What an incredible turn around. I'm sure there were lots of extra prayers yesterday and today after my latest posting. I received over 50 responses which I have printed and will take to Kent tomorrow to read to him. 

We left Kent yesterday sleeping peacefully and having lost 2 pounds of excess fluid half-way through his first dialysis session. The day ended up at 2.5 Kg or 5.5 pounds. He was also still restrained to keep from removing any other tubing. When I called this morning for an update, they said he had a restful night, but no other change.

At 1:00 p.m., I arrived at the hospital with little expectation of change, but lots of hope. I took a book with me and was going to read it to him just to stimulate his brain. He was in the middle of today's dialysis session. He opened his eyes when I entered the room and I said "Hi." And he said, "Hello" back to me. The twinkle coming back into his eyes. Then he noticed he was restrained and asked why he was tied to the bed. I told him that he had tried to take out the IVs and this was a real problem, but that when he was awake enough not to do that, they would release his arms. He replied, "OK." These were the first coherent words in 3 days. 

I was ecstatic to say the least. The tension immediately left me as I wondered all last if I made the right decision to put him through this. I knew it was the right thing to do. And it renewed my confidence that we can beat this together.

Final count for the day? They were able to get 5 Kg (11 pounds) of fluid out today. And the levels of chemotherapy drugs were diminished by half after yesterday's session. We can't wait for the results of today's test.

I was able to release one of his arms as long as I was in the room with him. When he needed some help clearing his mouth, the nurse came to use the suction tube on him. He told her he would rather do it himself and he did.

He wondered about the time and day. They had the TV set to a channel of soothing music with visuals of streams and nature. Once in a while there were several hymns that played softly. At one point, he was singing parts of "It Is Well With My Soul" with me. 

Daughter Sherri called and he was able to have a short conversation with her while I held the phone. A couple of hours later, son Brian called and by then he could hold the phone on his own and exchange a few more words.

His kidneys still have not begun filtering, and his blood levels are still extremely low, but we have our first miracle. He is coming back to us mentally. They have 2 more dialysis sessions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and the target is 5 Kg during each session. By then, he should be out of toxic danger for the present. We expect that he should be back to his old self by then.

He is experiencing some of the normal side effects from the chemo such as the sores in his mouth and lips. Some swelling is also normal. We are hopeful that in the next couple of days, his skin starts it's repair work. It is still stretched pretty tight and is weepy. The doctor thinks this will pass.

Dr. C, Kent's regular oncologist came it to check out the situation. Of course, not having seen Kent at his worst, he couldn't fully appreciate the dramatic change that has taken place over the past 24 hours. We spoke of next steps. Basically, the bone marrow has to start manufacturing white blood cells well before they can resume the chemo. He figures this will be a while. They will also have to do some adapting of the recipe to ensure safety, but efficiency. 

Some time after the doctor left, Kent looked at me and said, "We're in deep trouble." "No, we were in deep trouble," was my reply. "You are 1000 percent better than the last couple of days. We'll make it through the rest of this together."

God bless you all for your prayers and support. I feel so surrounded by His loving presence. We are blessed by having so many friends to uphold both of us and share your strength.

Sally