Meret here, Saturday night. I just got the following from Susan.

"We got word that the chemo would be starting tonight and it did show up about an hour ago, so things have begun. I was also surprised that it would start today, but they don't see any reason to wait since everything else looks good. He is also starting to have some intense bone pain, which, if it's the same as before, is a sign of the leukemia. It's actually painful in his bones and a lot in his teeth. He's on pain medication now constantly, and they are also hoping it will go away with the chemo. There are several humongous bags over the next 6 days...he's getting an incredible amount of fluid to continuously flush his system so he has to be careful of his blood pressure changing too fast...Our friends visited today and were great about kicking themselves out, though Dan kept talking to them for a while...but I was so happy with that visit. He was laughing and they were laughing...it was really helpful, I think. He went to sleep right after that, but it really raised his spirits. I could see it."

Susan went on to say that she thought Dan would like to see folks he hasn't seen for awhile, so if anyone has been thinking about visiting, perhaps now is the time. She mentioned that the "five-minute visit" rule was great, because it lets Dan rest if he's tired. I don't know how the chemo and the pain meds will affect things, but as long as everyone is sensitive to the fact that there's no predicting what the situation will be for any given visit, I think we should keep the visits coming.

If you can't come, please send your thoughts the old fashioned way--via snail mail, to their home. Susan will bring cards and letters to the hospital. They are a tangible reminder that we're thinking of Dan (and Susan) so mail early and often.