Author: tinamcfarland

Sharon Evans found these great pics in her “archives”, and wanted me to post them.  Carlton “recruited” Donnie many years ago to sing special duets at churches and in the prison ministry.  They have many wonderful memories in the ministry, and many wonderful memories being “boys”.  Carlton and Donnie especially loved (and Donnie still does) to sing many of the Phillips, Craig and Dean songs.  They seem to write songs that have great meaning to Donnie.  They got the amazing opportunity to meet the group, and PCD was glad to pose with these guys who loved to sing their music.  By the way, Carlton, Donnie and Jimmy are truly awesome when they sing together!!  To God be all the glory!!  Carlton has since passed away, but of course, the awesome memories are still in our hearts.  The pictures are self explanatory 🙂

Good morning.  Donnie slept well all night.  He got up at 6am without support from me, pooped without any medicinal help, and got back in the bed.  He said there is always a little “underlying nausea” still, so he took Ativan IV for that, and he is sleeping soundly now.

The charge nurse feels his nausea will probably subside completely in the next day.  That will be a praise for him, as he hates that feeling.  Typically, on Tuesdays, Dr. Z will not come in to see him until the late afternoon.  The nursing staff and I are thinking he may go home.  I’ll post it on the blog if he does.

He is still receiving his Neupogen to build up his white cell count (the chemo depletes it).  So far, his white cell count has been normal, but it will drop about 7 days from the start of his chemo, so Dr. Z is being proactive.

He may be up for some short visits today if you would like to come.  I know I kept some very important people from coming yesterday (special cousins from out of town), but he was too ill.  I know you understand.

Thank you for all your kind words and all the love you have showered on Donnie.  At this point, love and prayer make ALL the difference!          Much love, Donnie & Tina

This is a sweet family picture of Donnie’s Mom, Joyce McFarland, at her wedding (married Bo McFarland).  Left to right is Donnie, Lorraine (the oldest), Joyce (the Momma), Rodger (the baby) and Ronnie (his identical twin).  They were all laughing about it … wow … brown hair.  Now you can all see where Donnie gets his “silver fox” hair from … his Momma!  That’s 4 kids that all favor their Mom 🙂  Such a close-knit family.  They really love each other!!!

The past day has been a rough one.  Last night was the worst of it.  This morning the new medication they added to his nausea regimen worked, praise God!!  So, today was spent resting (and nauseated).  He needed to rest from the nausea, but also from the chemo, as it wipes him out.

Jim Giordano (Donnie’s close friend from ICU), relieved me this morning, so I could go home and take a break.  Beau (our son) relieved him around 1pm, and stayed until I came back tonight around 7pm.  I am so grateful, and they give such great care to Donnie!  It gives me great peace of mind.

At approximately 7pm tonight, I walked into Donnie’s room with egg drop soup and shrimp fried rice.  He was sleeping.  I gently told him what I brought him, and he said, “Thank God!”  He ate 1/2 cup of egg drop soup, and a full cup of shrimp fried rice with at least 8 shrimp.  He kept it down, and is sleeping soundly.  What a relief for him and for me!!

The oncology charge nurse said he is probably turning the corner on his nausea.  They said he should be much better tomorrow.  I am very hopeful that she is correct!  Please check the blog or text before coming, in case he is still crummy.  Thank you for your outpouring of love on us!!

If you would like to post any special pictures on the blog, you can send them to me, and I will be glad to post them for you.  I know there are a lot of special pics out there (as I have seen quite a few of them).  If you would like to have them on the blog, I need to post them for you, to prevent security breeches of this site.  Thank you for your understanding.

So I might as well be honest and tell you he had a pretty horrible night.He was writhing from nausea, and vomited once. He has been absolutely miserable. He is still miserable. His nurses say the nausea will improve today.  Pray for that pleeeeeease.

Dr Z came in this morning. He is adding Ativan to Donnie’s nausea regime. Donnie finished his chemo, but remains on IV fluids which keep him hydrated (thankfully!!). He has not eaten anything since breakfast on Sunday, due to nausea. He did drink a cup of soup last night…that didn’t stay down long.

On a positive note, he has had no short acting pain meds since 5pm Tuesday. This is a big praise, as pain meds add to his constipation. Of course, the BIG praise is that he is not in as much pain.

So, just need to get the nausea under control today. Please, no visitors today. He’s really rough. He will be recovering today.

Much love to our precious family and friends, Tina

Today, the day started off great, with 5 of the Filipino Mafia coming to cheer Donnie up (just a few of the crew). He was feeling pretty good, and he enjoyed them so much!!!

Then, abruptly at 10am, he got overwhelmingly nauseated. His family was visiting, including his Mom and Kaia (one of our grandbabies) for the first time since he has been in the hospital.  He was so sick he couldn’t talk with anyone. He has gotten lots of anti-nausea meds today. At least he never threw up while they were here!! Kaia loved on him, and seemed to realize how bad he felt. She layed in the bed with him for a couple of hours it seemed. So sweet!

Tonight his chemo was completed at 10:15pm.  He violently vomited at 10:30pm. 

I am very hopeful that his day tomorrow will show improvement in the nausea department.  Please pray for that!!

Chemo started at 5pm on Saturday, Dec 19, 2014.  The first med had no side effects, but the second one was a beast!!  Nausea and cramping were immediate, and as Donnie put it, “Horrible.”  If you know Donnie, he seems to downplay most of his symptoms.  They gave him IV medications that took care of his “horrible” symptoms, and he had no other issues through the night.  Beau stayed with him through the night at the hospital, which was a blessing.

This morning, he said he felt better than he has since he was admitted to the hospital.  WHAT A PRAISE AND A TESTIMONY TO PRAYER!!  Also, he only took his breakthrough pain medication once today (he had been taking it 4 times a day).  This is a positive sign that the chemo is working.  ANOTHER PRAISE AND TESTIMONY TO PRAYER!!

Rachael and Jared brought Brianna, Sophia and Bradley to see Donnie today.  Grandbabies always put a smile on his face!!

Lots of family are coming from out of town to visit tomorrow.  He is looking forward to seeing his Mom for the first time since his diagnosis, and also Kaia (our grandbaby that belongs to Jeff).  It will be a sweet day!!

Thank you from our hearts for all the food, visits, contact, and prayer, both in person and on Donnie’s behalf.  You surely must know how much we both appreciate it!!

Many thanks for all the visits to Donnie in the hospital, and all the words of encouragement on the blog!!!!  Donnie reads it in the early morning hours when he has some quiet time, and it makes him smile 🙂

We were educated by an oncology nurse from Dr. Z’s office for about an hour and a half today.  Jim Giordano was with us while we were being educated.   It’s a good thing, as Donnie couldn’t keep his eyes open.  We were given many books, pamphlets and important papers that discuss Donnie’s disease, chemotherapy regimen (or “cocktail” as I call it), possible side effects of each medication, how to manage those side effects, nutrition, and support.  It was very enlightening.  She was very thorough and kind.

At 5pm, Donnie was given his “pre-meds”, which promptly put him to sleep.  I must say it is good to see him resting so hard.  This is typical.  He started his first chemo medication, which took 2 hours to infuse.  He will receive a total of four chemo medications.  All four of the meds will be given in succession, and it will take 48 hours for all of them to infuse.  After that, if his symptoms are under control, he will be able to go home.  We are hoping that will be by Tuesday.

“They say” that he will feel pretty good for 4 days after his treatments, then will start to feel bad for the next 10 days.  Also, he is very, very susceptible to infections around 7 days after his treatments, so no sick people or children should visit him at home at that time.  Just FYI 🙂

If the chemotherapy is doing its job, and the cancer is shrinking, Donnie should have less pain in his abdomen, and may even be able to wean some of his pain medications.  Lets all pray for that!!!!!

Much love,  Tina

Some wonderful developments happened yesterday.  Donnie got his port at 0730 which was a blessing, as he was NPO (no food or drink).  Then he was able to eat breakfast and lunch.  Nutrition is more important than ever these days.

His attending physician ordered IV fluids to keep him hydrated, to help with the dehydration from his pain meds causing his constipation.  That was a good move.  We are thankful for so many caring professionals on his case (and all the professionals in Donnie’s life that have his back!).

Dr. Zenghebot took over Donnie’s case as his oncologist.  He came into our room, and announced Donnie would start chemo while he is still in the hospital (original plan was to start next week).  He said no reason to wait, and he will be feeling pretty good for Christmas.  I like the way he thinks!! Donnie was definitely wanting to start ASAP, as this cancer is agressive, and growing while we are awaiting chemo (and causing him secondary problems).  He should be in the hospital until at least Tuesday, per his MD.

Donnie finally pooped yesterday (sorry to be so direct), and he went 4 times.  This was vitally important, as he was miserable after 5 days of not pooping.  The pain from his disease is in his intestines, so being constipated compounds that pain.  He felt better after that, but drained.  He was up talking a bit, but tired.  He slept very well last night (David stayed with him), requiring no additional pain medication.  Praise be to God!

So…keep praying and supporting.  Donnie loves your blogs, emails, texts, FaceBook posts and visits.  He is a people person, so it really keeps him positive.  We feel like two of the luckiest people alive for all the love and caring that has been showered on us!!!