going home

The docs came into my room this morning and said I can go home today, so preparations are being made in that direction right now. My med list is in the process of being updated, Lisa is on her way up to help get me packed up and out of here. I don't need any fluids or anything before leaving, so it should not take more than an hour or so - I should be out of here and on the road "home" to Claremont before noon. I can't wait to be out of here - I originally came in and received my cells on Feb. 29, and here I am finally going home on Mar. 29. Continue to pray that I would be able to remain fever-free, and that I will have good office visits next week on Tue. & Fri. They are also scheduling my Day 30 pain-free bone marrow biopsy for next Friday, as well. That will tell them how much I am taking on the traits of the donor, and is the first important milestone. Thanks for your continued love, prayers, encouragement, & support.

a good boring day

No temps today, I continue to feel better and build my strength. I had a much better night's sleep last night without a fever, and anticipate more of the same tonight. All the nurses seem to be pulling for me to go home, but the docs just keep saying "let's take it day by day". They did say it was possible they might send me home sometime this weekend, but felt like Mon. was probably more realistic. They want to make sure I am free from fevers for at least 3 days, and all other indications are headed in the right direction, too. I had another chest CT scan today, and will hopefully get good results tomorrow AM. I am still coughing a good bit, so we need to pray that I would be able to kick that so I can get out of here ASAP. Hopefully, tomorrow will be just as uneventful as today, and continued progress will be made towards going home. You can also pray that some mouth sores that have shown up would disappear. They appear to be related to the GVHD, so they're not too worried about them, but it is making it a little difficult to eat certain things. Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

Here we go again...

(Written by Lisa): Well, things have changed a bit since Jon's post yesterday. Yesterday was a very good day for him.....until last night. He got a fever that lasted most of the night, so obviously Jon is still in the hospital. The docs are trying him on a new antibiotic, and so far today he hasn't had a fever. He's still pretty wiped out from lack of sleep (because of the fever), but he's feeling OK. His blood counts were good today except his white blood count, which was extremely high (indication of an infection). So obviously something is going on. We (and the docs) just don't know what it is yet. Hopefully with a change in some of the meds, his temp will stay down, and his WBC (white blood count) will go back to where it's supposed to be. We are both discouraged by this turn of events, but we both agree that we would rather have him get a fever while he's in the hospital, then to have him home and have to turn around and come back. Keep praying!

no results + no fevers = good news

We learned today that there are no conclusive results from the bronchoscopy I had done on Sat., which the transplant doctors said was a good possibility. So, while we don't know and probably never will know exactly what was causing my fevers, I have continued to steer clear of them (last one was Sat. night), and continue to gain strength and walk around the pod. There is talk of sending me home Wed., or if not, Thu., assuming I remain free from fevers, so please pray with us towards that end over the next 2 days. I am so looking forward to getting out of here! More later.

48 hours and counting...no fevers

Thought I would post something myself since I am feeling a bit better tonight. Another boring, uneventful day...too many more of these and they won't be able to find a reason to keep me here (I hope!). I have not had a fever for 48 hours now, and am feeling quite a bit stronger than I did even yesterday. I did some laps around the pod this morning with Lisa, and then again this afternoon when Mim & Steve brought Jilli & JJ to visit. Since the room I'm in now is a bit smaller than the one I was previously in, we spent most of the visit in the library, which gave the kids some room to move around. They did want to see Daddy's room, though, so we came back, and it was all we could do to convince & explain to Jilli that Daddy was NOT in the same room I was every other time she'd come to visit. She kept saying "But Dad, that means someone ELSE is in YOUR room!" I don't know if she ever really bought into it, but its hard to argue logic with a 5 year old. It was good to see them - I hadn't seen them since Thu. AM when I left the house for my 1st clinic visit, and was of course admitted straight here from there. There is some talk of getting out by the end of the week if I continue to stay away from the fevers, so pray towards that end. No further results yet from the bronchoscopy cultures yet...probably sometime tomorrow. I'll try to update again when there's some news.

Easter Sunday

(From Lisa): Today was a much better day for Jon. His appetite, blood pressure and temp was much better. He did have a fever last night, but we think it was from having the brochoscopy yesterday. The docs were glad to see such an improvement since yesterday, which was good to hear. One of the transplant docs said today that it is possible they won't figure out what caused Jon's fever, but as long as his temp stays normal, they don't worry about it. He said it is quite common in immune suppressed patients to have these fevers with no cause that they can find. We just go with the flow, as we keep getting told different things. As long as his fevers don't come back, we won't be worried. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Post procedure

(Written by Lisa): Jon is back in his room after having his brochoscopy. He's quite sleepy from the meds, and he has to wait a while before he can have anything to eat or drink because they numbed up his throat to eliminate his gag reflex. Last time he had this procedure, it took a couple of hours to wear off.

I talked with one of Jon's docs this morning, and their feeling is that he has fungal pneumonia from the way things look on the CT scan. We are not going to find anything out for several days - maybe Tuesday. There are a number of tests and cultures that have to be done on the cells they collected, so we wait...again. Jon had a fever last night, but he did not have one this morning! He is still being treated with a number of antibiotics, and he's on one antifungal too.

The best case would be for this to be a bacterial pneumonia, as that is very easy to treat. Fungal is still treatable, but it takes a long time to completely rid your body of it - think of a mold problem in a house, only you can't just gut the problem out. Jon is also very immune suppressed, so that adds to the complication. Our prayer is that the docs would know definitively what the problem is, that he is able to be treated quickly for it without further complications, and that he continues to be fever free.

Quick update

(Written by Lisa): I just wanted to let you all know an update. Jon got the results of his CT scan, and there is something on the scan that appears to be an infection of some sort, maybe pneumonia. The problem is the docs can't tell from scan if it's viral, bacterial or fungal, so tomorrow morning at 9 am Jon is having a brochoscopy done. He is also running a fever again tonight, so he's not feeling very good. Pray that the procedure goes well, and that it is absolutely clear what the infection is. Also pray for Jon that he sleeps well tonight.

More tests.......and too many needles!

(Written by Lisa): Today has been an OK day. Jon's temp keeps going up and down, and each day he has a fever they have to draw cultures from his port and from his arm, which means he has to get stuck. The people who came today to draw from his arm were not the best, and they stuck him 6 times between the two of them - I thought Jon was going to pass out, but after resting a bit, he was OK. We finally told them to get someone else, and a while later a lady from the IV team came and stuck him once and got everything she needed! We were both thankful for that, and hopefully his temp will stay down, so they don't have to do it again. The docs have put him on a broad spectrum of antibiotics and antifugals as they want to kill anything that could possibly be causing his fever. Once all the tests and cultures come back they will know more...or maybe not. It's very possible this could be a little bug (which wouldn't show up in the tests and cultures) that will just run its course and be done - the docs think that is quite likely, but they still want to make sure they are not missing anything. Hopefully it will run its course quickly, so he can get out of here. Right now he is headed out for a CT scan to check for things they might be able to see. Again, we hope they find nothing.

If he's up for it, I'm hoping to bring the kids in tomorrow for a bit - we're doing an Easter Egg hunt in the morning, so I know they will want to tell Daddy all about it!

Back again

(Written by Lisa): Well, Jon's time at home was short-lived. Last night he started running a temperature, so we called the doc, and he said to stay put, as they would see him the next morning for his regular appointment. When we got here, Jon was still running a temp, so they decided to admit him. Cultures and labs were drawn, and he got a chest xray. It will be quite a while until we know anything from the xray or cultures, but his labs were good - his blood counts continue to improve! The doc said he was doing quite well, but they want to be very cautious with this fever. His temp went down this afternoon and so far hasn't come back. Hopefully it will stay that way. His doc said he'll hopefully only be in for a couple of days and then come home. He would really like to be back in Claremont for Easter, even though he can't go to church. He wants to see the kids dressed up in their Easter best!!

Selfishly, I want Jon to be with all of us in Claremont, but I know he needs to be here to continue his healing process. We are praying the docs don't find anything of significance that can't be easily treated. Pray for Jon's spirits - I know he is discouraged with having to be back in the hospital, but he also knew when he was discharged that this was a real possibility, given his history and the transplant he just went through. He just didn't expect that it would happen this quickly. Very few people come through these things with little or no hiccups.

Thank you for your cards and emails of encouragement - they mean more then you will ever know. Thank you also for your consistent prayers - keep them up!

Day 2 at home

Thought I'd write briefly about the almost 48 hours since I was discharged. I slept 2 hours Mon. afternoon, 12 hours Mon. night, an 1 and 1/2 hour nap on Tue. afternoon, and then almost 10 1/2 hours last night, and I am still sluggish, weak, and tired most of the time. It takes several minutes of sitting and resting between walking to the bathroom, getting dressed, and other normal activities, as I can only go about half speed and still require frequent stops to catch my breath. I am spending a lot of time in a recliner that's been setup for me in the upstairs landing (open room at the top of the steps). This way I minimize trips up and down the stairs to no more than 2 per day (that really takes it out of me). It is about all of the exercise I can handle right now.

I have my first outpatient clinic appointment tomorrow at 9am, which means we have to leave the house around 8, having already had breakfast and all my pills down. Guess I"ll be hitting the pillow a little early tonight. So far, no major complications, so keep praying for continued recovery and gaining of strength. Your many cards and emails of encouragement mean so much, and I feel bad we can't respond to all of them individually. We love you all and appreciate the role you're playing in our lives.

Day +17

(Written by Lisa): Most of you have probably heard through the grapevine that Jon was discharged this afternoon!!! They couldn't get his paperwork finished fast enough for him - he was ready to run out of there as soon as they told him he could go (10 am). We didn't actually leave until 3 pm. He is glad to be out, and he is pretty wiped out from his big day. Hopefully over the next couple of days he will feel up to writing again, but until then, you can all rejoice with us that he is home (at least in Claremont with us!).

Day 15

Well, the doctors were again pleasantly surprised at my progress this AM, and indicated if all goes well, they may give me clearance Sun. AM to check out of here on Monday! Please continue to pray toward that end...God is influencing the hearts and minds of doctors. Lisa and JJ got here at 10am, and shortly after, Mom Mom & Pop Pop brought Jilli in from her night in the RV. She had a blast, and could not stop talking about it! WE watched some LIttle Einstien videos while we waited for the doctor to show up on rounds (they do them a bit later on the weekend). Nothing new to him that would seem to keep me here. Hopefully, 12 hours from now, I am hearing the words "go home tomorrow"! That would be wonderful. It will remain to be seen whether they can schedule to have my central line removed early enough on Monday. If not, the docs told me I can go home with it, and they'll make an appointment later in the week for me to have it out during my first clinic visit, which will probably be Wed. or Thu. if I go home Mon.

Mom & Dad were nable to get out of here in time today to hit the dump station, so they decided to hang around through the day, and will leave first thing tomorrow AM to return to NJ. Dad is excited because he found a new dump station at a new Cabela's store in Hartford, CT, so they're going to go there on the way home rather than try to hit the place up here (Cabela's is cheaper, too). I will try to post as early as possibe in the afternoon whether I am going home Mon.

Even if it ends up being Tue., it would be a good idea to redirect al future cards, encouragements, etc. to Lisa's folks house:
c/o 95 Maple Ave
Claremont, NH 03743

More tomorrow...keep praying - the end is almost here!

Not much news...lots of walking

Not much to report today - my numbers continue to increase, and the docs have said if all continues in this direction over the weekend, they will tell me Mon. AM when I can go home! I can't wait for Mon. AM now! I am so bored, my counts are doing better than before I came in, and I feel like I have no real reason to stay here one hour longer, much less over the weekend! However, I know the docs have my best interests in mind, and are just being cautious. Pray that I could bide my enthusiasm until Mon. AM, and that they will tell me that I can go home on Monday, or Tuesday, at the latest. That is the focus of my hope and prayers right now - getting out of here.

Jilli is spending the night tonight with Mom Mom & Pop Pop out in the RV, and boy is she excited about it. Mom & Dad tok her for dinner at Applebees (one of her favorite restaurants), and they had a blast. They just stopped back in here to give loves before heading out to the RV to snuggle in for the night. Lisa just left, but will return in the AM with JJ, and I'll take him for a walk. I am doing a lot of walking these days. I got to go outside today, and boy was that nice, even though I had to drag my IV pole with me. After I was unhooked around suppertime, Lisa and I then went up to the 5th floor, which is pretty sparse on a Friday night, and walked at least a half mile (with a few rest stops along the way). I am definitely getting stronger and feeling ready to tackle the outside world.

JJ and Jilli will ride back to Claremont tomorrow afternoon in the RV with my folks, who will drop them off and then keep on going home to NJ, since I am so close to getting out of the hospital at this point. This way, perhaps they can both be back to work on Monday, assuming they don't hit any snags on the road and are able to get the RV all cleaned out and back to the storage place by end of day Sunday.

Pray for an uneventful weekend (no surprises or new developments!), and that things will work out so I can go home Mon. or Tue. - especially pray that the doctor's minds might be led in that direction. If God can influence the hearts of kings & rulers, He can certainly influence the thinking of my docs and assure them that I will be fine "on the outside". Thanks for keeping up.

Day +13

(Written by Lisa): The last few days have been very good for Jon. He's felt better each day, and his fevers have not returned. I brought the kids up to see him this morning (Jillian is much better), and things were great - we took a few laps in the hall, the kids had snacks, played with toys, and watched a video. Just as they were getting ready to leave and go out to the RV around 11:15, Jon vomited. We're hoping it's from over stimulation. He is resting now, and is not really looking forward to lunch, but we're hoping this is an isolated episode. We'll see. The docs are encouraged with how his numbers continue to climb, and they want to see how he does through the weekend, and hopefully on Monday they will be able to tell him when he can go home (Tuesday, maybe???). They are being extra cautious with him where he had lung involvement and had part of his lung removed, but it is frustrating for Jon as he is feeling good for the most part - he' pretty bored. At least the end of his hospital stay seems to be in sight soon.

Day +11

(Written by Lisa): Well, there is not much to report today, thankfully. Jon is doing pretty well, and he's eating pretty good. He's pretty bored and anxious to get out of the hospital. The docs haven't given any indication as to when he will be out, so we've been bringing in movies, games, anything to help pass the time. The kids were up to see him yesterday; unfortunately Jillian is sick again, so we're counting down the 48 hours for her to be throw up free, until she can visit Jon. Hopefully today will be it.

Day 10 - Engraftment Begins!

A better night's sleep was had last night than in several previous nights mainly because I had no fever or infection again! My blood #s this AM came up nicely together, showing that I am beginning the engraftment process, where the real "danger" or prayer need shifts from infection to Acute Graft Vs. Host Disease, which will be a (hopefully quick) battle between the donor's cells (graft) and my own immune cells (Host). The idea is that we want some GVHD, but just a little, and very mild, please! If there's no GVHD, the graft isn't really engrafting and becoming part of me. Acute GVHD will most likely show up over the next 7-10 days (but could really be anytime before Day 100) in my eyes, gut, or liver. So, pray that there is some side effects but as minimal as possible once noticeable!

I also was able to have Lisa's folks come & visit (while the kids played out in the coach) this afternoon, and then they went to dinner by themselves to celebrate Steve's birthday. Mom Mom & Pop Pop then took the kids to eat at McDonalds, and when they returned, Lisa took them home. I am updating you all right now, and then I am calling it a night so use my new sound machine - it helped me get back to sleep at 3am last night, so I'll try it again. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Thanks for continually checking in on us and lifting us up!

Day +9

(Written by Lisa): Big praise - Jon kept down all of his meals yesterday and breakfast went fine today!!! Yeah!!! His blood pressure is up a bit, so he doesn't have to be monitored so closely. But the docs would still like to see it a bit higher. His rash is slowly improving, so that is also good news. The pain in his legs and arms seems to be improving, and even though he did have another fever last night, it wasn't as high, and it didn't last as long. They are giving him meds (antibiotics and antifungals) as a protocol help reduce and eliminate the fevers, but the antifungal meds are giving him pretty bad hallucinations. Yesterday it was just crayon marks on the ceiling, which is pretty typical, but today it's been much worse (he's seeing people, the beach in California, feels taps on his shoulder, hears people whispering, and things have been rearranging themselves around the room). Thankfully, he does know that these things are not real, but it's still weird for him to have it happen. The hallucinations seem to be getting worse as the day progresses, and Jon is having a difficult time concentrating - it's really messing with his brain, so the docs are going to change his meds. The new meds do not have hallucinations as a side effect, thankfully, and hopefully they will continue to keep reducing his fevers, and eventually elliminate them. Hopefully the rest of today (and the rest of his hospital stay) will be fever and hallucination free!!

Day +8

(Written by Lisa): Things continue to be interesting around here. As I mentioned yesterday, Jon's breakfast stayed down, but then later when he tried lunch, it came right back up. At some point in the afternoon, Jon's blood pressure got really low, and the nurses and docs wouldn't let him get out of bed without someone being right here - they were afraid of him falling over. Not sure why it's dropped, but it continues to be a problem today as well. Since his blood pressure is low, he is also having a more difficult time catching his breath, and his oxygen level dropped, so he is also on oxygen. He also had another fever last night during the night, so when I got here the am, he was down getting another chest xray. He is also experiencing pain in his elbows and his legs - no explanation from the docs on that one. His rash seems to be a bit better, but it is still there. He seems to be retaining some fluid, so the docs are giving him meds for that, but a side effect of those meds is that it can lower your blood pressure, so they are watching him very carefully. As the medicine works, he will hopefully feel a difference in his breathing and maybe his joints (here's hoping). It's been quite a 24 hours, but Jon is still in good spirits and is feeling pretty good in spite of everything. Once again, breakfast stayed down this morning, so we're praying that lunch does too!

Day +7

(Written by Lisa): I am currently in Jon's hospital room with the kids - we got here early, and then we're headed to my Aunt's house to go sledding. Jon has had a few difficult nights as his fevers keep returning each night, so he doesn't get much sleep. As a result, he has to get chest xrays and they come and draw cultures out of his arm - we are now at 3 nights in a row. He's also has a rash that bothers him, and they think it is from one of the antibiotics, so they are taking him off of it. If it goes away they know it was the drug. If it doesn't, then it's probably a reaction to the transplant (called "graft verses host disease"). We'll wait and see what happens. He's in pretty good spirits for the most part, and it been good for him to see the kids, but he is exhausted. Probably as soon as we leave here he will take a nap for a while. Please pray that Jon can get some rest today and that he sleeps well tonight, and that his vomiting continues to stay under control (breakfast went good today).

Day +6

I felt pretty good yesterday afternoon, and even took a shower and a walk! But then around 8 pm I got another fever, not as high as before, thankfully, but a fever none the less. The fever continued off and on through the night, once again hampering sleep, and of course I had to be stuck again in the arm for cultures (still no results - maybe tonight?). Still had a slight fever this morning, but not much would keep me from seeing my kids. They are both healthy, and I haven't seen them in almost a week. Lisa brought them in around 11 am, and I was as excited to see them as they were to see me! I think they both grew an inch! They are out with my parents in their RV in the parking lot watching a video. My room gets small with two toddlers in it, so we're glad to have grandparents nearby to entertain.

As far as meals, breakfast came right back up as soon as I ate it, but I'm having better luck with lunch so far. Last nights dinner was great with absolutely no nausea!!! Keep up those prayers!! Because of my fever, I am now on a second heavy duty IV antibiotic, which is also giving me an itchy rash - hooray. There is a possibility of the transplant causing a rash, so I'm thankful that this one seems to be drug related.

I've enjoyed all the cards and emails you all have sent. Hopefully I'll feel like updating my blog tomorrow, but if not, Lisa will catch you all up. I'll just take it one day at a time.

Day +5

(Written by Lisa): For the most part things have been going quite smoothly for Jon. However, given his situation, we were both wondering when something was going to happen. Last night Jon developed a fever late in the evening. He has to get heavy duty antibiotics every 8 hours, and the nurse took blood cultures out of his central line (similar to his port, but it goes into his jugular vein). The IV team came in and took blood cultures out of his arm (he hates getting stuck with needles - he veins are pretty shot from all the chemo, so it usually takes 4 - 5 times before they hit a vein), just to be on the safe side in case there was an infection in his line. His fever broke sometime between 1 am and 3 am, and he didn't get much sleep last night because of that. And then it came back this morning. The nurse called me to let me know what was going on, so I wouldn't try to bring JJ in (he hasn't gotten Jillians virus, thankfully). She transferred me into his room, so I could see how he was, and he was feeling very nauseated, sore all over, and kind of out of it. Of course I left right away and by the time I got here he had gotten some meds and was feeling a bit better and eating toast, but still very much wiped out. The docs don't know what caused his fever - could be any number of things. His counts are very low, so it could be a neutropenic fever (white counts so low that any type of infection just takes over), or it could also be his body reacting to the donor stem cells. No one knows at this point. Anyways, we have to wait 48 hours for the blood cultures to come back before the docs can rule out certain things...so we wait. Seems like we do a lot of that lately. The fever has taken a lot out of Jon in terms of energy, but hopefully with some rest he can regain some of his strength.

On a good note, Jillian did not throw up last night, so if she can make it through tonight, she can come visit Daddy (if he's up for it). Thank you all for your continued prayers!

Jon's mailing address

Here is Jon's mailing address here at the hospital:

Jonathan Basner
Room 126
DHMC 1 Medical Center Dr.
Lebanon, NH 03756

Thank you to those who have already sent out cards to him. He's got them posted on his wall!

Day +4

(Written by Lisa): Well, breakfast and lunch are not going so well for Jon these days. Since having his TBI (total body irradiation) on Friday, he has thrown up one or the other almost every day. The docs think it is just a severe reaction to the TBI, but they expect it should only last another day or so.....I know Jon hopes that. He's tired of throwing up, and when he does, they give him nausea meds which make him dopey, so he sleeps quite a bit.

I think Jon had mentioned in another posting that Jillian has had a stomach bug since Friday night. We thought she was out of the woods because she didn't throw up on Sunday night, but then at 3:30 am this morning, she was at it again. My Mom and I got her cleaned up and back to bed, but of course sleep escaped me for another couple of hours. Every time she throws up, she has to wait 48 hours before she can see Jon. She misses him terribly and is very upset that she can't come. She seems to feel fine during the day and hasn't run a temperature, but at some point in the night she throws up. Kind of weird and very frustrating. As strange as it is that both Jon and Jillian are throwing up, the docs are confident that they are not connected.

The nurses are keeping Jon busy with laps around the unit. 40 trips around is a mile, and they like to see him do 20 a day. So far he's done pretty well. He does get out of breath very quickly, so he takes it 5 laps at a time. Hopefully over the next couple of days Jon will feel like updating his blog, but if not, I'll continue to keep you all informed of the goings on here at Hitchcock Hotel.

just 2 doors down

Today was not too bad for me. I did have some nausea and vomiting during breakfast, so that wasn't a nice way to start the day, but I got through lunch and dinner without a repeat performance! I tried to listen to the FBC church service online this AM, but technical details prevented that, so I did some reading and then slept some more in the afternoon. Got in 2 trips of 5 laps each - 1 just after lunch, and 1 just after dinner. Lisa was not able to come visit today, as Jilli is sick with the stomach flu (2 nights in a row of "frooking out" between 8:30 & 10pm). With the busy schedule Lisa's folks have at their church, she had to stay home to be with Jilli. JJ did get to go to SS and excitedly told me all about it on the phone tonight.

While I was out for my first walk, I noticed a catholic woman waiting in the hallway, and struck up a conversation with her. She is a chaplain, and was here for the family of a man 2 doors down from me. When she found out what I did as a pastor, she then asked if she could come over and visit sometime, and so I look forward to (again) sharing the Gospel with a "woman of the cloth". If you think of it, pray for the man 2 doors down...they won't tell me his name, but his family is all crying on their cell phones in the hallway, and he doesn't look good at all.

Not much new to report - just praying and hoping for a little better night of sleep tonight than last night. It wasn't too bad, but it took a while to get to sleep, and then I was up for almost an hour around 2am. Still waiting for a good, full, uninterrupted night of sleep. Pray with me, and keep the prayers rolling!

A pretty boring day

After all that happened yesterday, today was pretty boring, which I much prefer! I have walked almost a half mile today (around the pod here - 40 trips is one mile), and am feeling pretty well, given the circumstances. I did have some struggles this morning with nausea, but some meds took care of that pretty quickly, and I was able to eat much better today. They are trying to control my weight closely - they don't want more than a pound or so over what I came in as. They tel me that this is because the cell walls will be weaker, and that will make the engraftment process more successful. To do this, I will be getting Lasix daily, which requires many trips to the restroom (good thing it's just across the room from me!) Not too much else to report - guess that's good.
We got some snow this morning, but not as much as they were predicting, and they are calling for more mild temps over the next few days, and then another storm on Tuesday. I'll post more when there's more to say. Keep praying...it helps immensely to have my prayer poster here with me, and be able to roll over and see who's praying for me anytime of the day or night (Ken Merrill - I felt your prayers at 3am this morning, when I couldn't sleep!) Keep checking in...you never know when I'll have more musings.