Surgery Notes

Well, surgery went well. Dave stayed overnight in the hospital because surgery was scheduled rather late in the day yesterday. And, as we have proven in the past, we got what we asked for. Dr. Lapp was able to 'see' the vertebrae that has been the nasty little culprit. The cause of most of Dave's pain and the one that helps hold up his head. So, it has been repaired. Woo-Hoo!! Pat yourself on the back if you were one of those praying for good vision for the Doc. What I understand is that he was able to repair about three this time. There is still more to do, but the follow-up visit in 2 weeks, with the Doc, will be the determining factor.
Kathy picked Dave up this morning and she said that he was feeling very upbeat with hardly any pain. So he's on one of the good 'carnival rides' as of this posting-lets hope it lasts a long time.
Don't forget to go to the Lowell General website and sign up to be a walker on the 'Tous Team' or sponsor a walker if you can't make it. The website is listed in the message about the walk from Jane Comeau.
Keep those happy thoughts.
Marilyn

As Promised-More Info on the LGH Walk

We are now registered as a team, in love and support of our buddy Dave, for the May 20 Lowell General TeamWalk for CancerCare. Please go to www.lowellgeneral.org and click on the "Walk", then scroll to "Sponsor a Walker or Team". We are "Tous Team" and you need to use the quotations. Registration is $10 and you can sign up for either the 3 mile or 6 mile walk. As mentioned previously, send this along to as many people in your address book as possible. Bring your family, friends, co-workers ... we can make this a tremendous event. If you cannot walk, you may want to sponsor one of the team members.
Thanks everyone ... maybe a few of you could jump on this bandwagon with me and we'll figure out our team tshirt. Let's get those walking papers going!
All best,
Jane
jemcomeau@comcast.net

It's a Go!!

Dr. Lapp and Dr. Anamur had a little pow-wow yesterday and they both feel that more kyphoplasty is the answer to Dave's vertebrae issues. So they have scheduled him for surgery on Monday, to shore up 2 of them and then 3 weeks later go in and finish up the rest. Dr. Lapp says that he can only repair what he can see, so let's hope for clear vision that day for the Doc. He seems very optimistic that he can help Dave.
Deciding to have a stem cell transplant is a weighty problem for anyone, in Dave's case, with all of the bone damage, it makes the decision a lot more difficult. Let's hope this back surgery works and gives Dave the peace of mind that he needs to make other decisions about his health.
Thanks everyone, this is proof that your thoughts and prayers are working once again,
Keep it going,
Marilyn

Happy Thoughts Footnote: Dave drove the car the other day!! Woo-Hoo!!!

Dave's Cloud Has Sprung a Leak...

...in the form of a back specialist, Dr. Lapp who says that he can fix up Dave's vertebrae in two operations. He gave Dave and Kathy the ray of sunshine that they needed to hear right about now. This is very good news for Dave. His concerns, up to this point, have been about his back and whether or not the bone damage can be repaired enough to continue to fight the Myeloma. This is the first time that he has felt that there is some hope of bone repair. So, it looks like a go, just when it will happen hasn't been determined, but I will let you know the minute I do.
Think good, happy, healthy thoughts for this boy,
He needs you,
Marilyn

It's a Tough Battle

I had the opportunity to visit with Dave yesterday (I brought him the messages from the Guestbook and pasted them into the book that we had at the Fundraiser that not many of you got to sign). Which brought him great joy, so if you haven't posted your message for Dave in the Guestbook, get crackin'. He needs those 'Happy Thoughts' if we expect him to fight this unpredictable disease.
The news on Tuesday from the Doc was not the best. Dave's vertebrae continue to deteriorate. Which causes him alot of pain. And the Myeloma numbers are not dropping as quickly as the Doc's had hoped. He is in very good spirits, though and he looks great, even with the weight loss. His focus right now is research. He is looking for some answers about the stem cell transplant choice, the bone damage, and overall what to expect from all of this. If any of you have access to information concerning his particular situation; I.E. chat rooms, websites, personal experience with Myeloma in a younger person with bone damage, PLEASE email ME so that I can get it to him. I don't want to overwhelm him with info, so I would prefer it if I could do the preliminary 'weeding'. (Thanks!) Which means that you can send ME anything that you think might help him with his research.
Your support of this Blog speaks milestones about the love and friendship that you have for Dave and Kathy. I want to thank you all again for checking in with us, daily. It means alot to them.
It's time to write down your 'Happy Thoughts'!
Marilyn

Dana Farber Visit

It sounds like it was a long day. It took them nearly 2 hours to get back home due to weather and traffic. Happily, Linn and Greg were with them. I will do my best to give you the info that I got from Kathy.
The doctor there gave Dave a number of options. First, he can continue Chemo until the Myeloma becomes resistant to it and no longer works. Next, he can have a single or double stem cell transplant (his own stem cells). This would give him a chance to knock the cancer back to an earlier stage. The recuperation period from this is very intense and takes anywhere from 6 months to a year. Lastly, he can have an outside stem cell transplant (someone else's).
So, he has some very difficult decisions to make. No matter what he decides to do, it is going to be a 'day-to-day' scenario. That's what Multiple Myeloma is, a 'day-to-day' disease.
He needs us more than ever, now. Please sign the guestbook on this blog, so that I can make him a book to look at when he needs some strength to get through this. His friends and family are his best emotional medicine. And I believe that there is healing in numbers.
Keep a healthy and happy thought,
Marilyn

Please Sign the Guestbook

Okay, I found a guestbook for you all to sign in lieu of not getting to sign the book on Saturday night. So, if you would like to leave a message for Dave to have, click on the icon under the Guestbook. When you get to that site, click on the Post box at the top of the page. Type in your name, your e-mail address (in case we get Dave to use the computer), where you are from and then scroll down to the message area to leave your message. My intent is two-fold. One, to have a 'Happy Thoughts' book for Dave to read on his 'down' days, and two, so that he knows who was at the party and who couldn't make it. This is very, very important. He misses his social interactions with people and these messages will be vital to his emotional health. Please don't let a little thing like the computer frighten you into not posting a message for him. If you hit any barriers trying to leave a message -call me @ 978-433-9262 or e-mail me @ manystrz@yahoo.com and I will talk you through it.
We are a group of people who answer a call for help with the kind of strength and fortitude that you just don't see any where else. I have come to realize that if Dave is going to heal, it is going to be with our help. We've got one of his troubles taken care of for a little while (great job, by the way, pat on the back for everyone!!!). Let's focus on his emotional health for a while and get this book going.
You guys ROCK!!!
Time to write down those Happy Thoughts,
Marilyn

Well, It Was Quite a Night!!

If you were there, than you know for yourself what a phenomenal turnout we had. There was hardly any elbow room. We estimated the crowd to number over 550 at one time. Friends drove down from Vermont and flew in from Florida and Texas. It was pretty impressive to see a community that has gone off in so many directions, come together for one purpose. The electricians, the plumbers, the builders, the masons, the painters, the wrestlers, the doctors, the lawyers, the Indian Chiefs, the butchers, the bakers and the candlestick makers? came together to give back to Dave all the love and friendship that he has given.
It was 'incredulous'. (There's Dave's word again!) The entertainment was fantastic. The band, the pianist, the singers. There were raffle tickets flying all over, and a live auction. Very cool!! The highlight of the evening, of course, was a pre-recorded message from Kathy and Dave. It was probably the only time that you could hear a pin drop in a room full of people. Kathy did most of the talking, (and she was great!). Dave, being his shy self, said a little thank you at the end. But it was nice for everyone to see him. There was a live feed from the party to his house so that he and Kathy could watch it all take place on TV. Hopefully he got to see some of it. He tires easily and is ususally off to bed early. But it was also recorded so that he can see it later and there were plenty of cameras around. The only thing that got overlooked, unfortunately, was the book for everyone to sign. We did get some people to write messages to Dave who were still there when we realized that it had gotten shuffled to place where no one would find it! So I am going to try to 'up' my computer skills and figure out a way to get a 'Happy Thoughts' book linked to this blog. That way if you didn't get a chance to give him a personal message, you can, and I will see that it gets into his book. I am also going to try to scan in the beautiful program that was made for him, for those of you who couldn't make it. (Which, by the way, we missed you).
The whole night was a major success, in many more ways than we could have imagined. The coming together of a community of people who live in different cubby holes in this world-well to quote another generation- it was mind blowing!
I will be posting more details of the night as the weeks go by. And also updating you all on Dave's visit to Dana Farber this week.
I have to say that in my 53 years of life, I don't recall ever getting a chance to meet so many nice people in so short a period of time. David is truly a blessed man.
Thank you for all of your kindness, generosity, and love. He really does appreciate it.
Keep a happy thought!
Marilyn