Bill LeDoux’s Transplant Journey.

11/07/2023

I’m home, that is the important part.

11/01/2023

As Donna puts its, only four more sleeps. Then I will be home. It has been a long journey. I have been in St. Louis since the end of June. I have to thank everyone that has offered support in so many ways. Without you all I would have never been able to keep this positive attitude for my recovery. I have received so much support that it truly blows my mind. Thanks to each and every one of you for the gifts of prayers and good vibes, the treats and support items that have been sent. The financial contributions and so much more. I thank you all. I’m coming home with a few medical issues that will be dealt with as my journey has not ended, it’s just moving forward. I got this!

10/24/2023

Hello family
And friends.
I am getting closer to being able to come home. There are a couple of things that still need to be worked out. I was diagnosed with Addison’s disease. What that means is the chemo and radiation has killed my
Adrenal glands and I’m not producing cortisol. They have me on a lifetime of meds for that. It affects me each day as it is one of the reasons for my fatigue. We have been adjusting dosage to find what is best for me. Another hiccup was discovered that I have a blood clot in my leg affecting multiple veins. I was having issues with swelling in my ankle. More meds, this time a blood thinner. The hope is within 3 months that it will dissolve the clot before it can do any damage or move around. Tomorrow I have an MRI to determine why I am having pain in my mid right side of my back, which is starting to radiate to the front side as well. The scan should rule out any issues with my kidney. Results from my latest bone marrow biopsy ( last Thursday ) should be in soon and they will decide whether or not to remove the direct line from my chest and install a simple port in its place. If all goes well, which I fully expect, they will send me on my way. This week will be a pivotal week with a lot hanging on it. I will update all when I have more information.
Head held high and positive thoughts abound.

10/24/2023

Hi there friends from work. I believe I have forgotten to thank you for the absolutely wonderful notebook I received a couple of weeks ago. It had the most heartfelt messages from so many of you. I loved each and every note written by you. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and hearts. It means so much to Donna and I.

10/13/2023

Took the Budweiser brewery tour yesterday. It was very informative and entertaining. Lots of walking. I was so happy when the trolley came to bring us all back.

10/06/2023

Hello friends and family! It has been a while since I posted. A heck of a lot has happened and is still happening. I’m only
2 weeks away from coming home and probably have the worst issues to deal with. Nothing that can’t be beat or at least handled. The diarrhea has lessened some and after a colonoscopy it appears that it is being caused by medication and one
other condition I will discuss later. I have been fighting with my diabetes. I’m still getting used to being insulin dependent. It is tricky managing the dosage and not have extreme highs or lows. New medication I am taking is making the levels higher than they should be as well. Amazing that a medication that is prescribed to help with an issue can cause so many difficult side effects. Not sure I mentioned I have a sensor that I attach to my body that reads my blood sugar and sends reports to my phone and to the doctor that is handling the diabetes part of my conditions. It’s pretty cool technology. I have taken four or five falls from being dizzy and close to blackout. Nothing major, I end up with some nice bruises. That has been treated to where I am much steadier on my feet. Sorry for this long post of nothing but problems as I should have updated sooner. There is a few more to go,stay with me. I was having swelling and pain in my left foot and it was diagnosed as plantar fasciitis. It has been most entirely cleared up by some specially made inserts in my shoes. I was having to elevate the foot when not on it and use a frozen bottle of water to roll under my foot to help with swelling. If you are still following along then I will tell you of the most recent and I feel most troubling diagnosis to befall me. I have been complaining of the constant fatigue and how I feel so run down every day. Needing naps and rest and really not being able to enjoy much of anything. So I was given a new test, this time to check my cortisol levels. It was a test that took about 2 hours. First a blood draw, then injected with the hormone cortisol. A wait of 30 minutes and another blood draw. Another 30 minutes of waiting and the last blood draw. I honestly don’t really understand what or how this test worked but it was to see what my body did with the cortisol. They checked my levels at those 30 minute intervals and discovered that I was not retaining the cortisol at all. The normal level in your body should be 14-15 and mine came back as 3.7
After other test results came in, the Dr tells me I have Addison disease and adrenal insufficiency. It has been caused by the chemotherapy and radiation I just went through. My adrenal glands were destroyed by it. The treatment is a life long regiment of steroids which has it’s own long unpleasant list of side effects. The symptoms of the Addison’s are just about everything that I have been dealing with. Dizziness, muscle weakness, an answer as to why I still can’t climb stairs. Lethargy, increased thrist and urinating. Other symptoms as well which go right along to how I have been feeling. I have to remember a life of steroids is netter than no life at all as Addisons can be fatal without treatment. That being said, it has been a wild few weeks. Not everything has been bad. My sister has been my caregiver for the last four weeks and that has been very nice getting to visit with her. She lives in California and it has been about 5 or 6
years since we have been together. She is an amazing cook and has been tremendous in helping me learn a healthier way to cook and eat, which is mostly low carb to help with the diabetes. We have done a few fun things while she has been here in St Louis. We did the arch and the city zoo, both were great times. We broke away from healthy eating tonight and had dinner at one of the fantastic Italian restaurants in a district known as The Hill. It’s full of Italian restaurants and delis, bakeries and some of the prettiest well kept homes in all of St Louis. I’m so thankful for all the support I continue to receive from all my friends and family. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. I am goin to attach some pictures of our adventures and of
My foot. Again
Thank you for all your support. 👍✌️

09/16/2023

More Gateway Arch pictures. The first two are of the small elevator pod you take to the top.

09/15/2023

Terri and I checked out the Gateway Arch today. It was a great time! The museum under the arch was quite impressive and free! You could spend an entire day there. Riding the tiny elevator to the top was incredibly fun. It was only $15 as this is considered off season. Four minutes up and three minutes down. They give you about ten minutes up there to enjoy the view. It’s not easy to see the windows from ground level and they are not all that large when you are actually standing next to them. Weather was beautiful as were the grounds.

09/15/2023

Hi there! Blood work Wednesday was not too much different. Platelets are low so Dr gave me a sample bottle of meds he wants me to start. Insurance denied the coverage for them yesterday, but it looks like there is a program I can qualify for to cover the cost. Waiting to hear back on an appointment request for a scope of my nether regions to see why this diarrhea continues. Might begin some physical therapy on my legs as I am having some issues with stairs. I can walk just fine but am unable to climb stairs, even with a handrail, not very easily at all. Could be my impatience to be feeling like I did pre transplant. That’s not happening just yet either, but I am getting closer. Donna has returned home and my Sister is here from California. She is an amazing cook and if I’m not careful I will be very rolly polly when I get back to Arkansas. ( easy there, I know I was rolly polly before I came to St Louis) She has been fantastic about keeping me on a lower carb diet as my diabetes is still out of control. The Dr and I talked this morning and tweaked a couple of things with my insulin. Hopefully this will help. 🤞

Head held high and positive thoughts abound.

09/10/2023

09/06/2023

Thank you Harps 536 family. We just discovered a package on our porch from all of you. It was stuffed full of tasty snacks a couple games and activitiy books, and a beautiful card. I miss each and everyone of you and can’t wait to see your faces again!

Thanks again!

09/02/2023

Here is something we found in the grocery store and tried recently. It was very good and Donna noticed the added surprise. Gotta have some fun!