One Year and Counting....

He’s One!!  He’s One!!  Today it’s been one year since Joe’s stem cell transplant and it’s been quite the journey.  His immune system is one year old today and he’s doing fantastic!

He sees his oncologist every two months and we were just there this week.  His numbers look great.  The two primary protein numbers they track closely have risen a bit but the doctor is not concerned about it at this point.  He said they are really future indicators but at this point, he’s doing very well.  Come back in two months!  He does continue to get his monthly shot for his bones and every other week his maintenance dose of his “smart drug a/k/a chemo”.  Most of the time, he doesn’t have too many side effects from that treatment.

Do you remember when we tried to get him to only work part-time?  Well, we did manage to limit his time at the shop for several months, but he won and he’s back working – basically full-time.  He’s so very  proud of his grandson, Travis, who is the manager now working under Joe’s tutelage.  Joe is there Monday thru Friday from at least 8:30 to 4 pm (if not earlier and longer).  The last two Saturday’s he’s shown up at the shop about 7:45 am and I look at him and tell him its his day off and he should go home.  His response is “well, I have a few things I wanted to do…” and then he’s there until 3 pm.  BUT he LOVES being back there, seeing all his customers, working with Travis, Chris and the team and just plain working.  You may recall, we got him white shirts since he’s not supposed to lift over 25 lbs so he wasn’t tempted.  Overall, he does pretty well, but he likes to get his hands dirty and therefore, his white shirts have some permanent evidence on them.

He has been vacationing!  He went with Michelle and her husband, granddaughter, Courtney and her husband, and great grandson, John to Branson in July.  Went fishing for a couple of days and ate and ate and ate.  A good time was had by all!  He leaves in a couple of weeks to go to San Antonio to visit the River Walk, which he and Mom have always wanted to do.  They’ll be gone for a week.  In October, he’s taking Chris and family back to Branson for his annual fall fishing trip. 

I think that pretty well sums it up.  He’s had a wonderful year and we are all so thankful for all your support and continued prayers.