Round Two

Well Mom checked into the hospital on Tuesday for round two of her Chemo treatments. These will be a series of three "consolidation" treatments over the next few weeks to finish up the overall projected long term care for her. She took the first of two "bags" of chemo Tuesday midday and the second this morning. I talked to her today and once again she is in great spirits and moving along like a trooper. Now she will have a period of 36 hours with no chemo and then another bag will be hung and then she can go home soon after that. This process will repeat an additional three times. She should be in the hospital for about six days each. Once again thank you to everyone family and friends alike for your continued concern and support. You all have made this process so much easier for all of us. Much Love!

Home Sweet Home

Today was the day.... MOM IS HOME!!!!!! This morning did not start off too well because one of the nurses delivered some bad news. She told mom that her Neutraphil levels had dropped and she would not be able to go home today....Well she was wrong and mom was devastated. She actually cried for the first time today. But all was resolved and she would soon be on her way home! She was able to surprise Hyatt and Garrett at the ball park and see them outside of the hospital in over a month. She still has about a third the volume of her hair and Kim says she feels good and looks good. SO GLAD TO HAVE HER HOME!!!!! She is very happy to be in her own bed tonight.

Almost home

Well there is more and more good news to report...Mom has been increasing her platelet levels on her own and they are now up to 251,000. She is still holding steady at 100 on her Neutraphil level but her body is still rebuilding itself. It looks like she will be heading home this weekend for a little while and get some much needed rest in her own bed. Thank you to all who have been visiting and keeping Mom in your prayers and thoughts.

Better each day

Well Mom, Dad and Blake had a consultation with the Dr. today and they tell them that everything is going along well and mom can go home soon. The platelet levels are holding and climbing on their own now and they are now waiting for the "Neutraphil" cells to kick in so that she can go home for a while. The Neutraphil cells are the ones that fight infection and she needs those before they will let her out. They say that once the start they come back relatively quickly. Once she is home they will schedule 3 to 4 additional chemo treatments of about 6 days each in the hospital. Mom's Dr. has given them a really good prognosis for a good quality of life for many years. With the subsequent treatments they may have even eradicated the Leukemia all together. We will all keep our fingers crossed and keep the prayers coming. On the down side she is starting to lose her hair much more now and Dad says it has thinned out about 50-60%. This is the only emotional part of this whole process that has been difficult for Mom to deal with. But she is a trooper and this too she will overcome. You can email Mom at the hospital buy loggin on to the hospital website at http://www.ldshospital.org/ If you scroll down on the left hand side there is a place to click "email a patient" and it will let you send her a short message. She would love to hear from you. Keep praying and much love to all.

Boring is good

So Mom's Dr. told her today that she is boring! Really nothing new to report which is always a good thing. She and Dad will have a consult on the 12th and they will decide what teh next steps will be...more chemo? going home date? etc... Things are still going along swinmmingly. Mom is just a trooper. And while we are on the subject so are Dad and Kim. Mom has had many visitors in the last few days and I will update the list soon. Keep the prayers and well wishes coming. Mom can recieve emails at the hospital and I will be adding a link soon. (as soon as I can figure it out). Love to all.

Thursday & Friday Updates

Sorry about missing last night. I was already at the hospital when they asked me to spend the night with Auntie Robin so I didn't have my computer. Auntie Robin is doing pretty good. She a a few goods days and I won't say bad days but days where everything does quite go as planned. She is still struggling with maintaining her platelet count and has to have a bag of platelets today. We keep hoping that she will maintain more than the last time. Please keep this thought in your prayers. She had a little bit of a bad night starting with a small bloody nose, but even though her platelet count is low her blood still clotted and it stopped relatively quickly. Then she got up around 2 am and felt a little icky (I think that is the technical term) and spit in a bucket for a little or as she calls it retched. But that passed and finally she got to sleep only to have her IV finish and a loud beeping sound was our wake up call around 3 am. Finally we think we can sleep but were a little more awake than anyone should be at 3 am so we talked for awhile. We get sleepy and then a few hours later a nurse comes in at 7:30 to to stats and stuff. How is anyone supposed to get uninterupted sleep this way. Auntie Robin is doing well though. Her appetite is still small but is getting better. They took her off of the oxygen and she is maintaining her levels really well. The Doctor is pleased with all the progress she is making and is positive with each step toward recovery or remission. Auntie Robin still has not lost her hair but is sporting a really great "Don King" look for anyone visiting. She sends her love to all her friends and family. Keep up the prayers and positive attitudes. They are are received with love in her heart.