Hans and Esme

[shirlsgirl]

Good morning,

Hans needs some positive vibes sent his way….

http://www.caringbridge.org/me/esme

[bhanson]

Okay, Hans, I was just thinking of you, so my positive vibes count(((( double-time)))). Get better, we need you. Best of everything, Bernard and Bonnie

[CarolineG]

Hans & Esme,

You are in my thoughts and prayers. Best wishes for sunny days ahead.

Caroline

[Kathryn]

Jody, thank you so much for informing us and for posting a link to their page.

Hugs to you,

Kathryn

[Ensnee]

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for the vibes!! I’m totally exhausted, and Hans feels horrible. I have one less worry now that my aged mother is in a beautiful assisted living facility (Sunrise — here in Canada, and the U.S.) My sister finally decided to help out, and went overboard as usual, taking my mother to see the MOST expensive place, and from the tour to move-in time was only 16 days.
Poor Mum is in shock, I think. I’ve been helping get her suite ready — painted and decorated. Not quite done, but it’s beautiful. Still not one real, heartfelt word from my sister about Hans, Martha & I are dealing with. Unbelievable!
But my brother & SIN in Ottawa are ready to drop everything and come help me when I need it.

Hans & I are going into PMH tomorrow — blood check and talk to the doctor. Hans is really thinking of coming off the experimental drug if his blood counts are showing any improvement tomorrow. It’s really making him feel lousy.
Funny, last week his white cells doubled, but his blast count was cut in half. Any comments?

Thanks again,
Esme

[JaniceR]

Esme: I went on Hans web page yesterday and damn near cried. You two are SO cute. I love the Hans und bier picture. Dear to my heart since my dad and I always went to our Oktoberfest in Germania park for the beer, bratwurst and dancing. I, too, am sending heartfelt vibes your way.

[CarolineG]

Esme.

I will be thinking about you tomorrow. Good Luck. I’m sorry that your sister is so insensitive. You just can’t understand some people.

Hans’ picture on your web page also hit a soft spot with me the first time I saw it. Dad used to have a beer with supper and also when he watched hockey on television. Last night I watched the Toronto/Tampa Bay game with him and he commented on the fact that he was drinking a bottle of water instead of beer. He has lost interest in it now and actually prefers water and tea.

Best wishes to you, Hans and Martha. Stay strong.
Caroline

[gemloyear]

Hi Esme, We have the Sunrise assisted living homes here in Minn. also. Yes they are beautiful, and the residents get good care.
I dont’t know what to say about Hans WBC going up, Glen’s kept going up and the Dr. did not appear to be too concerned.Now we realize it was the AML evolving.It seems that the blasts coming down could be a good sign.Let’s hope that his Dr. has something encouraging for Hans tomorrow. Our prayers are with you and Hans.
Hugs, Ellie

[JaniceR]

Caroline: That’s “funny” that your dad lost interest in beer. Every doctor we saw never said a word about stopping the drinking of alcohol until I said something to them. Then they were all “OH, absolutely NO alcohol whatsoever. It directly affects how your bone marrow works.” I have to wonder that if I didn’t mention it, would they have told my dad NOT to drink any alcohol? It totally makes sense. I was reading how alcohol affects all your blood counts AND your immune system. If anyone has MDS they should NEVER touch a drop of alcohol.

[CarolineG]

Hi Janice,

My Dad was never told by the Oncologist not to drink any alcohol either. In fact, he was told “everything in moderation.” Besides CMML, he also has kidney failure and a chronic bowel infection. He is chronically very sick right now and takes lots of medications. 2 of the medications must never be taken with alcohol or they could kill him but he won’t be on them for much longer. It was the Nephrologist who told him that from here on in, he really shouldn’t drink because his kidneys aren’t up to processing alcohol anymore. He was allowed one glass on wine at New Year’s. I think that he has gone so long without any appetite or lust for life that beer doesn’t appeal to him anymore. It has only been a week or so that he is able to pay attention to conversations and tv shows again. From November until now, he has been in and out of hospital and sort of hanging on the edge. The Probiotic Yogurt therapy is definitely helping him. He is going for short walks everyday again, actively watching TV instead of just staring at it, and eating everything he can find. He even paid some bills yesterday. I took Dad to visit his Oncologist last Friday. His Hgb jumped from 97 to 120 in only one two weeks. The doctor was amazed since Dad is so sick in other ways. We don’t have to visit him every 3 weeks for awhile. This time Dad gets to wait 8 weeks. He was switched from Eprex shots to Aranesp 3 weeks ago. Personally, I think that his body responded to Aranesp better than it did to Eprex. Eprex kept his Hgb steady at 97-99 from September till 2 weeks ago. After only 2 Aranesp shots, he is at 120. The doctor told me that both drugs are the same and that one should not work better than the other so I didn’t contest him but I think that Aranesp agrees with Dad better. The only downfall so far is that for the 4 months that I gave him Eprex shots, he never once told me that it hurts. The Aranesp needles make him flinch and they hurt afterwares. Apparently, that has to do with the preservative in it. That is a small price to pay to have his Hgb jump over 20 points.
Caroline

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