November update

Thanks to everyone for checking in. We finally have some new information.
We went to Fran's Dr. here in Rke on Tuesday and he wants Fran to see a pain management Dr. for the shingles pain. So she has an appt. this coming Wed. to check on that. Then we went to Duke this past Thursday for a checkup. This is her 6 month check up following the transplant. The Dr. is very pleased with her blood work which we are thrilled about but we won't know until next week regarding her multiple myeloma blood work. We are to call back Tue or Wed. to find out if she is in remission or partial remission etc. Please pray that everything is good.

More good news:

We just got a sweet note from Kathleen Hall, she was able to raise $3000 for Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. She raised this money in conjunction with the New York City Marathon. She runs tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Fran's name will be on Kathleen's jersey as she runs the 26.2 miles. Kathleen wrote "Your strength and positive attitude has inspired me and I know it will help me push to the finish." Fran and I are so grateful and want to wish Kathleen the best of luck as she runs the NYC marathon tomorrow! GO KATHLEEN!!!!!!!

accupuncture today

Yes that is correct, Fran went for an acupuncture treatment today. Genie (Fran's sister in Richmond) has a friend who is going through similar circumstances as Fran and she went to see an accupuncturist? and was helped. sooo, long story shortened, Fran went today and the pain was relieved while there but afterwards not so much, but the person said it will probably take several treatments to get any relief. So she goes back Monday and next Wed. and hopefully she will experience some relief from the severe pain from the shingles.

Thank you all for your prayers,we still have not heard anything from the Dr. although supposedly the Dr. here in Roanoke sent an e-mail last week and we are still waiting for it to arrive.

We love you all and cherish your friendship.
Sincerely,
Charlie and Fran

Sorry for delay

I apologize that I have not updated you on Fran's condition for a while now. We have been waiting (not so patiently) to hear from Duke regarding whether Fran is in remission or exactly what her status is. We still don't know. The correct tests were not ordered and now we are waiting to hear from Fran's Roanoke Dr. Duke did let us know that some of the tests came back and they were within the acceptable parameters. As soon as we know something we will certainly let everyone know.
There doesn't seem to be an urgency anywhere but here.

Fran continues to deal with her shingles. The rash is almost completely gone but not the pain. At times the pain is quite severe but Fran is a trooper and continues to push on during the midst of it as best she can. Please pray that the pain will subside soon!

Natalie and Jordan are in with us this weekend so we are enjoying a house full. Again I apologize for the delay but we don't know anything.

Sincerely, Charlie

Great Vacation

We had a great vacation! We left last Sunday and spent one night at Park Grove Inn in Ashville, and then we headed to Tom and Marie Aker's home in Murrells Inlet where they treated us like royalty. It was so relaxing and enjoyable. Marie and Fran shopped and shopped and Fran bought some beautiful clothes for herself and of course for Natalie, Emily and Ben.
We got back Friday and then Fran cooked a big birthday dinner for 14 for Will's birthday celebration on Sat. night.
Fran is still in a great deal of pain from the shingles, so pray that she will be able to cope with the pain. Naturally she works right through it. It looks ugly and painfull. I don't know how she does it. I would be screaming bloody murder!!!!!!
That's all for now, thanks for checking in.
Love the Krauses

Shingles

Yep, that was what was causing the pain. Fran woke up this morning with a rash on her left side of her stomach. She already had medicine for it so she began taking it immediately after talking with her Dr. So that is where we stand at the moment. She is in pain but the morphine pills are working somewhat. Never a dull moment around here.
Till next time. Charlie

She's home

Fran got home today. Nothing showed up on the MRI so the Dr. seems to think that it was possibly a muscle spasm. Really no other explanation since all the tests showed up nothing out of the ordinary. Fran was able to go on over to Blue Ridge Cancer Care and get her blood work and Zometa drip (for bone desity). The Dr. is a little baffeled that her hemogloben is down but hopefully all the blood work will help explain that as well.
There is still pain but thanks to morphine pills it is manageable. Our next visit to Duke has been changed to the 12 of August. We will be out for a few days next week to celebrate our 35 wedding anniversary, but Robert and Emily and Ben will be here. We will update when something changes. Thanks for checking in on us.
Charlie

no News

Fran did her MRI this afternoon around 4 but naturally no one came by to give us the results. So she is still at Lewis Gale. The pain is better because she has been on morphine all day (they even gave her the pump for it). Hopefully we will know something tomorrow morning. I will keep you posted.
Thanks for praying, Charlie

Back in hospital

It is Sunday night and we have spent all afternoon in the ER at Lewis Gale hospital. Fran has been having pain in her lower left back and for the past three days it has been getting pretty intense. She called her physician this after noon after church and she suggested we go to the ER to rule out some things so we did. After a CT scan, EKG, and blood work nothing showed up which is great but still we don't know what is causing the pain and swelling in her feet and legs. The ER doc decided it would be best to keep her overnight to moniter her and giver her a blood transfusion. And to help with the pain. Hopefully we will have some answers tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted.
Charlie

Overdue update

Sorry for the delay in getting this out, a lot has happened since the last post. Fran is doing well. She is eating and gaining weight. She still has to stop and rest periodically but that is to be expected. She is retaining fluid in her legs and feet which we are concerned about, but she is on medication and she is elevating her feet (as one Dr. said keep your toes above your nose).

Our other news is that Robert, Emily and Ben are back home! Last week Fran was feeling well enough to spend several days with Natalie and Jordan to help them make curtains for their new home. Then we went up to pick up our African clan last Sunday. They arrived early Monday morning and we brought them home. They are staying with us for the time being until Will can find somewhere to go.

We go back to Duke on August 5th so I will wait to update you then, thanks for checking in.

Charlie and Fran

About the same but OK

At least that is what Duke says, Fran asked if she is supposed to be feeling so poorly and they say YES especially because of #1. the intense chemo she recieved prior to stem cell transplant and #2 the transplant itself. Fran went to her Dr. here in Roanoke this past Tue. and all the numbers are goin UP UP UP. Everyone is please with that obviously. Sorry I haven't blogged recently but there has been nothing to report other than the fact that Fran just feel UCKY. But knowing this is normal hopefully is a little consolation. Duke said it usually take 6 months to a year before feeling somewhat normal again. I felt horrible for a week following my nasal surgury, I can't imagine feeling that way for 6 months!
Maybe the Lord was telling me a little about how Fran is feeling. I sure didn't like it!
Fran has goten out the past two days thanks to Samia and Connie. She goes back to Duke on Monday for a check up and hopefully she will feel like riding along to Lancaster PA on Tue and Wed. to see a play up there. We'll wait and see.
Thanks again for all the prayers.
Love, Charlie and Fran

Feeling like she should

Sorry I haven't had anything new to say over the past several days. Fran has been feeling just YUCK. No appetite, no strength, no energy, no nothing. She did go to the Dr. for her weekly blood letting and she happened to see the Dr. in the hallway. He was pleased with her blood work, and he said that it just takes time to begin feeling better. She has been experiencing some congestion so she got an antibiotic and cough medicine for that. He white blood count was down a little probably due to infection. Other than that everything was fine. So we continue to try to make it through it. Fran's sister Genie is here from Richmond, which is always good. She is a big help and a joy to have around. Fran did feel like (or should I say just went)to Will's Hidden Valley girls soccer game and she saw them win with 30 seconds left in the game so that was good. I go tomorrow morning for my "nose job" to remove nasal polyps. Genie will drive me and bring me home. Fran says she is going to the hospital but I hope she won't. We'll see. Thanks again for the prayers. We just need patience Lord!

Mixed Emotion Day

Fran has had a good day. The kids and grandson left for Africa this afternoon, and yes it was sad but that was expected. It wasn't as bad or as difficult as we had expected. Emily called from Dulles and said Ben had been an angel and had stayed buckled in his seat all the way to Washington. It will be interesting to hear how the 17 hour flight to Jburg went. After seeing them off at the airport Fran and Natalie came home and napped and I worked in the yard. Then the three of us went to Applebees for dinner. Will had a previous school engagement. We are back home and ready for bed. Thanks for all the prayers regarding today. I will post again on Sat. unless something comes up. Thanks for checking in. Charlie

Another busy day

I don't know how Fran is doing it but she spent most of the day at Grandin Court with her girls preparing Wed. night supper. Needless to say it was a big success. Now we just need to get through tomorrow. It will be tough - Natalie is coming in, Will is taking off from school. We're all going to meet at Robert's for breakfast and then take them to the airport. Lots of tears but we will make it.

Till next time. Charlie

Great Dr.'s report

Fran has had a very busy day today. It all started by going to Kroger to finish shopping for the church's Wed. night dinner that her team is fixing. She then went on to church to start cooking. At 1:30 Samia took Fran to see her Roanoke Dr. She had her blood work done and he is thrilled with her numbers. They all are coming up very fast. While this is great news she is still having difficulty eating, as in not being able to eat much at all. The Dr. said all this will wear off and she will start feeling better soon.

Following her Dr. appt. she then went back to church to work some more. She is supposed to go back tomorrow at 11:30 to work some more but we will see how she feels.

On another note, we were hoping to be able to see Ben tomorrow. He has been running a fever for the past several days and we were hoping that it would stop. We had our hopes up this morning because he had not had a fever for 8 hours, but then Robert called again this evening and said it was up again tonight. Needless to say there were more tears, but God knows best, hopefully at least we will be able to see him Thursday when we take them to the airport here in Roanoke.

Thanks again for checking in.

Long, busy day

For Fran it all began at 4:30am. She got up to get ready to go to Charlottesville for Will's graduation. We left at 6 and got there before 8. We took a wheelchair which worked great, we were able to get wonderful seats to see everything. Following that ceremony at 10 we went to the arena for the Curry School of Education ceremony. This one only lasted about one and half hours and we were on the road back to Roanoke by 3. We were able to get home before our guests arrived and thanks to Natalie, Jordan and Robert they had everything just about ready, just a few final touches from Fran before our family arrived. Natalie came in Friday and was such a big help getting things ready for the party. Emily and Ben were not able to come because Ben had a temp of 102. They were missed but we had a great party.
Fran has now crashed in bed. She did great.

This will be another busy week getting Robert, Emily and Ben ready for Africa. Hopefully things will settle down next weekend after all the tears. Thanks for your concern and continued prayers.
Love the Krauses

Exponential Blessings

Fran has had a good day today. All of the children have been home and she and Natalie have cooked and cooked getting ready for our family coming over tomorrow night. We are having two celebrations in one, we are celebrating Will's graduation from UVA with a Masters degree, and (not celebrating) but having a good bye party for Robert, Emily and Ben who are leaving Thursday for Africa. Fran seems to be getting stronger everyday, naturally she still has to stop and lay down for a while but she doesn't stay in the bed like she did earlier.

Even though we are sad and hate to see Robert, Emily and Ben leave, we know they are doing what God wants them to do. We wanted to share something neat with you...

About 5 months ago Fran was lying in bed early in the morning praying as she always does. She prayed for our children and Robert's upcoming adventure that was in the making. It was then that the Lord gave her an incredible thought. He showed her that if each family could give $25 a month, or even quarterly, that would multiply into all they would need. No doubt this economy is tough, and so is raising funds in the midst of it, but He assured her that this was possible. We can't help but recall the story of the feeding of 5000. It was in the boy's small gift of 5 loaves and 2 fishes that showed God's ability to multiply his gift to benefit thousands.

More than this, she began realizing this would only happen because of the love that Christ has multiplied among our friends and family. We are not asking you to do this out of obligation, we just wanted to share it with you and if God moves your heart we would be honored!

You can learn all about what they are doing on their website at www.izwi.org. If you do feel led to donate you can do so on that site or you can make a check payable to IZWI World Outreach and mail the check to:

Izwi World Outreach
108 Walnut Creek Rd.
Locust, NC 28097

Fran still feels like she can make it to UVA tomorrow so we will let you know how it goes. Thanks you again for all the prayers, cards and love you send our way.
Love, the Krause's

Yes we are home

In our haste to get packed I misplaced the logon info for blogspot.I'm sorry I missed yesterday. We got home around 8 last night (Wednesday). Fran felt like stopping by and seeing Robert, Emily and especially Ben. When we got home needless to say she went straight to bed. We were at Duke until around 4 getting more of the iums and then she had the Hickman Port taken out of her chest. She still does not feel like eating much and she has very little energy but she did get out and go to Will's girl's Hidden Valley soccer game. She enjoyed that and Robert, Emily and Ben joined us for a little while there which was fun. And yes they won 6-1 against a rival. This week will be bitter sweet, as you may know one week from today Robert, Emily and Ben will be leaving for Africa. Our hearts are saddened to see them go and yet we are so excited for them in this new ministry that God is leading them to in South Africa. I will say more about that in a later posting.
Back to Fran, please pray that she will begin to feel like eating and drinking (especially since she has 7 pills to take everyday and right now it is a struggle to get them down.) When she got home tonight she went straight to bed after our outing but hopefully she will get stronger every day. The folks at Duke said she has to force herself to eat and get out even when she doesn't feel like it. Also pray for us as we wrap up our time with the grandbaby, I'm sure there well be a lot of tears coming this week. But we are also very excited about Will getting his Masters Degree from UVA this weekend. Fran want's so badly to go see him graduate, so pray for us as we make this decision also.

You all have been so faithful in praying for us and especially Fran this far and we truly give God the credit for all he has done for her. Thank you for your continued prayer support.

PS She goes back to see her Roanoke Dr. this coming Tuesday and for the next four weeks and then we go back to Duke in one month for a follow up visit.

We love you all, Charlie and Fran

We are coming home tomorrow!!!!!

WOW were we surprised this morning when the PA came by and told us we could come home tomorrow (Wednesday). He said Fran's numbers were better than expected (thanks to your prayers). Fran is still extremely tired and hasn't started eating alot yet but the most important thing is that we are coming home even earlier than expected. I'm sure that will make her feel better! We have a 10:30 appointment in the morning with the Dr and they will give us instructions for coming home. She will also have her Hickman port taken out before we leave.

We have some wonderful cleaning angels in our home as we speak to get our Daleville home ready for us. Fran won't be able to get out in the yard quite yet but that will come. He said it would probably be 4-6 weeks before she felt like doing much. The Dr. even said that she should be able to go to Charlottsville on Sunday for Will's graduation, (we will see how she feels). Now we will have a whole week with Robert, Emily and Ben before they head off for Africa on the 27th. Also Natalie is planning on coming in this week end to check on her Mom.


Finally, we can't thank you all enough for your prayers, love and concern for Fran during this difficult time. We have been truly blest by your support and love. I will continue to update the blog for the next few weeks as she progresses.

In Christ's love,
Charlie and Fran

A better day!

It's been another long day at the clinic today, Fran got more antibiotics, and all the iums, potasium, magnesium,etc. She seems to feel better, she didn't sleep at the clinic and she did work on her soduko book (to keep her mind working she said). She said her throat feels better but not great. She ate about 1/2 of a Panera bagel this morning and hopefully some soup tonight for supper. Her counts are going up and they are still tentatively talking Friday for coming home. Just another exciting day in Durham. Thanks for your concern, Charlie

Broken Record

Things are still progressing as they should (at least that is what the Dr. says). The sore throat is getting old, Fran can't drink, or eat, which is not fun. Last night around 8 I took her temp and it was 101 so we had to call the hospital and go in to get checked out. We were there until 1 this morning and they gave her 3 major antibiotics and some fluids. When we went back the clinic this morning they continued more antibiotics and fluids so we were at the clinic until around 4 today. They were not concerned about the temp. and it has since gone back down. The Dr. again said this morning that they are looking at Friday as the day we should be able to go home and they still say as soon as the numbers get higher the sore thoat should get better. That of course is what we are hoping for. That is the way it is down here in hot Durham. We are looking forward to getting back home soon. Thanks for your prayers, Charlie and Fran

Still Yuck - still waiting

Saturday has not been a great day. The counts are still down and haven't started up yet. Fran's throat is so sore she has a hard time eating and drinking. She had a lot of fluids this morning including morphine for the pain. The clinic is great on helping with everything, they say we should see a turn around soon. We had a rough night but hopefully tonight will be better. We love you all and hopefully we will have a better report tomorrow. Till then, Charlie

Still on track

Everything is still moving along just as it should. Fran is still experiencing a bad sore throat and an occasional nauseated feeling. As sore as it is the Dr.'s say this is as it should be and they have given us meds to help with it. (which they do to a degree)

Her counts have bottomed out which is good and they should start back up this weekend which will make her feel better. We still go to the clinic every morning (even on the weekends) for them to check on counts and vitals, etc. She did get a unit of blood this morning and will probably get platelets this weekend, which is perfectly normal. One of the Doctors went out on a limb and said he thought we should be coming home by next weekend, which is what we had been praying for because of Will's graduation at UVA. I doubt Fran will feel like going but at least I will be back in town to go.

Here is an updated mailing address, the old one worked because they had a mailman that knew what he was doing, but they may not be so lucky again, so here is the updated mailing address:

Charlie and Fran Krause
5-103
5514 Butterfly Lane
#103
Durham, NC 27707

As I said we are expecting to be gone by next weekend so keep that in mind when you send cards. We are very grateful for all the cards and letters of encouragment you are sending our way. We thank God for you all and pray for you daily as well.

Till tomorrow,
Charlie

Fran is drunk and passed out on the bed!

That got your attention I bet! Her counts continue to go down and as predicted she has a horrible sore throat. They gave her some morphine and 2 oxycodone pills to help. Well they did, not sure about the pain but she just doesn't care anymore. She is resting comfortably on the bed this afternoon. Everything continues to go as predicted. Again the counts should turn around over the weekend (the PA said) and she should begin to feel better next week. Other than that everything continues to go as it should. Thanks again for your love, prayers and concern.
Charlie

WOW we got the CARDS!

Thank you, Thank you for all the cards you sent our way. We finally figured out we were looking in the wrong box! Fran is reading them now. This hasn't been a great day, but then it's not supposed to be. The PA said she is feeling just like she should which is pretty lousy. He said hopefully by Friday things will turn around. Counts continue to go down and she received a big bag of fluids and some potasium. So we continue to wait for things to turn around and just thanking God that she is not feeling any worse than she is.
Thanks again for your prayers and cards.
Charlie and Fran - We love you ALL

Not getting mail

We are not receiving any mail at this apt. complex. I don't know what the problem is, but I would suggest that the mail be sent to our home in Daleville. Hopefully the cards that have been sent will be returned.
Sorry for the confusion. Charlie

Right on schedule

Fran is feeling tired, lethargic and a little nauseated today. This is exactly how she is supposed to be feeling the PA said. It may last a few more days before she starts feeling better. She needed a little potassium and fluids to help her feel better. The nurse told us that we could be coming home in about 10 days, so that gives us at least a goal to shoot for. Naturally this isn't firm but at least it gives us an idea about our arrival back in Roanoke.

Even though Fran is feeling ucky, she came home and fixed a shrimp salad for us. ONLY FRAN So we continue to hang in there. All things considered I don't think we could be asking for anything better. Thank you again for all of your prayers and concern. We feel very blest.
Charlie and Fran.

We contiue to marvel at God's goodness

This has been another good day here in Durham. The PA is pleased with Fran's progress. He said today may be the worst she will feel, if that is so, then God is truly good. All of her blood work was good this morning, her numbers continue to go down which is what is supposed to happen and hopefully in a few days they will turn around and go back up. She has felt tired today but that is about it. No nausea, etc. She has rested today, (no shopping) So we continue to wait and thank God for his protection.
We know it is because of the prayers.
Thanks so much, we love you all.
Charlie and Fran

Great weekend

Fran has had a great weekend. Her blood work has come back great both days. In fact it was so good this morning that we were the first ones to get to leave the clinic. I asked Fran what she wanted to do, so we went shopping. We had lunch even though she couldn't eat very much. She feels fine and the nurses can't get over how well she is doing. She gets tired easily so I try not to push her and let her go at her own pace. Your prayers are working. The blood levels continue to drop which is good and now we are waiting for them to bottom out and begin back up. God is good. Thank you for your prayers, unti tomorrow.
Charlie and Fran

Had a good day

Fran has had a good day today, When we went for bloodwork this morning, she was feeling a little quesy and just yucky. They gave her some fluids and potasium. That took about 4 hours. We came home and she rested all afternoon and then we went to Harris Teeter to get her out. We walked around the apt. complex a little also. She fell asleep in the chair in the living room and now I just put her to bed. (9:45) We go back to the clinic at 9 in the morning for more blood work. So far so good, thanks for your prayers.
Charlie

Address here in Durham

Some of you have asked for our address while here at Duke.

Charlie and Fran Krause
5514 Butterfly Lane
Bldg. 5 Unit 103
Durham, NC 27707

Grow Stemcells Grow!

That is what the nurse said today when we left the clinic at 3pm. Fran received her stem cells today via two big syringes. Now we just wait for them to produce more good stem cells, the rest of the time here at Duke is spent just monitoring her condition. So far so good. She has had just a little nausea feeling but nothing that pills didn't help. The nurse told her that today would be the last day that she would be feeling good so she better go out and do what she wanted. And guess what? She did! We walked around an outlet mall for a little while and then stopped by Old Navy on the way home. She is now resting comfortably.
We go back to the clinic tomorrow morning at 9:30 for blood work and check up. If anything is needed they will top her off. Thanks for your prayers, everything that we came here for has been done and it is just a waiting game now hopefully for two weeks.
Charlie

Everything is going well

We got back to our apartment around 4 this afternoon and Fran went to sleep until around 7. I wanted to fix supper but she insisted on helping so we had soup for dinner. We are now watching Amelia. She feels good, and we are taking her temp. every three hours, so far so good. We'll keep you posted on how things are going tomorrow. She gets her first stem cell transplant in the morning. Thanks for everyone's prayers, they were answered! We're underway.

It has begun!!!!

Yeah!!!! Yes we have begun, Fran is getting a big IV bag drip prior to the chemo. The chemo is beginning at 1pm. Everyone is being very kind and helpful. Needless to say Fran is anxious but she will be fine. The transplant procedure will begin tomorrow. The nurse is here giving her lots of pills to take before the chemo begins. Thanks for your continued prayers. Needless to say our prayer is that there will be minimal side effects and that the stay here at Duke will be as brief as possible. I'll try to do a posting everyday to keep you up on how things are going.
Charlie

Still waiting

Fran has had a great day shopping, we began the day by going by the Duke chapel and then shopping, shopping. We had not heard from Duke by 4:30 so Fran called and talked to the PA, All of the tests still have not come back in, but she told Fran to come on in the morning at 9 and maybe we would know something by then or soon after. At least they did not send us home again, so one more night of uncertainty. Hopefully we will know something tomorrow morning. As soon as we know something I will put it here.
thanks, Charlie

Still Waiting

We are here in Durham and still waiting. Fran had lots of blood work done this afternoon, an ekg, and chest exray and now we are waiting on the reports to come back to the Doctor. We saw him this afternoon and he is sure everything is ok, just need the test results, soooo one more day of waiting. He said he would call us tomorrow afternoon with the results.
We will just take it easy tomorrow, visit the Duke Chapel where The Roanoke Chamber Brass will be giving a concert this coming August and try the find the gardens to walk around in as Fran is recuperating. Please pray that the results are what we need so we can get on with the procedure on Wed.
Thanks again for your interest and prayers.
Love, Charlie and Fran

It hopefully is beginning

Sorry we have not been on for awhile, there has been no new news. We have just been waiting and waiting. Finally the wound has healed and we are headed back to Duke this coming Monday. We have an appointment with the Dr. at 3pm and then on Tuesday morning at 8am. We are assuming this means we are beginning the process even though they have not said they will do the transplant yet. This is just our prayer. As we get going next week I will be making daily posts here. Thanks for checking in.
Charlie

Good News with Great Doc!

Fran had her appt. with the wound specialist, Dr. Harris this morning and we were very pleased with him. Dr. Pat Saul recommended Fran to go see Dr. Harris however Pat is the one who prescribed the medicine that she has been using for the past two weeks which has worked wonders on the wound. Dr. Harris said to continue with this treatment and that the wound should be completely healed in two weeks. We will continue to do labs and monitor blood results and hopefully go to Duke sooner rather than later. Thanks again for all the prayers, concern and support.
Charlie and Fran

Good news today

Fran got the biopsy report back today regarding the wound and it is not cancerous. It doesn't seem to be getting much better but it is not getting any worse which the Dr. says is good also. We also got an appt with the wound Dr. for April 15th. She had her weekly blood work done at Blue Ridge Cancer Care and it came back OK as well. So over all a good day.
That's all the news for today.
Thanks for checking in.
Fran and Charlie

Finally

Thanks to our family Dr. friend we are going to see a wound specialist here in Roanoke. Our friend biopsied the wound and hopefully we will get the see the specialist as soon as we get the results back from the biopsy. He doesn't think there is anything there, it is just a precaution. The wound hasn't changed much so we need to see what can be done for it. Hopefully now this can be cleared up soon.
Charlie

Had the CT scan

I got the CT scan in today but didn't get see my other Dr. Hopefully tomorrow at 2:30 I will get to see him about the sore. Naturally I don't have any news from the scan, and no news from Duke. Still waiting. Step by step by step.
I'll let you know about the appt. tomorrow.
Fran

Good Bloodwork

I went to Blue Ridge Cancer Care for bloodwork and everything was good. I had a good time catching up my long time friend Carol Kerr to took me to my appt. All looked good with the dressing change on the Hickman. I wish we had better news regarding the wound. Dr. Richards is sending me for a CT Scan tomorrow to make sure there isn't any underlying infection somewhere. He believes that it might take a month or more for the wound to heal, so it pushes the transplant time to May. This is not what we wanted to hear but we are not in control. I'm checking with a personal Dr.friend tomorrow and hopefully he will have an insight on how we can get this wound healed faster. We contine to be thankful for all of you who are blessing my family in so many ways. We love you all.
Sincerely, Fran

Saw the Dr.

Well we saw the Dr. today about the open sore and quite frankly he was of no help. After 20 questions and a look at the sore, he basically said keep doing what we are doing, there was nothing he could do to help the situation. Thanks alot Doc! Oh well, we will keep doing what we are doing and hopefully the sore will clear up on its own, (no thanks to him). Oh, he did say come back in 2 weeks. FOR WHAT? so he can look at it? Dr. Krause can do that.

We will contact Duke this week end to let them know what we found out.

We had a house full this afternoon which was great. Emily and Ben spent the day with us which we enjoyed and it has been great have Genie and Bill here.
We will update the blog when things change, thanks for keeping in touch.
Charlie

Easter Bunny day

Yes, Fran went shopping for the Easter Bunny today. Fairly short visit to Target and then on to Chic-Fil-A with Ben (grandson) and his parents for dinner. We are looking forward to Genie, Fran's sister, coming in tomorrow from Richmond. It will be nice to see her. She is still waiting to see the Dr. on Friday about this wound, hopefully he can do something to get the healing process going. We both are anxious to get back to Duke for the transplant. Fran talked with the folks at Duke and they and we are just on hold. So, our prayer request is that this "wound" will heal and heal quickly. Thanks for your concern and love.
Charlie

Beautiful Colon!

Sorry I couldn't resist. Yes, Dr. Dye said Fran's colon looked fine, he did take a biopsy of the lining just to make sure there was no infection but he didn't anticipate anything. He did suggest we see another Dr. regarding the open wound so we have an appt. next Friday for that. Hopefully it will be cleared up by then.
She has slept most of the day. Ben came over so Grandad and he enjoyed playing outside. Will was here for a while also. Fran doesn't remember much about the day but it was good. If she feels up to it we may drive up and see Natalie and Jordan's new house tomorrow.
Until next time.

Pretty Good Day

Today was pretty uneventful for Fran. This afternoon she went to Blue Ridge Cancer Care for blood work and everything was normal (Fran normal). We are very grateful for that! Around 6 this evening she began drinking the wonderful liquid to prepare for the colonoscopy tomorrow. Enough said. We will let everyone know how the procedure goes on the next blog.
Till tomorrow....Charlie

Good Day!

Fran had a great day. She spent it with friends for lunch at a friends home and then a whole afternoon of talking and praying. She is still receiving cards and best wishes daily which lifts her spirits and sometimes makes her cry. She can tell the sentiments that are shared are so heartfelt. Thanks again to everyone for your love and caring. But especially thanks to our Lord for His sustaining mercy.
Love to all,
Fran and Charlie

A great new look for Fran!

Fran was able to get her wig styled by a dear friend Jim Rood this morning and she looks great. After this appointment she spent some time with Emily and Ben at their home and while Ben was taking his afternoon nap, Fran rested while Emily ran some errands. I picked her up around 3 and we went over to Blue Ridge Cancer Care for some blood work. The results were good for what they could read there and we are just waiting for some more extensive results that will come in tomorrow. There's no reason to expect anything but good from them as well.
Still dealing with the open wounds but they may be getting better. We will be able to go Friday morning at 8:30 for her colonoscopy.
We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner tonight and enjoyed that outing.
I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.
Charlie

No hair day

Yes, that's right, thanks to Will and Robert the hair is gone! When Fran woke up this am, hair was everywhere on the pillow, it was getting in her food and mouth so after I left for church this morning Fran asked Will to help her cut her hair. Will buzzed her and then when Robert, Emily and Ben arrived Will and Robert shaved her head. What a pleasant surprise when I arrived home from church. Fran is still the most beautiful girl in the world. Of course there were tears but I told her she had to go through this to get better. Will, Robert and Emily and of course Ben were just fantastic today. Fran is going to see Jim Rood tomorrow morning so he can style her new wig!

As I said yesterday, Fran has a few open wounds that need to heal before we can proceed with the stem cell transplant. So naturally our prayer request is that the healing will begin and begin soon. She will call Dr. Kevin Dye in the morning to re-schedule her colonoscopy. She will also go to see Dr. Richards for blood work. Overall she is doing well and we are just playing the waiting game.

Thanks for your prayers! Charlie and Fran

We're home

It has been a long Friday and Sat. We left Friday morning at 5am and made it to Duke at 8:05. After the blood work Fran needed blood and platelets plus other assorted drips. We finally began the stem cell harvesting at 1:30 and thanks to all the prayer warriors out there she was finished (yes finished) by 5:30 with enough stem cells for two transplants. The Dr.s and nurses were very pleased. They told us to come in this morning at 8:30 just to check her blood to make sure everything was Ok and after all the drips on Friday we were pretty confidant we would be out by 9 NOT....

She needed more blood and lots of other "coctails" to get her electorlytes back into shape this morning. We fianlly left Durham this afternoon at 3:15 a little discouraged. She hadn't had much time with Natalie and the family was getting together at Red Robin for dinner. We did make it there by 5:30 to see everyone. Natalie and Jordan have gone back to Elkton tonight because she has to go to work tomorrow morning.

Now we have to wait several weeks before we go back, there are some other "issues" that need to be taken care of before we can harvest the stem cells. She will go on Monday to see her Dr. here to check blood counts again.

PLease pray for her encouragement, her hair is finally beginning to come out. (enough said).
Thanks for your continued prayers and love.
Charlie

We're home from hospital!

Fran got home this am around 11. The numbers took a big jump from yesterday so Duke said "Come on Down!" We have to be at Duke tomorrow (Friday) at 8am to begin stem cell harvesting. We will just have to wait and see how long it takes. Our prayer is that it will only take one day to harvest enough stem cells for two transplants. Natalie is in town, so we hate to leave her but she understands.
Charlie

Wednesday evening

Another day just like yesterday. Fran is still in Lewis Gale. She is getting stronger and feeling better. Her blood count is coming up slowly but it still was not high enough to come home. Hopefully tomorrow it will be. We still don't know anything about when we will be returning to Duke. We are celebrating Natalie's birthday this weekend, so hopefully we won't have to go to Duke. She is coming in tomorrow morning and we are looking forward to seeing her.
We will keep everyone updated.
Charlie

Tue. March 8 LONG DAY

This has been an interesting day. We got home from the hospital last night around 11:15 pm. Fran had the 2 units of blood and an antibiotic drip while at Lewis Gale. Just as soon as we got home last night we checked her temp and it was around 101. 30 min. later we took it again around 12:30 am and it spiked at 102 so we immediately headed back to the emergency room.

After seeing the Dr. and CT scan, a chest xray at 5am Fran was admitted into the hospital. She has been there all day, getting platelets, and a myriad of antibiotics. Needless to say she is feeling alot better tonight but she stayed again at the hospital. We have talked to Duke and they are not concerned at all. If the blood work comes back OK we can head on down to NC. That may be tomorrow or the next day or next week, we are just waiting.

So that has been our long day, I'm getting ready to go to bed and Fran is too. The nurse told Fran they will be in at 4am in the morning to draw more blood so they can check it out again.

Thanks for your concern and continued prayer support!
Charlie and Fran

No go for Duke today

Monday afternoon, March 8 - We didn't get to go to Duke today. Fran's blood levels were so low they admitted her into Lewis Gale for 2 blood transfusions. This will take about 6 hours so hopefully we will come home around 9 tonight. This explains why she was feeling so bad over the weekend. Hopefully this new blood will give her a boost and then we will just wait to hear from Duke. She will go to her Dr. here in Roanoke on Wed. for another blood test. Then we will wait and see what happens.
Charlie

Sunday, March 7

Nothing has changed today, Fran is waiting to go to the Dr. tomorrow and get the blood work done. Hopefully the results will show that everything is right where it is supposed to be and we can go to Duke to begin harvesting the stem cells. We will keep everyone posted.
Charlie

Friday March 5

Fran has "bottomed out" with her white blood cells, hemoglobin and platelets which is good! Just what is supposed to happen. The staff at Blue Ridge Cancer Care sent her home immediately today and told her to go to bed. She can't go out and can't bring food in. She feels "not great but OK" and she's finally feeling some of the bone pain that everyone has been talking about.
A big thank you to Samia Ward, Natalie Norris and Connie Jones for taking Fran to see the Dr. this week.
Hopefully the "counts" will begin to start up this weekend and we will be able to go back to Duke on Monday for her stem cell harvesting. That is our prayer that everything will stay on schedule.
Thanks for your prayers.
Charlie and Fran

Tuesday, March 2

We're marching onward. Fran went to see Dr. Kevin Dye this afternoon regarding her stomach problems. He wants her to have a colonoscopy on Friday, March 12.
Everything is going well, just trying to get shots (three a day)and all the pills taken when we are supposed to.
Thanks for your concern and prayers.
Charlie and Fran

3/1/2010

Fran has had a pretty good day, still some stomach discomfort. She went to have her bloodwork done at Blue Ridge Cancer Care today. Hopefully all of her numbers are going in the right direction. Thanks to Connie Jones for taking her.

We're back home 2/28

We got home today around 3pm. Fran is not feeling great which is to be expected.
She received her BIG chemo drug on Friday and did will with it. Then she started taking the prescribed meds for nausea and she began having extreme stomach cramping every time she ate or drank something. It was OK while we were at Duke because she was receiving a constant drip day and night of fluids, we don't have that anymore now that we are home.

Duke wanted us to get an appointment with a gastro Dr. here in Roanoke, so we go to see Dr. Kevin Dye this Tuesday. His office was great and allowed us to come with out having to wait along time for an appt. We go see him on Tue. at 1pm. Just pray he will be able to figure out what is going on with her stomach to give her some relief.

If all goes well, we will return to Duke next Tuesday to begin stem cell harvesting. We will keep you posted

Thank you again for all the prayers.
We love you, Charlie and Fran

We're back home 2/28

Second Day at Duke

We had a long day at Duke, but a good one. We began at 8 AM and left at 4:10 PM
We had lots of fluid bags administered including the cytoxin chemo. So far so good, except for drowsiness which is good. We came straight back to our room and Fran went to bed. She woke up for supper and is almost out again.
We go back the next two mornings just for check up regarding her blood counts, etc.
Hopefully everything will be fine. Thanks for all the prayers, we love you all. If all goes well we'll be back in Roanoke Sunday afternoon.

Charlie and Fran

Down at Duke

Presently, Mom is down at Duke recovering from the installation of her central line. Dad and mom arrived in Durham yesterday and got set up in a hotel there. They saw mom's stem cell doctor this morning at 8AM and then reported back to the hospital at 12:30PM, this morning (Thursday). During this second visit the central line was installed in her chest near the location of her other port she has been using for chemo thus far. They first removed the old port and then implanted the new line. They numbed the site around the central line before installation but did not put her out.

Throughout their research, Duke has found that hydrating patience prior to this chemo prevents potential bleeding in the bladder. So currently mom is hooked up to a very large bag of different fluids. Everyday she has report to the bone marrow transplant clinic at 8AM. Tomorrow (Friday), she will receive her BIG chemo. Saturday and Sunday she will be monitored to see if there are any adverse affects from the chemo. Their hope is to return to Roanoke on Sunday afternoon.

Other than the pain in and around the site of the central line, she is doing great at the moment. Please pray for her as she goes in tomorrow for her BIG chemo.

They are scheduled to return to Duke in two weeks for the stem cell harvesting that will take potentially two days. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We will continue to keep you all updated through this blog as regularly as possible.

Thank you,

Robert

The Grand Finale...Revised

Hi everyone! I received a phone call last week letting me know the schedule has been postponed one week. So, the process will still proceed as below...everything will just move one week later. Again, thanks for praying!

The Grand Finale!

Yesterday Charlie and I went to Duke to discuss the upcoming events. Everyone there is very efficient and the day went well. They were pleased with my progress and gave me the OK to proceed. However, the procedures are not as simple as I had hoped:

On February 10th we will go to Duke for a day. I will have a series of preliminary tests (EKG, etc.) to determine if I am healthy enough for the transplant.

On February 17th we will go back and spend 4 days. I need to have a major dose of chemo to get my body "prepped" for the transplant. I also need to have the catheter inserted in my chest; this is used for the harvesting. They will monitor these procedures before discharging me.

On March 1st I will return to Duke; harvesting begins on the 2nd. This will take 1-2days.

On March 8th my stem-cell tranplant will begin. This will last 2-4 weeks.

This is a lot to digest! Some things I am thankful for: I get to return home between each of these procedures, this will all be over much faster than I had anticipated, my protein levels were satisfactory to proceed. Some things that are difficult: there is a lot of traveling, I'm not sure I was mentally prepared for this to happen so quickly, fear of the unknown. I only share these concerns with you so you can join us in prayer. I feel like you all are and have been my support through this. I cannot thank you enough. I will keep blogging to let you know how it progresses! Love to everyone, Fran

Almost Finished Chemo

I seem to be nearing the end of this course, at least in terms of chemo. I am in my last cycle before going to Duke on February 1st. My protein spike has dropped below 1.0 (for all the medical people) which means I am progressing as Dr. Richards had hoped! At Duke I will meet with Dr. Long who will set the date for the stem-cell harvesting. All of this is very exciting to me as it is what this whole process has been for!

Yesterday I had another bone marrow biopsy. This time around was a better experience because of drugs! Still no horrific side effects from the chemo...just fatigue and intestinal problems. I still love to cook but have had trouble tasting food. I'm told this goes away when the chemo stops, thankfully!

Life for the Krauses has been busy as ever. Natalie and Jordan just put a contract down on a house in Grottoes. Will is working on his thesis to finish up his graduate studies and Robert has begun a new Master's progam at Fuller Seminary. I am so proud of all of them!!!

Again, thank you for praying. God is holding us together and we praise Him for that! Please remember to pray for the upcoming stem-cell transplant. This could be the hardest of trials yet, but I trust Him and am prepared!