

Well....Michael's tumor markers didn't go down much this week. They went from 393 to 332 but at least they are still going down. In an effort to help with the nosebleeds, I set up the humidifier about a foot from Michael's head and I run it on high all night long and it seems to be working. The only difficulty right now is his back pain and his INR. Normal INR (blood clotting factor) is 2.4 and he's been up over 7 for a week which means his blood is really thin which also means he is cold ALL THE TIME. It probably has a lot to do with his nosebleeds as well. It's going to be a long cold winter.

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving! Everything was good here. I fed Michael as much as I possibly could and he lost 2 lbs....what the heck?!?! He's been having nose bleeds almost every morning for the last week or more so I'm going to have to set up the humidifier. He slept most of the weekend which I guess is good. The hernia in his belly button is starting to worry me...it's gotten considerably worse and the doctor can't do surgery on it while he is doing chemo and he has at least 2 more months to go. He's growing very weary of all the side affects from the chemo. I hope his tumor markers are down even more next week....I think he needs the mental boost.

The doctor called Michael's scans "a mixed bag"....Bad news: the one large tumor in his liver appears to have gotten a little bigger and there a few new very small spots on his lungs....Good news: his tumor markers are down to 393 from 683 and the tumor in his colon has shrunk from 11.5 cm to 4.8 cm. Dr. Mittal initially wanted to change the chemo treatment but considering the tumor markers are down so much, he has decided to proceed with the current treatment.

The PET scan was much more favorable than the CT scan but neither report was unfavorable. I think the results are very good in general!!

The summary of the CT scan says "Innumerable hepatic masses are again seen. The largest has increased in size; however, it has decreased activity, which is a more reliable predictor of improvement or favorable response to treatment. At least one of the periportal nodes has decreased in size. There is no convincing evidence for progressive metastatic disease. Continued follow-up will be necessary, especially to evaluate the pulmonary findings. Overall stable appearance to the colon mass."

The summary of the PET scan says "Overall, findings consistent with a favorable response to treatment. There is substantial decreased activity with the liver as well as the periportal lymph nodes...No new lesions are seen."

The doctor did tell us that there is only one other kind of chemo that he has for Michael to try if this treatment doesn't work. Michael seemed to focus on this one negative part of conversation. I told him that there a lot more doctors out there and this treatment is working....so let's just concentrate on that!

Maybe I'm jumping the gun but I looked at Michael's PET scan on the disk they gave us and I think the improvements are remarkable! I could clearly see the tumor in is colon on the last scan but I don't see it in the new scan. And his liver was just one giant cloudy mass on the last scan and now it seems like there are just a few cloudy spots....certainly nothing as dark as before! I doubt that the tumors have disappeared but I'm convinced they have shrunk quite a bit!! I am anxious to hear what the doctor has to say on Tuesday. Some positive news will give us both a boost!!

Michael has actually felt pretty good over the last several days. The radio-active dye they have to inject him with to do the scans always leaves a metallic taste in his mouth for a few days. But he's been more himself than I've seen in a long time.

So Michael had a PET & CT scan today and I thought they would give him the printout from the results but no such luck. So we have to wait until Tuesday when he sees the doctor. I hate waiting but I know the results will be positive...the only thing I'm unsure of is exactly how much the tumors have shrunk.

It's 64, the sun is out and Michael is outside tinkering with the corvette. We'll probably go for a ride later.....that's always a good sign!

Michael has be struggling with severe shoulder pain for the better part of this week. He told the chemo nurse and she suggested that he get it x-rayed but the pain is more in the muscle and not the bone. That evil voice inside my head keeps telling me that the cancer has spread. But after I talk myself off the ledge...I do the logical thing and start scouring the internet for answers. I've read that muscle pain during chemo isn't uncommon. Some believe it is from all the free radicals from the chemo. The Oxycontin doesn't help much...so he takes Advil which seems to help a little and I try my best to distract him from the pain without irritating him.........that could go either way!

Today was not a good day. Michael was ablsolutely miserable when he came home today. I thought that the brief break would make it all the harder to start chemo again and unfortunately I was right. His blood work was good but the doctor thinks he is going to have a few shots every week to keep his white blood count up. I had read that this might happen. Michael isn't happy about it but the doctor has given some meds for the bone pain. He was up to 162.6 lbs yesterday so that was a good thing!!

Well so much for thinking that Michael would have an extra week to feel better...the injections they give him to boost his white blood cells make him feel terrible. His back is really sore and he can hardly sleep. Today was the last day for the Neulasta so he has 3 days to recover before chemo starts on Tuesday.

The CEA markers were down to 683 from 889 last week. I had hoped that they would be lower but I am satisfied that they are still going down. All the other numbers look better as well with the exception of his WBC (white blood cell). Normal is between 4.2-11. The count was right at 4 last week and it's down to 2.2 this week. So he's got 2 more days of the Neulasta injections which will help raise his WBC and then back to chemo next week. I'm telling myself that this is a blessing in disguise. He was going to have to have chemo the week of Thanksgiving but this hiccup bumps chemo to the week after Thanksgiving.

He's feeling OK right now....the Neulasta injections make his bones hurt but he's eating well. I know that Michael is not very good at communicating how he is feeling to all of us. He sees things as black and white and let's face it, he hasn't felt good in awhile. So when all of you take the time to show concern and ask him "How are you feeling?" and he responds "Shitty!" - please keep in mind that what he means is he's not himself and he doesn't really know how to express how he genuinely feels....all he knows is that he doesn't feel good. I'm trying to to get him to rate how bad he feels on a scale of 1-10 but that's just wishful thinking on my part. Thanks to all of you that continutely ask how he's feeling...he really does appreciate it!

So apparently Michael's white blood cell count is too low to have chemo tomorrow. They gave him a shot again and he has to go back Wednesday and Thursday for a shot. The doctor told him not to go anywhere or be around anyone because he is very susceptible to infection....we're supposed to go to a wake tonite. They plan to start chemo next Tuesday. I hate that this has interrupted his progress!

Michael said today was his worst day to date. He stayed in bed most of the day. All I can say is thank goodness for pain killers. If today was the worst day....tomorrow can only get better.

Michael was able to have chemo today. His white blood cell count was 3.4 yesterday and it was 4.2 this morning (normal is 4.2-11) so whatever they gave him yesterday worked. His tumor markers are down again to 889.5 which is really good news. His liver enzymes are improving as well. They didn't show as much improvement as they have in the past so I'm cracking the whip and making him choke down the Avemar. He hasn't had it very much these last 2 weeks and I told him that if the numbers weren't as good as in the past that he would have to start drinking it again everyday.

Michael is suppose to have chemo today but they ran his blood tests yesterday and his white blood cell count is too low. The doctor gave him a shot in the stomach and sent him home. (Michael couldn't tell me exactly what they shot was.) He is suppose to go back to the hospital today to have his WBC checked again to see if he's OK for chemo. He also had his INR tested and he is at 7 which means his blood is way to thin. (Normal is 2.5) The nurse said that it would contribute to his headaches. He just seems all over the charts today. I'll know more later...I just hope he's cleared for chemo today!

Today is Michael's 53rd Birthday...Happy Birthday, Hon!!

I dragged him to Octoberfest in Lake Geneva yesterday. It was a whopping 43 degrees...burrrr! He survived pretty well. I would have to say that yesterday was his best day since chemo last week. The bad days are starting to outweigh the good days...but it's encouraging to know that bad days are always followed by good days. He ate like crazy and he was up to 160.8 on the scale last night! I'm hoping to persuade him to go out to dinner tonight...so I can fatten him up some more before chemo on Wednesday.

Here is a picture of Michael in the chemo parlor. Today was his 4th round of chemo. The Avastin is working it's magic. His tumor markers are down to 1554! (They started at 4338.) And his liver enzymes are slowly going down as well. He is definitely starting to feel the effects of the chemo but it's very encouraging to see the improvements in black and white.

As I had hoped, Michael started feeling a lot better last night. It's funny how quickly he can make a turn around. He desperately wanted to get a good nights sleep last night so I bought some melatonin to try and help and of course I read that it shouldn't be taken if you're on coumadin. It's always something! But he took it anyways and didn't get up during the night. I wouldn't say it was a particularly restful sleep but it's probably the best nights sleep he's had in weeks. The pain in his leg from the blood clot still bothers him and his legs cramp up at night so he's constantly tossing & turning. I did discover that the Protonix the doctor gave him for GERD causes sleeplessness so he quit taking it and just went back to Zantec. It's a constant quest to figure out the drug interactions!!

This week has been particularly hard for Michael. He had his 3rd round of chemo last week and he's been pretty miserable ever since. He can't really explain how or why he feels bad which is very frustrating for me because I don't know how to help him. To make things worse, he can't sleep and he's up all night. The doctor gave him some ambien but it didn't work at all. I'm hoping that he'll feel better in a day or two because it will be a week since the chemo. I'm going to TRY and get him to start changing his diet. I would like to start by cutting out sugar and caffeine and then try and wean him off "junk food". All the crap he eats can't be helping! He's down a couple of pounds but this is usually the trend...lose weight the week after chemo...put it back on the week before chemo...then do it all over again.

I got all of Michael's recent lab results today. His CEA level was 4338 on August 18. It is now 3287. The CEA are basically tumor markers. It is a good way to measure if the treatment is working. Normal levels are 0 - 2.5. I know it seems bad but the doctor said it's all relative. They have seem some people with fewer tumors and higher markers and some people with more tumors and lower markers. The good thing is his CEA is going down which means he is responding well to the treatment.

He had chemo today and it really took the wind out of his sails but I got a whopping 3,500 calories in him today. (I'm really getting good at this!) He was up 2 lbs. The doctor warned us that the chemo would become harder and harder but he's hangin' in there. His RBC (red blood cell count) is climbing out of the danger zone and his WBC (white blood cell count) is actually normal. So everything seems to be going according to plan!! YAY!!

THANK YOU, GOD!! Michael went to the doctor today for the blood work before he starts chemo tomorrow. His bilirubin level is 1 which is normal. (A high bilirubin level is what makes you jaundice.) Dr. Mittal was very encouraged. The Avastin has got to be working!! His bilirubin level was at 2.8 on Sept 1. (Normal bilirubin is 0.2 - 1.3) What a dramatic improvement in just 14 days! I can only thank you all for your prayers!!!

Here's a picture of Michael waiting in the doctors office in Madison. It was a long day for both of us.

OK...so I think I've figured out which days are the worst for Michael after chemo. He starts chemo on Wednesday and is at the hospital for about 4-6 hours. He has the pump on until Friday afternoon. Beginning Thursday he starts feeling bad. He's very grumpy, can't sleep and generally doesn't feel good at all. (We found out that they add steroids to his chemo to help with nausea which keeps him from sleeping.) This lasts until the following Thursday or Friday. And then the whole thing starts over again on Wednesday. So that works out to be about 7 days feeling really crappy and about 7 days feeling a little better.

They seem to think he'll need to do 2 months of chemo which is about 5 rounds and then they'll do another CT scan to see if the chemo is working. He'll more than likely need to start on the chemo again right away. If it's working, they don't want to give the tumors time to return and multiply.

I haven't been very successful in helping him gain some weight back. I would have to guess that he's eating about 1000-1500 calories a day and he certainly isn't very physically active. So I don't believe he is burning more calories than he is eating so I can't quite figure out why the rapid weight loss?!? Very frustrating!!

The doctors in Madison were very nice and they said they would be more than happy to consult with us during the current treatment at Lakeland. They gave us some good news and some not so good news. The good news is that they are not convinced that the spots on Michael's lungs are cancer. They are actually pretty confident they are not. The not so good news is that he has about 12 tumors on his liver which makes him ineligible for any sort of surgery to remove the liver tumors at this point. The doctor said that she is very surprised that he isn't showing any signs of jaundice because his liver enzymes show distress. They believe the current course of treatment is the correct path for now. He might even need to go through another cycle of chemo before they can move any further. Radiation is also not an option at this time because the liver tumors are so wide spread. They believe that radiation would shrink the tumor in the colon but they need to concentrate on the liver. Erbitux is another chemo that they are recommending to our current doctor which is even more new than the Avastin. The other thing that bothered me was that Michael has lost 5 lbs since last week. I need to get him to focus on adding more calories to his diet.

Today is Michael's final day of round two of chemo. He survived remarkably well with very few side effects. He's tired, has headaches and diminished appetite but that's really all that's bothering him. I think he's very lucky to have made it through these first 2 rounds without suffering from some of the awful side effects they warned us about. Tuesday we head up to Madison to see the doctors there and I am very much looking forward to it! Hope everybody has a great holiday weekend!

Yesterday was a hard day for me. Michael wasn't feeling good and he couldn't really explain why. The doctor attributed it to the liver cancer which almost sent me over the edge. But Michael woke me up in the middle of the night and he was soaked. It's like he broke a fever or something, but he said he felt 100% better! So he went to chemo this morning feeling physically and mentally really good which was a huge relief! He seems to think that his body was just sweating out all the toxins from the last round of chemo. He wants to start going to the spa for a steam bath. Whatever works!!!

Michael went to the doctor today for blood tests before they start the next round of chemo. His liver enzymes are still not good and the doctor said his bilirubin levels are high but he doesn't look jaundice. This explains the pain in the upper abdomen he's been experiencing. So he's going to add Avastin to the chemo. It is specifically for metastatic colorectal cancer. The side effects sound terrible. I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster and I want off!! I'm so worried...

We had a really good weekend. Cody came for a visit and that seemed to distract Michael from all that has been going on. He felt good mentally and physically. No real complaints...you would have never know he was sick! I think he'll be in a better state of mind for the chemo that starts Wednesday.

Yesterday was a God send for me! Michael felt and looked better than he has since we found out about the blood clots in his legs. He actually wanted to go to dinner at Hernandez (his favorite local Mexican Restaurant) and ate until he was stuffed!! We both got an good nights sleep which is huge!! He's got five more days until the next round of chemo and we're going to enjoy every single one of them!

The only snag right now is that the Oncologist is trying to regulate his blood clotting factor with the coumadin and Michael's INR was very high meaning his blood is way too thin. It was 6.9 and he should be between 2-3. That could be another reason why he's so tired. I told them the coumadin dose they were giving him was way too high compared to what the GP was giving him back in July, so they are cutting back on the coumadin and testing his blood nearly everyday. They are a little concerned that the tumors in the liver might start bleeding...but I think he'll be fine once he cuts back on the coumadin.

We have an appointment with the doctors at UW Madison on September 8. It was difficult talking them into seeing us. Apparantly they don't like to see patients that are in the middle of chemo or radiation but we all know how persistant I can be!! I'm sure Michael never thought he would be glad that I was annoying!! He was definately more tired yesterday than today. It's a relief to me to see him back to normal even if it's only every few days. He's having a strawberry milk shake right now and I try and sneak as much fat in his diet as I can. I'm starting to think that the fact he's not drinking anymore is why he initially lost weight because he hasn't lost any since...of course Michael disagrees.

It seems that Michael is more tired nowadays. He does a lot of resting and he tries to eat small meals several times a day. He hasn't "tossed his cookies" but he does feel somewhat nauseous at times. He's still struggling with headaches throughout the day. I'm trying to keep his spirits up but it's hard for him to constantly be laying around.

Today was the first full day without chemo and the headaches were still plaguing him through most of the morning but they seemed to have eased up this evening. His appetite is good and there doesn't seem to be many side effects at this point. He has a little neuropathy and sensitivity to cold in his fingers. I found a product called Avemar on the internet. It's a fermented wheat germ extract and some doctors are starting to use it in conjunction with chemo. It has anti-cancer agents and at the very least has been know for easing the side effects of chemo. It can't hurt so I'll keep mixing it up and making him drink...he swears I'm trying to poison him!

So the storey begins like this...July 4th weekend Michael started having pains in his leg. It took me a week or two to get him to see his GP. On July 17 The doctor took some blood and ran some tests and said he would contact us with the results. Before we heard back from the doctor, the pain in his left leg had become must worse and had swelled quite a bit. I suspected a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis). On July 23 the doctor called and told Michael that his liver enzymes were elevated and he wanted him to see a gastroenterologist. Anyone that knows Michael knows that his liver works overtime with all the punishment he doles out! I called the doctor back and insisted on a ultrasound of his left leg and we found out a few hours later that he had a blood clot in the left leg running from the knee to the ankle. I promptly made an appointment with Dr. Mittal who is a Hematologist/Oncologist (how ironic).

We first saw Dr. Mittal on Aug 4 and he ordered a CT scan on Aug 5. Later that night the GP called and said he wanted to see us first thing in the morning. I knew something wasn't right. The next morning he told us that were tumors on the liver which indicated colon cancer. We both thought OK...colon cancer...are you kidding?!? We left the office reeling. There haven't been any symptoms of any kind! This is so out of left field...this can't be happening!!

They scheduled a colonoscopy for Michael August 11. The colonoscopy confirmed a tumor in the colon. Even though I knew there was going to be a tumor, I was still shocked to see it in on a bright shiny picture.

Later that afternoon we met with Dr. Mittal and he very bluntly told us that Michael had Stage IV colon cancer. He showed us the CT scans of the cancer that had spread to the liver and lungs. He proceeded to tell us that he would just be trying to prolong Michael's life and there is no cure.

On August 13 he had a PET scan and it showed that the tumor in the colon is 10cm and there are multiple tumors on his liver that are under 1cm (I can see at least 6 or so) and there are 2 tiny spots on the lung which are smaller than 1mm. There appears to be 1 lymphnode affected. There was a bone scan on August 14 and it was all clear.

Today is Michael's third and final day of round 1 of chemo. He'll have 11 days off and then start again. This is all new to us so we don't know how many rounds there will be or when the next CT Scan will be to see if the cancer has shrunk or grown. He has the pump removed today from the port they put in his chest on Tuesday. He feels OK but he is tired and has headaches a lot and the DVT in his legs is still bothering him. The nurse told him on Wednesday that he is anemic and might need a blood transfusion and I believe that is what is causing the headaches. Other than that, he is eating well and getting a decent amount of sleep considering. Jeff & Julie overnighted Michael's favorite food in the world...TeePee. He can't wait to get home and dig in! Thanks guys!!

All our friends & family have been incredibly supportive and helpful!! Many people have given us doctor's names and numbers. But we especially appreciate the sincere concern that so many of you have shown over the past week or so...it has touched my heart and made me grateful for such a great support system!! I thank you all for your continued prayers.