Charlie was transferred out of Memorial Hospital last week and into Healdsburg Senior Living on Grove Street. He will stay there to receive physical therapy and make sure he can eat and drink enough on his own. He needs to stay hydrated in order to avoid another trip to the hospital. We do not know what this round of chemo did to the cancer tumor, but will have scans in a week or so - plus blood work. Dad looks really good and is talking more, but still tired and rests a lot. He has not mentioned whether or not he us up for visitors, but I will ask him this afternoon and post back here later. The good news is that things are stable and getting a little better each day. Thank you for your cards, well wishes and funny notes.

Sunday - Father's Day! Today Dad had a catheter placed (again!) because the bladder is not excreting properly. This has been a constant theme - - Catheter in, Catheter out, Catheter in, Catheter out. . . as you might imagine the whole process is irritating. The good news is that Dad has been doing really well with physical therapy - walking and lifting. He is building his stamina. He has no pain anywhere right now, which is great and all other blood counts seemed to be within an okay range. Tomorrow will be a big day because Geri will talk to the doctor and find out what the 'H'-'E'-'Double'-'Toothpicks' - is going on!!! He still needs to concentrate on the dreaded "E's" - Eating and Exercise in order to get out of the hospital. His lungs look good, which means no pneumonia. What is the most frustrating is that things not only change from day-to-day, but more like from nursing-shift to nursing-shift. So, while I might post one thing one day, the next day it will be the total opposite - it is without question, a very fluid situation. At this point, we do not have an anticipated hospital release date. Dad still does not want visitors and after having any activity, he is REALLY tired. Thank you for all your prayers and good thoughts. We have plastered his hospital room with the cards you are sending! Thank you SO much.

Saturday - I have talked to Geri who will be at the hospital for the morning and some of the afternoon. Charlie is doing better today, but needs to eat and exercise (the two dreaded E's) in order to get everything functioning properly. He had a good rest last night and and if there are no other surprises, all indications are that he is on-the-mend. That in mind, we are faced with an interim care home setting option - - again. He is certainly not leaving the hospital today and Geri is waiting to see the doctor and get an idea of what is realistic. I, of course, will keep everyone here posted. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me or post to the blog. Thank you to everyone who is/was able to give blood on behalf of Dad. I am not sure of the total amount he received. Blessings to everyone.

Thursday - Charlie is doing good. He had a little set back yesterday (Wednesday) with some bad stomach pain, which they have now given him an antibiotic to resolve. We almost came to blows with the nurse because Dad was supposed to have a CAT scan early in the morning and kept getting pushed out of order because of more severe cases. Finally, at 10pm (yes, that is not a typo - 10:00PM!) they came to get him for the scan. He was in a lot of pain, unable to eat because of the type of scan and it was getting very irritating.

Today he is no longer in pain - Thankfully. He is having his bladder flushed out 24/7 because there may have been some damage when he first arrived at the hospital and the nurses were getting stuff done pretty quickly. In any case, they do a "big" flush at least once a day where he gets morphine and another pain killer prior - so the pain is a little bit reduced.

The really big news is that he is receiving a blood transfusion because it will help him recover. SO - - I am giving a SHOUT-OUT to anyone who can donate blood - it would be much appreciated. It doesn't matter what type - just let the blood bank know it is on behalf of Charles Del Fava at Memorial Hospital (St. Joseph's).

Also, it is now uncertain whether or not Dad will be getting rehab at an interim facility because....it is very likely that by the time these other issues are resolved, he will have gained enough strength to GO Home!! Hurray. We are all hoping that is how it will work out.

Thanks to everyone. The good thoughts and prayers are working to heal Our Charlie!

If you wish to leave a comment on the Blog, I will print and read it to him at the hospital. He will get a kick out of that.

Tuesday - Well, the doctor was correct - Dad is not ready to leave the hospital yet. . . wait, let me put that another way - The Doctor is not ready to release Dad, yet! That's more like it. He is still having blood counts too high/too low and is receiving some IV fluids again. He is exercising his arms with small weights and doing leg exercises. He is building stamina very quickly! The guy in the room with him has gone home, so Dad's room is quiet now. This helps him get some rest at night. Denise took Mike home and she has returned to help us out up here in the Burg. It is nice to have someone with Dad all during the day because the sad truth is the nursing staff is stretched pretty thin and no one will care for Dad like we will! We need a watchful eye at all times. . . So that's the latest for today. It is likely that Dad will not be released tomorrow either - Maybe Thursday. We are so happy to have everyone sending him good thoughts and well wishes. He appreciates it, too. Although, he is still not ready for visitors. More tomorrow. . .

Monday - welcome new followers! Charlie is doing better today, but until his blood counts are consistent, Dr. Lee (the on-call oncologist) says he must stay put in the hospital. Dr. Lee visited tonight and does not think Charlie will be leaving the hospital until Wednesday at the earliest. As we all know, the opinion changes from doctor to doctor, but Dr. Lee, being the oncologist has the final say-so, I believe.

I visited Dad this evening and he said the blog would not be complete without mentioning "poop". I don't think the administrator will let us post what he really said. :0) It's a good sign that Dad's intestines are functioning just fine, thank you very much. Enough said about that!

There is a problem with his current room. He has been placed in a room with another man who has oxygen being given via mask. The problem is... when the levels in the mask fluctuate, the darn thing beeps (howls, really) and is LOUD. This is keeping Dad awake and - need I say more? Yikes! Geri and I performed detective work this evening in an attempt to find him a more suitable room. The entire oncology floor is booked. Tomorrow, there may be a better option.

The good news today is that Dad is standing for longer periods of time, walking and generally getting his body moving around building stamina. He mentioned something about "rubbers", but we won't even go there!

More news tomorrow.

Sunday - Charlie continues to do really well! He is walking a bit longer and his stamina is increasing. There are some blood counts that are either up too much or down too much, so the doctors are working on that. He is not up to seeing visitors yet. He is also working on lung capacity - getting more air into his lungs will be a really great thing. Apparently, it is common for the lung capacity to decline while in a hospital. So, there are a lot of activities keeping him busy while he waits to be released. We are all looking forward to that day, too!

Saturday - Charlie does not want any visitors right now. He is feeling better and all indications are that he is healing from the first blast of chemo and dehydration. He gets tired very easily and is working on building his stamina now that all vitals are working well. We know he is feeling better because he told the nurse she talked too much. He has made friends with the guy in the next bed - who'dda guessed? He has also decided that Scott and Lisa will coordinate visitors and phone calls; Mike and Denise will coordinate communications on this site; and Janet will help Geri with medical information, visits and questions for the doctors, etc. Dad is still in charge around here! :0) Deb and Iverson are here for a few more days and are helping So much with everything as issues arise and are the best support for Geri! Thank you for thoughts and prayers.

Charlie is still in the hosptial, but doing well. He is tired of answering questions from the nurses - not a surprise. Will see him later today and let everyone know how he is doing.

Janet R.