Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Well March is almost done, but here in Utah it sure don't look like spring. It has been snowing all day. It was nice to watch outside Auntie Robin's window. Auntie Robin was pretty tired today. I think all the treatments are catching up with her. Uncle Keith decided that there wasn't enough excitment in their lives and decided to wreck on his 4-wheeler. He is fine just bruised and beaten up. He stayed home today rest after his exciting evening in the emergency room yesterday. Auntie Robin got more platelets and whole blood today to help with her blood chemistry. The Doctors want to do some more rounds of chemo around the 30th day of her treatment and then let her go home for a little while until the next treatment. Hopefully everything will go well. One concern however is that Auntie Robin was running a temperature today of 100 so since her immune system is at its lowest that is being monitored closely. Auntie Robin is still in good spirits but is ready to go home as soon as they let her. We were walking the corridors the other day and she is all gloved and gowned and masked and we walked in the corridor where the elevators were and she said lets make a break for it, but I told her that just like the convicts wear orange coveralls that yellow gown is a dead give away. We told this story to one of the nurses and he said that they have snipers on the roof with tranquilzer darts so don't even try it. Thanks for all the great prayers. Blessings are pouring in with great test results. Auntie Robin sends her love.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Since Keely is in DC till Saturday, Eileen will be filling in for her. We visited with Auntie Robin today and she is feeling much better than yesterday. She ate well and her platelet count has bumped the highest yet at 44000 however it dropped but not as low as yesterday so she is retaining more platelets which is good. The 4th Doctor came in and visited her today and told her that the bone marrow transplant would not be necessary and that some more rounds of chemo would have to happen. Auntie Robin seemed pleased with the news of no bone marrow transplant but if the chemo does not do all it needs to do the bone marrow transplant is still on the table. Auntie Robin remains in great spirits and has told me of her great faith in the Lord to heal her so keep up all the prayers and great thoughts for her. She knows she has a lot of friends and family that are out there with prayers and love for her speedy recovery and health. Keep up all the prayers they are working and Auntie Robin is feeling the positive blessings.

mutation is good

Some interesting news today...Mom's doctor did a chromosome check on her and they were looking at which ones had mutated and which hadn't. The "NPM1" had mutated and was allowing the chemo to work...the "FLT3" had not mutated and that this is the best possible situation for fighting the cancer. There is a 60% chance that there will NOT be a need for a bone marrow transplant. Dr. Ash was really optomistic and quite elated at this development. So in a nutshell things are still looking really good.

We are home now and it was really good to see Mom. She looks and feels great! It almost hard to believe that she is sick. Everything continues to go well and today she received another bag of platelets to continue to raise her levels. A normal healthy persons levels are around 100 thousand to 400 thousand, and Even though she is only at 39 thousand it is a good level for her as they will be rebuilding her body little by little. She had a room full of visitors today many family, friends, and church members continue to visit on a regular basis. It was such a blessing to have Eileen there to stay with Mom so that Dad could be with the rest of us in Elko for Bryce's homecoming. We sure did miss Mom though. Even though she is doing so well please don't forget to keep her in your prayers as we have a long road to haul.

So much talk about platelets

We spent some time at the hospial today visiting with Mom. Kim spent the night with her so Dad could come home to get some much needed rest. Today lots of information was given about platelets and counts and parameters and all kinds of technical jargon, but the bottom line is that the "matched" platelets are holding at an acceptable level. Yesterday Mom's sister Karen and her neice Eileen showed up unexpectedly and will be here for a few days. This was a very welcome surprise and will allow for Dad to join us all for grandson Bryce's missionary homecoming. We walked the halls with Mom for her daily exercise and she just gets out there and goes. That is after she gets all gowned up and gets her oxegyn and face mask on. She is still feeling really good and was watching a movie this evening with Eileen. Please keep the prayers coming as they truly are blessings from heaven.

Good news abounds

Lots of great news today... For the last 5 days there have been no "blast cells" (leukemia cells) in Mom's pereferial(sp?) blood. Today the matched platelets arrived and the were matched by 97%. They began to transfuse them and by the time they hung the second bag her platelet count went from 11 thousand to 24 thousand and their goal is 30-50 thousand. She will receive two bags per day as needed. Her body, at this point, is no longer attacking the platelets. The last bag of chemo ran out this afternoon and Mom is still feeling great. So this brings her IV bag count down to two and she still has her hair. There are so many things still up in the air as far as what will be the next step, since she is doing so well they kind of have to figure it out as they go along. She continues to receive lots of visitors but is now wearing a face mask only as a precaution as she has now entered the "Nader" phase. This phase is where her immune systems are low and are subject to illness. So if you plan to stop by please make sure that you are not ill nor around anyone who is. She walks two to three times a day pushing her "Lizzie". (The pole with all the pumps and IV's) Dad also follows her pushing the oxygen tank which she has named "Ariel". I think the crazies are starting to set in because Dad is now singing amusing little "ditties" as they walk down the halls. There are so many wonderful nurses and staff members that are making this whole process much nicer to endure. You need only be in the room for a few moments to see what great care she is receiving.

Good news

I just got off the phone with Mom and Dad and Mom sounded really great! She is getting her bodily functions back to normal and really feeling good. I was talking alot of technical mumbo jumbo with Dad about blood and when Mom was admitted to the hospital her Leukemia level in her blood was at 7%, a couple of days later it had dropped to 4% then 3% and yesterday to 0%!!! This is in the "periferial blood" only, meaning the blood in her body outside the marrow. They will check her bone marrow after 14 days to see where she is at. In the meantime she has been given a portable oxegyn tank so that she can walk more extensively and today she went for a long walk and then does exercises in bed. She needs to keep her lungs moving so that they don't fill with fluid. Dad assures me that she is in the best possible care at the hospital. Thats all for now more info to come later.

Steady as she goes

Well today was another great day! Dad tells me the doctors keep telling them how well Mom is doing. She continues to have visitors and Kevin made it in today and I'm sure that really lifted Mom's spirits. She is beginning to regain her appetite and has been eating some yummy soup that Kim (who has been a constant presence and support) brought for her. She is also beginning to flush out the fluids from her system. She had gained 20, yes I said 20, pounds of fluid weight since being admitted on Thursday. The doctors had been giving her so many fluids that her body couldn't dispose of them quickly enough. They are continuing to give her platelets to maintain levels until they are able to find the match in Los Angeles. She will be finishing this first round of chemotherapy on Friday. She is receiving two types of chemo and the first was a series of three shots, one each day for three days. The other is an IV drip 24 hours a day for 7 days. Kevin and the boys came over from Elko to visit and Mom was so happy to see them. We are all "cautiously optimistic" as my friend Alan put it. I will say this, the power of prayer is hard at work, the lord is truly blessing our family.

Small victories

Well today was a very positive day. The most recent blood analysis came back with good results. Mom's platelets are holding steady now and the white cell count is coming down but most importantly Dad says her cancer cells are beginning to die off! Also the doctors are telling her that she is through the worst of this round of chemo. We hope that this is true and she will be well on her way to recovery. I would like to thank all of you for your warm wishes and heartfelt thoughts and prayers and to all of our friends who don't even know Mom who are keeping us in their prayers. We are truly blessed to have you in our lives. Mom has continued to have many visitors and we will soon be adding a guest list feature to the blog. Much love to all.

A better day

I just talked to Mom and Dad and they said today was a really good day! The doctor told them that today should have been the worst day for Mom but she was doing very well. So he decided to put the chemo back up to full strength because her kidney function was doing much better. She only had 3 episodes of nauesa today. On the down side Mom's anti-bodies attacked and killed off all of the platelets that they had given her so they are sending some samples to Los Angeles as they are looking for a better match for her. She sounded good and said she was feeling pretty good although very tired and ready for much needed sleep. They had lots of family stop by today and it helps to pass the time.

Day two

First and foremost I would like to thank all of the friends and family that have stopped by to visit mom over the last two days. I know that means a lot to her and dad that you would take the time to check in on her. Today was a tougher day than yesterday as the effects of the chem are starting to set in. She a couple bouts of nausea and two more units of blood today. She has had 5 different types of IV's at the same time ranging from the chemo to nausea med's to maintence fluids and anti-biotics. As you can understand at this time her immune system is greatly depleated so again cards, letters, and visits are always welcome as these will lift her spirits but please remember that if you or any immediate family member is ill you will not be admitted. Please check in with the nurses station for instruction on hand washing etc... Also no fresh flowers please.

Round 1

Things are happening so fast I really don't know where to start...As you all know by now Mom was diagnosed with Accute Meyologenous Leukemia (AML). She has been admitted to LDS hospital in Salt Lake and will be enjoying an extended stay of up to 6 weeks. On Thursday Mom, Dad, Kim and Blake went to the hospital for a consultation at the Leukemia center and after determining their course of action they admitted her to the hospital on the spot. Her doctor Dr. Hoda (sp?) wants to treat her aggressively. Today there was an issue with her kidney function so they decided to cut her first round of chemotherapy by half. She has several IV's hooked up and has received two units of blood and will get another tonight. Cards, letters, calls and prayers are all welcome. Address to come later. She is in room 9 at the LDS hospital in SLC.