Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Port Insertion Complete
Just heard from Mom and the surgery went as planned. I also heard that Bunny is planning on changing into her "off duty" outfit today. Chemo Round 2 in 28 days.
I'm sure there will be direct updates from her soon.
with love,
Charlie
I'm sure there will be direct updates from her soon.
with love,
Charlie
Port Day - Tuesday, November 22, 2011
It's 5:15 AM and we'll be leaving shortly for the Bunting Building of Mercy to have my port surgically implanted. Feeling good this morning; was able to get some good sleep last night. Had great talks with Charlie yesterday, so I'm ready for today's challenge.
More later...
More later...
Chemo Day 3 - Monday, November 21, 2011
I had a fairly rotten night last night...pain, pain, pain and more pain. Not sure what precipitated it, but I was surprised since Saturday and Sunday had been so calm. I'm not good at surprises!
Day 3 went fine - although outrageously slow. Unfortunately, there was an emergency prior to my arrival, so everything was delayed. I arrived early for my 11:15 appointment and we waited until almost Noon before going into the Chemo area. We finally left around 3:30, getting home at 4:00. A long day - and I'm fairly wiped out from all the drugs...probably best to just lie down until George gets home.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Chemo - Day 2 - Friday, November 18, 2011
So I'm not exactly excited about beginning Chemo - Day 2 since Chemo - Day 1 was so stressful; but here we go....
George & I arrived at 8:30 and were led into cubicle #20. It's right in front of the nurse's station (since I obviously made a big impression on them yesterday). If you can believe it, it's SMALLER than the first one! After the assorted rituals of meeting a new nurse (today is Pat) and being reminded of how much commotion I caused the day before, she started the regimen of anti-nausea drugs as well as anti-allergic drugs and said that today I would receive Treanda (a/k/a Bendamustin) as my chemo. This one, she indicated, does not normally have the adverse side effects of the dreaded Rituxin.
Since all was going well, I got out the iPad and started a movie -- The Blind Side. Things were going along just fine. I met all sorts of new people who stopped by to introduce themselves: Kelly, the Nutritionist; Jessica, the Social Worker, and Stacey, the American Cancer Society Patient Navigator, as well as Judy, the Manager of the Chemotherapy Suite. It seems that all of them were supposed to meet with me yesterday; however, I was pretty busy yesterday - AND, because I had my bone marrow biopsy in the chemotherapy suite last week, it was not noted on the chart that I was a 'new' chemotherapy patient, so this assortment of hospital staff didn't have me on their radar screens until today.
I forgot to mention yesterday that they gave me all sorts of reading materials and DVDs about cancer treatment as well as a blanket made by "Blankets for Warriors," a nonprofit group which makes them. Each chemo patient receives one with a note: "Quitters never win; Winners never Quit".
At the end of the Treanda, Pat advises that I will have to come back on Monday for the second dose. I was supposed to receive Treanda after the Rituxin, but obviously, I didn't get that far!
I was picked up by our friend, Tim Hanks (our Plan B, after Michael hurt his back and ended up at Laurel Regional ER). Tim arrived a little early and we chatted. We left the hospital - and after a quick stop at Frank's Seafood for crab meat for dinner - we arrived back in Columbia.
I'm feeling pretty good about today - no adverse side effects. Monday should be the same.
George & I arrived at 8:30 and were led into cubicle #20. It's right in front of the nurse's station (since I obviously made a big impression on them yesterday). If you can believe it, it's SMALLER than the first one! After the assorted rituals of meeting a new nurse (today is Pat) and being reminded of how much commotion I caused the day before, she started the regimen of anti-nausea drugs as well as anti-allergic drugs and said that today I would receive Treanda (a/k/a Bendamustin) as my chemo. This one, she indicated, does not normally have the adverse side effects of the dreaded Rituxin.
Since all was going well, I got out the iPad and started a movie -- The Blind Side. Things were going along just fine. I met all sorts of new people who stopped by to introduce themselves: Kelly, the Nutritionist; Jessica, the Social Worker, and Stacey, the American Cancer Society Patient Navigator, as well as Judy, the Manager of the Chemotherapy Suite. It seems that all of them were supposed to meet with me yesterday; however, I was pretty busy yesterday - AND, because I had my bone marrow biopsy in the chemotherapy suite last week, it was not noted on the chart that I was a 'new' chemotherapy patient, so this assortment of hospital staff didn't have me on their radar screens until today.
I forgot to mention yesterday that they gave me all sorts of reading materials and DVDs about cancer treatment as well as a blanket made by "Blankets for Warriors," a nonprofit group which makes them. Each chemo patient receives one with a note: "Quitters never win; Winners never Quit".
At the end of the Treanda, Pat advises that I will have to come back on Monday for the second dose. I was supposed to receive Treanda after the Rituxin, but obviously, I didn't get that far!
I was picked up by our friend, Tim Hanks (our Plan B, after Michael hurt his back and ended up at Laurel Regional ER). Tim arrived a little early and we chatted. We left the hospital - and after a quick stop at Frank's Seafood for crab meat for dinner - we arrived back in Columbia.
I'm feeling pretty good about today - no adverse side effects. Monday should be the same.
Chemo - Day 1 - Thursday, November 17, 2011
George and I arrived at the Chemotherapy Department of Mercy at 8:30 AM on Thursday 11/17. Because it was to be a NINE HOUR day, I packed my laptop and iPad (loaded with movies) since I thought I would be able to do a little work AND watch a few movies! Unfortunately, neither of them were touched the entire day. George had to leave at 11:00, but my dear Tara was going to arrive at 2:00, so I wasn't too lonely awaiting her visit.
Preparing for chemotherapy is a daunting task and I'm not sure that anyone can prepare themselves for it no matter how much web surfing you try to do and how many sessions with the doctor you have. Thankfully, you don't have any dietary restrictions the night before, so you can fortify yourself with breakfast that morning AND there's a Starbucks on the first floor of the Institute for Cancer Care :)
You are led to a little cubicle and today, I'm in #16. It has a window but the size is approximately 6 ft. by 9 ft. and most of that is taken up by a recligning chair, a bedside table, and a visitor's chair. The wall is made of stainless steel and contains all sorts of compartments to be used by the staff during your care - not to mention the floor to ceiling bank of electrical outlets to service the chemotherapy infusers and other equipment that may be needed.
Because I haven't had the port inserted yet, my nurse for the day, Susan, began by 'trying' to insert a temporary one in my arm - to no avail. This obviously happens a lot, so they have a back-up system and the chief-of-arm-ports arrives to save the day.
And so it begins...the first items to be infused are: Tylenol (allergies), Benadryl (allergies), Dexamethazone (allergies), and an assortment of anti-nausea meds (Zantac, Emend, Aloxi). The actual chemo (Rituxin) finally begins a couple of hours later and starts off very slow. Each half hour, the nurse increases it.
Fortunately, because of the Benadryl and other sleep-inducing goodies, I feel asleep. Unfortunately, when I woke up, my ears were itching. Since I didn't think much of it, I just kinda waited for the nurse to cruise by. Less than 5 minutes later, she came in to check and noticed the redness around my ears. Less than 3 minutes later, there were 20 people in the cubicle led by Dr. Ledakis - turning off the infuser and flushing my veins with liquids to alleviate the allergic reaction. All sorts of vital signs were taken, all sorts of steroids were infused, but not before I began to have shortness of breath. It didn't last long -- actually minutes -- but enough to determine that this drug (Rituxin) is going to be a problem!
After everything calmed down, they restarted the Rituxin at the slowest drip possible. It seemed to be going well. Tara arrived before 2:00 and we had a grand time chatting away. I'm not sure what time it was, but we had already begun talking about ordering in dinner because I wasn't going to be able to get through the Rituxin until 7:45 PM!!!!! Tara looked up and said, "Your eyes are so red!" Before I could blink, she ran for the nurse - and wouldn't you know it - my face began to swell. OK - so you're wondering how in the world do 20 people get into a 6' x 9' cubicle which already houses a huge chair, a patient and a friend? Well, I don't know how, but they did it. With Dr. Ledakis listening to my heart and checking my pulse and everyone else grabbing my arm to flush fluids in (which REALLY HURT, by the way -- and I remember feeling Tara's nice warm hand on mine as she tried to soothe away the pain), they successfully managed to do away with allergic reaction #2. Needless to say, Rituxin was discontinued for the day. I sat for another hour to insure that everything was okay for me to leave.
Dr. Ledakis then said that the only way I can have the Rituxin (and I MUST have it) was as an in-patient so that I could be monitored completely. He said he would begin to schedule that on Monday, so a 3rd day was added to this month's chemo.
This is a day of thanks... Thank you, my dear Tara - I will never forget our experiences today.
A new lesson: We left the hospital at 6:25 - just in the nick of time. The valet parking closes at 6:30, so five more minutes and we wouldn't have been able to get Tara's car!
Preparing for chemotherapy is a daunting task and I'm not sure that anyone can prepare themselves for it no matter how much web surfing you try to do and how many sessions with the doctor you have. Thankfully, you don't have any dietary restrictions the night before, so you can fortify yourself with breakfast that morning AND there's a Starbucks on the first floor of the Institute for Cancer Care :)
You are led to a little cubicle and today, I'm in #16. It has a window but the size is approximately 6 ft. by 9 ft. and most of that is taken up by a recligning chair, a bedside table, and a visitor's chair. The wall is made of stainless steel and contains all sorts of compartments to be used by the staff during your care - not to mention the floor to ceiling bank of electrical outlets to service the chemotherapy infusers and other equipment that may be needed.
Because I haven't had the port inserted yet, my nurse for the day, Susan, began by 'trying' to insert a temporary one in my arm - to no avail. This obviously happens a lot, so they have a back-up system and the chief-of-arm-ports arrives to save the day.
And so it begins...the first items to be infused are: Tylenol (allergies), Benadryl (allergies), Dexamethazone (allergies), and an assortment of anti-nausea meds (Zantac, Emend, Aloxi). The actual chemo (Rituxin) finally begins a couple of hours later and starts off very slow. Each half hour, the nurse increases it.
Fortunately, because of the Benadryl and other sleep-inducing goodies, I feel asleep. Unfortunately, when I woke up, my ears were itching. Since I didn't think much of it, I just kinda waited for the nurse to cruise by. Less than 5 minutes later, she came in to check and noticed the redness around my ears. Less than 3 minutes later, there were 20 people in the cubicle led by Dr. Ledakis - turning off the infuser and flushing my veins with liquids to alleviate the allergic reaction. All sorts of vital signs were taken, all sorts of steroids were infused, but not before I began to have shortness of breath. It didn't last long -- actually minutes -- but enough to determine that this drug (Rituxin) is going to be a problem!
After everything calmed down, they restarted the Rituxin at the slowest drip possible. It seemed to be going well. Tara arrived before 2:00 and we had a grand time chatting away. I'm not sure what time it was, but we had already begun talking about ordering in dinner because I wasn't going to be able to get through the Rituxin until 7:45 PM!!!!! Tara looked up and said, "Your eyes are so red!" Before I could blink, she ran for the nurse - and wouldn't you know it - my face began to swell. OK - so you're wondering how in the world do 20 people get into a 6' x 9' cubicle which already houses a huge chair, a patient and a friend? Well, I don't know how, but they did it. With Dr. Ledakis listening to my heart and checking my pulse and everyone else grabbing my arm to flush fluids in (which REALLY HURT, by the way -- and I remember feeling Tara's nice warm hand on mine as she tried to soothe away the pain), they successfully managed to do away with allergic reaction #2. Needless to say, Rituxin was discontinued for the day. I sat for another hour to insure that everything was okay for me to leave.
Dr. Ledakis then said that the only way I can have the Rituxin (and I MUST have it) was as an in-patient so that I could be monitored completely. He said he would begin to schedule that on Monday, so a 3rd day was added to this month's chemo.
This is a day of thanks... Thank you, my dear Tara - I will never forget our experiences today.
A new lesson: We left the hospital at 6:25 - just in the nick of time. The valet parking closes at 6:30, so five more minutes and we wouldn't have been able to get Tara's car!
A visit from Family Friends
On Wednesday 11/15 our beloved Tiffany Thompson, Charlie's best friend since childhood, and her dear Mom, Gwen, took the long ride from MacArthur Boulevard in Washington out to the wilds of Columbia!
Bearing wonderful delights from our old neighborhood deli, Parkway, they arrived with arms full of wonderful chicken noodle soup and an outrageous assortment of five layer cakes - coconut, chocolate, and German chocolate.
The crowning glory of the visit was the presentation of Miss Bunny, a beautiful bunny rabbit made just for me at Build-a-Bear, dressed in a hospital scrub suit, ready to go do battle with me at chemo tomorrow. Each paw, when pressed, delivered a personal get well soon note from Charlie, Adam , Herman and Tiffany! Well - can I tell you that thankfully, we hadn't gotten to the i-Pad lessons yet, so no photos were taken during Bunny's unveiling. I probably cried big ugly tears for five minutes!
Of course, heaven forbid Bunny have only one fashion statement -- she also came with a sparkly white sweater and skirt, sequinned shoes and silky undergarments for her off-duty days!
The objective of the visit was for Tiffany to give me i-Pad lessons! So, I tried to clear away the tears long enough for her to take this photo of Gwen, Bunny & me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you - Tiffany & Gwen, Charlie, Adam & Hermie.
Bearing wonderful delights from our old neighborhood deli, Parkway, they arrived with arms full of wonderful chicken noodle soup and an outrageous assortment of five layer cakes - coconut, chocolate, and German chocolate.
The crowning glory of the visit was the presentation of Miss Bunny, a beautiful bunny rabbit made just for me at Build-a-Bear, dressed in a hospital scrub suit, ready to go do battle with me at chemo tomorrow. Each paw, when pressed, delivered a personal get well soon note from Charlie, Adam , Herman and Tiffany! Well - can I tell you that thankfully, we hadn't gotten to the i-Pad lessons yet, so no photos were taken during Bunny's unveiling. I probably cried big ugly tears for five minutes!
Of course, heaven forbid Bunny have only one fashion statement -- she also came with a sparkly white sweater and skirt, sequinned shoes and silky undergarments for her off-duty days!
The objective of the visit was for Tiffany to give me i-Pad lessons! So, I tried to clear away the tears long enough for her to take this photo of Gwen, Bunny & me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you - Tiffany & Gwen, Charlie, Adam & Hermie.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Yet another procedure is scheduled...
My first round of chemotherapy begins with a 9-hour session on Thursday, November 17 and a 3-hour session on Friday, November 18. Although I am not looking forward to this procedure, the oncologist suggests that I may begin experiencing relief from the pain after the first round.
I met with Dr. Peter Ledakis at Mercy last Thursday (11/10). Because George was away on business, Michael went with me to the appointment. We talked about the chemotherapy treatments I will receive and some of the side effects that I may experience, e.g., nausea and hair thinning (not hair loss). He said that I would probably be very tired after the first 9-hour session. We also talked about the various supplements (vitamins, etc.) that they would give me because of my anemia (caused by the lymphoma.
Yesterday (11/14), I received a call from the office of Dr. Vadim Gushchin, Director of the surgical/oncology department at Mercy, That call was to schedule the surgical implant of a port through which I will receive the chemotherapy (beginning with round #2). We scheduled that procedure for Tuesday, 11/22 at 6:30 AM. The port is inserted into the chest just below the collar bone. This procedure is a little out of sync with the first round of chemotherapy because I am also on Coumadin (a blood thinner) therapy – and I have to discontinue Coumadin for five days before the surgery.
I continue to receive daily calls and emails from Jessica, Juanita, Tara and Bernie for updates. I am very grateful to all of them for checking on me.
Tomorrow, Tiffany is coming over to give me an iPad tutorial and to download some movies so that I have something to do during the chemotherapy sessions. I'm looking forward to seeing Tiffany and learning how to use the iPad.
I met with Dr. Peter Ledakis at Mercy last Thursday (11/10). Because George was away on business, Michael went with me to the appointment. We talked about the chemotherapy treatments I will receive and some of the side effects that I may experience, e.g., nausea and hair thinning (not hair loss). He said that I would probably be very tired after the first 9-hour session. We also talked about the various supplements (vitamins, etc.) that they would give me because of my anemia (caused by the lymphoma.
Yesterday (11/14), I received a call from the office of Dr. Vadim Gushchin, Director of the surgical/oncology department at Mercy, That call was to schedule the surgical implant of a port through which I will receive the chemotherapy (beginning with round #2). We scheduled that procedure for Tuesday, 11/22 at 6:30 AM. The port is inserted into the chest just below the collar bone. This procedure is a little out of sync with the first round of chemotherapy because I am also on Coumadin (a blood thinner) therapy – and I have to discontinue Coumadin for five days before the surgery.
I continue to receive daily calls and emails from Jessica, Juanita, Tara and Bernie for updates. I am very grateful to all of them for checking on me.
Tomorrow, Tiffany is coming over to give me an iPad tutorial and to download some movies so that I have something to do during the chemotherapy sessions. I'm looking forward to seeing Tiffany and learning how to use the iPad.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Many thanks to my PIRE Family
Mere words cannot begin to express my sincere thanks to my PIRE Family for their support and encouragement throughout these past weeks.
First and foremost is Bernie Murphy, our CEO...but Bernie has been much more than that to me over the years and especially these past couple of months…he’s been my brother / therapist / analyst / decoder of all things medical / but most of all, my friend! If it were not for Bernie’s compassion and diligence, I’d probably still be limping around the office mumbling about the pain. He stayed after me to make appointments with the doctors to pursue a diagnosis – and, once the appointments started and the pain increased, he all but demanded that I stay at home and take care of myself first. When he knew I needed some PIRE news in order to think about something other than myself, he kept me current on everything at the office…and Nancy Murphy reminded me that I’m much to feisty to let cancer get me down. Thank you so much, Bernie.
What can I say about Bob Walden? Well – if you ever have a ‘red tape’ dilemma, Bob’s your guy! When I had difficulty having my insurance cover the payment for a PET scan I needed, Bob did a phenomenal job of contacting everyone necessary to unscramble the codes of what is and is not covered. In addition, he and his wife, Susan, sent me the biggest box of gourmet chocolate confections I’d ever seen (or devoured!). Thank you, Bob!
The Executive Services Staff – what can I say about the best group in the business! Alexis, Joey & Howard have been wonderful about picking up all the slack while I’m away. They brought me a fantastic birthday lunch complete with flowers and presents (preceded by Wolfermann’s breakfast treats) and have kept in touch almost daily. Yes, Howard, I’m trying to take it easy!
I had a great phone call with Allan Cohen, the founder of PIRE, who had wonderful words of wisdom – as he always does! Harold Holder, the Chair of the PIRE Board, has been wonderfully supportive since all of this started – trying to keep my work to a minimum – and sending weekly notes of encouragement. Faye Calhoun has called me numerous times to let me know she’s there if I need anything. During a recent trip to the area, Faye came up with Bernie to visit. Many of the other Directors have sent notes of encouragement.
And good wishes and support comes from across the Institute – from Joel Grube, Kathy Stewart and Bob Saltz (Berkeley), Bob Stout, flowers and notes from Karen Friend (Providence), Al Stein-Seroussi, Matt Courser and Janet Jester (Chapel Hill).
My sincere thanks to everyone for your kindness and prayers.
First and foremost is Bernie Murphy, our CEO...but Bernie has been much more than that to me over the years and especially these past couple of months…he’s been my brother / therapist / analyst / decoder of all things medical / but most of all, my friend! If it were not for Bernie’s compassion and diligence, I’d probably still be limping around the office mumbling about the pain. He stayed after me to make appointments with the doctors to pursue a diagnosis – and, once the appointments started and the pain increased, he all but demanded that I stay at home and take care of myself first. When he knew I needed some PIRE news in order to think about something other than myself, he kept me current on everything at the office…and Nancy Murphy reminded me that I’m much to feisty to let cancer get me down. Thank you so much, Bernie.
What can I say about Bob Walden? Well – if you ever have a ‘red tape’ dilemma, Bob’s your guy! When I had difficulty having my insurance cover the payment for a PET scan I needed, Bob did a phenomenal job of contacting everyone necessary to unscramble the codes of what is and is not covered. In addition, he and his wife, Susan, sent me the biggest box of gourmet chocolate confections I’d ever seen (or devoured!). Thank you, Bob!
The Executive Services Staff – what can I say about the best group in the business! Alexis, Joey & Howard have been wonderful about picking up all the slack while I’m away. They brought me a fantastic birthday lunch complete with flowers and presents (preceded by Wolfermann’s breakfast treats) and have kept in touch almost daily. Yes, Howard, I’m trying to take it easy!
I had a great phone call with Allan Cohen, the founder of PIRE, who had wonderful words of wisdom – as he always does! Harold Holder, the Chair of the PIRE Board, has been wonderfully supportive since all of this started – trying to keep my work to a minimum – and sending weekly notes of encouragement. Faye Calhoun has called me numerous times to let me know she’s there if I need anything. During a recent trip to the area, Faye came up with Bernie to visit. Many of the other Directors have sent notes of encouragement.
And good wishes and support comes from across the Institute – from Joel Grube, Kathy Stewart and Bob Saltz (Berkeley), Bob Stout, flowers and notes from Karen Friend (Providence), Al Stein-Seroussi, Matt Courser and Janet Jester (Chapel Hill).
My sincere thanks to everyone for your kindness and prayers.
Monday, November 7, 2011
PET Scan - Excellent Results!
Email From Mom (Movembeer 7, 7:33 PM)
I’ll put this on the blog tonight, if I get a chance, but my internist, Dr. Ross, just called and said he was VERY ENCOURAGED by the results of PET Scan I had this morning - shows VERY, VERY LOW GRADE of B-Cell Lymphoma and he thinks that I might expect to see shrinkage of mass almost immediately after first round of chemo. He will look up the two medications and let me know what the side effects might be. Dr. Ross is very conservative, so this report is EXCELLENT
Much love to all…
Watch the blog at http:dwpdiary.blogspot.com
I’ll put this on the blog tonight, if I get a chance, but my internist, Dr. Ross, just called and said he was VERY ENCOURAGED by the results of PET Scan I had this morning - shows VERY, VERY LOW GRADE of B-Cell Lymphoma and he thinks that I might expect to see shrinkage of mass almost immediately after first round of chemo. He will look up the two medications and let me know what the side effects might be. Dr. Ross is very conservative, so this report is EXCELLENT
Much love to all…
Watch the blog at http:dwpdiary.blogspot.com
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Pat and Herman leave today...
Pat & Hermie are leaving today. They've done an absolutely fantastic job of setting up my home office. Once the PIRE IT team gets the new All In One printer online, I'll be ready to publish the next issue of PIRE News and anything else that needs doing!
I'm so sad to see Hermie & Pat go. Hermie just left to take Pat to the BWI train station, but they're coming back for Thanksgiving, I hope! George is already planning the menu - being very careful of their slightly idiosyncratic diets.
I don't know what I would have done without Hermie & Pat this week while George was on business travel (which had been postponed for two weeks). They were here when I received the dreaded diagnosis...and, needless to say, I will never forget those moments - or them, for being here, and giving me hope and inspiration to fight this damn lymphoma.
They have grocery shopped, cooked meals, set up the home office, cleaned out my closet (which hadn't been done since the 90's :), took out the trash and recycling, and generally not let me lift a finger since they walked in the door.
George cooked a fabulous last dinner for them - crab cakes! He's also extremely thankful to both of them for being here with me. Tonight it's just the two of us and dear, dear George will have to go back into Nurse mode. He's been fantastic since all of this started; especially when I couldn't get up and down the steps the first week after the uretal stent was implanted. He was unbelievable! He ran up and down the stairs delivering meals, and Hagen Das 'coffee' ice cream. He's also been very diligent about making sure that I drink at least three bottles of water each day.
For both the stent and biopsy, George sat diligently at my bedside before and after the procedures. I think he may have 'had' the procedures for me, if they had let him. After each procedure, the medical team strongly suggests that you be 'watched' for 24 hours...and he did...literally...cautiously listening to every whine and wimper even when I was sleeping.
On Monday I will FINALLY have the PET scan. More about that later...
I'm so sad to see Hermie & Pat go. Hermie just left to take Pat to the BWI train station, but they're coming back for Thanksgiving, I hope! George is already planning the menu - being very careful of their slightly idiosyncratic diets.
I don't know what I would have done without Hermie & Pat this week while George was on business travel (which had been postponed for two weeks). They were here when I received the dreaded diagnosis...and, needless to say, I will never forget those moments - or them, for being here, and giving me hope and inspiration to fight this damn lymphoma.
They have grocery shopped, cooked meals, set up the home office, cleaned out my closet (which hadn't been done since the 90's :), took out the trash and recycling, and generally not let me lift a finger since they walked in the door.
George cooked a fabulous last dinner for them - crab cakes! He's also extremely thankful to both of them for being here with me. Tonight it's just the two of us and dear, dear George will have to go back into Nurse mode. He's been fantastic since all of this started; especially when I couldn't get up and down the steps the first week after the uretal stent was implanted. He was unbelievable! He ran up and down the stairs delivering meals, and Hagen Das 'coffee' ice cream. He's also been very diligent about making sure that I drink at least three bottles of water each day.
For both the stent and biopsy, George sat diligently at my bedside before and after the procedures. I think he may have 'had' the procedures for me, if they had let him. After each procedure, the medical team strongly suggests that you be 'watched' for 24 hours...and he did...literally...cautiously listening to every whine and wimper even when I was sleeping.
On Monday I will FINALLY have the PET scan. More about that later...
Friday, November 4, 2011
Bone Marrow Biopsy Complete
At 11:35 AM I received word that Mom is safely out of a successful bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. She will be recooperating over the weekend and has a PET Scan on Monday.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Diagnosis
My confirmed diagnosis is Low Grade B-Cell Lymphoma, to be treated with chemotherapy.
The next step is to have a bone marrow biopsy which will be performed on Friday 11/4 at Mercy Hospital by my medical oncologist, Dr. Peter Ledakis. After that, I will have a PET scan on Monday. The chemotherapy is scheduled to begin on Thursday 11/17 at Mercy Hospital.
The next step is to have a bone marrow biopsy which will be performed on Friday 11/4 at Mercy Hospital by my medical oncologist, Dr. Peter Ledakis. After that, I will have a PET scan on Monday. The chemotherapy is scheduled to begin on Thursday 11/17 at Mercy Hospital.
Welcome to Mommy's Blog
Greetings friends and family.
I have started this blog to help Mom keep everyone posted on her health.
I love you Mommy!
xoxo Charlie
I have started this blog to help Mom keep everyone posted on her health.
I love you Mommy!
xoxo Charlie
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