Update on Bob Wilhelm

[Guest guest]

Hello dear friends,

Well, not much good news. Bob is in a health care facility for long term

care. He will not come home again. As far as his CML, Dr Paquette says

even tho he cannot take the Sprycel he will not relapse for at least a

year. Bob cannot take the Sprycel because he has a feeding tube and

Sprycel cannot be crushed. He is still on Hydrea for high platelets and

they are under control. Of course, he has not had a BMB or PCR test since

last December, so we don't have any new numbers.

A few weeks ago he went into the hospital again, to the ER with a temp of

103.5 deg. Dehydrated, etc. He stayed for 10 days. They pumped him full

of antibiotics, IVs, etc. He cannot swallow any more. The mechanism is

there, but his brain just won't tell him to swallow. So that is why he

has the feeding tube in his stomach. After that surgery he kinda crashed

and they took him to ICU and he got some better there. Then he came back

to the nursing home and it doesn't look good. He had a transfusion last

week, but he is not bleeding internally. Dr Paquette says it's probably

the infection (whatever that may be) that prevents his blood from making

more. His son and I have decided that he will get no more transfusions.

We will continue with the feeding tube, of course, but we have a DNR in

place. They will not revive him if he stops breathing or if his heart

stops, but I sure wasn't going to let him starve to death, hence the

feeding tube. He is no longer getting antibiotics, so I hope the horrible

yeast infection he has in the groin area will go away. Bob doesn't seem

to be in pain, and sometimes he can answer my questions and he smiles on

good days. And on really good days, I can get him to wink at me! It's so

cute!

So I thank you all for all your help through the years, your jokes, your

advice, your encouragement. I've made many cyber friends here and I love

you all very much. We may never meet in person, but you will always be in

my heart.

take care and blessed be nancy wilhelm

ps. I wrote this last week and tried to send it but it came back. Guess

I had the wrong address.

Bob is doing even worse now. He has a staph infection and is on

antibiotics again. He sleeps most of the time and doesn't even wake up

when they change him or his bed. I shaved him today and he slept thru it!

He doesn't wink at me or smile anymore. Just sleeps. Maybe when these

antibiotics kick in, his fever will go down and he will be more

responsive.

So now I am praying that God's will be done, but just hurry it up a bit,

because if Bob could make a decision he would not want to live this way.

again thanks and blessed be nancy