Progress report and upcoming Dr. appts.

Dear Ones,

We will see the neuro surgeon on Monday - finally. I suppose we will find out then whether she is a candidate for the treatment to rebuild the vertebra with the compression fracture. One comment on the day that I mentioned that, has a web link and a description of chykoplasty (sp?). That is the procedure of putting balloons and cement into the vertebra.

Again I must say how overwhelmed we have been with your attention and love. She gets nearly a dozen cards a day. Everyone I see tells me they are praying for us. Plenty of food is being brought in and it is a blessing because there seems to be so little time to do those necessary things like cooking. A trio is coming Saturday to do some cleaning. (Girls, don't do too good a job or she may try to hire you every week even after she gets able to do it again!) Secondly, thank you for overlooking my typos, sometimes my fingers seem faster than the keys and I am in too much of a hurry to proofread and correct much. If it is intelligible I jsut leave it - see! jSut like that.

I can see a tiny improvement in Debbie each day, even if she only sees it every other or every third day. It is seen in comportment, lessening pain, increased mobility, attitude, fewer naps, etc. For example, this evening she sat in a chair and cleaned out the fridge for a few minutes. She hasn't been able to do that for the past 4 weeks. That is encouraging (her cleaning the fridge) because it tells me the treatment is working. The hematologist said she would begin to feel better even before the numbers improved in the blood work. We go to the hematologist's office tomorrow to do lab work. It may even show up in that blood work that she is improving, or it may take until next week. We start the steroid (Decadron) treatment again tomorrow for 4 days, then 3 off and 4 days on, then 3 off ...

Her nausea seems to be improving a bit. Could it have been my cooking for two weeks that sent her to the hospital?

Her mother, Mary, moved to Ft. Worth two years ago, we thought for us to help take care of her. But no - it was apparently for her to help take care of Deb and she has been a few hours each day during the week to help out around the house and be Deb's legs to get this and that for her. God is good in his provisions. We are so grateful we don't have little ones at home to have to take care of in addition to an adult in need of help. That would be overwhelming.

I am getting more comfortable in flushing her PICC line with Heparin each day. I might be ready to give injections real soon - any takers out there? I didn't think so. Marcos is at ACU this month taking two classes, but he plans to come home each weekend to see his momma and me - at least that's what we tell each other - we know he is really coming to see his girlfriend Emily. She is a real sweetheart.

Goodnight, and God bless. Pray that we get good reports Friday and Monday.

Duane for the family