update on Jim Wethington

Some of you on here know Jim from the cruise ins or from the HAMB (BrandonGrandpa) so I thought I'd post this. Jim at the Border Lords Show this summer.

A while back Jim broke a bone It may have saved his life because they were able to see what was going on with Jims body. I'll put it to you in his words
"It was a "lucky break". That's how Jim describes the accident that broke the humurus in his left arm on June 23rd. The x-rays that were done in the ER that night revealed an abnormality in the bone. He was advised to see an orthopedic surgeon the following day. Thanks to his youngest daughter, Debi, who is a registered nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, his arm was repaired by an "excellent surgeon". He now has a "bionic arm" that is completely healed with a 'nail' that runs the length of his upper left arm. After the break was repaired, a series of tests resulted in the official diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Debi continued to run interference for her dad and arranged for the doctor who performed the first bone marrow and the one who implanted his mini port. Now a short six months later, he is preparing for a bone marrow transplant. That is due to the aggressive action of his oncologist, Dr. Manish Bhandari, who encouraged Jim to particpate in a clinical trial. So, now after only five cycles of treatment, he did his transplant the first week of January.

I've been in contact with Jim while he was going through The radi/ treatments. He always had a very positive outlook and said he's fighting this with everything he has. I know that more than a few times the treatments would just burn him up but he as always had and has a very positive outlook on it and didn't let it slow him down. I think that is the reason he's doing so good. You have to fight in times like these and Jim is a fighter!
Today was day zero, transplant day. The transplant began at about 10:00 a.m. as scheduled and was finished by 11:00 a.m. Jim's nurse came in first with some meds for him to take and all was at the ready when the lab technician arrived with her 'hot dog cooker' (Jim's name for the warmer used to thaw out the bags of stem cells). Jim's vitals were monitored throughout the process signaling no problems at all. After the infusion of four bags of stem cells was complete, Sarah, Jim's nurse, said that he was her "favorite transplant patient". Jim was her first patient to finish the transplant without experiencing some kind of problem, even a very minor one.

I wish him all the luck and will pray for him that everything keeps going as good as it has been.

If anyone can power through something like this, he can.

Well, it's the same story, different day. Even though Jim is still feeling as "weak as a kitten", everyone here continues to tell him that he "is doing great and just what he's supposed to be doing". That's little comfort when you feel as bad as he does right now. The best news is that it won't last much longer. Craig (Jim's doctor) was in this morning and said that he would not see him again until he sees him on the 'outside'. Jim's response to this announcement was "Good riddance! I want to go home tomorrow!" Craig is on a two-week rotation so Jim will be gone when he returns. He told us the name of the new doctor that will be seeing him but all we caught was her first name, Rebecca. The last name didn't stick. Craig described her as having more hair than him, prettier, smart, and a straight shooter with a good sense of humor.

Jim will have to come back to Columbus after discharge to see Craig starting with twice or three times a week, once a week, and then down to once every other week. We've been told that they (the doctors) like to follow patients until Day +300. Craig said that he knew that Jim wanted to go home and that he probably would in about 5 days. That would make it this coming Tuesday. Then one of his nurses said that he would be gone on Monday. So, who knows!? All we know is that Jim's white blood cell count continues to hang out at 0.2 and that his count needs to be (according to one of the nurses)greater than 1,000 before discharge. Jim had to receive some platelets today and will most likely get another bag tomorrow. He did great with the transfusion with no adverse reaction. His temp did go up just a little but soon was down below normal with no intervention necessary. Much to his dismay, he gets another shot tonight. In fact, it will be arriving in about 30 minutes. The neupogen will continue until his count is about 10,000 because they know it will drop.

Jim has had very little to eat or drink today having had only some apple juice, a piece of toast, part of a Coke and some water. So, he has received IV fluids again. He's considering having another plain double cheeseburger tonight. We're hoping that it stays with him a little longer than last night!

With the encouragement of his nurse, Jacob, who he has had for several days (his cheerleader), Jim managed to get a shower and do some mouth care today. Jacob reminded him that even with the mouth care he could still get sores, and it is still extremely important that he do it as many times as possible with 4 being the preferred amount.

Jim had really looked forward to using the laptop to go on the H.A.M.B. and was saying a few minutes ago that he had only been on it once. Anyone who knows Jim can appreciate what that means as far as how he is feeling.

The good news is that very soon he will be sitting at the computer at home looking at the H.A.M.B., drinking coffee at McDonald's and dreaming of the days when it's warm enough to be driving his hot rod to car shows! Thanks for holding all of those positive thoughts for him and sending along 'lots of feathers'.

Speaking of feathers, it would be a good night for a feather bed or a dog or two! Jim can't wait to see Zoe(Casey's dog). She sent him her love today in a card from his favorite mother-in-law.

Looks like Jim is doing pretty good today.Keep him in your prayers please.

New Day and a New Week
Posted 4 hours ago
It truly is a 'new day' for Jim. He's become a new man inside and out, with new blood cells on the inside and a new haircut on the outside. Today marks the second week that Jim has been at The James. He's come a long way and will soon be on his way home! Jim's blood count today is 3.4, he's gone from 200 white blood cells to over 3,000! His platelets are also rebounding and there's no more dread of another transfusion before he leaves. Jim is again making his laps around the unit. He went from making 53 laps down to zero and back to 6 so far today and it's early yet! According to what the doctor said this morning, his line will be removed tomorrow, and he will be released on Wednesday with some oral antibiotics. It may be a little while before he's having meals at Peacock's but it's good to know that he has a stool reserved just for him.
The best news is that he will be going home, sleeping in his own bed, sitting in his hot rod and getting Zoe kisses whenever he wants.

Jim definitely has a 'Mike Barry' haircut and he only wishes that he "had the voice to go with it". For those of you who know Mike, you know that he has a very distinctive and commanding voice that serves him well as the new Executive Director of People Advocating Recovery. We have been associated with this group for more than 5 years and have made some wonderful friends like Mike and Dona. We love you all and appreciate you being with us through all of our recovery journeys.

When all of Jim's new 'head warmers' were mentioned, we failed to say that Carolyn Walker had used her sewing expertise to customize some hats for Jim. Thanks, Carolyn for your thoughtful gift.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of you, family, friends and neighbors who have stuck with us through this time in Columbus. We needed your love and support and you all certainly came through for us. We love and thank you for that. There may not be any more Care Page updates but we hope that you all will stay in touch as Jim continues on this path of recovery. We know that he will have to make some trips back to Columbus for awhile to see Dr. Hofmeister, the multiple myeloma specialist that has been with Jim from the beginning of his time here.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we face each new day.

Peace and blessings,
Jim and Charlotte

Day +21
Posted 2 hours ago
Jim has been home exactly one week today and is very glad of it. He is gaining his strength back a little every day. Monday, he went for lab work at his oncologist's office and while it was a tiring trip for him, we were very pleased with the numbers, another indication that Jim is 'on the mend'. Tomorrow was to be his first visit with Dr. Hofmeister since his discharge from the hospital, but due to the weather we have cancelled that appointment and have rescheduled for Monday, February 2nd at 11:00 a.m.

Everything around us is covered in ice and snow from the winter storm that has lasted for two days. With the unpredictable winter weather, the next best thing to being home would be to have his records turned back over to Dr. Bhandari, his oncologist in KY. It's about an hour round trip there as opposed to five hours to Columbus.

Jim is still 'shedding' and considering taking the razor to his head. He doesn't have to shave his face nearly as often since his beard seems to be growing at a very slow pace. That does not bother him in the least since shaving has never been one of his favorite things to do. Some of you can probably remember his red-bearded days.

We are so grateful for the friends and neighbors who have weathered this 'storm',(figuratively and literally), with us and for all of you who continue to pray for Jim's recovery. Please pray for good traveling weather and a good report on Monday.

It's good to hear he's doing so good. I can't wait to see him in person or at least hear his voice on the phone.