A Message from Kay

Hi Everyone,

I’m jumping into Mike’s blog to let you know that he is in the hospital. (He doesn’t want his blogging to be interrupted so he asked me to post while he’s in there).

He was admitted to Beth Israel this week for treatment of pneumonia.  I don’t have alot of details, but sounds like it’s unrelated to his transplant treatment, and he just needs to kick the pneumonia.  I will update when I have any news. Meanwhile, feel free to comment here – so he can read the messages as soon as he get’s access to a computer. I know that his blog helped his spirits tremendously while he was in Chicago, so sending more get well wishes will do the same again.

Kay

Welcome to my new blog!

Please not, my blog is now found at a new address.  If you are reading this, you found it!  Mike

Monday May 19, 2008

What a beautiful day.  It is a bit windy but at least the sun is out.  I want to get out early and enjoy it before the rain comes in.  I am feeling good but my joints are a bit stiff especially if I stand or sit for a long time.  Otherwise, I feel pretty good.  I have a doctor’s appointment with the GI Specialist tomorrow at Beth Israel to try to cure one of the two problems that I was having.  Enjoy the day.    Mike

Friday May 16, 2008

Well the weekend is finally here.  I just hope that it is nice enough to enjoy the outdoors.  I’m starting to feel much better.  My flexibility is good and my skin is as soft as a baby’s gluteus maximus (butt).  I was tired this morning, so I slept but now that I am up I feel so energetic.  It is a good feeling.  And with that being said, I hope you all have a very enjoyable weekend.      Mike

Weekend of April 19 – 20, 2008

This R&R weekend has sure helped me rest and catch up on emails. I am catching up on my readings and when I tire, I just take a nap. Meanwhile, everyone else in my house is getting dressed to go to this wedding and party and I just sit here. It’s good rest and my body is healing but I have to exercise more. Yesterday would have been the day to go out, but today is cool and damp so I will probably stay here and read today and watch the Yankees play baseball. Mike

Friday April 18, 2008

So much has happened since two days ago.  First, remember that big sweat that I had at 5 AM the other day.  Well, I think that did it because my blood count started to rise today, there is no fever, the chills are gone, and my mobility is starting to come back without pain.  Now that alone is a tremendous improvement.  Then yesterday,, Dr. Burt called me and spoke to me after I had emailed Kristin,  his nurse, asking for help.  He called Dr. Sabnani at Beth Israel.  He then called me back and said that she sounds very concerned and they both exchanged personal phone numbers to improve communications.  He told me that he wanted me to stop one medication that I was taking and that he wanted me to take something much stronger.  The stronger medication was for 2 weeks and cost over $1,100.00  Well, Cigna was baling as usual, so my second carrier, Caremark picked it up.  If it wasn’t for Caremark, I don’t know where I would be.  I do know that Cigna hasn’t done squat for me.  It is good to see my doctors working together for me and the nurses who used to give me an IV every two weeks saw me for the first time today.  They all came out and just said WOW…you look great.  Then as they felt my skin, they noticed, as my wife did, that my skin is softer and more pliable.  They even mentioned it to Dr. Sabnani and she said that she also noticed a big difference.  Now for a restful weekend and a chance for my body to heal.  Mike

Thursday – April 17, 2008

Well, yesterday was another brutal day.  After almost 6 hrs. of testing at the hospital, I finally came home and had lunch.  Then it started…”the shakes”.  I was never so cold.  I immediately went upstairs, turned on my electric blanket, put on my fleece attire, hat and gloves and crawled into bed.  i was fast asleep in 3 minutes.  Whe I woke up 3 hours later, my body temperature was 99.2 degrees.  I knew that my body was fighting something but I did not know what.  I got to bed early and then woke up at 5 AM soaking wet.  Whatever I had must have broken.  After changing the bed and clothes, I went back to bed.  This time when I woke up, I took my temperature and it was 93.2 degrees.  Now I thought no wonder I am cold all of the time, I’m in hyperthermia.  Well today is a brand new day and we will see what happens.  Mike

Wednesday – April 16, 2008

I woke up real sore again today, showered and dressed.  I could not eat because I was fasting for the tests that I had to take this morning at 8 AM at Beth Israel.  Christopher drove me because I’m still a bit dizzy.  We got to the hospital and took the blood tests and I was meeting with Dr. Sabnani when she said that my blood count was very low.  When I looked at the numbers if kind of scared me because yesterday when I was speaking to Dr. Testori, my transplant coordinator from Chicago, he mentioned my hematocrit level and said it was 9.4.  He said they like it to be between 11-12.  he also said at 8 or below we give you a transfusion.  Well mine was 3.2.  Not only was that low, but all of my blood was low.  My WBC, RBC, and my platelets.  They did not seem worried about this at Beth Israel.  They said I was fighting an infection.  They I was sent to another test which because I was not scheduled ahead of time had to wait about 4 hours to take.  This test injected a nuclear dye into my body so that they could see if blood was clotting in my lungs.  When I left, we went home and had lunch.  Then it hit me.  I was never so cold in my life.  On went my electric blanket and on went my full fleece attire and I literally crawled into bed and and slept for 4 hours.  Mike

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Hi everybody.  Today seems to be a bit better than yesterday.  I don’t feel as cold,  but my body is still very sore and I am short winded.  I have to go to my cardiologist this afternoon and get another medication checked out and first thing tomorrow I have to go to Beth Israel to have another test faxed out to Dr. Burt.  He is pretty concerned about this because he called me three times yesterday and told me to stop those 2 medications.  It will take a few days to get out of my system, but I can wait.  I’m not going anywhere.  Mike

Monday April 14, 2008

Well today was a very busy.  I finally got a hold of Kristin, Dr. Burt’s nurse and told her of my problems.  I also told her if this supposed to happen, just ell me but if not then we have to correct the problem.  She told me that Dr. Burt still did not receive the blood test results that I took last week and that he could not really make  decision until he sees them.  So for the next 4 1/2 hours I called and called Beth Israel until finally someone gave me the doctor and she said everything was normal.  I still asked her to fax the results to Dr. Burt.  Then I called my Rheumatologist and she said that the tests she took last week would also be faxed out to Dr. Burt.  He then called me back and wanted me to stop taking 2 medications.  So tonight I will stop these and let’s see what happens.   Otherwise everything is fine,  but you have to see me in the house.  I’m wearing a skull cap, and a full fleece suit and the temperature is 72 degrees.  It’s nice and warm in here.   Mike