It has been a really rough week for Donnie.  We were admitted to the hospital due to increasing pain on Tuesday, he received his first chemo treatment, and then he experienced even more pain . . . more pain than he has ever experienced before.  For several days, he received morphine ER 60 mg 3 x a day, and Dilaudid 4 mg every 3 hours around the clock (even at night when he should have been sleeping, but remained in pain), and his pain level remained about a 6 out of 10. If you know Donnie, he is a minimalist, so his 6 is probably my 7 or 8.  I must say its pretty tough to watch someone you love have that kind of pain.  Thank heaven for Lorraine and Beau who helped both of us by staying with Donnie during this week in the hospital to give me a much needed break.  They are truly life-savers!! We are also so thankful for our wonderful nurses, especially Jen, Shannon, Stephanie, Vanessa and Ann, who are wonderful caregivers that made a difference in helping Donnie so much during his time of need.

After getting Dilaudid around-the-clock for 2 days for breakthrough pain, and Donnie’s pain was significant but no longer “out of control,” the docs were willing to let us go home Saturday afternoon.  Thank heaven for Ronnie, Darlene and Jeff, who were with us, and helped us get home from the hospital.  The ride home was pretty challenging for D, as he gets motion sickness from all the pain meds he is taking.  By the time we got home, he was fairly miserable.  Rachael and her family brought us food. Thank heaven for awesome kids!!

Then, he went to sleep in his own bed, and slept like a rock.  He only required his Dilaudid ONCE during the night.  That’s crazy, after all the medications he needed until now.  He woke up this morning, ate a great breakfast in bed, had a pain level of 3, and said he felt better today than he has in quite a while.  GO FIGURE!!  Darlene said, “There’s no place like home!” . . . and that is so true when you feel so bad.

Donnie has been up all day today, talking to family and being awake.  It’s so nice, as he has not had much energy while he was going through all his pain in the hospital. He will get his second chemo treatment on Tuesday this week.  “Nan” (Donnie’s Mom) will come stay with us again this week, and cook for us.  Such a blessing!  Please pray for tolerance, efficacy, and minimal side effects from chemo.  Your prayers make such a difference for him.  We are grateful to our prayer warriors, and to the God of heaven and earth that hears our pleadings.

Much love,  Donnie & Tina