We made it through the first day!

We made it through the first day! 

Ryan started in on steroids (prednisone) late last night, so he has begun the joyful stage of puffy cheeks and unchecked emotional outbursts.  But, things seem to be going as expected.  His WBC is higher, but the doctors said that was expected.  It also seems as though the swelling in the lymph nodes has decreased, which is great. 

You may notice that his face is a little un-symmetrical at the moment.  The doctors think that his enlarged lymph nodes are pressing on a nerve in his face, causing partial paralysis around his mouth and his eye.  They believe this is totally temporary and will go back to normal once the swelling is down.  But in the mean time, it's kinda strange.

The current plan is to hit his system with steroids until the white blood count is down to almost nothing (which may take some time).  Then, they will start the Chemotherapy.  So, we are just watching that WBC number for the next few days.  In addition, they said that his blood clotting numbers are getting back to normal, which means the bruising should get better.  And his transplant numbers are all good, which is a blessing in itself.  It looks like we are going down the right path...

He had a few outbursts today (which is expected with the steroids), but he also says that he's feeling better.  No morphine today for pain and just chilling and watching movies.  However, when I asked if he wanted his math homework, he said no.  Strange, right?

I was able to go to church in Great Falls this morning and watch Allen perform with the community choir, which was just lovely.  I was also able to get some shopping done, and have lunch with good friends, who gave me big hugs.  I'm still breathing and even laughed today. 

We are so grateful for the prayers and good thoughts!  We'll see how tomorrow goes!