Even after mom was discharged from the hospital, she still had to go back every day for a quick check up.. (quick being a relative word after several weeks in the hospital). This week she got the "all clear...we are through poking and prodding you for a while" and she is finally home to rest and get strong and not think about doctors and needles and toxic medicine for a few weeks.
They got more than enough stem cells, which are being stored in a freezer just waiting for their chance to shine again. In late March, mom will return for more tests, like she had before this first round, to make sure she is ready for round 2. Then in early April, she will have one day of chemo, and the very next day she will have her stem cells put back in.
They have said to expect 20 days in the hospital this time, but they have also told her it will be easier than the first round.
She is enjoying being back at home and is working to regain her strength. Other than that, she is going to be a lady of leisure until the end of March!
Keep praying! And keep checking back for more news, photos, and praise reports.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Home Sweet Home
It's true. Mom is home, resting in her own bed.
Today was a bit exciting. During the her second day of stem cell harvesting, the catheter malfunctioned and instead of Mom's blood flowing into the machine, it was flowing onto her bed. They immediately got that stopped and bypassed the malfunctioning catheter with two IV's in her arms. In the end, everything turned out great. They got all the stem cells they needed and then some.. and mom and dad headed for home.
Throughout Mom's treatment food just hasn't tasted right to her. While she was in the hospital, she pretty much relied on IV's for nutrition and only nibbled a bit. Tonight, on the way home, they stopped at Taco Bell and Mom had a Gordita. SHE ATE THE WHOLE THING... AND SAID IT TASTED GOOD. We have truly learned to appreciate the little things!
She is awfully weak, but I know she continue to build up strength everyday.
Mom has to be back up at the hospital at 8:00 tomorrow morning. We are thinking they will remove her catheter and she can be free of any medical acoutrements for a while.
I'll keep updating so keep checking back. Phase two will start in a about a month.
Thanks so much for all the prayers, they made such a difference!
Today was a bit exciting. During the her second day of stem cell harvesting, the catheter malfunctioned and instead of Mom's blood flowing into the machine, it was flowing onto her bed. They immediately got that stopped and bypassed the malfunctioning catheter with two IV's in her arms. In the end, everything turned out great. They got all the stem cells they needed and then some.. and mom and dad headed for home.
Throughout Mom's treatment food just hasn't tasted right to her. While she was in the hospital, she pretty much relied on IV's for nutrition and only nibbled a bit. Tonight, on the way home, they stopped at Taco Bell and Mom had a Gordita. SHE ATE THE WHOLE THING... AND SAID IT TASTED GOOD. We have truly learned to appreciate the little things!
She is awfully weak, but I know she continue to build up strength everyday.
Mom has to be back up at the hospital at 8:00 tomorrow morning. We are thinking they will remove her catheter and she can be free of any medical acoutrements for a while.
I'll keep updating so keep checking back. Phase two will start in a about a month.
Thanks so much for all the prayers, they made such a difference!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The stem cells are coming!
They started harvesting stem cells about 7:00 AM and finished about 2 PM so it was quite a day. Unfortunately, we aren't through yet. Apparently they only got about half of what they need so they will harvest more tomorrow. They said this might happen and it is nothing to be alarmed about... Dad says they plan to start early tomorrow and be done by noon. Then maybe, just maybe, with enough prayer and enough stem cells, mom will be sleeping in her bed tomorrow night.
She is no longer connected to any IV's and she is completely free from C. Diff or any other infection. She has essentially completed this phase of the transplant.
Thank you so much for all your prayers during this time. Don't stop yet though. Mom has about a month to recover and then she starts phase 2..
I'll continue to keep everyone updated. I'll definately let you know how tomorrow goes!
She is no longer connected to any IV's and she is completely free from C. Diff or any other infection. She has essentially completed this phase of the transplant.
Thank you so much for all your prayers during this time. Don't stop yet though. Mom has about a month to recover and then she starts phase 2..
I'll continue to keep everyone updated. I'll definately let you know how tomorrow goes!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Harvesting is best done by the early morning light
Ok, we got excited and I announced the harvest but... it won't actually be until tomorrow morning. They had planned to do it, but it took a little time to get everything set up and decided to just start fresh in the morning. So.. the harvest will actually take place tomorrow.
HARVEST TIME
Over the past few days mom's white blood cell count has just kept rising. It went from .7 to 1.8 to 4.1 to 10.1 and today it is over 14! She has had one negative C. Diff culture and we are waiting to find out if it is still negative today. If so, she can put that whole mess behind her.. (pardon the pun)
The one number we were waiting on was the CD34. I have no idea what it is or what it means other than that we need it to be 10 to harvest. Yesterday it was 4. The word yesterday was that we would probably be able to harvest on Thursday, and hopefully heading home on Friday.
The blood results came back today and I got a phone call from Dad, shouting hallelujah and praise the Lord! The CD34 is 11 and the harvest is happening even as I type.
Harvesting stem cells is a bit like dialysis. Mom's catheter is hooked up to a noisy machine which is taking her blood and filtering all the stem cells out. This process will take 3-4 hours. By this evening, there should be some healthy, clean stem cells chillin' in the freezer.
I'll let you know when the harvest is complete!
The one number we were waiting on was the CD34. I have no idea what it is or what it means other than that we need it to be 10 to harvest. Yesterday it was 4. The word yesterday was that we would probably be able to harvest on Thursday, and hopefully heading home on Friday.
The blood results came back today and I got a phone call from Dad, shouting hallelujah and praise the Lord! The CD34 is 11 and the harvest is happening even as I type.
Harvesting stem cells is a bit like dialysis. Mom's catheter is hooked up to a noisy machine which is taking her blood and filtering all the stem cells out. This process will take 3-4 hours. By this evening, there should be some healthy, clean stem cells chillin' in the freezer.
I'll let you know when the harvest is complete!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
They're Multiplying!
Apparently the white blood cells mom got yesterday are enjoying the new digs so much they've each called a friend or two. Mom's white cell count more than doubled last night. It is now 1.8 and we are expecting more tomorrow!
Keep praying because it is obviously working!
Keep praying because it is obviously working!
Friday, February 8, 2008
They're Here!
Dad just called to tell me that during the night an army of white blood cells moved into battle! Mom's count is now .7 The doctor has said that he expects to harvest the stem cells and send mom home sometime next week.
Wow! You guys pray good!
Wow! You guys pray good!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Prayer Request
We need some white blood cells! Mom's white cell count doubled today, but that still only leaves it at 0.2. We need some more. Mom has been battling this C. Diff but she can't make much headway as long as she is still on the antibiotics. She can't get off the antibiotics until she has some white blood cells. So it's a bit of a catch 22. We have been praying for the C. Diff to go away, but Daddy got the revelation that we need to be praying for the white blood cells to come!
Please pray with us that those good cells, those cells in the white hats, come quickly and chase those C. Diff toxins away. Then once the toxins are gone, they will be able to harvest the stem cells and mom can start recovering from this phase of the transplant.
Thank you for your prayers!
Friday, February 1, 2008
3 updates in 1 post
Update #1 ~ The Cuteness
If you are reading Tulsa People Magazine, and come across a picture of a handsome guy getting a hair cut on page 66, that would be my dad. If your not in Tulsa, or don't have a Tulsa People handy, you can check it out online by clicking here.
Not long after this picture of Daddy in the barber chair was taken, he practiced his own barber skills on Mom. Her hair had started to fall out, and although I couldn't really tell, she could. Daddy brought the clippers to the hospital and Mom allowed him to shave her head. OK, it's not really shaved. But it's very very short. And it's adorable. I'll be posting pictures soon.
It should be noted that my dad is a rarity. Even though most living things love chocolate, he does not. (Even my dog loves chocolate, and dogs aren't supposed to eat chocolate!) And even though most men love long hair on a woman, he's always been into the short hair styles. And you can just see in his eyes how beautiful he thinks Mom is with her new hair cut. She is wearing cute little hats right now, not because she is trying to hide her head, but because her head is a bit chilly. When she took her hat off, daddy's eyes just twinkled and he whispered how cute he thought she was. And it is very cute! But between you and me, i don't think Daddy can look at Mom and not see all kinds of pretty. And I don't think Mom can look at Dad and not see all kinds of awesome.
Speaking of Awesome... Update #2
Yesterday Mom was thrilled to find out that her white blood cell count is slowly rising again. Sure, it's barely registering, but it IS registering. She may have only one white blood cell swimming around in there, but Praise God, that little cell is the first of many and it just brings home the point that she will get to feeling better. Her counts will continue to fluctuate for a bit, but soon they will rise enough to be able to harvest her stem cells and she will be that much closer to being well.
Speaking of Being Well... Update #3
Mom really is doing well... definately better than what I expected... but she is fighting hard. And today we learned she has a new enemy to fight... a little toxin called C. Difficile. Because her chemotherapy has left her immune compromised, and because she has been on lots of antibiotics over the past few days, this little bacteria, that is normally present, has gotten out of control. A new antibiotic (flagyl) will solve the problem. In the meantime, anyone who goes into Mom's room must wear gowns and gloves. So just close your eyes and picture my dad... wearing a long medical gown, gloves and waving around his hair clippers.
Do pray that the new antibiotic will clear everything up very quickly. Pray also that Mom's blood counts continue to rise quickly as well.
If you are reading Tulsa People Magazine, and come across a picture of a handsome guy getting a hair cut on page 66, that would be my dad. If your not in Tulsa, or don't have a Tulsa People handy, you can check it out online by clicking here.
Not long after this picture of Daddy in the barber chair was taken, he practiced his own barber skills on Mom. Her hair had started to fall out, and although I couldn't really tell, she could. Daddy brought the clippers to the hospital and Mom allowed him to shave her head. OK, it's not really shaved. But it's very very short. And it's adorable. I'll be posting pictures soon.
It should be noted that my dad is a rarity. Even though most living things love chocolate, he does not. (Even my dog loves chocolate, and dogs aren't supposed to eat chocolate!) And even though most men love long hair on a woman, he's always been into the short hair styles. And you can just see in his eyes how beautiful he thinks Mom is with her new hair cut. She is wearing cute little hats right now, not because she is trying to hide her head, but because her head is a bit chilly. When she took her hat off, daddy's eyes just twinkled and he whispered how cute he thought she was. And it is very cute! But between you and me, i don't think Daddy can look at Mom and not see all kinds of pretty. And I don't think Mom can look at Dad and not see all kinds of awesome.
Speaking of Awesome... Update #2
Yesterday Mom was thrilled to find out that her white blood cell count is slowly rising again. Sure, it's barely registering, but it IS registering. She may have only one white blood cell swimming around in there, but Praise God, that little cell is the first of many and it just brings home the point that she will get to feeling better. Her counts will continue to fluctuate for a bit, but soon they will rise enough to be able to harvest her stem cells and she will be that much closer to being well.
Speaking of Being Well... Update #3
Mom really is doing well... definately better than what I expected... but she is fighting hard. And today we learned she has a new enemy to fight... a little toxin called C. Difficile. Because her chemotherapy has left her immune compromised, and because she has been on lots of antibiotics over the past few days, this little bacteria, that is normally present, has gotten out of control. A new antibiotic (flagyl) will solve the problem. In the meantime, anyone who goes into Mom's room must wear gowns and gloves. So just close your eyes and picture my dad... wearing a long medical gown, gloves and waving around his hair clippers.
Do pray that the new antibiotic will clear everything up very quickly. Pray also that Mom's blood counts continue to rise quickly as well.
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