Don: Karen just went to bed. I am so jealous! It has been such a busy day that we didn’t get a chance to post anything yet so I am staying up a few more minutes.

Karen’s count jumped all the way to 1700 today! That is just totally awesome and was unexpected. They were hoping that she might have reaced 1,000 by the time she goes back on Thursday for her visit. She blew that out of the water with the Saturday midnight blood test so when the doctor came to the room at 11:00 Sunday morning he said she could go! Her Dad and I had run an errand. Her Mom called us and we rushed back and threw everything in the car and left before anyone changed their mind. That kept me from getting anything on the site before we left and then when we got home I went to cleaning like a mad man. I washed 3 loads of sheets, blankets, tablecloths and couch covers. We do have a couple of inside cats so I just wanted to do my best to lessen cat hair. We won’t be having any dogs at our home during this visit. We are leaving them at Laura’s (thanks Laura!!).

Jacob and Dylan came over for a couple of hours and then we took them back to their Dad’s when we went to town to get some medicine for Karen. It was really great. They will be staying with us the rest of the week. Karen is very excited. We are so glad to be home even if it is for only a week. We have a long road ahead of us but feel very confident that all is going well and will continue to do so! Karen asks that prayers are for the strength to carry on in the fight. Treatments aren’t pleasant but stopping them is just not an option. Thanks to everyone for the prayers that have gotten her this far.

Don: I have just buzzed my hair even shorter and Karen is a little smoother also. We are taking things one day at a time but starting to get a little anxious about the possibility of getting out of the hospital and even being able to spend a little time in Panama City. Then it will be back in for a week. It is impossible to plan any further ahead than that and it might change at any moment anyway.

We have sent notices to a larger group of friends and family that might like to follow Karen’s progress here at Shands. This is just a reminder that the blog will always have the newest posts at the top. If you are just getting here for the first time you can go back to the beginning by clicking here. Remember to read from the bottom up if you want to read the messages in the order they were first posted.

We just found out that the address at the new hospital is:

Karen Cornelius
Shands at University of Florida
BMTU #7144
1515 SW Archer Road
Gainesville, FL 32608

No flowers, please. They might call her down to the nurses station to get a quick look but then they are taken away. Flowers are not allowed for these patients.

Don: Since Karen finished up two years of nursing courses and then got a job at Bay Medical about two years ago, she and I have been around hospitals and their staff, Doctors and nurses quite a bit. I really like what I have seen and the people I have met. I for sure wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings back home but I think Shand’s is great. They have quality everywhere you look. The absolute best thing they have going for them in the areas we have been at this hospital is their people. We are obviously here on very serious business and it is so comforting when you get the feeling that the doctors and nurses have no doubt in themselves and the procedures they perform on a daily basis. Not that they are cocky, just confident that they know what to do and how to do it. Then you top off each one of those knowledgable people with true caring for the patients situation as well as the family that always accompanies the patient. They treat eveyone through the door as a valued customer and you quickly get the feeling that you are more than a customer, you are a friend. May God bless the lives of each and every person at Shands for the love and care they have shown.

Don: The list of cool things about the new room is long. 26″ flat panel LCD TV is at the top. It is followed closely by the DVD player. The old rooms had a 21″ old style TV and a VHS player and lots of videos that had been donated to the hospital. I guess it is a guy thing that those two items had to be at the top of my list! Shands has wireless internet throughout the many hospital buildings. They had a visitor room in the BMTU (Bone Marrow Transplant Unit) that we were in at the old hospital which is where they stored the video tapes but also had a computer in there that patients and their families could use. Yesterday our TWO visitor rooms did not have a computer but today they do! They don’t have any DVDs though.

I am sure that I couldn’t possibly list all the things that make this new building so great. Most of them are probably invisible to me. From a family member of a patient viewpoint, I can tell you that it really is a little awe inspiring. There are even two large framed photos in every room and lining the hallways. These were all taken by people who work at the hospital and there is a little name plate telling who took the photo and usually the location. The air filteration system to just too fantastic when you compare it to the one in the old room. Both quiet and super efficient. I am not going to spend any more time on this topic except to say that the staff here has been told that this is the most technologically enhanced building in Florida at this time. Michelle G. said there was an article in the Sunday paper in Tallahassee. I am sure you could find info on it online if you are into that sort of thing.

She likes it! I love it! She is just gorgeous!

In the message below you saw Karen trying on her pretty brown wig and wearing her Pink shirt. Well, today is Halloween and when her parents came in they brought a new wig for her. Can you guess the color? She looks good in this one too! She is just too gorgeous, not that I am prejudice in any way.

Mom brought her some posters, crayons and colored pencils. It's a party now!!

I told everyone I was going to do it. Some of you doubted it but it is done. I think that Karen might be wishing I hadn’t and that I could glue at least half of it back on but it’s too late now! Love ya’ Baby.
P.S. Can I borrow one of those warm hats?