Better, but with room for improvement

Mark had a better day today, but still lots of room for improvement. He describes his day as better than yesterday because the pain in his chest is lessening. This is definitely good. The doctors are adjusting his medication in hopes of decreasing some of the side effects, such as the pain. A psychiatrist came to see Mark today also. She got on to Mark because he has not been as active as she wants him to be. She talked with him about the importance of getting up and moving each morning, and doing "normal" activities during the day to try and keep mentally sharp and positive. According to Mark's mom, she also gave us permission to really push Mark and pester him about eating, moving around, etc. This is good for us to know that is okay, but Mark is not too excited about it.

They performed a CT scan of Mark's brain to see if it is responding to the medication they started him on for his anxiety. The doctor thinks it is not working, and will most likely change the medication in hopes of decreasing his anxiety. Hopefully reducing his anxiety will help some of his other side effects lessen. I assume we will hear CT results tomorrow.

For those interested, my day was also pretty good. My lack of sleep started to catch up with me today. I struggled at certain times today to simply stay awake and focused at work. I did get a lot done though, which was nice. I was worried about Mark, it is really hard to be away from him all day and not know what is going on. I went by my house and took a very short (about 20 minutes) nap, but it was fantastic. I also picked Brodie up from school for the first time since Friday April 15th. It was great getting to see him. I often find myself thinking "gee, I wish he would stop talking for one second". Today however, I would turn the radio down just to hear his precious voice tell me whatever random comment. I have missed that voice so much. I drove him to the hospital, so he could go home with his GG (Mark's mom). He was excited to see her too. I love that boogie.

Prayers for today:
1. Mark is struggling to use the restroom. I am concerned he is retaining fluid, which may cause problems. Pray that this problem will be resolved without additional problems.
2. Pray for Mark's anxiety to disappear. It only makes each day worse, and I am ready to have my husband back to his normal attitude.
3. Pray for continued decrease in pain (let's make that no pain).
4. Pray that his cell count continues to drop, and get to zero quickly. We are ready to go home, which won't happen until he hits zero and comes back up.
5. Pray for our family to have continued strength to continue on the difficult journey ahead and wisdom to make the best decisions for our family.

With a thankful heart,
Amanda