Who is Billy Ruben?

The kids just got here so we can celebrate Hadley's birthday together - 16 years old! And officially driving as of today. I am still in the hospital. The good news is that the pancreatitis is completely gone. One specific improvement for me is that I can move from a clear liquid diet to a liquid diet. For me, that means I get to graduate from chicken broth (which was getting old for breakfast, lunch and dinner) to what I believe is pureed cream of broccoli soup. Plus I got some red and yellow thing they were passing off as jell-o, but I'm quite certain it's not.

As happy as we are about that improvement, my bilirubin count has not budged in 2 days. My count has dropped to an 8.9, which is half of what it was, but still not close to the level where I should be, which is around a 1. They are not sure why it hasn't dropped. My stomach is quite distended and they took an x-ray to see if they can tell what's happening, which they can't. My oncologist is sending my medical information to a liver cancer specialist at a San Francisco treatment center for a second opinion. This could lead to cancer treatments, but the first order of business is to get my bilirubin level to a normal range.

Right now, I'm not sure when I'll be released from the hospital. David has been staying here in my spacious room. He says he sleeps better on this hospital cot than he does at home when I'm here. They want to keep watching my bilirubin level to see if it comes down on its own. If it still doesn't get into the normal range, they may send me home with a home health nurse to check up on me. I know it will be a tough road to be monitoring all of this medical stuff at home, but I know it's a road I can travel.

I am so grateful for your support! Thank you to my visitors, and I'm sorry if I wasn't the best hostess; I would never tell you to go away if I was feeling well! I have to get a shot in my stomach each day to prevent blood clots. (All the patients on the cancer floor get them because we're not up and moving around.) While they were preparping to give me mine, I had a friend in who read me all your supportive comments and it took my mind off having that shot! I appreciate your love and prayers so much!