Just when you think. . . . .

you have your schedule all figured out. . . .the hospital changes up your schedule. . . .AGAIN and again and again!

Yesterday Aunt D had her stemcells harvested. They got a very good amount. Mom needed 4 million (whatever the measurement is) and they harvested 14 million (what ever the measurement is). We went this morning to do blood work so they could see if your white blood count was dropping back to normal. Well when we finally got the results they said that her wbc's were still to high and that her magnesium was low. They gave her some pills for the magnesium and said that she would need to come back tomorrow at anytime. We headed home (finally) and made it home at about 6:00 pm. Later in the evening she went down to my parents house and checked her schedule which now says that she has to be there at 7:15 AM. Instead of getting to ride back down there with us, she now has to leave at 5ish to make her appointment. I know that she is so ready to go home and I hope she gets to do that tomorrow or Thursday. Thank you Uncle T for being patient while she has been gone! And thank you Aunt D for taking this on and helping Mom. We all appreciate it and we love you so much. And to my Uncle D. . . .we love you too and are so glad that you were a match! Hopefully Aunt D will be back to "NORMAL" (?) so she can go back home and see her family.

Mom will be admitted on Monday to begin the chemo treatment she will receive before they do the transplant. The transplant is scheduled for October 15th (do not be surprised if it changes several times before that date!) and that will begin our 100 Days In H-town (maybe I should write a book and use that as the title!!!). Tomorrow we have to head back to MDA for an echocardiogram and hopefully that is the last trip until Monday (again, you never know when it will change!). Right now, Mom is still very, very weak. It is so hard to see her like that because if you know my Mom, she is like the energizer bunny. She is so frail and lately she hasn't really smiled much. I know that she is ready to start feeling better.

My grandmother P has been cooking dinner for my parents and Aunt D so at least I know that everyone is eating some good food. During the day Mom has been staying with grandmom and poor Max is having a very hard time with that because he has to stay outside and can't play with his best bud!

Please pray that all goes well with all of the upcoming events and that an apartment becomes available at just the right time so we can get Mom where she needs to be without too much drama! She will be in isolation at the longest 30 days but could be released anytime that her blood work shows that things are working like they should and we have to have a place to go (not much stress!!). My sister B and I will be staying with Mom for 2 weeks, every 2 weeks with Dad and RA staying when they can and on the weekends. B will be away from her kiddos for those 2 weeks so they will all be having some major stress in their lives so say a little prayer for them!

Some days I just feel like throwing a temper tantrum and yelling at the top of my lungs how much I want my Mommy back! I don't know how my sisters are dealing with those days because we don't have much time to talk to each other. Sometimes while I am sitting here writing I feel guilty about how I am feeling because I feel like I am being whiny (I say that this happens while writing because sometimes I really struggle with what to write or how to say something and it makes me really think. I hope that makes some sort of sense!). How do you deal with all of the emotions that seem to run the gamete every single day? (thank you for indulging me and my little rant)

Well, I think that is enough rambling for tonight. Thank you all again for everything. We feel that so many of your prayers have already been answered and we ask that you keep them coming.

PS: I am so happy that my friend Shelley's son is home for a 2 week visit. Thank you Mark for keeping us safe from harm!

A Long Day

Today we got to sleep past 5:00 am which was so nice! Mom and Aunt D had appointments at 8:30 (on different floors of course!) so first I went with Mom until Dad got there and then I headed up to hang with Aunt D. Today they removed Mom's pic line and put in her central line (or whatever they call it) in her clavicle (upper chest) area. She was very anxious about the procedure and was very emotional before having it done. After is was over, she was seemed much more relaxed. Aunt D had blood work and had to get everyone straighted out with that! Both were finished before lunch so we ate bbq in the cafeteria. It was pretty good but the homemade peach cobbler made in a cast iron skillet was yummy (which reminds me, I need to get my leftovers before Dad eats it!). After lunch Aunt D and Mom headed to the family center where they sat and talked (Mom usually lays down and naps) while Dad and I went and checked out of the hotel. Let me know you, 4 adults in a hotel room with all of their stuff is crowded. We were wild last night. . . .the 3 oldest were in bed before 10 pm and I wasn't far behind them! Once we got back, we headed to our class which the schedule said was on the 8th floor at the stemcell center (one side of the hospital). Well, we actually had to go back to the 3rd floor, find elevator F and head up to the 10th floor (on the other side of the building). On the way we hit a bump (Mom got sick) and had to stop and get cleaned up and then we were on our way again. We were less than 15 minutes late (which is pretty good!).
Our meeting was to give us more information on what to expect once Mom is admitted for the transplant. We learned a lot and I know that Aunt D and I feel better and I hope that Mom and Dad feel that way also. We were told what the daily routine is like, what to expect from the doctors, nurses, etc, we found out which floor we want Mom to be on, we also found out that what we think isolation means is not what it actually means for her. We also leaned that the 100 days starts the day she receives her transplant, we learned that the patients are encouraged (yes, I said encouraged) to make their room as homey as possible and last but not least, we want Mom to earn lots and lots of M&Ms. :)
Aunt D will have blood work this coming Monday and they will harvest her stemcells on Tuesday. If they don't get enough on Tuesday, she will need to return on Wednesday. We are so very lucky that both Aunt D and Uncle D were matches and that they were both so willing to help.
Well, I am going for now. Thanks for everything!

Tuesday

Today was another busy day that started at 6:30 am. Mom was pretty wiped out when we got back to the hotel. We would have finished earlier but our last appointment was running late and then they told us it was going to be cancelled because there wasn't a nurse to hold the class and we were the only ones there for it. Why couldn't they have let us know earlier? Anyway, Dad and Aunt D are here for tomorrows appointments. Maybe we will get a for sure date. I will let you know.

ER Trip and such

Well, yesterday Dad brought Mom to Houston and took her to the ER where they gave her the fluids she needed. The arrived at the hotel at about 3:30 am. We had to be up early because we had a 7:00 appointment and Dad had to get back home to teach. Thank goodness for the Family Center where Mom could take a nap or just rest. We finished up around 2:00 and ate lunch around 2:30 and then took naps!
She did eat some today. She ate three meals (small, but 3 just the same). She is asleep right now and I will be following soon. We start appointments tomorrow at 6:30 am. So goodnight to you all.

Weekend Wrap up

Well, as I type this, Mom and Dad are at the ER at MDA where they will be spending the night. Mom has gotten dehydrated and is getting fluids and such to get herself back in order. Tomorrow will be a long day for us. It starts at 7:00 am and we will keep going until around 2:00 pm or so. Please pray that we can figure out how to keep this from happening again and that we can get Mom back on her feet.

I would also like to add two people to your prayer list: a good friend's daughter (in her mid 30's) has been diagnosed with breast cancer and they just found tumors in her liver. Also, my hubby's cousin (also in her mid 30's)has been diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer that is at stage 3, she has 4 kids who are all under 10 (I think).

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and comments. You don't know how much these things help.

Long Week

Well, this has been a long week, for me at least. Mom does not seem to be bouncing back at all from the last round of treatment and the bacteria that she is being treated for. She is very weak and is only able to stay awake for very short amounts of time. She is also not eating much which doesn't help her build up her strength. Today when we went by to see her, I ask her if she had eaten today and she gave me a dirty look and said "very little". We were really hoping that she would be able to build up her strength before she went in for her transplant which we hoped would make things a little easier for her.
She has a lot of appointments next week. She has to see a dentist and an opthomologist in addition to her regular appointments and included ones regarding the transplant. The trips to Houston are hard on her and completely wipes her out.
Please continue to pray that she will start to gain some strength before the transplant because it isn't easy when you are strong.
It is so hard to believe that we have only been dealing with this for 10 weeks. It seems like it has been years and I can only imagine what it has been like for Mom.

Transplant Update

Well, Aunt D and I went to Houston today for her meeting with the doctor. They did bloodwork and some cultures and found that her body is fighting an infection or something. She started a z-pac today and everything has been moved back one week. Mom has also been fighting something. Tomorrow I have to take her to Houston to get an antibiotic iv started on her. Mom is not bouncing back very quickly this time. She has been home for a week and a half and is still weak and sleeps a lot and doesn't feel like doing anything. She has her regular appointment for bloodwork and the see the doctor on Friday. Hopefully in a week, everyone will be healthy again.

I enjoyed getting to visit with my Aunt D today. She is a hoot! And I have had a lot of time to people watch and listen to their conversations (some people talk way too loud!)

Have a great rest of the week!

Sunday

Mom, Dad and Aunt D headed to MDA to begin their stuff. They should all be back home tomorrow evening. We are going to see if we can help with anything.

Saturday

Today was a pretty low day for Mom. She is really weak and slept almost the entire we were at the house and I am pretty sure that is how the rest of the day went.
Aunt D will come into town tomorrow and then she and my parents will head to Houston. Aunt D will begin testing on Monday and will be in Houston for several days. Mom has some appointments on Monday also.
Aunt D will spend this weekend with her family celebrating her birthday because she will be in Houston on that day. Her birthday is the 18th so if you want to send her some birthday wishes, just comment here and I will make sure that she gets them on her special day.
Well, that is all I have for now. Just going to keep on asking for prayers.

Thanks for all you have done so far.

Update

Well, some tough decisions had to be made this week by Mom. Wednesday she had an appointment with the stemcell transplant doctors. She had to decide if she was going to do the transplant or continue with the chemo treatments. She has decided to go with the transplant because she had not one but two matches and she knows that God gave her the answer she needed to make. David and Diane are both matches. Which ever one is chosen to be the donor, will spend about a week in the hospital to harvest the stemcells. Mom will be in the hospital in isolation for 30-31 days and will have to be in Houston, no further than 20 minutes away from the hospital for at least two months.

Mom spoke with the preacher from the Franklin Church of Christ about the transplant because he has been through it. He did not sugarcoat the information he gave her. She will have a rough time of it during the days that she is in the hospital. Once released she will have to go to the hospital everyday and after a time it will be every other day. During the 30 days, she will have another round of chemo that will wipe out everything that may be hiding and then she will be given the transplant and they will watch everything from there. If the transplant is a success, it is better than the chemo treatments which are hard on the body. As with every thing there are some risks, one of them being a mortality rate of 20-30 percent and rejection of the stemcells.

So scared does not even begin to describe what I and I think the rest of the family if feeling.
We know that we have to put this in God's hands so we are once again going to rely on our friends for their prayers. Please pray that the transplant is successful, that there are no complications and that when this is all over, Mom will be 100%. Please pray for Dad as this is very hard on him. Please pray for us to be there for what ever Mom and Dad need from us.

I will go ahead and apologize if this is difficult to understand. My mind is still trying to get a grasp on what the next 3-4 months is going to be like. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section and I will try my best to get an answer for you.

Thank you for being around for us.

09-09-09

Mom, Dad and Becca made it home today. I won't see them until tomorrow but I guess everything is going ok. I know they are glad to be able to sleep in their own bed tonight.
More later.

Today

Mom was discharged this afternoon and after that she received a blood transfusion. Hopefully that will perk her up some. Since she didn't get finished with the transfusion until 6:00, they decided to stay in Houston for the next two nights. Becca came in town this afternoon and then headed down to Houston to stay with Mom tomorrow. Wednesday they have several appointments and if you can believe this, the first one is at 6:45 am. No, that is not a typo, I said AM!
Well, that is all I know for now. I will update when I get more news.

Round 3 - Day 5

The "red devil" chemo was started this morning at 5:00 am. When I talked to Dad this evening she wasn't feeling as good as she had earlier today but she had been able to eat some. Her discharge date is still set for tomorrow but it will all depend on how she feels tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment if you would like, we love reading them!!

Round 3 Update

Not much to report today. Mom was nauseated most of the day so she slept a lot. Hoping that she is feeling better tomorrow. We had some old friends stop by and visit this afternoon. It was so good to see the Owens.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Round 3 Update

Well, so far, so good! Mom has been feeling pretty good so far. We had planned on walking today but ended up not doing so. The reason for not walking was because she had a lumbar puncture today and meds they give her knock her out some. We plan on taking our walk tomorrow. She got sick right before I left but I am hoping that it was just because she ate a heavier meal then usual. I will admit that I am a wimp. I can not stand being around others when they throw up because it nearly makes me sick. I almost lost it while I was dumping out her "chuckit" (what we call the barf bucket) in the bathroom. I made me laugh so hard because I really thought that I was going to throw up!! Plus I had to hold my nose while doing this!! Anyway, when I talked to her about 30 minutes later, she said that she still felt ok.

In the cafeteria this afternoon I ran into the Mom of a young lady we met on the first day we were at MDA. Morgan is fighting leukemia for the 3rd time. This time has been very hard on her. Her bone marrow is not coming back like it should. She was finally released from the hospital (she had been there since July 10th) but soon had to return due to dehydration. Please add Morgan and her family to your prayers. She is only 28 years old.

Well, that is all for now. Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Day 57

I don't know about you but I find that hard to believe in someways and in others I wonder why it seems so much longer. Mom headed to Houston today for round 3. They finally got a room about 7:00 pm. They had to be there this morning at 7:45. So they had a very long day. Well, that is all I have for today. I will see her tomorrow and will let you know how things are going.