Is It December???

Wow, the month of November just flew by. We certainly had a lot to be thankful for as we celebrated Thanksgiving last month. My parents had us over for dinner along with Brant's mom and some of their friends who were down from Maine. It was a really nice time in their newly renovated house on the creek. It was a gorgeous day with weather in the 70's and the kids playing outside on the swing.

After the meal Brant surprised me by saying we were headed to the Beach....really! He had arranged for my parents to keep the kids and for us to spend a night in Nags Head to celebrate our 14th anniversary. Everyone knew the plan except me - it was very funny. He had the bag packed in the van and everything! We arrived just after sunset and enjoyed a nice walk down to the ocean (to walk off that turkey) where I enjoyed getting my toes wet and listening to the surf. It was quite a nice present.

We are now preparing for the holidays with lots of fun and excitement. The kids are pushing hard for a new pet but I don't think we are ready for that commitment just yet although a little one is tempting. Especially since my sister just rescued an awesome 4 month old cat and my dad is getting a puppy next week. I am really enjoying being at home and having time to enjoy life. I no longer feel like a constantly rushed person although I do stay busy!!

I am fighting the mental battle of cancer right now as it has been over 3 months since my last scans and I wonder what is going on in there. I have occasional pangs that worry me. And it doesn't help that it was in December of last year that we found out I had relapsed. I even tried to convince Dr. M up in NY that I should have some scans now but he said we should just wait for my scheduled ones in February. I did have a baseline chest x-ray done while getting set up with a new primary care doctor. I had my first real cold in November and realized with insurance changes and dealing with oncologists the last two years I no longer had a regular doctor to call when I **gasp** had a non-cancer illness!! The xray was normal so that was some consolation. But we are ready to get those scans done and have more concrete proof that I am still in remission.

Please enjoy your holiday season and remember the real reason we celebrate. We are so thankful for all God has blessed us with over the last year. We have received so much love and support from our family and friends. And we have grown and strengthened as a family over this period as well. It is very much like James said in James1:3-4: "For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything".

Merry Christmas and I look forward to setting and keeping some great new goals for 2008!

Some pics from a busy October

I can't believe it is November! We had a lot of fun in October. Brant and I went to Las Vegas with friends. It is a very fun city with lots to see. Here is the view from our balcony at the luxurious Imperial Palace (ha!).

Although the mountains were pretty, a stage (with a band that played until 3am) was right below us so we moved rooms after one night. The casinos are amazing - here is a view of Paris from across the street and one of the Conservatory inside the Bellagio which was just amazing.

We went with several other couples and one afternoon the ladies had a fun time at Magaritaville.

Later in the month we headed up to Virginia Tech to watch them play Boston College in a monsoon. It really seemed like it was going to be an awesome night for us despite the weather.....but then there were the last four minutes of the ball game and we wound up as a bunch of drenched losers.....

The month ended with some Halloween fun. We waited until late to get the costumes done because no one could make a decision on what to be. The kids finally made some good choices as Supergirl and R2D2 (yes, it is a trash can and yes, now we need a new one in the upstairs room!). Cousin Cyrus should be impressed with Katie's duds since he loves to live in super hero clothes. We are still coming down from the sugar high from way too much candy.

There is not much to report on the cancer side of things. I am very healthy and only occasionally have a pain in my chest area. I will stop taking my antibiotic and antiviral drugs later this month and I am curious to see if my own immune system can keep me as healthy....especially as we enter cold and flu season.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the fall (maybe we will get some cooler weather???) as we get ready for a fabulous holiday season.

SHE DID IT!!!!

Ruth completed the Nike Women's Marathon last Sunday in San Francisco. Her time was 7 hours and 15 minutes which is AWESOME!!!! That is a whole lot of fast walking without any stopping. And there were hills.......but awesome views......and blisters.....but many fun people.

CONGRATULATIONS RUTH on this fantastic accomplishment. And she raised over $5000 to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, too. Thank you for making a difference!

Here are two pictures from Ruth's send off party held by TNT. At the party a few days before leaving town she was given her race singlet along with lots of well wishes, advice, and encouragement.

This is Ruth with her coach Anita and another friend/supporter Esther:

Raffle Winners

Hi there! Almost a whole month has passed since my last post, but there is nothing much new to report. Isn't that just fabulous??!!! It is wonderful being healthy and having a "normal" life these days.

Ruth will be walking her marathon in less than three weeks - wow!! We had a fundraiser raffle for a scrapbooking basket and a Tupperware basket. Juanita from my mother's neighborhood won the scrapbooking basket and Louise from ACT won the Tupperware basket. We raised almost $300 from the raffle so thanks to all of you that helped by buying a ticket!!

Ruth did her 20 mile walk last week which is the highest she will go prior to the event. Please pray for nice weather out in San Francisco on Oct. 21st and that she will have lots of energy for the race day. I will be sure to post some pictures from her event. She may not hit her $6800 goal for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, but she will probably get close to $5000 which is just awesome for one person to do.

Back to School

It is that wonderful time when the kids get back on the school bus for another year of learning!! Katie was a little more excited than Chris, but they were both ready to go, and they both had a fun first week.





















My first week of school was great, too!! The house was quiet and I had some time to get caught up. Another 20 -30 weeks of this and I might get a few things done on the "to-do" list. This week I will go to the school and volunteer in the library and check in with the kids' teachers. It is a whole new world being home during the day.

Last week I also had a check up with my local doctor and my blood work is all in the normal range. I am still on the low end of the scale, but overall I am very healthy and doing well. My hair is starting to curl and I am taking on the appearance of a Chia pet that needs a little grooming. But I am not complaining, it is so nice to have hair!!

Keep on Walking, Walking, Walking......

Hi there! I thought I would post an update on the progress of my sister, Ruth, who is walking a marathon this October to raise funds for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society (LLS). She is walking four days each week and I get to be her "Thursday Trainer" (she says that I tend to be a "mean" trainer). We walk together at the YMCA, and this past week I did 5 miles with her at a 15 min/mile pace. I was quite impressed with myself, but Ruth is doing much better than that. Her Saturday walk is the LONG one each week and she did 15 miles this morning (in the heat!!). She has a real coach working with her thru LLS's Team in Training program and she is well on her way to being ready for the marathon. Walking around New York all day gave me an appreciation for how tough it will be to walk for about 8 hours straight!!!

She is approaching 50% on her goal of $6800 which is just an awesome amount for one individual to raise for cancer research and support. Thanks to so many of you that have already donated, and for others who are interested, please visit her website at http://www.active.com/donate/tntva/rnrgrrls where you can donate online. I have updated my blog format a little and her links are now right under my picture. Go Ruth!!

3 month scans - ALL CLEAR!!!

I just got in from New York and had to post the great news - no signs of cancer on my CAT scans 3 months after the transplant!!! I am officially dubbed the title of "in remission" at this point! Well, it is 12:30 am - our flight was delayed 2-1/2 hours before boarding and then 2 hours on the runway. I am exhausted and am headed to bed, but will edit this post with more details of my NY trip later today (Friday) after I get a some sleep!

Update:

It was hard to get out of bed today and get the kids off to camp. I came back home and crashed for a few hours. I feel so bad for Brant having to be at work. It is just awful trying to get out of New York by plane in the afternoon - even without bad weather there are always delays!! I was in NY for three days and so excited to finally have enough energy to be a "tourist". Below is a rather lengthy recap of my trip, which may be of no interest to many of you, but, hey, it is my blog and I get to post what I want!! :)

My "New York Minute" of a Trip:

I flew up to NY on my own on Tuesday to get my scans done and have a consult with an oncology gyn. It was time for my normal annual check-up but with all my treatments I wanted to meet with a doctor very in tune with the oncology side of things. It was a good visit and I was able to talk frankly with the doctor about how the chemo has affected me. I won't get into the details, but lets just say I am so thankful that I have two beautiful children already since cancer has sorta taken that away from me now. This is a disease that affects so many young people, and many lose their chance to have children as a result, so I have no place complaining about my side affects. From there I headed off for my CAT scan that went fine. I scheduled my visit with Dr. Moskowitz on Thursday to make sure the radiology folks had a day to read the scans. Brant flew up on Thursday to be with me for that visit.

So now it was Tuesday evening and I had already walked all over the Upper East Side for my appointments that were not at the main hospital. I headed back to the apartment we had stayed in so many times before. I had tried to book a hotel, but rates in Manhattan in August are $300 - $500 a night. My adventurous side wanted to try a hostel, but I figured the backpackers might call me "grandma". I found a "dive" with a shared bath on the Upper West Side for around $120/night, but in the end I chickened out and asked if the apartment was available. - THANKS MIKE! After a bite for dinner at the corner deli I went to a bookstore to buy a "Guide to NY" book. I stayed up past 11pm reading it and plotting my big tourist day on Wednesday.

Then I awoke Wednesday to rain storms around 6am and heat advisories for later in the day of over 100 degrees. No big deal I thought. Well, apparently the New York subways can not handle 3 inches of rainfall in one hour and the whole system shut down. There was even an F2 tornado that touched down in Brooklyn. The whole city was in gridlock and millions of people could not get to where they were going. So I chucked my carefully made sightseeing plans out the window and took off walking towards midtown. Using the west side of 5th Ave, the street was lined with Central Park trees and the "commute" into town was shady and pleasant. You get a glimpse (and whiff) of the Central Park Zoo along the way. I strolled past bus after bus packed with people and sitting still in traffic that wasn't moving. Not a pretty sight.....

I sat and rested at the Grand Army Plaza, but it was too hot so I checked out the jewelry and air conditioning at Tiffany's and then looked in at the Trump Tower (yes, John, this is the building that you let me run into when we drove thru New York in '90). Then I headed over to the TKTS booth at Times Square figuring a matinee Broadway show at 50% off would be a cool way to spend the heat of the day. There is so much to see as you walk along, the buildings and churches are amazing. I stood in the cash only TKTS line for about 30 minutes and then learned that 50% off is more than I thought it was and couldn't buy a ticket. No big deal since I really wanted to see Lion King and that show is so sold out that it isn't available at TKTS. So I went over to the Lion King box office - premium seats were available at $250, ha! But they had a cancellation line and if seats came available they were sold at face value. So I sat down, met a new friend Stacy and her daughter that were locals, and took a gamble on getting a seat. The two hours in COLD air conditioning and off of my feet flew by as I chatted with Stacy. I got a seat with them in the 8th row in the center section near the aisle. The show was phenomenal and when the characters sang in the aisle, they were right next to us!!! It was such a great experience.

After the show it was about 5pm and the subways were up and limping along. So I finally got to use my "All Day Unlimited Rides" subway pass that I had bought. Not exactly the best day to maximize that card! I headed over to the World Trade Center site in the financial district. Since construction has now started on the site it is hard to get a sweeping view of the hole, but the few glimpses I did have were mind boggling in terms of the shear size and depth of Ground Zero site. I stopped at St. Paul's Chapel where they have a good display about 9/11 and the role that church played in helping the rescue workers in the aftermath. I recommend visiting this site to see what good comes out in people during tragedies. I was sad as I walked past Fire Station #10 on Liberty St. right across from the WTC site and thought how hard it must have been that day for the fire fighters.

From there I checked out Wall St., the NYSE building, and sat on the steps of the Federal Hall National Memorial near the Statue of George Washington. This is where the first Congress first met, our Bill of Rights was written, and our first president was inaugurated when New York acted as the capital of the country. Very cool stuff to read about. New York does a great job with signage - both getting around and historical markers. It was easy to take in a lot as I wandered around. On my way to the Bowling Green subway to head back uptown, I posed with the Wall St. Bull and marvelled at another beautiful pint size park that they have all over the City:

Tired and hungry, I got off at the 77th St subway and had a great dinner at a little Vietnamese place, Vermicelli, that my new friend Stacy had recommended while we waited for Lion King tickets. I fell asleep early after all the walking and had no time to worry about what the results of my scans would be the next day.

But Thursday morning I woke at 5:30 am and couldn't fall back asleep as I worried about my results. So I left the apartment around 7:30 and headed out to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. This was part of my plan for Wednesday that I couldn't do because of the subway shutdown. But things happen for a reason, and Thursday morning was more than 10 degrees cooler, lower humidity, and better visibility. It was a much better day for being on the bridge. I grabbed some morning coffee and headed for the subway, commuting in at rush hour with many others. Despite the crowds, I am amazed at how orderly and polite New Yorkers always seem to be. I like that you are expected to be decisive and assertive around here and it isn't considered rude. Since I had to make a transfer, I chose Grand Central Station, and went up into the terminal to look around. They sure didn't skimp on buildings in New York - the place was so ornate and huge!!!

I made it to Brooklyn and grabbed a bagel at a deli before going on the bridge. I sat on a bench and had breakfast and watched the many commuters and joggers go by. The view was amazing and I could see the incredible Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, tugs and barges heading into the port, and the New York municipal buildings as you exit the bridge at City Hall plaza. It was still a little early for tourists, so I stood out with my camera!

The bridge amazed me (of course, as an engineer), that it was built so long ago (opened in 1883 I think) before semi trucks were around, yet the thing is so solid. There is lots of great info along the walkway about how the bridge was built and what New York and Brooklyn were like during that time. It was also interesting that the average age of the engineers that worked on the bridge was only 31. Just about the time I got across the bridge and back into Manhattan, Brant called to say he had arrived and I headed to the subway to get uptown to meet him at the hospital.

After our GREAT visit with Dr. Moskowitz, we had a little time to kill and we headed back to the subways - did I tell you that NY subways are very nifty ways to get around??!! We went to Midtown and Grand Central, then did a little walking tour past the NY library (a tad larger than the Churchland branch will be!!), Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and then rode back up to the Upper East Side for a late lunch before heading to the airport. We were both so happy and relieved to be heading home with healthy reports.

While at the Sloan Kettering I recognized a lady who has been battling Hodgkin's since the early 90s. She has a website, http://www.hodgkinsfoundation.org/, that helped me when I was searching for info. She started a foundation that raises money just for lymphoma research at Sloan Kettering and I was always impressed with how much she has done. It was great to meet her along with another lady who is getting ready to start the transplant process soon. Cancer is a terrible disease, but it does bring people and experiences into your life that you would never have otherwise. It helps people connect and be kinder to one another - just like what I saw Wednesday at the St. Paul's Chapel during 9/11. I don't understand why it takes bad things in life to help people be good, but I guess that is the way it is........ Maybe it is so we can better endure the tragedies in life.

Well, if you made it to the end of this post - congrats! I will try to post once or twice a month on the blog now, but there isn't as much going on these days, thankfully!! Feel free to drop me a line at bnrcox@yahoo.com. Take Care!

Back from the Beach

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting anything new, but we were at the beach on vacation. We had a wonderful time in our cottage with 4 other families - 10 adults and 8 kids this year. You can see from the picture that we had a crowd. I felt great the whole week and had no stomach problems. It was a good thing, too, since we had SOOO much food. And it was all YUMMY...... we were the "cottage of delicious meats" (a play on the Geico commercial about Virginia ham in case you didn't pick it up....). The weather was perfect and we only had one day of rain. The kids spent a lot of time in the surf or playing on the sand. Brant got water-logged boogey boarding and body surfing as well. After the beach there was more fun in the sun playing at the cottage pool. The dads had an early morning fishing trip in the surf which Chris really seemed to enjoy.

OK, enough pics of the beach or I will get in the car and head back there!

This is my big week on the cancer side of things. I will be up in New York to have 3 month scans and a visit with Dr. Moskowitz. I will post on Friday with my news which we are praying will be all positive. I think my stomach issues are over and my stamina seems normal. I haven't felt any unusual fatigue in quite a while. Eight of my old fingernails have come off. I feel like I have nubs on the end of my fingers, but hopefully the new nails will grow quickly, they are already about 3/4 normal length. My hair continues to grow and I no longer feel like a "cancer patient"....just a "cancer survivor" which is so much better!!

That's it for now, I'll be back here on Friday......!

Eyebrows & A Brand New "Do"

Hi everyone! Not much new to report so I figured I would post a pic of all of my new hairs!



It is nice to have retired that artificial wig. And my vacation packing is rather simple: Brush - no, Hairdryer - no, Shampoo & Conditioner - puh-leeze, really not needed! Hairbands, clips, and other hair hardware - none. Don't hate me ladies as you realize how much time your hair routine adds to each day!

My last blood counts at the Dr.'s office all looked good. My stomach isn't normal by any stretch but it isn't as bad. I'll be in New York in just three weeks getting my scans and checking my progress. I'm kinda nervous but feel hopeful that all of tests will show I am still in remission.

I started walking with Ruth on the days she is at the YMCA (indoors, air conditioned, chairs near by!) I did a mile with her last week and will go again tomorrow. It is nice to have some stamina back and I look forward to the fall when I should be allowed to start some group exercise classes.

Thanks for the comments, emails, letters, etc from my last post. There was a lot of good advice that came my way. As I work thru this time of figuring out what is next, I was given a great scripture to hold close: "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You" (2 Chronicles 20:12). For now I am happy, blessed, healthy, grateful, and truly enjoying a summer at home with the family.

So What's Next??

It has been over 2 months since my transplant and things are going well. I still have a few problems with my stomach and the process of losing my fingernails is aggravating, but it already seems like such a long time ago that I was in the hospital. Life really does just keep on going, even when it feels like your whole world has come to a stop to deal with something big….

I find myself wondering what is next. Surviving this battle with cancer has been such a huge blessing and I feel a need to give back in some way. Lance Armstrong describes it as “the obligation of the cured” - the idea that those who survive cancer should help others do the same. And at church a few weeks ago we had an excellent sermon on surviving difficult times in life by finding God’s purpose in everything that comes our way. I feel very strongly that God has a purpose for me as a result of this trial. Hopefully I am a better person and more appreciative of life. Certainly the extra time I have by not returning to work will allow us to be closer as a family. But while I have focused on healing and our family these last two months, I have felt there is still more for me to do. I am praying that soon I will see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together and I will find a way “to plug in” and give back. Your prayers (and ideas!) would also be appreciated.

While I ponder what is next, my sister Ruth Brisbin has already jumped in to contribute to the cure. She has joined with Team in Training, a group that is part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), and will be walking a marathon (yes, that is 26.2 miles!) in honor of me and to raise funds for cancer support and research. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is an excellent group that has done so much to help raise awareness and fund research for blood cancers. My cancer of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma has benefited greatly from the work of LLS. Please check out her website at http://www.active.com/donate/tntva/rnrgrrls and consider a contribution to help her efforts. I will be doing a little walking with her as she trains and will keep you all updated on her efforts. Thanks!

Day +60 Speed Bumps

I had my check-up today and all of my bloodwork is back into the normal range. My WBCs are at 5.0 and my platelets are up to 161,000. Hurray for my bone marrow and the successful graft of those little stem cells.

Unfortunately I am fighting some sort of stomach/intestinal thing right now. I started to have random bouts of nausea starting about a week and a half ago. I lost my appetite but was managing. Then around last Friday the nausea was a lot more constant and I started throwing up. By today I will politely describe it as basically a dysfunctional intestinal tract from one end to the other. I've dropped almost 10 lbs and feel very miserable and washed out. If it doesn't clear up in a day or two I will head back to the doctor to rule out an infection.

My other little annoyance is that my finger nails have started to come off in a weird sort of way from the base up. It doesn't hurt, but it is aggravating. Then I remind myself this is a lot better than where I was 60 days ago on the transplant floor.

George and his family headed back to Australia last week and John and his clan will be leaving the end of this week. It will be quiet around town without our gang roaming the streets, shops, and beaches. Meal planning won't be nearly as fun as when you are trying to figure out how to feed 12 or more people!

Razor Stubble!!

I have tiny little hairs growing on my head!! It does not appear to be coming in blonde.....oh well, I can still hope for straight hair this time around!! Hopefully in a month or so I will have enough to drop the wig and sport a new short hair-do. Unfortunately, I also found razor stubble on my legs. I could have done without that for a few more months!

I've been doing well and staying healthy. My stamina is increasing, but I get tired if I am on the go for too long. We are staying busy doing family things and I actually missed my appt with Dr. McGaughey that was Tuesday. I was sure it was Thursday, but maybe I can still blame it on "chemo-brain". I'm rescheduled for June 25th....guess they didn't think it was urgent to get me in sooner!

Here some pictures that we had done by a photographer at my parent's new house:

Our little family:


The four siblings:


The whole gang:

Lots of Family Pictures

Hi there! Just thought I would check in and share some pictures of my brothers and their families from Australia. We are having a great time seeing each other. It is definitely "Brisbin Chaos" at its best as we try to negotiate schedules, nap times, personalities, vehicles, feeding everyone, etc.... I am having fun and trying not to do too much, but there are a lot of activities going on!! Since everyone is staying over with my parents, I have "rest periods" like today when the kids are in school and it is quiet here around the house.

So here we go.... the younger of my two brothers, George, arrived first with his two children Cyrus (3-1/2) and Lara (almost 2). We did the Memorial Day parade in Portsmouth and then took the ferry round trip as a "boat ride" for the kids:

We brought my oldest brother, John, and his wife, Caroline, and their daughter Varsha (2-1/2) back with us from NY on May 31st. George's wife, Div, arrived after her work conference on June 1st. Katie was especially excited as each new day seemed to bring more cousins and aunts and uncles to town. The group has enjoyed swimming in our pool several times and what goes better with that than a hot dog dinner on the patio.....

As the evenings get late, we have done combined "tub time" washing the kids en masse and then have relied on Chris and Katie to do some entertaining. In this case, it is story time on the sofa.......not sure how much they all enjoyed the ending of Chris' latest Hardy Boys book....

Yesterday we had a great time at the beach. George sent Katie flying...

And John had lots of energy for chasing the kids, too...

Boys at Sea:

And bathing beauties in the sand:

Cyrus the surfer boy:

Well, that's probably enough pics for now. Hopefully I can get a few of us women-folk next time and a group photo of the whole gang!

Home Safely from New York

We are thankful for a safe trip to New York and back home. It was a lot of driving to do in just 36 hours, but I reminded myself that going back was a small price to pay for getting to come home early!! Plus, it was neat to pick up my brother and his family and bring them back to town.

My check-up went well. The Neulasta shot has certainly worn off since my white blood cell count fell back down to 2.5. This is a little low, but not an unusual level for this point after the transplant. Hopefully by the 3 month mark my white cells will have climbed back up to over 4.0. My platelets are up to 117,000 which is good.

Dr. Moskowitz is ok with some selective dining out after 6 weeks....so long as it is a clean place and I order cooked food. I'm already at 5 weeks so I can eat out in another week!! Other than that I'm just supposed to keep taking it easy and keep getting better. I will go back to New York in August - 3 months after the transplant - and have scans to make sure I am still in remission.

Back at home I will be having fun the next few weeks spending time with the whole family and watching the kids get to know their Australian cousins. I'll try to update the blog in a week or so.

Day +30

Wow! Yesterday was 30 days since my stem cell transplant, and it has been about 2 months since my cancer-free scans! Yeah! It is hard to believe that time has passed so quickly when just a little bit ago I watched the clock move so slowly, anxiously awaiting each day to end and bring me closer to going home. Now that I am home, the days are flying by!

I am doing very well health-wise. I am feeling much stronger and doing more stuff, but I still take lots of "rests" since I tire out easily. The kids are swimming in the pool, and so I am spending lots of time sitting outside with them. The sunny weather has been wonderful!

My check-up in New York is Thursday and I am planning to drive up with my dad. We hope to pick up my oldest brother and his family who are arriving at JFK on Wednesday and all drive back to Virginia together. Both of my brothers from Australia are coming in town for a family reunion. My other brother should be arriving at the airport as I type this and be picked up by my sister and dad. We haven't been all together (us four kids plus my parents) since '88 so this is quite exciting. We had actually planned this reunion for April in Australia. But that trip was cancelled due to my health and so my brothers and their families decided to come this way instead! I have two nieces and a nephew that I have never met and am so excited to spend some time together over the next three weeks.

Well I am off to get some rest. It is nice being able to fall asleep again with no medications needed. I am almost feeling normal......well, minus a little hair.......

Good Check-Up

I went to see Dr. McGaughey today at the VOA office and everything is going well. My white blood cell count was very high thanks to the shot of Neulasta that is encouraging WBC production. The effects of the shot should last another two weeks. My platelets fell from around 90,000 down to 60,000, but up and down counts aren't unusual and platelet production is usually the last thing that the bone marrow starts making reliably.

Proving that medicine is more of an art than an exact science, it was interesting to hear Dr.McGaughey's very different protocol for post-transplant care. Sloan-Kettering is ultra-conservative and VOA is much more liberal in how they treat patients. While I don't intend to ignore Dr. Moskowitz' instructions from S-K, it was good to hear that I may not be as fragile as they make it seem. If I were a VOA patient, I would have no restrictions and no medications at this point other than using good judgement as I regain my strength. Dr. McGaughey's opinion is that my immune system is probably close to 90% of pre-transplant right now. The biggest issue that most patients deal with is fatigue over at least the next 3 months.

Being home has been great. I am up and about and doing things, although I do get tired quickly. My stomach still bothers me but has been better today. It was nice to drive myself to the doctor and I actually stopped at the store on the way home. I am walking around the block most days and have enjoyed sitting outside in this great weather. The kids are wonderful....in fact I need to get going to go watch Chris' last regular season baseball game.

P.S. - I'm back from the game and Chris' team won. They will probably go in to the tournament tied for first! Here are some baseball pics of the kids:

Doing Fine

Things are going well here at home, and yes, I am behaving. Today was my first day of getting out of the house. I went to watch Katie's tball game this morning and then rode with the family to run a few errands (but I stayed in the van). It is a gorgeous day and it felt good to be out.

So far things are ok in terms of me avoiding infections/colds. My stomach still has issues - sometimes if I am hungry, sometimes if I have eaten. I am sure it will take time for my system to get back to normal. It is frustrating at times not to be able to go at 100%, but then I realize how impatient that is being and how blessed I am to be doing this well.

I have a check-up locally with Dr. McGaughey on Tuesday and will probably post any updates after that.

I'm Home

Just a quick post to let you know we arrived safely at home. It was a long train ride, but definitely worth the trip to be in my own home and see Brant and the kids tonight. The next two weeks I will be very conservative - our bedroom is the "clean" room with no kids allowed. Chris and Katie know to wash their hands frequently and they can't have friends over for a little while. We just don't want anything to happen, especially since they let me leave town so quickly.

I am tired and still weak, but looking forward to this next phase of recuperation. It is just soooooo nice to be home!!!

P.S. - I edited my Mother's Day post to include the pictures.

I'm Going Home!!!!

It wasn't his first choice, but I convinced Dr. Moskowitz to let me go home and come back for a check-up on the 31st. He is really reasonable and I think he could tell how much I wanted to be home, plus he knows I will have Dr. McGaughey available if there are any problems.

My bloodwork was good. My white blood cell count was a little low at 2.0 (normal range is above 4.0), but my system is still building after the transplant. He gave me a shot of Neulasta which will help boost my counts for the next few weeks. My platelets were just shy of 100,000, so they are getting close to the normal range of above 140,000. And my potassium was back to normal so I can stop taking that horrible horse pill twice a day!!!!

Since he doesn't want any planes yet, mom and I are getting on a train at 3:00am (yikes!) and should be home around noon tomorrow. She made it back in town just to turn around and leave!! We had made plane reservations for Brant and mom a long time ago and had no idea this is how the schedule would fall. I am just so excited and grateful that it worked out that I could leave. I promised to be really good while at home over the next two weeks since I am still very much at risk.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support, it really helps having all of you with me in this!!

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all the mothers out there had a great day. Of course I am not too excited about my first Mother's Day away from the kids, but it is nice to have Brant here with me. He has been taking great care of me fixing all the meals and doing dishes, too!!

We had planned a gondola ride on the lake in Central Park, but our reservations were for 7:30pm and it was pretty cool here today, so we decided that wasn't the healthiest plan. So instead we went on a bicycle taxi ride thru Central Park this afternoon. The weather was beautiful and our driver/tour guide was a lot of fun. I think it was better than the boat ride because we saw so much more of Central Park than I could ever walk to and we learned a lot of neat stuff about the place.

We posed in front of the fountain that is used in the opening of "Friends"......well, the fountain they filmed is a replica located out in LA, but you get the idea......

We had a gorgeous view of the lake and skyline behind it. And we saw the Angel fountain that was sculpted by a woman in the 1800's, the first woman to be awarded a major Park's commission in NYC. The fountain is located in the exact center of the island of Manhattan and was built to celebrate the establishment of clean drinking water, which had previously caused much disease.

We also sat out by the Conservatory water and watched the remote control sailboats race across the lake. It was a very nice day.

As for me, I am getting better each day. My appetite is returning (shock....) although I still have limited taste. Our walks get a little longer each day. I am managing to get my pills all down - yuk! Not much else to report. Just taking it easy waiting for my doctor's visit on Tuesday. I'll post after I have results from that.

Day +14 - Discharged!!

I was released from the hospital today just on schedule (I will drop the date count from my titles now, I'm sure it is getting a tad old.) My platelet counts held and so my catheter was removed this morning before I left. It wasn't too bad of an experience, much easier than when my mediport was removed. We packed up all of my stuff and taxi'd over to the apartment. We are so grateful to be able to use it again for a little bit. It is so comfortable and homey after being in that hospital room for 3 weeks!!!

I have some pretty strict restrictions for the next three months - like no restaurants/deli/take-out, crowded places, or being around anyone sick. Also, it sounds like gardening is out for this season as well - I guess the soil will have time to rest, ha! Although I have heard that Dr. Moskowitz is pretty lenient and relaxes the restrictions sooner than most docs, Brant and I feel it will be better to be safe and conservative. So no Mother's Day brunch in NY for me.......or my Dunkin' Donuts Iced Coffee that I had been dreaming about. It is all Chef Brant around here.

We took our first walk to Central Park today (only two blocks away). The weather is gorgeous and we just sat on a bench and people watched. A lady sat down next to us with an Australian Shepherd who barked at racing children and then sat and rested just like Augie....very cute. There were still a few tulips left and they were huge - wish I had taken my camera.

Well, the next few days will be nerve-wracking being out of my safe cocoon and hoping not to catch anything, I see the Dr. on Tuesday to check my progress. I have no idea if I will leave after that or if I need one more week to make sure my system is stable. We will just take each day as it comes.

Day +13 Disconnected!

My progress continues and this morning I was disconnected from my IV pole! I can walk around without a Buddy - yeah!

The changing of the guards went well. I was very excited to see Brant yesterday and Mom made it home safely to Virginia to take over kid duty. Mom said she and the kids were going to sleep outside on the trampoline last night because Brant's mom, Pat, had come over and cleaned the house so well she couldn't bear to mess it up!! Thanks Pat!

So on the medical side of things, it looks like I will be discharged tomorrow and go back over to the apartment. I have to stay in town for one or two doctor's visits to ensure I am stable before travelling back home. I have no idea when I will get to leave for VA, but I am hoping it is at least by the 24th. Brant and I are very excited about leaving the hospital tomorrow and being able to enjoy the weekend before he heads back on Monday.

It looks like my platelets have stabilized. I went from 42,000 yesterday to 47,000 today. If they stay up again tomorrow I will have my catheter removed before leaving the hospital - woo hoo!! I am feeling a little "icky". It is hard adjusting to eating and drinking again and I am sure my body is still reeling from all of the meds, chemo, and oh yeah - trying to build a brand new immune system for me. But I am so grateful for the progress and to be doing so well. Thanks again for all of the prayers, they truly have been being answered!

Day +11 Made it thru to the other side

There is still a ways to go, but my white count was 1.0 (1000) this morning and my neutraphils were at 0.7 (700). When the neutraphils hit 1000, which may be this evening, I can take walks outside my room in the hallway again Yeah!!

Other big news is that my platelets went from 15,000 last night to 53,000 this morning. I guess that bag of HLA matched platelets rocked! I am also hoping it means my body is close to supporting my own platelet production.

I can already feel things healing, like inside my mouth and the raw skin around my bandage site. I ate some cream of wheat for breakfast and it stayed down ok. If my counts continue to rise tomorrow, I will be taken off of most of my antibiotics and antifungal drugs and then monitored to make sure I don't spike a fever. Once I can drink enough fluids, I will be discharged - most likely by Mother's Day, but maybe as early as Friday.

Mom is off doing a little laundry and then getting packed up to leave in the morning. I can't wait to see Brant. Well, the Demerol I get before my dreaded antifungal treatment is kicking in, so I am off to sleep!

Day +9

Oh so close to double digits! I am continuing to have longer good spells and shorter bad periods. I have basically been without a fever since about Thursday afternoon. Yesterday I was a little down but I needed a blood transfusion and also I tried to put something other than Gatorade in my stomach which didn't work too well.

I continue to get platelets twice a day which is frustrating. My numbers are hovering around 6000 - 8000, very low!! Today's platelets are "HLA matched" so we will see if they "stick" any better. So far, I have only had one transfusion of about sixteen that has made my platelet count jump significantly. I haven't had bleeding problems, so it will probably just be a waiting game again until I can make my own.

Today I have managed some pudding and 1/2 of those energy drinks. As soon as I get white blood cells and my digestive tract is repaired, I want to be ready to eat and drink so I can get outta here quickly.

Speaking of white blood cells - they were 0.2 last night and again this morning (instead of the usual 0.0 or 0.1). I realize that isn't much and that the numbers will fluctuate, but at least it is a sign of some movement in the upward direction.

My private duty nurse (Mom) has been doing great. She attended a class on light touch massage and I must say my feet smell and feel terrific each morning. She also reminds me to do the exercise pedals, the mouth washes, and my incentive spirometer (works your lungs). Today I got an admiring "model patient" comment from one of the nurses because Mom keeps me in line doing all of the dreaded tasks we are told to do.

Thanks for the outpouring of love for poor little Augie. I look forward to being home May 31st to "celebrate" his birthday with the kids one last time. According to Brant, they seem to be handling it very well. I can't wait to see Brant next Tuesday. I can't believe the time has flown by, really! It seemed like I would never make it to this point. But just like he said, one little step at a time and we will get there.

Day +7 and I had a good day...

We have been here two weeks now! Wow! And it was nice to have a day that I felt good for most of the day.

But yesterday was ROUGH and it seemed like I was in bed most of the day dealing with the fever or else the new anti-fungal treatment I started. The medicine causes severe shakes like a spiking fever so they give you demerol to control that side effect. I took it again today with much better results, and maybe by tomorrow I will be able to take it with no issues at all. This is another precautionary treatment since they haven't found the source of my fevers. But my spikes seem to be getting lower and I am resting thru the night.

Yesterday was also rough because Brant had to put to sleep our family dog, Augie. He had been sick for over two months now but we have not been able to tell why. At the visit yesterday, he had lost so much more weight and the vet found a pretty substantial mass in his abdomen which was consistent with cancer and probably causing his blockages. He was almost 13 yrs old and we just didn't feel we could go thru the surgery and uncertainties at this time, so we let him go peacefully. He will be greatly missed, especially by the kids who are already missing their normal life. Brant said they all had a good cry together last night and both the kids already told me about pictures Grammy had taken that they wanted to hang on the wall, so hopefully they are dealing well.

I am so grateful for the pleasant day I had today and realize that several of you had written to say you were specifically praying for me today. Thanks! Maybe I will have two in a row!

Day +5 Creeping Along

Today is Day +5 and the first day of a whole new month. From that standpoint I feel like I am accomplishing the march of time which is a big part of this battle. Otherwise the progress seems pretty slow.

I continue to spike fevers nightly, but fortunately so far all of the cultures and x-rays keep coming back negative and the fever drops during the day. My esophageal pain is excruciating and really impacts all that I do. Today the team jacked up my morphine and put me on a high end version of Mylanta that should help along with the double doses of Nexium that I receive.

All of the pain and wanting to just be done with this really got to me and so Mom and I had a rather emotional morning/day. It helped to get those tears out and have a pity party while still being able to see some positives that are going on. And as proof that God never gives us more than we can handle at one time, while we were feeling pretty low, the Integrated Medicine lady called and asked if I would like a foot massage. While I was enjoying that Mom opened an email from Leigh Ann that had this cute picture in it:

So we continue chugging along. The team is doing all they can to address my concerns, but it is mostly just palliative trying to get to the point of having white blood cells again. On the bright side, I started my Neupogen shots today that will encourage those white blood cells to be made. Other good news is that last night's platelets worked well in my system and I made it up over 29,ooo - so no transfusion today. Maybe they could hunt that donor down and beg him/her to give a steady stream for a few more days???

Thanks so much for the great comments and emails. Even though I haven't been responding as much on the computer. I do enjoy everything we get. You all have asked if we need anything sent up here, but I think we are doing fine. Your prayers are most appreciated.

As for back at home, Brant is back in full swing with baseball. I hope I will make it home for the end of the kids' season and see a few games. Brant continues to get a nice supply of meals from friends here and there and his mom is over often to cook and clean. Thank you for all of the love and support!!

Day +3

Things are moving along up here. I am incredibly sleepy and find it hard to do anything but shut my eyes. As tempting as it would be to sleep this one off, the doctors have said that staying in bed will just slow things down.

The lining issues are worsening as expected. My morphine was upped to keep a constant amount in my system and that has helped. I pretty much don't eat anymore - a little applesauce or pudding and sips of Gatorade. Again, this is very typical for transplant patients.

Yesterday I spiked my first fever so I was sent for chest xray (I got to leave my room!!!) and they drew blood for cultures. It seemed to break during the night. I had blood and platelet transfusions yesterday, but only platelets today.

Mom and Brant will be switching places a week from Tuesday. Hopefully I will be a different person by then and starting to make my own blood cells. It will be nice to hang out with him for a week. Mom went to the local Baptist church for services today and has been keeping busy with reading and writing. I feel badly that this is so hard on her, too, but I know she'd rather be here than in Virginia.

Day +1 Yuk!

Gotta tell you that I feel horrible. The nurses are so cheerful saying "yep! that's exactly where you are supposed to be." I can't think about more than one day at a time or I may jump from the windows. I try to remind myself it is cancer I am trying to get rid of and it won't be a walk in the park.

Today I got a morphine pump to help with the general pain and the pain caused by losing the lining in my mouth and esophagus. It is a small dose and shouldn't leave me with pink elephants in the room. I am hoping it will allow some good sleep tonight.

We have a few more hours to kill before bedtime. We're going to try Grey's Anatomy as a new show (I've never seen it). I'm also taking suggestions on a good day time soap.

Thanks for the comments and emails. They help brighten these long days.

DAY 0 - TRANSPLANT!

This was it, the big day, the day which all other days are counted from. My wayward stem cells were sent home after a brief vacation at the -180 degrees Club Kettering Lab. They arrived in my room in that same little igloo cooler that had transported them during collection. The lab technician warmed them in a bath and then sucked them from the bag up into a giant syringe. The cells were pushed into the port of my catheter just like any other medication I have received.

It wasn't supposed to be a very big deal, but I did feel like I was gagging and having to cough all at once. I thought I would get sick, but it passed. The odor from the preservative is pretty nappy, so the nurse held cut lemons under my nose. I don't think that helped much since I mostly tasted it and not smelled it. But I survived. I rested for a few hours afterwards while some abdominal cramps subsided. They also gave me a blood transfusion since my hemoglobin was low.

I am glad the process is over and I have my little guys back on board. It will take at least 10 days for them to kick into gear. Until then, it is just a matter of managing any issues related to having no immunity.

Day -1 and CHEMO IS DONE

Today is my day of rest. I finished my BCNU chemo last night around 7:30pm. This chemical is sorta related to mustard gas....nice..... It got a little rough towards the end but luckily it was time for Idol and then some sleeping meds. I had a long night of potty breaks (these are sooooo old) and one time woke up scared that there was an evil scarecrow blocking my way to the bathroom. It took a few minutes to realize it was my IV pole that I needed to tote with me.

Today I feel much better and was able to eat a little breaksfast. My white blood cells and neutrophils (the special WBCs that fight infections) are well under 0.5 on their way down to zero!! So my diet has changed to neutropenic and as of tomorrow the door to my room will close and no more walks in the hall. My platelets and red blood cells have been hanging in there, so no transfusions yet, but probably in another day or two.

Mom is out today getting her "therapy".....doing laundry at a little spot she found around the corner. All in all we are doing well. I am so grateful to have made it thru chemo and am praying my low count symptoms will be mild.

Day -2.5 and Hanging On

I had a rough Sunday and did not post. The main thing yesterday is that is that the pharmacy put all of my chemo med in a 12 hour bag instead of a 24 hour bag. By the time we figured it out, I had already been slammed with most of it at the higher rate....which was apparently no problem from a toxicology standpoint, but it did increase the side affects significantly. I was nauseous and unable to focus on much. My eye sight is off so even typing can be rough. But the good news is that today (Monday), the effects have started to wear off and am making it back around the floor for a few laps.

I also found out that my last chemo (BCNU) must be given on its own day which will be tomorrow. Then I get a full day of rest (YEAH!) and my transplant will now be on Thursday. So that is why I labelled today -2.5. Although this adds a day to my treatment, I will gladly take it to have the extra day before the transplant begins.

This is definitely a challenge. Being confined to a small room except for a few laps while feeling like total cr*8 is no fun. But I had the best phone call with Brant today who reminded me to focus on the little steps. I am almost done with chemo - that is step one. I don't need to focus on the whole process. Speaking of home, sounds like things are in full swing and that Brant's mom Pat is doing as wonderful job down there helping out as my mom is up here. THANK GOD FOR MOTHERS (and the rest of our friends and family, too!!!)

Day -4 A little bit better

I am over halfway thru my two big chemos of the CBV cocktail I am on. The "B" chemo is a one day dose given by itself on the last day...so I am just ignoring that for now. After my rough day yesterday, they slowed down the infusion of one of the drugs and it made a big difference. Plus they got my electrolytes and fluids back to normal and I think that helped. I was in better spirits today, but it is still hard to make the time pass when it is dificult to focus on anything like reading or TV or stuff you would normally do if you were given say.....18 hours a day to yourself. We do walk the halls about four times a day, and I did a little more scrapbooking.

I have read in short spurts today and came across this passage today in Psalms that made me smile: Ps. 50:15 - "Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory". There is always a plan.

Day -5 .... A little bit rough

I think I can say this has been one of the slowest, longest days that I can remember. My chemo consists of a huge bag of Etoposide that drips in for a 24 hour period. It started last night and is about to finish up. Then I have three more days of these bags. Also, I get a little bag of Cytoxan every twelve hours for four days (eight bags) and am about to start bag three. It has hit me a little harder and faster than I expected and I find myself wondering how I will make it to next week. It is definitely a mental struggle of "how will I get thru this??" When it was only three days of chemo it was a little easier to push thru.

I have mostly layed around as the minutes tick by. We watched a movie together (well, I dozed thru it), read a little, and have walked the "loop" a few times. I even pulled out my pictures and did one page in my album. Focusing on anything for very long is tough. All of the extra fluids are bloating me up and so they did give me some lasix to help flush it out. Me and the little potty are quite good friends. The nausea is manageable, but I have stopped eating much of anything after getting sick once earlier today.

Well, this has been a pretty boring post, but thought you all might want to know I am ok. My maternal cheerleader is doing great and reminds me this won't last forever!!

Here we go.....

It is that time again...chemo time. It is so much fun, I got a headache just thinking about it. But on the bright side....I'm praying it is the last cycle I get! So it is 3:00 pm and I am in my hospital room with the pre-chemo IV fluids flowing. It is hard to believe that a little over eight hours ago I was in Virginia kissing Brant and the kiddos good-bye. Katie gave me one of her favorite stuffed animals to keep me from being lonely and Chris gave me a giant hug that didn't seem to end!

Travel and hospital admitting went smoothly this morning and I am in my new home at Sloan Kettering for the next 4-5 weeks. How long depends on how quickly my blood counts recover......hmmmm......I think we had this issue last time..... But I have decided to try having less expectations about how the treatment will feel or how long it will last. Instead, I'll just take it each day as it comes. Speaking of days, today is Day -6. Everything is counted from the day I get my stem cells transfused which will be Day 0. So if my chemo stays on track, I will get stem cells next Wednesday.

We are getting unpacked and settled into my room. It is a large room with a nice view to the east. There is a convertible sofa for mom or Brant to sleep on and lots of built in shelving and cabinet space. Most things, including the flooring, are done in wood which makes the room feel friendlier than your average hospital room. I have a computer with internet as well as a TV w/DVD & VCR. They just remodeled this floor less than two years ago, and they did it knowing that patients are here (often confined to their rooms) for long strecthes of time. We will try to make the most of it.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. This site has been very helpful for me as I go thru this process. I love feeling connected to everyone, and it really helps me stay positive.

PS - It took over two hours to get this posted because I kept having to do my patient history and be examined by each group of staff - the nurse, the doctor, the nurse practioner. They all ask and do about the same thing so I am feeling like a broken record!!! But it is now about 5pm and I have been cleared to start chemo....my cocktail should be arriving any minute now!

Time Flies

I can't believe I am heading back to New York tomorrow. It would be nice to stick around a few more weeks, but we might as well get on with it! Plus, we don't want to give the cancer any time to show back up before blasting my system with high dose chemo and the stem cell transplant. I'd like to make sure it is gone for a long, long, long time (say - forever!). I had a weird pain in my neck over the weekend and went to see Dr. McGaughey Monday. He sent me on Tuesday for an evaluation of my catheter - they inject dye into the catheter and take an x-ray type picture. There was some concern that a small clot had formed or else the catheter tube was out of position. Everything checked out fine, so my catheter did not need to be removed. I have a real love-hate relationship with the thing, but I am definitely glad that it is in place and ready to be used tomorrow. No IV sticks!!!

The time at home has been great, but the last few days have been so very sad as we watched the horrible events unfold at Virginia Tech. Since Brant and I are both alumni, it hurts deeply to see this happen to the wonderful students and faculty at our alma mater. There just aren't words to express the sadness. Please keep all of the Hokie community, especially the families who lost loved ones, in your prayers. We ask God to help guide the healing process so that it may eventually leave all those impacted stronger in their living and their faith. And if you would like, this Friday is Orange and Maroon Day, please wear one of these Virginia Tech colors to show your support.

Our flight leaves tomorrow morning and I will need to make it to the clinic to see Dr. Moskowitz before noon. Let's hope the weather and air traffic controllers cooperate! I still have quite a bit left on my "to-do" list around here, not to mention packing. So it will be my typical last minute, late night scramble. The kids are much sadder to say good-bye this time - they know better what it means. We are focusing on the summer and having fun once it is all over. Please pray that the time goes quickly for them so they don't miss mommy too much. Hopefully school and baseball will keep them busy!

Thanks for all of the continued support. I will try to check in tomorrow evening - hopefully from my hospital room after being admitted.

Fun on R&R

Just wanted to check in and let you all know that I am enjoying my time at home. The kids are on Spring Break and Brant took the week off so we are having a great time together. I am still getting lots of rest (hitting the couch every few hours or so!) and Brant has been doing all of the Spring yard work. It really makes me tired to watch him :) We've been to the movies and library, but mostly we are just hanging out around the house which is sooooo nice!!

We had a wonderful Easter together. It was a real blessing to be home for the holiday and be able to go to churh together. We certainly had a lot of blessings to celebrate. Here is a rare picture of the four of us together.

I will head back to NY with mom next Thursday the 19th. I will see the doctor that morning and hopefully be admitted that afternoon to start chemo. It is hard not thinking about going thru 5 days of chemo, but I have a whole week left at home to enjoy first. This trip to NY will probably be at least five weeks long. Brant is planning to spend one of the weeks up there with me this time around. I will be in the hospital almost the whole time, which won't be as nice as the apartment I'm sure. I'll have nurses instead of doormen!

Thanks for all of the love and support we have received. I was greeted home with cards and care packages that were all so nice. And Brant really appreciated the meals that were dropped off while I was gone. This has all meant so much to our family!!!

Home Sweet Home!!

I can't believe I am finally home and having fun around the house with the kids. Brant greeted me with roses late last night at the train station and the kids brought me a candy bar tied to a balloon - it doesn't get any better than that!!!

I made it thru 5 days of collection and managed to get a total of 5.9 million stem cells (another 1.8 Thurs and 1.4 Friday). I thought about demanding a recount since I really wanted to make the 6.0 million target, but instead I’m trying to remember how awesome it is to get as many as I did. This time last week I was concerned about being in the 10% of folks that just don’t seem to be able to produce stem cells in their blood stream for collection. I did not want my cells collected thru a bone marrow procedure – painful!!!

We had reservations yesterday for the 2pm Amtrak train leaving New York, and it was so sweet how all of the staff members in the donor room were intent on us making that train. I had to get a blood transfusion due to low red blood cell count, and that added an hour to the procedure. But we made it to Penn Station with time to spare. Here's a big THANK–YOU to Joan, Kelly, Bernadette, Jane, Eilleen, Dr. Reich and everyone else there rooting for us!!!

Have a great holiday weekend everyone! I know that we will enjoy our time together. Of course, watching the snow cover our patio furniture isn't exactly normal for Easter weekend, but we will still have fun indoors!

More Stem Cells....

For those of you counting back at home......I collected another 800,000 yesterday and 1.2 million today, for a running total of 2.7 million cells!! I realize I will be here collecting thru Friday and still probably won't hit the 6.0 million target, but my hope is that I will produce enough cells that they let me go home for a week and then proceed to the transplant step. The other good news is that my platelets are up into the 40,000 range now and I have not had any transfusions since Sunday.

Not much else to report otherwise. We spend a big chunk of each day in the donor room where we are greeted like staff members since we have been there so much. Just like everywhere else in the hospital, the donor room doctor, nurses, and other staff are great to be around - friendly, attentive, and very efficient. Mom has been out on a few "outings" while I have been on the collection machine. She really enjoys getting around on those buses and people watching!

700,000

Yes, that is how many of those little stem cells they found today. It wasn't as high as I had hoped, but I am SOOO happy that we have gotten started. The actual collection process is done by hooking my two catheter tubes up to a leukopheresis machine. The blood goes out one tube, goes thru the machine, and then back into me thru the other tube. The machine spins my blood and separates out the white cells into a collection bag. The actual machine didn't look as high tech as I would have thought. It had manual knobs, lots of visible tubing, and at times whirred like a pinball machine getting ready to tilt. But I was assured it was a very reliable piece of equipment that works like a charm. At the end of the process, a lady arrived with her igloo cooler to carry my precious cargo up to lab where the stem cells were separated and counted.

I did ok on the machine. The four hour process left me a little tingly and weak, but nothing a nap back at the apartment couldn't fix. The process pulls lots of calcium out of your bloodstream so I am eating my cheese and drinking milk in preparation for tomorrow. They give you Tums during the process to control any tingling and chills....I'd prefer to eat a Stomboli tonight and have a little ice cream for dessert!

I will go back for a maximum of four more days unless I get to six million stem cells first. Over/under on that bet anyone?? My white blood cell count rose to around 9.0 today (I never saw the final count). And my platelets jumped to 27,000, so no transfusions. Yeah! David Rice and Dr. Reich (donor room doctor) decided to hold off on giving me Ruth's platelets since my platelets had improved so much. If I take Ruth's platelets, she will not be able to be a stem cell donor should I ever need her in the future. So they don't want to take that option away from me unless it is an absolute necessity.

As for the platelet issue, they confirmed today that I have HLA antibodies in my system, which basically means I am rejecting the "foreign" platelets from the transfusions. I developed these antibodies either as a reaction to a previous transfusion or from being pregnant with one of the kids. It sounds like they will use the results of my HLA type to find a donor that is a close enough match that my system won't reject the platelets. They have a few weeks before my transplant to figure it all out. But it sounds like my bloodwork is coming out of the woods from this last chemo round which is very encouraging!

Thanks once again for all of the continued prayers. I know that they have made a difference.

Sister, Sister......

.....to the rescue. It was certainly a nice pick-us-up to have Ruth in town for a quick visit this weekend after not being able to travel home ourselves. She arrived with an IPOD shuffle on loan to me, pre-loaded with upbeat and inspirational music. It has been nice during my long hours in the transfusion chair. We had a couple of good meals together and Ruth was able to make a brief sightseeing tour (she had to go see the Apple store on 5th Ave) while Mom and I were at the hospital today for what has become my daily transfusion of platelets.

Ruth was able to donate platelets yesterday, but Mom could not because she has been to Honduras within the last year and it is considered a 3rd world country. It will take a few days to process Ruth's platelets and to find out if I can use them. It appears that my body is resistant to platelet transfusions - it just spits them back out of my system and my counts do not go up. Platelets are the cells that cause clotting and not having enough can result is serious bleeding. The platelet issue will certainly be a topic of discussion with the medical team this week, especially in terms of how it will be handled during the high dose chemo for my transplant.

On the bright side, my platelets rose from 8,000 yesterday to 12,000 today. I still have to get transfusions below 20,000 but at least I made it above 10,000. And my white blood cells have started to ramp up - they went from 2.3 Fri, to 3.3 Sat, and 6.0 today! Woo hoo! Maybe tomorrow I will hit 10! Normal range for white cells is 4.0 - 10.0, but it is common for people getting Neupogen to get up into the 70's! Hopefully I will be able to go on the collection machine tomorrow and there will be some stem cells floating around in the mix. I am so thankful for this positive movement after how bleak things felt on Friday.

I'll leave you with a picture of us women and the tulips that Ruth got me while out walking today (fresh flowers are for sale EVERYWHERE in New York). Since my white count is in normal range again, the infection patrol agent (Mom) has been able to simmer down and fresh flowers were allowed into the apartment.