Day 24

Larry had a very good day. We went over to his brother Neal's house today, and had a very nice visit with everyone. I was going to take the camera, but I forgot it at home. I got to see some baby kittens, and that was nice. It was nice to see Neal and Sherri's two children. They are very polite, and all grown up. Neal showed us his garden that he put out this year, and it looks like he'll have a lot of vegetables to eat.

Day 23

Larry's doing good today not as much back pain. One of the Families from the Church we go to sent some food over tonight from there sons graduation party. Every thing was very good right down to the cake. Everyone has been so nice to us. Thank You very much.

Day 22

Larry's feeling a lot better this morning. He's had a very good day, but this evening he has some back pain. This upset him so bad. I wish someone could tell me how to help calm him down before things get out of control. I would like also to know what causes this back pain when he sits to long.

Day 21

Time is 7:00am

We're up and getting our day started. Larry's out walking around the yard. He walks around around the out side of a one acre lot three times. The trip down to Columbus yesterday took a lot out of his energy. Larry's doing a lot better today. He went to town with me today and he took his walks around the property. He's getting a lot of e-mail from coworkers and that cheers him up.

Day 20

From Mom and Dad:

Just back from Columbus. Doctor Craig Hofmeister says I'm looking real good. He wants me to go back to my regular activities very gradually. He doesn't want me around groups of people, sick people, newborns or their mothers for a while. After day 30 I'll be talking more to my doctor about this. He said they will be monitoring my energy levels. This and how I recover from the autologous transplant are major factors on the timing of the mini-allo transplant, 3 to 4 months down the road. Next week I will be getting my IV catheter out. They will not be looking at what the myeloma is doing until day 60.

Craig Hofmeister is the head of the Multiple Myeloma research program at OSU. He over sees all of Larry's treatment.

Dad and Dr. Hofmeister

Day 19

From Dad:

FEELING A LITTLE BETTER EACH DAY.SORT OF LIKE THE 2ND DAY AFTER THE STOMACH FLUE . GOING TO COLUMBUS TOMORROW. EVERYONE THERE IS QUITE IMPRESSED WITH THE WAY I LOOK.ONLY LOST 2 LBS , MOST PEOPLE LOSE ABOUT 20 LBS. WENT TO THE STORE WITH YOUR MOM TODAY. THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME OUT IN A STORE SINCE I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL. .I WAS READY TO COME HOME WHEN WE GOT OUR SHOPPING DONE.

Day 18

From Mom:

Nathan everything is looking good with your dad. They only took his blood today and Dareth came in and talked with him. She asked him how things were going, and your dad told her that yesterday was a bad day but today was a little better. We go down Thursday to see the Dr. Hofmeister. Your dad just told me that the trip today has got him hurting. On our way out to the car we ran in to Dr. Benson going to get his lunch, and he stopped and talked to us. He asked your dad how things were going, and he told us that he looks at the blog often so he knows how your dads doing. He said for you to keep up the good work with it.

Also on our way home we got to see the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile going down 33. We tried to get the camera out to take a picture of it but it got off before we could. That was so cool looking. I saw a big orange ball going down the road, and asked your dad what's that up in front of us. He said that he didn't know, and just then I said that's the Oscar Mayer Mobile get the camera and just as we got beside it it got off.

Day 17

Still feeling a bit tired at times. Getting ready for the trip to OSU tomorrow morning.

Still glad to be home.

Day 16

Today was dad's first whole day home since the transplant. Mom said that he wasn't feeling very well today and that he was a little grumpy. His brother Neal came over to visit him and that seemed to lift his spirits a little. He also dropped off the the donations that was collected for dad at work. I am sure this will help significantly as we are only halfway through this journey.

Mom and dad will make the trip back to OSU on Tuesday and Thursday for his checkups.

Day 15

Dad was discharged from the hospital today just as planned. I am sure he is glad to be back home after being in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks.

The trip made him a little tired but other than that everything is going just fine. I am sure he will be working up his strength to make the 3 1/2 hour trip to see his new grandson as soon as he can.

Day 14

Dad is scheduled to be discharged on Saturday morning. They say the only reason he would not be let go is if he started to run a temperature.

He is in really good spirits today, as I am sure he is excited about going home.

Dad left a comment for everyone on the blog. Please click here to read it.

Day 13

Congratulations to Shawn and Beth on the birth of their new son, Spencer Reid. Both mom and baby are doing good. Spencer was born at 1:09pm today, Thursday, May 17, at 9lbs 2oz and 21 3/4 inches long.

Dad's numbers are really looking good and it looks like he is going to be going home on Saturday. He was allowed to start going back outside today. He really seems to be cheering up and getting back to his old self.

Spencer

Shawn, Mason, Mom, and Spencer

Mason giving his new baby brother a kiss.

Day 12

Mom said:
They're thinking that Larry maybe getting to go home this weekend. His numbers today are White count is 1.5 and Red count is 9.7 and Platelets are at 52.

His bowel pain is gone, and his throat is still sore today.

Thank You for all your Prayers they are working.

and...
Larry's Absolute Neutrophil Count is up to 900 all most twice amount that he needed. Now they'll take him off all the IVs, and see if his temp stays down. He may get to go home on Sunday.

Also:
We should be welcoming in Dad's second grandson into the world tomorrow around noon.

Day 11

From Dad:
I have good news .
My White blood cell count is up to .3 That means my body is making white
bloods cells. That means the stem cell procedure is working.
thanks for the E-mails

From Mom:
White cell counts is 300, Red cell counts is 7.4, and Platelets are 44. The doctors are very happy with the numbers.

Day 10

Dad's temperature is back to normal now at 98.8. His red blood cell count was down to 8.5 so they gave him a bag of that today. Everything is still on track.

Heather hanging the bag o' blood.

Dad making sure they aren't giving him monkey blood.

Day 9

His platelets dropped to 13 so they gave him some through his IV. After it was all said in done his platelets were back up to 48. He is still having the bowel pain and still getting the pain meds. His sore throat has gotten a little worse today.

He started to run a temp of 100 tonight but that went down relatively quickly. They are going to take some blood and do some cultures anyway.

Still getting up pretty often to walk around the unit.

Terry came back into town again and brought dad a new doo rag.

Dad in his new doo rag.

I'm happy Jeff Gordon won...again!

Aunt Terry thinking about her next chocolate milkshake
(Inside Joke)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Day 8

Dad has a little bit of a sore throat today. His white blood cells are down to 0.1, or 100, he basically has no immune system right now. This is the time to be extra careful to make sure everyone is washing their hands and he is doing his personal hygiene regimen.

Tonight he began to run a slight fever of 99.5. Not much to worry about at this point.

He is still having some diarrhea and bowel pain. They are still giving him the Dilaudid to help with the pain.

Dr. Benson says they may need to give him some red blood cells or platelets in the next few days depending on how he is getting around.

Day 7

Diarrhea is back and now worse. They are giving him Imodium to try to control it. He is experiencing a lot of stomach cramping also. To help with the pain from the stomach cramping they are giving him a small dose of Dilaudid through his IV.

His white blood cell count is down to 0.2 today. While he was eating his dinner tonight he would take a bite and take quite awhile to take the next. He said it wasn't because he was didn't want to eat it was because it seemed like so much work to eat. It looks like he is really starting to feel the affects of the low blood counts.

David, his brother and future stem cell donor, stopped in tonight for a visit.

I wanted to go back and comment on his lack of nausea from the chemo. He hardly had any nausea from the melphalan and I tend to believe that is because he was put into a case study for Emend. He has yet to turn down a meal or lose his appetite up to this point. I hope they start offering this as standard preventative maintenance for chemo patients.

Dad and David

Dad enjoying breakfast:D

Day 6

Blood counts continue to drop. His white blood cells are down to 0.8, or 800. The diarreha has subsided.

They have increased his pain medication due to some increase in some bone and muscle pain.

Everything is still on track.

When I came up today, mom came out and gave me a parking pass so I could take her parking spot. While I was waiting for her to unlock and get in the car, someone that had been waiting for a spot got in position to try to take it. Mom pointed to my car to tell them I was going to take it. I apologized to the woman, telling her that my dad was in the cancer hospital and my mom and I were taking turns looking after him. She didn't want to hear about it and just said "That's fine." in a rude tone. Oh well.

Day 5

They had to put Dad back on the IV today because he has been putting out more than he has been taking in. So his little friend is back by his side for now. He was making several trips to the bathroom last night due to some diarrhea.

The doctors are still confident that everything is progressing nicely and on track. He did start the nuepogen today. His white cell count is at 0.9 and they expect them to get down to around 0.2 or 0.1 before they start rising again.

I will be going over tomorrow afternoon to stay until Friday while mom goes home and takes care of some things.

Dad taking a stroll around the unit.

Day 4

Another nurse practitioner, Joel Rice, stopped by today to share his story with mom and dad. This seems to have given him a boost of hope.

With each day that goes by it is getting easier for him to tire out and it will continue to head downhill for a few more days until his numbers take that U-turn around day 7. He did make a few trips around the BMT unit. Dr. Ntukidem visited this morning and said that everything was going along great. Still no signs of any mouth sores.

He will start getting nuepogen injections through his line tomorrow morning to help increase the white cell count.

Dad and Joel Rice

Dad and Dr. Ntukidem

Day 3

Today was dad's last day that he was allowed to go outside. Mom said that he was feeling pretty tired today.

My mom said that she tripped and fell on the way into target and her knee is swollen up now, but that she is ok.

My aunt Terry stopped by for a visit today. She is a truck driver, so she makes quick stops every once in awhile.

Dad and his Nurse Practitioner, Dareth.

Dad and Dr. Benson

Dad and My Aunt Terry

Day 2

Mom went home today to do laundry, to get the mail, and to pay some bills. I got there around 11:00AM. We took a quick walk around outside before his lunch came, making sure it was still ok to do so with the nurse.

He really seems pretty chipper today. We actually took a pretty decent walk and he didn't seem to get tired.

We got back and watched the NASCAR race since it was postponed from last night.

I thought that since it was Sunday it wouldn't be a problem to find free parking close to the hospital but since school is still in it appears that the students take up most of the free parking on the weekends. Probably will be stuck walking from the shopping center (~20 min) so I don't have to pay $5 per day.

Day 1

I did not visit today. I heard that he was feeling a little crappy and grouchy earlier in the day. I think today is his last day on the steroid so the grouchiness should subside a little because of that. He got rid of his IV today, so he doesn't have to drag around his little friend any more. After he started to feel a little better they got outside and walked around a little bit.

So far it has been pretty smooth sailing. They say that around day 7 is where his counts will bottom out and if he develops any mouth sores that it would happen around this time as well.

Day 0

Today is Day 0, because today is the day he gets his stem cells back. Around 10:00AM the nurse came in with the lab tech. His stem cells were frozen in a IV bag in a cooler with liquid nitrogen. The lab tech put the stem cells in a contraption that thawed them in just a few minutes. The stem cells looked like a strawberry smoothie. In total it took about 10 - 15 minutes for the infusion to take place. This was the biggest excitement of the day.

We have began calling him stinky because one of the side effects from the preservative that is in the stem cells cause him to emit an oder. Everyone describes this as smelling like a can of cream corn. They say this should last for a day or so.

I left around 11:00PM and went back home. I returned with Deb around 7:30PM and we spent some time outside. Dad was going to try to walk all the way, but we had to get him a wheel chair about halfway through the trip.
We found out that the nest in the tree outside of his window is the home to a squirrel. The following is not the actual squirrel, it is a dramatization.

Day -1

Today was Larry's day off. Tomorrow he will get his stem cells back at 9:30AM. They harvested 9 Million cells a few weeks ago. They only need 2 million to do the transplant, but the more they give him the quicker his counts will come back up. It appears that they are going to give him about 5 million back and hold back 4 million just in case another Auto transplant is needed in the future.

He is still on the steroids, which are still making him shaky and agitated. They are combating these side effects by giving him Xanax.

We had the opportunity to go for a walk outside today. He is still allowed outside before his counts get to low.

Mom and I went to look for another hotel that only want $189 per week, but it is pretty far away so we didn't get it. She was able to get a parking pass for the surface lots for $28/month. This should help out some.

Several have asked for the address to send their cards or well wishes. Please do not send flowers, they are not allowed in the cancer hospital.

The James Cancer Hospital
Attention: Larry Tippie Room 339
300 W. Tenth Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210

If you wish to help out financially you can send your contributions via PayPal to tippie2000@woh.rr.com:

Day -2

Day -2

Today is Day –(minus) 2. It is called this because the day he gets his stem cells back will be day 0. Today he is set to receive a high dose of chemo to kill the myeloma and a lot of medication to help with the nausea he will most likely encounter because of the chemo.

Dad was checked into his room around 10:30AM. His room is a little better than the one he had the last time he was here. The view out the window is decent with some trees and vegetation. The tree closest to the window has a nest built in the limbs. We will have to keep an eye out to see what type of creature this is the home of.

They were unable to draw blood from his line for his lab work, so they had to draw it from his hand. He had never gotten blood taken from his hand before and said it was pretty painful.

After they brought his lunch, mom and I walked down to the hotel, Varsity Inn, where she will be staying at the next 3 weeks while dad is in the hospital. It was about a 20 minute walk from the hospital. When she had talked to them on the phone they had quoted her a price of $55/week. We thought this was a special rate they were giving to us because of the situation. When we got to the hotel he brought out the rental agreement and it had $55/night. We agreed with the desk clerk that this was a misunderstanding and that we would only be staying with them for 2 nights instead of the 21 we had previously made reservations for. Mom says she is going to just stay in Dad’s room in a roll-away bed or in the family waiting room, because she cannot afford the $1000+ it would cost to stay at the hotel. We then stopped by Wendy’s for lunch and then walked back.

When we got back dad was already getting the chemo (Melphalan) and was almost finished. He was told to chew ice for 6 hours afterwards to help prevent from getting mouth sours.

Mom found a new place to park for $28/month rather than $5/day. This should help with some of the expenses.

The rest of the night was uneventful. I left the hospital around 9:15PM and dad was getting settled in to go to sleep. He was having a little back discomfort from lying around all day. He was also getting shaky from the steroids they had given him to help with the nausea.