We still found a little easter fun...

I wasn't sure going into Easter this year if we would do anything. My dad entered the hospital for his transplant that Friday and I was worried he would be in very rough shape and I wouldn't feel up to it. I knew for sure my mom would need to be there to take care of him and wouldn't plan anything.

He had already harvested his stem cells. He is an overachiever and got 18 million on the first day. Most people need 5 days to get 10 million.

We had a meeting at the hospital that Thursday and they told us he would feel ok for the first few days. He had the bone marrow killing chemo the first two days. Then a rest day, and on Monday the transplant of his stem cells. I was surprised at how well he actually was during it all. I thought it would be a next to death scenario, but he was up and walking around.

With him doing so well we decided to get the kids together for an egg hunt. Brandon and Elissa had it at their new house. They had the kids decorate eggs:





All the kids missed grandpa and grandma, so they also made some pictures for grandpa to hang in his hospital room. They all made some great pictures. Lyhla hung around the legs of the tables trying to get up into the mix:




The kids were excited for the easter egg hunt. They were running in circles waiting for us to let them out.



We finally turned them loose and they ran to collect eggs. It was fun to see Ellee and Asher get it and run for the eggs. Last year Ash grabbed a few and then wanted to stop to open them.



Macie even came along for the search...



On Sunday morning Ash woke up and walked out to see if the "Easter Guy" had been to our house. He was very excited to see his basket and the Captain America, Thing, and Doc Oc that the bunny had left.


He loves the easter egg hunt so much we had to do it like three times. We kept hiding the eggs over and over again.



We went to Tom's family next and had another egg hunt. The kids want the eggs hid harder so they have to search for them. Its fun to see the different ages and how they still get excited.




Given the circumstances, Easter was much better than I expected. My dad was better than I thought he would be. It made it easier to enjoy the festivities and watch the munchkin experience it all.


My dad finally hit the rough patch a few days later. The chemo killed most of the bone marrow (including the white blood cells and the ones left are injured). He has an infection in his intestines and colon with no white cells or immunities to fight it. They are giving him antibiotics to fight it, but it will take longer to fix. He can't really eat at this point and is in pain. The painkillers make him tired and he sleeps a lot. Honestly I'm still amazed at how well he seems to be doing with the whole process. He's still feisty and social with all the nurses. He still a techno geek and spends his time surfing on the iPad. Hopefully the infection will get resolved soon and he'll feel much better.

To make matters worse... my mom and dad's dog Danner was diagnosed with cancer too a month or so before my dad went into the hospital. He was a little run down when my dad went in, but he seemed to be responding ok to medicine. Last night his poor body couldn't handle it anymore and he passed away. I'm not an animal lover, but even I could see Danner was special and loved by all. He will definitely be missed.