out of the hospital

John was moved from the hospital over to the guest housing apartment. There had a been a slight delay as he had caught a "bug". But things seem to be going well.

Monday he has an appointment at the clinic. If all is well, he MIGHT come home to Ludington.

Keep fingers crossed, and hands clasped in prayer please.

Michelle

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone. Just wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for the prayers and thoughts. Those are my Christmas presents this year. It's nice to hear all the reports I get from Michelle, Kay and others that tell me who has asked about me and has said they are praying for me.

cheers!
John

making progress

Wednesday white blood count was up to 5.2. woo-hoo!!!! John actually has some defense now against all that bad stuff out there. Hemoglobin is still only creeping though. Thus, still very tired. Still has some of the other side-effects, just more manageable. Kay was able to go to Christmas Mass held there in the hospital and someone brought Communion up to John. The Holy Spirit helps with the healing process so I'm glad they were able to participate.

Supposed to be released today. BUT, he will be moving across the courtyard to guest housing where Kay has been staying. Detroit being 4 hours away from home, staying nearby is necessary in case he has a set-back. Will have a clinic check-up on Monday, then we'll see.

This is all the proposed plan. Will continue to update you.

Michelle

a new week

John's white (blood cell) count is up to 0.8!!!! When it's up to 5, then I'll really celebrate. Guess I should find out what the doc says the count has to be at in order to be released. At this point, chemo has been done, killed everything off, stem-cells have been replaced - so we just gotta get John's blood counts back up. i.e. his white count, red count and Hemoglobin.

Kay is over her infectious part of her cold/sinus infection. She went back to Detroit on Sunday. Now they get to just stare at each other all day for the next week. That is, until John falls back asleep (which he does a lot of) and then Kay catches up on her reading. She's quite the avid reader so it works out well. That right there my folks, is the exciting life and times of John & Kay Hemmer.
:)

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
Michelle

visitors

John is just too tired to do much on the computer if anything at all. One side effect of the chemo is a body rash so they give him Benadryl. Works well. Of course, if any of you have ever taken Benadryl, you know it makes you very sleepy. That's an understatement for John. It actually makes him rest really good. But no concentration to focus on the computer. He apologizes. No worries though I remind him.

I drove down to Detroit on Thursday. Will head back to Ludington Saturday. Heidi and Tim visitied today (Friday) they left the twins with me in guest housing since they obviously weren't permitted in his room or even that entire part of the hospital. We (twins and I) did wave from the sidewalk though and had the cell phone speaker on. The twins sent along art projects and coloring pages to decorate the room and to let their Papa know how they love him.

Justin will be visiting Saturday morning. How convenient that he also will be picking up his girlfriend from the Detroit airport. Kay will be back here on Sunday. By then she will hopefully be well-rested and recooperated from her awful cold.

John's room is decorated for the holidays, which makes the nurses just love coming in his room. He has a great Christmas tree with lights made out of red and green shotgun shells, a cheery singing and dancing Christmas tree that bobs along to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", and a glass snowman that glitters and changes colors. Plus, all the many wonderful get-well or Christmas cards that people have sent.

His appetite has increased very slowly. Maybe up to a third of his meals now. Walking laps around the unit are encouraged. 16 laps are supposed to equal one mile. But good ol' John counted the tiles and figured out since each tile is 12 inches, yadda, yadda, yadda, 1 mile is 15 laps plus some distance. Well, at least he's able to exercise his brain occasionally. He's not up to 16 laps by any means, but maybe by the time he gets discharged he can hit 10 laps.

I will try to post some pics on here.
thank you for the continued prayers,

Michelle
John
and the rest of the Hemmers

quote

I found this quote and thought it was fitting.

"Stop telling God how big your storm is.

Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!"

Michelle

Day plus 5

So they told us the five days after John got his stem-cells back were gonna be pretty bad. I think that was an understatement.

Of course, there are still the lasting effects of the chemo - fatigue, sore mouth, lack of appetite, etc, etc, etc. The transplant caused the blood count to drop though. Yup, very tired, and wearing a mask all the time. John received a blood transfusion and a couple packs of platelets. Starting to feel a bit better. He actually ate today - well, drank an Ensure. I hear the Strawberry is pretty good.

I told him a long time ago, he should familiarize himself with that stuff. Just knew he'd end up having it given to him. :)

Dr. Ayash has promised he will start feeling better soon. Your prayers will help too!

later,
Michelle

Transplant done

Wednesday was last day of chemo. They let John rest on Thursday, except for an IV drip of course. Friday, John got his stem-cells back.

We were told the first five days after the transplant were gonna be rough. It cause the blood count to drop drastically. No white cells, so he is vulnerable to catch anything. Hence, he wears a mask pretty much all the time now, including anyone else who goes into the room. Red cells and Hemoglobin drop so that makes him even more tired and fatigued.

Not much of an appetite. Chemo caused his mouth to become raw. So swallowing/chewing/etc isn't much fun. Chemo caused his mouth to be very dry also so that makes it difficult to talk. And then there's the need to shuffle to the bathroom often. note I said "shuffle". Still has neuropathy in his feet/lower legs and hands. (numbness, loss of sensation).

But he's hanging in there. That German stubbornness is good for something.

Kay has an awful cold, so she came back to Ludington to get better. With this time being the worst for John to catch a virus or bug, it was best. So please keep her in your thoughts also.

signed,
Michelle

address

Harper Hospital
Pt. John Hemmer
4100 John R. Street
8WN-Room #8208
Detroit, MI 48201

chemo begins

Hey, this is Michelle. Dad's laptop/internet isn't working so well at the hospital. Hopefully they can fix they problem soon. Until then, I thought I would fill you in.

John checked into the hospital Thursday afternoon. Chemo started Friday with a BIG dose and some pretty nasty stuff. So I'm sure you can imagine how he feels. Though every complaint or ailment he may have, they seem to have a pill for. You could probably get a pill if you had a hangnail. ;) Today's chemo along with the next 4 days is a different chemo that he will actually receive 3 times a day. This is all through an IV of course.

He tells me he enjoys the staff and they are very friendly. He does NOT recommend the scrambled eggs though!
They three people who are a big part of his team are: Dr. Ayash, Steve the pharmacist and Kathleen who coordinates everything. I keep them in my prayers that they are are given good guidance while taking care of my dad.

chow!



Harper Hospital
Pt. John Hemmer
4100 John R. Street
8WN-Room #8208
Detroit, MI 48201

putting'em back

Howdy folks,
Arrived in motown about 1400 hrs. today, had a check-up and a schedule of what is going to be happening the next three weeks. Nothing to exciting so far.tomorrow is kind of a slow day but Friday the action starts hardcore. All the personal here are very nice, treat you with respect and go out of their way to please you and keep you comfortable.
Sort of slow at the present time but will keep you posted daily.
Hope you all are doing well.
JOHN
ps Kay is having a good time too. I think.

Monday the 23, I went to Grand Rapids St. Mary's for a pet/ ct scan, won't know the results til I get to Detroit next week having a good week getting ready for the trip to Detroit on the 2nd of December.
thanks for all your support.
john

Got home last night,Thurs, and the harvest was sucessful so my next thing is a pet cat scan at St. Mary's in G.R. on monday the 23rd.then back down to Detroit on the 2nd of Dec. for my 28 day stint in isolation. Oh well as long as it works.
This process has been very interesting, have met many wonderful people along the way.
Thank you for all the prayers and messages, it is really appreaciated.
Love you all,
John

finally

Yay! Finally.....got the old John Deere combine fired up. Started harvesting stem-cells yesterday. Almost didn't tho. They thought my white count was too low, but then they changed their minds.
So today is day 2 of the harvest. Will it be enough? Dunno? Might go home tonight, maybe tomorrow.

Otherwise....still fatigued, laying here makes me lose my voice, some pain from the boost medicine. I can take it as long as it takes away the cancer.

Thanks for prayers and thoughts. If you had your toes crossed, you can relax now. Wouldn't want you to trip yourself.

Harvest time take two?

wellllll........so my lab test revealed the numbers weren't quite high enough. so i got a transfusion of platelets and other stuff. they doctor thinks i'll be ready tuesday. please keep your fingers crossed. the longer we wait to start the harvest, the longer we stay in detroit. not that it's a horrible place, would just rather be home.

Harvest Time

Went down to Detroit on Friday (13th) to get tested. We have built up enough stem-cells from the 6 shots per day I've been giving myself. Shots aren't too bad. They got the levels up so I'm happy about that!
So today (Monday) starts harvest time. I'm back in Detroit again. I'm told it'll take about 6 hours a day. I have to lie down while they do it. I'm hooked up to a machine that takes out my blood and filters out the stem-cells and plasma and then I get the rest back. This process might take 1, 2 or 3 days. Will keep you updated. These stem-cells will be kept frozen for me until it's time to give them back to their rightful owner. :)
Michelle says I should explain what the stem-cells are. In the most basic terms: stem-cells are immature blood cells made in the bone marrow. They are pure and disease-free. So after I get hit with a HUGE dose of chemo in a couple of weeks, I'll get the stem-cells back and will be able to have disease-free, clean cells to start all over with. (stem-cells are good, not to be confused with EMBRYONIC stem-cells).
As far as other stuff, we are staying in the guest housing down here at the complex. Later when I'm actually in the hospital full-time here, Kay will stay in the guest housing. Will be back in Ludington Wednesday or Thursday. I'll still be in "isolation" as my blood levels build back up again. Can't take any chance catching a cold or flu. I'm not allowed to go to church or the stores or restaurants. If I need to go out, I wear a mask. Feel free to call or write e-mails though.
So please pray for a good harvest. It's the right time of the year for that.

Catch ya later,
John

back in town

Been down to Motown since Wednesday (4th), got back Saturday night. Had a central cetheter put in. There are 3 lines to it, so fun fun when it comes time to clean it everyother day. Started taking Neupogen to increase stem-cell growth. Will return to Detroit on Friday the 13th to check my progress in producing the stem cells. Harvest of my stem-cells is set the 16th. Will take 1-3 days to harvest.

Doing good, expect I feel like shit on a white chicken. Very tired, no energy. Gets me out of yardwork.

Also got a BIG dose of chemo while I was down there. Bigger than the doses I received here at Free Soil clinic. 8,000 units compared to 200 units. They are trying to burn me down. Whatever works. Fine with me. I suppose what hair I didn't lose will be gone now.

I am isolated. No contact with outside people or places(except immediate family). Gotta keep the germs away.

Hope y'all are doing good.
Check ya later.
John
"bald is beautiful"

hello

this is to let you all know i'm still kicking but not hard as i used to. i'm on my way to detroit to get all better, i hope. let me know what is going on in the outside world.