Harvest

The central line went in this afternoon. John looks like Frankenstein with that sticking out of his neck. We taped it to his face and told Ben that it was a machine that would help Grandpa get better. He was fine with that. Any thing to help Grandpa get better. He was so happy to see Grandpa and they had a good time this evening.

They will do the harvest starting bright and early tomorrow morning. Hopefully he will be home by this weekend. The whole day was such a mixture...like a teeter totter. We are very happy about the harvest.

We are very happy that he doesn't have osteonecrosis. (at least now anyway) Joline the pharmacist came around to chat. Apparently unknown to us (I am glad because I would have been terrified) they were concerned that the tenderness in his jaw was due to the above mentioned condition. It is a rare condition caused by the combination of having dental work done and taking the drug pamidronate. This is an I.V. treatment John gets once a month to help stabilize his bones. There is no cure for that condition. Joline looked sick when she was talking about it. I feel sick after reading about it. He will be taking this drug for the rest of his life. In order to have dental work done you should go off pamidronate for at least a couple of months to be safe. I am glad that he did not have dental work done other than an exam. Cleaning (very carefully) is O.K. root canals, crowns or any invasive dental work needs to be carefully planed out. One more horror that can loom over our heads.

It is so sobering (I don't need anymore sobering...I am quite sober enough) when I think of all the things that can go wrong. Actually I think the word I want is overwhelming. We are all feeling quite stressed. The kids are hurting. I have to keep telling myself that any of his treatment hasn't gone wrong yet and God is in control. I tell myself that about every five minutes or so. I am fine. I say that a lot too. I have to be fine.