Roger needs our prayers

Good evening,
I've only been home for a little while and when I opened my emails I found one from Carol. Roger is in the hospital and has quite a battle on his hands.

Here is how Carol laid out his condition in her own words, "Sunday night we were talking and decided that he could not wait until Tuesday! We went to Mission ER and after an EKG, 3 blood draws, an ultra sound, x-ray, CT scan they still didn't know what's wrong with him. His hemoglobin was 7.4 ~ normal is 13 - 14. He was admitted in St. Joseph's Hospital and they told him he would be there for at least a couple days. He has been diagnosed with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. In simple terms ~ his bone marrow is producing enough red blood cells, but his body is destroying them. The high Bilirubin is from the overloading the liver trying to filter out the destroyed red cells. He is getting 125mg steroid shots every 8 hours. They were monitoring his blood count and hoping The steroids will slow down the destruction and his body will regenerate the red blood cells. The Dr. came in this afternoon and said after 24 hours the red blood count is not going up as yet.

Last night his hemoglobin was 7.1 this a.m. it was 6.8. This afternoon they gave him 2 units of blood. They will check his
hemoglobin in the morning to see how he's doing. The new blood should bring it up to at least 10. Then we have to see if his body will accept it or reject it. He will be in the hospital at least another day depending on how his body responds.

Roger feels good as long as he doesn't move around very much. We are looking forward to having him feel stronger and more alive tomorrow after the new blood. It's a strange disease!

We thank you all for your prayers and concerns."

Personally I am in shock. Like most people Roger faces some ongoing health issues but this is new and they both certainly need our prayers. I know from experience that the new blood will provide an almost immediate lift but the real question is, will his body give it a chance or will it try to tear down the new blood?

I've had a big day and got to pay $5.07 a gallon for diesel this afternoon. I saw three properties today and like usual enjoyed meeting the owners. I am thankful for a safe day of travel and the little car ran perfectly once again. Yes the grill is still in place in spite of hitting branches in the trail, tall grass on a little road to get to one of the comps and a couple bumps on concrete parking strips.

This afternoon work ended as I slipped in late to observe Keanna at tumbling class and talk with Nikki. She is doing fine and invited me home for dinner at their place tonight. Yummy white corn, perfect spaghetti, mushrooms and sauce.

Good night my friend, my family. Dana confirmed her travel plans for a week from Thursday which really give us all something to look forward to. Keanna can hardly wait to see Anthony who is coming with Dana. Should be fun.

love

tim
ps prayers and best wishes for Roger this evening.