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Well, it's been 9 days since the last blog... Ashley is still busy and I am still not a good blogger. At least you can surmise that I have not had any surgeries or infections, which is totally awesome! It's been good to be up and about, going out to places like the grocery store, friends' houses, and church. We even went on our first real date since January (Chili's and the new Steve Carrell/Tina Fey movie, Date Night). I'm still trying to get some weight on me and get my legs working better. Other than that, not much to report. I am pretty excited about the 49ers' draft; we should make a serious playoff push this year. Boston is sucking less than last post, but my NHL team (Colorado Avalanche) got eliminated by the hometown heroes, the Sharks. I guess I don't have to root against them now.

The days go by and so does my food. :)

Still Cruisin

Quick blog: it's great to be doing great.

Excited about playoff hockey, not really excited about playoff basketball, the Sox are sucking, and the draft is nigh.

I drove yesterday, and am driving again today to the store and bank.

Went to church yesterday; I had really missed it.

I'm not a real wordy fellow. And my wife knows this, yet she makes me blog anyway!

En Casa

For the third time this year, I'm back home. This time I have a good feeling that there won't be a fourth time until after surgery numero dos. It feels so right to be here. I've been eating a lot more than I was in the hospital; I think I could be up to normal rations relatively soon. Ash cut my hair today, and I preceded that with the shaving of my massive hospital beard. I had considered keeping it for the Colorado Avalanche playoff run, but I've never liked a beard that could catch food. My wound from the bowel obstruction surgery is still a little painful, but not as much as it was in the hospital.

So basically things are going great. We'd really love for them to keep going that way. It's been nice being able to have our prayer times not be all about things we need, but about the things that God has done, or even to get to pray for other people. The one lasting prayer request we have (aside from loads of thanks that I'm out of the hospital) is for no more complications. For now, take a minute to sit down, relax, and enjoy your home too.

Done (hopefully)

I am not in Palo Alto, but I am not home yet. I'm in Lodi for a brief waiting period to make sure I'm ok before I move 6 hours away. It was thrilling today to leave the hospital, to have my PICC line and staples removed, and to eat some steak at my parents' house with my two foreign exchange sisters. If everything goes fine tonight (sleeping) and tomorrow morning (eating and such), I will complete the journey home to my wife, who is going bonkers right now with homework and trying to get the apartment clean. I love her a lot.

This one will be short because I procrastinated until the end of the day to write this (to be fair, the first part was spent waiting for discharge and the second was spent in an internet-less car ride). But I figured this was blog-worthy, so here you go. The fruition of a boatload of prayer. But we're not out of the harbor yet. After all, I have been known to eat and suddenly become unable to eat. The doctors removed all the obstructions in my bowels, but if they can appear suddenly, they can come back suddenly. Please pray that they stay away so I can stay home. :)

Also pray for:

Safe drive to LA

No other complications (like fever)

Ability to ingest enough food and drink to sustain myself

Quick healing of my incision, which still hurts when I walk

My facebook friend Mary, whose cancer has resurfaced in her liver and the doctors don't have a clear idea where it's coming from

My real life friend Paul, who's recovering from pretty nasty pancreatic cancer

Peace in the Middle East while you're at it

Not a bad day at all

Dan here, taking on blogging duties.

Today was pretty good. I found out that discharge is possible by the end of tomorrow at earliest; it's contingent on my ability to eat an amount large enough to keep me hydrated (which could be soon) and my wound's inability to develop an infection. So... awesome!

I also got to watch a great hockey game between Boston and Washington; it's unfortunately rare these days to see the great game televised.

Ash and I filed our taxes, which was done with considerable difficulty with things scattered between Stanford and LA. A refund from our nation's deficit will be nice.

A couple of friends from church surprised me today by stopping in; they had come up from LA to a wedding in Stockton and impulsively decided to see me in the hospital.

My mom came by also and brought some matzoh ball soup for me. I had asked earlier for some, since I missed Passover, but yesterday asked her not to bring it, because Stanford's soups had been both plentiful and banal. However, she brought it anyway, and I thought I'd try a little bit. Turns out, it was really good. Lots of flavoring. I had a whole bowl. I might have another in a little while.

I'm really hoping that I can get out soon. It's been too long that I've been away from home. It feels so right when I'm there. Plus, it means more clinical hours for Ashley when she dresses my wounds.

Thanks for praying for us. Keep praying; I'm not out of the woods yet. I have to get out of the hospital, have an embolization procedure, and then a second surgery--- then I will be cancer free!

Prayer Requests:

Continuous increase of appetite

No fevers/infections

Discharge soon

No coming back to the hospital with complications

Tut tut

This blog will be short and to the point because Dan has such an aversion to blogging that he makes his sad and tired wife blog right after driving 6 hours away from him. Tut tut.

Appetite: Better but not good enough to get off of TPN, which is the goal. Dan got a hamburger on his lunch tray, was delighted, ate half and has had no room for much else. Dinner was nibbled at most. So far, food is staying down and going through without causing much of a problem. This needs to continue so Dan can go home.

Infection: Fever returned a bit today, but not high enough to be considered a "spike" (38.5 C). Incision is still oozing, but the docs wants to give it time to drain before opening any more. All of the staples will most likely be removed Tuesday or Wednesday. One of the labs drawn Thursday came back "suspicious" (they take 2 days to grow), so another test was done today. No antibiotics until another fever spike or a sudden change in the wound or labs.

Spirits: Doing well, though getting restless and sad to be in the hospital for so long again. Also, we are no longer in the same place. It's getting harder to keep driving away and leaving Dan in the hospital. I won't be able to return until next Monday at the earliest, so we're hoping and praying Dan will be released this week without any complications, so he can get his butt home.

Prayer Requests:
* More appetite and ability to eat and snack throughout the day
* Cooperative digestive system...no vomiting, no distention, no premature full feeling
* Resolution of infection (where ever it is)...no fever, no discharge from wound
* Pain control...continued improvement of pain
* Increase in mobility and energy
* Wisdom for the docs to know what and when things should happen
* Discharge from the hospital within this upcoming week
* Comfort for hearts sad to be apart :(

No Bon Appetit

As an update to yesterday, the most obvious source of infection is the incision. Dan no longer has a fever, but the incision is still oozing. The surgeons are being cautious and slow with removing staples, as they do not want Dan to have an entirely new open wound. They are still holding off on antibiotics unless Dan has another fever spike.

Today has been somewhat better. We got a little more sleep and Dan woke up early enough for the docs to see him out of bed for once. He said walking is a easier, and he is definitely taking longer strides. He finally got tired of the hospital gown, which is a good sign to me.

The problem of the day is a lack of appetite. We aren't sure if the cause is the extremely nutritious TPN telling his brain he is satisfied or that his stomach his tiny or that things are going through or a combination of all of these. After dealing with an intern who doesn't always think things through well (we just got the chief resident to give him the "what-for"), I think we've convinced the docs to decrease the TPN calories. Hopefully, this will let Dan be a little more hungry. Dan is glad he is eating other things besides clears though...sunchips, bread, crackers, etc.

We're bummed because I have to leave for school tomorrow. There have been too many good-byes said at the front of the hospital. I won't be able to return for at least a week, so we are still praying that Dan will get out of the hospital sometime next week. I hate being away as so many things are going on. Hopefully, I receive only good news over the phone.

Now, I need to get him up to walk. The Simpsons is seriously distracting him from moving around. Doh.

Prayer Requests:
* A big(ger) appetite
* No more vomiting
* Continued decrease in pain
* No more fever
* Wound healing...no need to open the wound
* Safe travels for me tomorrow
* Dan getting discharged next week...and coming home