Finding out what is going on.

So Dirk is in a good place.( If you go by the way he feels. )He actually can run up a few stairs at work.

His last chemo was at Thanksgiving. He goes this week for a blood draw and then in a couple if weeks gets the results.

Draining a lung again

We are at IMC outpatient. Dirk is having his right lung drained. It has shown fluid for a few months.

It's over a year since his lung was drained. This is good. The nurse said some people come quite frequently.

We had a wonderful Christmas and Thanksgiving. Nathan and Eryn and family all came up.

Dirk has been able to shovel snow a couple of times. He is in a good place.

He has had a year of chemo every 6 wks.

They are stopping chemo to give his body a rest.

He just keeps going. He was teaching a teen Sunday school class . He is currently serving on the High Council and responsible for the music and the youth.

Here we are one year later

Here we are at the BMT center waiting for a bone marrow biopsy ONE YEAR later!!!

So far all the findings are good .  Dirk has an appointment Thursday afternoon for a follow up to get the results.

We are so thankful for the power of the Piriesthood. Dirk just keeps going. He is amazing . Love him so much!

No Comparison

It's hard to imagine how far Dirk has come with his recovery. He was in a much different place this time last year.

We are so thankful!! Dirk put in an amazing amount of physical work this weekend.(Even though he is taking chemo) he helped clean the church and helped at the Stake service project picking up garbage in the gully. When he came home he cut the lawn and sprayed for weeds . We went to the barbecue that night.

Last year his light chains were in the 800-900 range. Last number was down 20 at 68. Wow!!!

Happy Heart Doctor:)

Dirk had an appointment with his heart Dr. for a follow up appointment after his Stem Cell Transplant. His Dr. was really pleased to see the recovery Dirk had made. When he checked his heart it was stronger than before. There were extra beats that he didn't hear this time. Dirk is really being blessed.

We are so thankful! We appreciate the many family and friends who are praying for Dirk .

100 Day Evaluation

No time like the present. Today the Dr. was happy with Dirk's improvements. He mentioned prior to transplant there was a long discussion about Dirk's situation . With the fluid on his lungs they almost cancelled the stem cell transplant. They have not seen anyone like Dirk where they are impacted in their arms,legs and body. A lot of amyloid patients are impacted in their heart muscle. They have quite a book on his health.

With all this being said the Dr. said he has had partial response. They want to keep in a forward direction so they recommend he start a lo dose in pill form of the chemo 4 days out of the month. This should have a minimal impact.

This recommendation isn't founded on research because there isn't any. By what they know about Dirk and how his body responds.

We are hopeful this is a good choice. We appreciate those who care for Dirk.

Where did the hundred days go?

Here we are at the stem cell clinic for the lab work for Dirk's Hundred Days!

What an adventure it has been.

We are thankful to be to this point with his  recovery. 

Dirk has had an amazing recovery! 

Everything went textbook perfect when he had his stem cell transplant.

We had a wonderful Christmas. Nathan, Eryn and family came to Utan for a visit.

It's always a great time for us to have all of our children together!

Dirk had some stomache issues. He had an endoscopy. The labs show amyloid in his stomach and small intestine.

He was given a new medication and started taking probiotics. This has made a big difference. 

Dirk is noticing improvements in some of his muscles. He was able to work from home and is back to the office now.

Last Saturday Dirk was able to walk around the block. It's been a long time since he has been able to do that.

We recognize Heavenly Father's hand in Dirk's recovery and many prayers in his behalf.

 

We are waiting for the bone marrow 

biopsy. Next week we will meet with the Dr. to receive the results of all the tests .

Thanks for all your prayers!

Bone marrow biopsy complete. It took

longer to do this time. Lots of waiting today. The early results of some of the blood work and lung test are good.