December 28th- Here we go again

Christmas was wonderful, the grandchildren were a delight, and it is always special to have our family and their spouses all together. But, now back to our reality.
The Leukemia Cutis (the cancer skin rash) has returned. Remission was short lived. Chemotherapy will be used to control his cancer, and it will be another strong (Introductory) round. Today, at the clinic, Bill had his 5th bone marrow biopsy procedure and a skin biopsy of the rash to verify their diagnosis of cancer.
The good news…...his blood work was “normal”. The white cell count was normal and no leukemia white “blasts” were in his blood. This is really good news. The bone marrow biopsy will tell us if there are any leukemia blasts in his bone marrow. Bill says he thinks his bone marrow is clean of blasts. This is one time I would like him to be right.
Bill goes back to the hospital on Monday for an ultrasound of his liver, which is under stress from the chemo treatments. Apparently, the liver filters the chemo into your system. They want to make sure his liver can handle another round of chemo, and more transfusions of red cells which would follow the chemotherapy.
We have scheduled appointments at the end of January at MD Anderson in Houston, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Both these facilities will do a 50 percent match on a related donor, and one of Bill’s sisters is a 50 percent match. Our children and their spouses were all tested over Christmas and it will be interesting to see if they come up in the donor pool as a match. They are proudly displaying their donor cards for the picture.
Your prayers are still needed. Bill needs a bone marrow transplant to survive. His blood (white cells) cannot fight this cancer.

Pray for the doctors and their care of him.
Pray for strength for Bill, mind and body, to keep up the fight.
We thank the Lord for each new day. Amen

December 21st- Chemotherapy delayed again

Bill is acting more like himself each day. For example, he is challenging my opinion, telling me how to drive, smiling, just feeling better, and I love it. His body and mind are finally recovering from the Nov 4th round of chemo. Amen.
We visited the cancer clinic today and the injection into his spinal fluid has been delayed until next Friday. His next round of Consolidation chemo is rescheduled for the first week of January. The doctor wants his body to recover another week. Without chemo, he is going to feel almost “normal” by the end of the month.
Bill actually went to work for a couple hours on Wednesday and Thursday this week, and he plans to go back next week also. He even went Christmas shopping for me. Since he isn’t allowed to go to a mall, I just dropped him off in front of a jewelry store and told him I would be back in 20 minutes. It worked. He was carrying a small package when I picked him up!
We are scheduled to visit MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston on January 22, 2008. This will be a week long consultation and exam. They have already agreed that Bill is a candidate for a transplant, but want to confirm that he is healthy enough to survive any complications.
We have decided once again to pursue Fred Hutchison Cancer Center in Seattle. They are doing some clinical studies there that pertain to Bill’s situation. An interview date has not been scheduled.

Our prayers are still for a bone marrow donor to become available. In this season of Christmas we know miracles happen and prayers are answered. Amen

December 15th- A little break from chemotherapy

We are so thankful. Bill will receive his next round of chemo on December 26th. This allows our family (children and grandchildren) to come for Christmas and takes away the guesswork on whether Bill will be home or in the hospital. He is feeling a little better each day, but his hemoglobin is still in the anemic range, so he is tired.
No word on a bone marrow donor. We won’t have any information until January.

So, we are now getting ready for company. Kari, Jeff and Andrew fly in on Friday night. Jon, Laura, Janine, Don and Maggie arrive on Saturday. It will be a quick visit, but we will enjoy every moment. I’m sure the snow we have now will still be here for a week. Therefore, we should have a White Christmas.

Keep praying, for Bill and his potential donor. There has to be someone out there.
Merry Christmas.

December 11- Looking for a donor

First off, Bill is doing really well (as well as can be expected). This means he is conversational and wants to talk on the phone, do computer work, and venture out of the house and exercise about 10 minutes a day. We go back to the cancer clinic on Friday and will find out when the next round of Consolidation chemo begins. This round will not be as strong of a dose and is more of a maintenance dose of chemo. But, we are told, each round of chemo will take him a little longer to recuperate and get back to “normal”.

We now know that in the National Bone Marrow Donor Bank, three matches have been found. They are trying to locate these potential donors and see if they are still willing to contribute their bone marrow. If they can locate them (sometimes people move, or change their minds) the next step will take about 3 weeks.

In the meantime, Bill and I are visiting the local hotels near the hospital to see where we will want to live for our 100 days of isolation. We must be within 20 min of the hospital and our home is 45 minutes from Loyola if it is not rush hour.

We are also working with MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to learn more about their program, and will possibly visit them in January. This is for a second opinion and just to compare what is offered in Chicago verses Houston. We wanted to also check out Fred Hutchison Cancer Center in Seattle, but a third choice is becoming overwhelming.

Our prayers for Bill
Pray that his cancer stays under control while waiting for a donor.
Pray that a donor can be located and God will guide them in their decision to help.

December 7th- Sisters are not a match

As Bill said, “Nothing has been easy so far, why should this be easy.”
The doctor’s next step is to contact the National Bone Marrow Donor Association. They first find “preliminary” matches, and then do further testing to see if they are an exact match. This process has begun.
If you would be interested in being tested, call your local blood bank, and see if they do Bone Marrow Screenings. It takes about 1½ hours to give platelets for this test. Your sample would then be put into the system and it could be a match for Bill or someone else. in the Chicago area, LifeSource does this blood draw.
It usually takes 3-6 months to find a donor. Bill will need another round of chemo to control the cancer. Our next doctor’s appointment is Dec 14th. I’ll have more information then. Hopefully we can stay out of the hospital between now and then.

November 6th- No News

Can you believe it? The results for bone marrow matches are not ready. But in the same breath they say "We'll move as quickly as possible when we know something."
Bill was not given another chemo injection into his spinal fluid. They want to wait another week.
His blood work showed his white cells and platelets are doing great...his hemoglobin is still catching up, but improving (10 is his number- 14 is average). That explains why he is still tired. The doctor is hoping Bill does not need another round of chemo before the transplant because it is taking him so long to recover from the last round. Another round would be hard on him.
I will make an announcement as soon as we have some information.

November 5- Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our appointment with the doctors to talk about Bill's donor availability. More information will follow then. He also will receive another chemo injection that day.
Bill is still recovering. No fever on Tuesday, thank goodness. Maybe we have turned that corner. Doctor said when your bone marrow is rebuilding, it will sometimes cause a fever for a few days. Bill is still very tired.
It snowed a few inches last night. When we woke up this morning, our driveway was plowed and the newspaper was by the porch. Our neighbors are so good to us.
Please pray for encouraging news from the doctors on Thursday.

December 1- Fever that won't quit

Just when you think things are getting better… something else comes along. Not major, but Bill had a low grade fever on Friday, plus some other minor issues, so we were back to the cancer clinic to be checked. Dr Shafer must have jinxed him on Friday when she complimented Bill on managing to get through a tough regiment of chemo, and not being back in the hospital with a fever.
On Saturday morning he had a 100.2 temperature all morning and early afternoon. When his temperature reaches 100.5 we are to let the doctor know. By UT kickoff time his temperature reached 100.4. I called the doctor and we were headed to the emergency room. Of course, we waited for the snow and ice storm to arrive in the area to make our trip more interesting.

Good news- Bill is home.
Good news- It is nothing major and antibiotics will take care of it.
Good news- The ER room had a TV set and we saw most of the game.
Good news- Our car was covered in a thick layer of ice when we got home, but thank goodness, the roads were salted and we arrived home safely.

Bad news- Tennessee lost to LSU.

Bill’s blood count numbers have improved. Now his body needs to heal. He will be taking it easy again this week. Please pray that he gets get stronger each day.