October 28, 2008

5 more days until I start my consolidated Chemotherapy. Tomorrow I go in for more lab draws & my PICC care. I am assuming that my counts should still be within normal limits as I am not excessively fatigued. I have been enjoying my hiatus from the hospital & all in all I feel pretty darn good. I have a little trouble getting out of bed some mornings, intermittent bone & joint pain along with twitches that creep up on me out of nowhere & the ever present night sweats is really all I can say that ails me. I would not think I had cancer if the doctors were not telling me that I do.

I have been trying to create my slide show with pictures from the Missing Link Halloween Party but for some reason Photo Bucket is not cooperating today. I have made it 3 times but it will not save it. So I am going to post the one I made for the Missing Link Website on here for now until I can get mine to work.

Paige went to her Cheer leading bonfire in stead of the Missing Link party & she said it was fun. Brandon,Katie & Zack went with us to the Missing Link Halloween Bash & they loved it. Brandon helped his dad set up our section of woods for the Hayride & once it got dark he was a monster. Katie was a semi goth chick but everyone was teasing her that she looked like Boy George, needless to say she did not like that. We tried to get to her to do some face painting on the little kids, I even bribed her with money but she would not do it. She ended up spending the night over at Katrina & Becka's afterwards. Zack was in awe of everything. There must have been over 70 kids that came not counting parents & he had a blast. He played all of the games & even bobbed for an apple & got one. He did the potato sack race with his dad & they both fell. On the Hay ride he kept pulling his hood down over his face when he would get scared. But he was not too scared because he rode through the haunted woods 3 more times. They all had a really good time.

I really loved my Orange Hair, the kids could spot me from a mile away!

Spike is really loving me being at home. When he is not on my lap, he is under my feet. He has been doing pretty well with the potty training. Every time I take him out he takes care of business right away. I am thankful for that especially since it is 31 degrees outside today.

Paige's fall Cheer leading Banquet is tonight so we have to go to that. Paula Parker came out to the house to visit me today. It was nice to visit outside of the hospital for a change. If I am up for it we plan to meet up with her & some other friends from ORW for dinner mid November in Marysville.

There really has not been to much going on. I finally completed my Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education Course that I have been taking online. I plan to start on my Course 14 which is the Senior Non Commissioned Officer Academy correspondence course next week while I am in the hospital if my Chemo Brain does not kick in. I figure since I can't do my job maybe I can work on some of this other stuff I was putting off because of work.

Spike is laying here on my lap as I type this snoring away. It must be nice to be a dog...no worries

October 24, 2008

I have been feeling more like my old self again finally. I have never been much of a hat person but with no hair & winter fast approaching, well I just do not have much choice. I spent all day Thursday lounging around the house. Later that night Marcus was playing with Spike &Zack wanted in on the action. Spike is all legs, he is really starting to grow. Marcus swears he is my dog even though he likes to think it is his dog. Spike loves to lay on my lap.

Marcus made me get a warmer winter coat on Friday. I think the one I had was fine but he was adament about it. I am learning that there since there is so little he can acutually do for me to make this situation better so when he wants to do something I try not to fuss with him to much.

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October 22, 2008

I went to the James this morning for my Bone Marrow Biopsy follow up. We got great news we have achieved first remission, my counts are all up & within normal limits so I will not congest you with the lab numbers except for the cancer blast cells in my bone marrow are at 1% & there are no cancer blast cells in my peripheral blood. My Dr. is very pleased with my progress so far. We did find out that my sister is not a match for a Bone Marrow Transplant, but my Dr. feels that is ok at this point she is not looking for a match because my treatment & recovery is going so well.

My Dr. scheduled my next admission to the James for November 3, 2008. Best case scenario I will be in there until the 7th or the 8th which should work out well with the follow on treatments staggered to allow me to be home for the holidays. She gave me a paperwork for the BMV, I get a lovely blue handicap tag for my window. She also gave me a prescription for Chantix. I quit smoking back before I was admitted but Marcus has been smoking like a freight train so it is for him. I hope it works.

I went to Hope's Boutique on Dublin Granville road to get fitted for a wig. I was going to try to make it without one, but it is just not happening. We went to Walmart last night & my head froze with just a dew rag on it. Plus with my good prognosis I hope to be returning to work after the first of the year even though my hair will not so, I might as well get used to it. I figure I will be bald for about 9 months, well see. It wasn't so bad when it was warm out but now that it is cold well it's another story.

I know I have not posted in a few days, I did make it up to Lima on Monday. My Grandmother is out of the hospital & is doing better. My Aunt Sue & Uncle David came up from Texas & were at her house when I visited so it was good to see them as well. On my way out of town I stopped by real quick to see my Aunt Bonnie & she was heart broken to tell me my cat Emmit had died, and of all things to die from it was Leukemia. He was an old cat & I told her it was ok because he lived a long cat life (he was 16 years old).

Other than my Lima visit I have been relaxing at home. The kids have been doing better at their chores. Zack seems to be more mellow now that I am home. Misty has been sick & bed bound all weekend & Monday. She finally went to the VA Clinic in Columbus yesterday & has pneumonia. So she has a lot of medicine for that.

Thank you to everyone that is sending in donations we really appreciate it. I try to update you all on the contributors section even though some of you have stated you do not want any recognition for it. It is important to me to recognize what you are doing for us to make this process easier. I also want to send a special thanks out to my supervisors & friends at the Ohio Department of Health Bureau of Public Health Preparedness who participated in my honor at the Light the Night Walk in Columbus. This is a great cause through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), they fund lifesaving cancer research that has helped patients live better, longer lives.

Captain Kathy Putt, my old supervisor & my friend from the Ohio Reformatory for Women called me tonight to let me know her daughter Natasha along with her friends at High Point vocational school in Bellefountain will be donating blood for the first time of their life at age 17 & they will be doing so in my honor as well.

MSgt Joesph Drake & Major Sandusky are gearing up for the 445th Airlift Wing wide Bone Marrow Donor Drive in my honor as well. The first one was for the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (my squadron) in September, they were able to register over 60 potential bone marrow donors.

So many people have come together in this fight with me. No one should ever have to go through something like this on their own. Many of you know me personally however, some of you do not & yet you are still supporting me. It is very empowering & I am speechless at moments when I think about it. Let me tell you it takes a lot to get me speechless. Thank you all so very much, together we are winning this fight.

October 17 & 18, 2008

Sorry it has taken so long to update we had a very busy Friday & Saturday. Marcus took me to my 4th Bone Marrow Biopsy. They took my labs first thing & all of my counts are outstanding per my Dr. they are very pleased with my progress so far. I am so glad they changed my PICC dressing, there was a small scab on it from the last time it was cleaned that did not come off & it had been irritating my skin all week, so the Nurse got that off & it feels so much better now. They gave me adivan prior to the biopsy but I don't think it was soon enough because I did not feel the effects of it until afterwards (I was a little loopy) They also went ahead & gave me the birth control shot since my counts are up to try & stop the bleeding.

There are so many pictures from the past few days I figured it was best to put them in a slide show. I know how much it grosses some of you out but there are new pictures of the actual Biopsy process, Marc says I am sick for posting them but this post is my therapy & I am bringing everyone along that wants to know what this is all about, so I am not going to sugar coat it.

Marc's brother Eric & his wife Lindsey stopped by for a quick visit, We got to see Loudon & the new baby Esme. Then later Fiday night we went to the Circleville Pumpkin Festival. Brandon had to work & Paige went with her friend Alexis to the Football game. We took Katie & Zack & picked up Kim & 3 of their kids Samantha, Dakota & Paige. After a lengthy ride we were surrounded by the crowds. The kids had a blast there are pictures in the slide show. We ended up getting home around midnight.

Saturday was just as action packed. Marcus & I bundled up & met the club & rode to Columbus for a TDK brunch that was taking toy donations for disadvantaged children. After that Kim, Woody & I rode to Estelle's in Enon to pick up some patches & then back to the club to set up for Cooter & Puppies biker wedding. We went home to get the kids & spike for the wedding. there are some pictures of the wedding in the slide show as well it was cool I have never been to a biker wedding before.

We left early, we have to work on some issues between Brandon & Misty. My dad & Sister also called & my grandmother is in the hospital she had congestive heart failure so I will be heading up to Lima on Monday if everything goes right. While I am out of the hospital I may not update this everyday because there is not a lot going on so it may be every 2 to 3 days. So check back for updates or you can click on the archives & still leave comments for any date.

Financial contributions are coming in & we are so thankful for those. We are putting all money received into an account dedicated for my medical expenses. The medical bills have been literally coming in daily. The costs for treating leukemia are quite staggering for example every blood infusion procedure costs over $2,700 & I have had 30 to date. I do have insurance so the majority of the medical costs will be covered however there are some procedures that are not covered & this does not include my huge deductible, treatment co pays & prescriptions when put all together it all adds up very quickly. So thank you so much everyone that has sent in donations. Anyone that knows me will know that I have a hard time asking for help, I think I can do everything myself. Well I am in way over my head with this one & I cannot get through this on my own so please pass the word any donations are greatly appreciated & if you cannot donate that is ok, your support & prayers are just as needed. Thank you again! Sandi

October 16, 2008

Today was a nice relaxing day at home. After the kids left for school I went through my files & cleaned them out. I shredded 3 small bags worth of old paperwork & organized what was left. It is amazing how much paperwork you accumulate & have to keep records of.

I took a nap late in the afternoon, Marcus woke me up when he got home so I could get ready for parents night. Misty made potato soup for dinner that was delicious, I told Kim to come over & get some because she loves it & Misty made a huge pot of it.

We went to the LJHS Football game, before the 8th grade game started they let all the football players & cheerleaders escort their parents across the field. Brandon had the camera but they all came out blurry this is the best blurry one I could find.

We left after the half time show because I was not tolerating the cold.

Paige was off to spend the night with her girlfriend Alexis after the game.

Tomorrow it is back to the James for more tests.

October 15, 2008

I woke up with Marcus this morning, he slept a lot better now that he knows he isn't going to hurt me, laying in the bed. I got the kids up for school & had to start getting ready myself to be at Madison County by 9:00 am for labs. I was able to get in, register & have my labs completed by 9:12 am which was outstanding. The RN that works the Chemo room is really nice, her name is Sue. She gave me her personal cell phone number & said if I needed anything to call her & she would meet me up at the hospital even if it was after hours. She called me later that afternoon with the lab results. My hemoglobin was 10.4, my White Blood Cell count was 4.2, my Platelets were 719 & my neutraphil count is now 1400. These are good numbers so I will be getting my Bone Marrow Biopsy on Friday.

I felt really good today, even went out & did a little shopping in town. When I got home Betsey was waiting on me so we went on a very short motorcycle ride out to the clubhouse. We visited with Donnie & an for a little bit & I headed back home to wait on the kids to trickle in from school.

All the interim reports are in & everyone is doing really good, even Brandon & Katie who have struggled in the past so far are both doing all C's & above so this is great. Brandon put in for a leave of absence from K-mart for the Wrestling season so we are pretty excited about that he did so well last year until his knee blew out we think if he gives as much effort state is possible but we will have to wait & see. Katie still is not interested in much except for her Animae drawings but she is coming out of her anti social shell more but it can also depend on the day. I was going to take the kids to Circleville to the Pumpkin festival tomorrow night but Marcus reminded me we have parents night at Paige's last Football game so that trip is nixed.

Marc's brother called & they could not make it over so we could see our new niece Esme because Loudon our nephew is sick. Hopefully before they head back to New jersey he is better so we can see them all. Now that my neutraphils are up I have an immune system but i still have to be very careful.

After dinner Marc & I went out to the club house to do a little clean up for Cheryl & Cooter's wedding this weekend. We took Spike with us & he was playing with the other dogs it was funny to watch him play, he was taking a little abuse but once he got mad he gave it right back to them.

My bleeding still has not stopped, they only gave me one prescription upon my discharge. Hopefully when I go back to the James they can give me the shot to stop it since my counts are up. Tomorrow I plan to relax around the house since the weather is supposed to start turning crappy (Chilly, windy & rainy).

October 14, 2008

It felt so good to sleep in my own bed but I also felt bad because Marcus didn't sleep so good, every time I moved or moaned a little from my bones hurting he would ask me if I was ok, or if I needed anything. He was so tired in the morning, hopefully he will sleep better tonight.

Spike got to stay home with me all day. He thinks he is a lap dog, in a couple of months that is not happening, he will be to big. I did a little laundry & put things away in the bathroom. It felt weird to be able to do more than make my bed, shower & eat. I actually have options now.

Most of the day I spent taking Spike out to pee, he had me paranoid he would go in the house so every little sniff we were out the door. I forgot what it was like to have a puppy around.

Donnie called me to see if I was up for a small ride, Marc must have told him I was ticked when we pulled in yesterday & my bike was not at the house (I am sure that was their attempt to keep me off of it) so he came over to get me. As soon as he pulled in on my bike I knew something was different my bike sounded deeper. As he got closer I noticed my old air filter was off & in its place was a hyper charger!!! I about died right there I had been wanting one ever since I saw one for the first time earlier this spring but was holding off. So I was in shock i said who put this on, Donnie said I did, I asked him where it came from he said all the Missing link Chapters pitched in & bought it for me. I could not believe it. he said Pott's & Donnie talked about it & flowers would not do they thought this would be be better. I love it, I can't believe they did that for me, it is awesome & to all my Missing link brothers & sisters thank you so much!!!

I hoped on the back & we rode out to Donnie's house, Alan & Kim were there. We watched the other puppies play for a bit & then Alan & Donnie went with me on a short ride. Donnie made me see if I could hold my bike up & he tried to help me back it up but I got it on my own. I wore my helmet to like I promised. It was awesome it felt good to ride even tough I was a little nervous at first.

The kids came home & did their chores without to much fuss. Zack wanted to go for another bike ride so he rode & I walked. We had Misty's yummy nachos for dinner & everyone was just relaxing it was really nice. I go to Madison County tomorrow for my labs. I am anxious to see what the counts are, being home feels so much more healing than in the hospital.

October 13, 2008

I knew my counts were not going to be up to 500 today so I told Marcus he could ride his bike up to see me. My White Blood cells went from 3 to 3.2 You can imagine my surprise when my Dr. said if I can't take being in the hospital anymore & I promise to follow her guidelines she would let me go home! So finally I made it out of the hospital, it has been 1 month to the day I was admitted to the James. My Neutraphils were only at 350 but I promised the Dr. that if I get a fever or anything that I will come back in. I have to be extra careful around people, wearing my mask out in public until my neutraphils get up to 1, 000.

They scheduled me to go to Madison County Hospital this Wed for Lab draws, then back to the James on Friday for the 4th Bone Marrow Biopsy & PICC dressing change, back to Madison County Hospital on Monday for more lab draws & then Wednesday back to the James for the results & scheduling my next admission & 1st go round with Consolidation Chemotherapy.

I was so sure I wasn't getting out today Marcus was just coming for a visit so he rode his motorcycle up to see me. I sent him right back home to get the truck, I had so much stuff it would not all fit in the car.

I had everything packed & was waiting on him to get back. we loaded the truck & were outta there. We went to Chipolte for lunch, I was ready to brave it again. We got home right before the kids.

They were all very surprised to see me. Zack came running to me from the bus. After everything settled down. I wanted to go for a short walk & since Zack is getting to be so chunky I thought he could use the exercise so he rode his bike & I walked behind him over to Ben 7 Tammy's & then back. He did real good If he got to pedaling to fast I would ask him to slow down & he would.

Later we took him to great clips for a hair cut since his school pictures are this week & his hair was getting so long. Hollywood's girlfriend works there so she cut his hair it was so funny. Zack cannot stand to have hair on his face or neck. so I had to keep brushing it off with a towel.

Afterwards we went to Walmart to drop off my prescription & get me a thermometer. Once back home everyone ate. I was going to go out to The Shop & have Donnie fix me a big greasy cheese burger, fries & cheese sticks but it was getting late & I figures I would be pushing it with the Chipolte earlier.

Spike is laying on my lap as I type this he is so cute. I was ready for bed & fir the first time in several months I was able to climb the stairs like a normal person! I know I am not better yet but I sure feel better than I did!

October 12, 2008

NEWS UPDATE: I am getting released this afternoon Oct 13, 2008!!!!! I will post more tomorrow everything below is from the 12th.

My Hemoglobin went from 9.8 to 10.1, my Hct went from 28.1 to 29.1, my White Blood Cells went from 2 to 3 & my Platelets went from 283 to 435. My neutraphils came back at the normal time for the first time in the past 3 days & I went from 30 to 150, we will have to wait & see if it bounces or or holds tomorrow.

Marcus went to the Hill Climbs with the club & when they got back he took all the kids out to the club house. It is a nice break for them & they get to hang out with all the other kids. They always to seem to have a good time.

The day seemed to move at a turtles pace. I got very bored easily, it felt like the hospital walls were closing in on me so I started surfing the web for success stories. It is becoming an obsession with me I feel compelled to find survivors of this because they have to be out there somewhere & there is so little positive info accessible out there. I follow a couple other blogs of AML patients I looked at their updates today only to find the one lady who was diagnosed 2 months ago just died on the 10th & the other lady who was diagnosed in May went home from the hospital so she could die where she is more comfortable. It is so frustrating trying to find the positive stories where people make it through this. I know they are keeping me in the hospital for my protection but it scares the hell out of me sometimes because if it goes bad with this type of Leukemia it goes bad pretty quick & they odds are not favorable. I think it would just really suck to spend so much time in the hospital only to die months down the road. Needless to say after reading these I got in a real funk.

I do not have any pictures today, I forgot my camera when I went out for a walk. I was so irritated I made it all the way to North Broadway in Clintonville without to much effort. I did find this cool shop called Rag O Rama I would like to take Kim to it when I get out for Halloween costume shopping. The walk back was a little slower but I was in no hurry to get back either.

I ate my tomato soup for dinner & finished season 2 of My Name is Earl when I got back. I was just extremely bored. I finally laid down to sleep around midnight. Hopefully the Dr brings better news tomorrow if not, it may be in their best interests to skip my door.

October 11, 2008

My Hemoglobin went from 9.6 to 9.8, my Hct went from 27.6 to 28.1, my White Blood Cell count went from 1.2 to 2 & my Platelets went from 150 to 283. Even though yesterday was agony I tried to be positive when I got the preliminary labs today. Again the neutraphils were a little later coming back in but earlier than the last 2 days around lunch time my Nurse Practitioner told me they went from 75 to 30. She told me they could bounce up & down that is probably what is happening however this does not make me feel any better.

I got up, made my bed, took a shower & went for a walk since it the OSU game was a home game against Purdue. Marcus told me it would be a mad house & if I was up for it maybe some decent entertainment. He went on the Carnival run & I was bored so why not.

On my way to the Horseshoe

at the shoe

leaving the shoe

The OSU Cheerleaders were warming up, the one doing the flip almost landed on his head. I was surprised because some of their male cheerleaders were pretty thick.

The Highway Patrol & Columbus SWAT Team for riot control were everywhere

It was so loud on the streets

Everywhere you looked it was a huge block/tailgate party, all the way down Lane Avenue.

I was getting hot in my OSU pajama pants pants & mid sleeve OSU shirt so I stopped at the UDF & got another Vitamin Water & headed to the shade of Mirror Lake for some quiet time. It was loud there to with all the college kids passing through the Oval to get to the game so I headed back towards the James.

The statue in front of the James

Alan showed up later with a box full of deserts from the Carnival run & we were chatting away when Marcus showed up with Zack & Paige. I was surprised because he did not call & tell me he was coming. Alan took off & I got to visit with them for awhile for some reason I was having trouble posting more pictures but I figured it out. Zack of course did not want to stay long, so I walked them out. We got to watch one of the med flights take off & Zack saw a guy in a Cowboy hat so he kept saying hi Cowboy & yeehaw. It was funny.

Zack, Marcus & Alan

Paige

Zack playing with my hat & Marcus

My 5th Child

Look at those cheeks

Paige Marcus & Zack

Me & Zack

By the time I got back to my room I was pretty tired. A nursing student changed my PICC dressing & I crashed for the night.

October 10, 2008

All my hopes of getting out this weekend were dashed away with my lab report today. It seems my neutraphils never went from 100 to 360 they went from 100 to 36. This is a huge difference that makes absolutely no sense to me. I have no understanding how my White Blood Cell count went up & my neutraphil count went down. Needless to say I did not find this out until about 4pm in the afternoon when my Nurse Practitioner came in, my Dr. never told me the Neutraphil numbers on my board were wrong so here I am thinking I am doing good & I should be going home Friday or Saturday & now who knows when so I was & still am extremely pissed off. For the record this was not from my walk because my lab numbers for today (blood was drawn at 5:30 am the morning after my walk) were hemoglobin went from 9.9 to 9.6, my Hct went from 28.3 to 27.6, my White Blood Cell count is holding at 1.2, my platelets went from 64 to 150 & my neutraphils went from 36 to 75 which is still a hell of a long way from 500.

Earlier in the afternoon I was going to go out for a walk it looked so nice out & I was going nuts waiting on the lab reports, hell maybe I could try to make it to Canal Winchester or Worthington but as fate would have it Hedi Mercer showed up outta the blue. She used to be in the 445th AES at Wright Patterson AFB with me. We visited for quite awhile she brought me some chapstick, lotion, a pretty fall pumpkin doll & a mothers legacy book to work on. We talked about old times & what were doing now. It was a nice break but reality smacked me in the face shortly after she left. I swear it feels like I am never going to get outta here.

I missed my first London MLMC Meeting tonight that was tough & tomorrow is a Carnival ride I had been looking forward to. I am starting to feel so outta touch with everything. I guess Zack was all excited when Marc went to pick him up from the park he thought I would be home but I wasn't. He even cleaned his own room. I guess all the kids had really been helping pitch in cleaning the past 2 days thinking I would be home & now everyone is bummed out. This just sucks!!

October 9, 2008

My labs were ungodly slow to get back today. I think it was because I wanted to know what my neutraphils were so bad. Around 2pm they still were not back so I went for a walk, it was so nice outside & I had not been out really for about 2 days. I had on my black sweat pants, a dark purple scrub top, black dew rag & that stupid duck bill mask I have to wear every where. Needless to say it was sunny out & the further I walked the hotter it was getting. I walked from the James all the way to the Short North. I have not been up by campus in years & the area has changed so much. There is a real ghetto are between campus & the Short North I found out. I started getting really hot & sweaty so I turned around at King Ave. By the time I got back to the 7 Eleven by Taco Bell on High I was dehydrated & a little winded to say the least so I had to stop & get a Vitamin Water. Marcus called me about that time & I couldn't hardly talk I kept telling him I had to get back to the Hotel because my brain would not let me say hospital. I think I pushed myself a little to hard.

When I got back to my room I had to lay down for awhile & I was pissed because my lab reports still were not back yet. Finally around 4:30 after I asked the RN to call down to the lab to see what was going on I got my results. My Hemoglobin went from 10 to 9.9, My Hct went from 28.4 to 28.3, my White Blood Cell count went from .9 to 1.2 so I knew my neutraphil count had to of gone up & my platelet count went from 34 to 64 ( 3 days without an infusion). My Neutraphil count went from 100 to 360 so I am getting a lot closer to getting outta here, maybe even tomorrow, I hope so. I have plans for this weekend!!!

Even if they do let me out this weekend I found out I get to come in first thing Monday morning for another lovely Bone Marrow Biopsy & then again on Wednesday for the results & to schedule my next admission. Sounds like they are not going to give me much of a break.

Kotsko from my unit came up real quick to check on me he is a Columbus Firefighter & was on a squad run. It was good to see a familiar face & a survivor, he beat Lymphoma Cancer a few years back.

Other than that my night was uneventful. I watched the 3rd disk of season 1 My Name is Earl. I am so stinking bored & I am ready to go home!

October 8, 2008

My hemoglobin held at 10, my Hct went from 28.3 to 28.4, My White Blood Count held at .9 & my platelets went from 14 to 34 without an infusion. This is the first time since I was diagnosed that my platelets have went up on their own. Unfortunately my neutraphils are still sitting at 100 they did not move up or down.

I cleared my VRE cultures for the 3rd week in a row so I am off all contact precautions. Me & the Dr I don't like are still on awkward terms, I tolerate her & she don't know what to say. I want out of the hospital so bad I can't stand it, this waiting game is like watching paint dry. My Nurse Practitioner said that it is possible for my neutraphils to double & even triple in a day so we will have to wait & see. She is optimistic I will still get out this weekend, I hope she is right because the Dr. is saying next week.

I talked with Major Mulhorn from the base today, he tried to ease my concerns with my military career. I am going to try to go down to the base after I have been out of the hospital for a week or so & get a copy of my medical records & talk to a flight surgeon.

The Discharge Planning Nurse came in to talk to me in the afternoon. Marcus got all upset because he does not want me having anything done at Madison County Hospital. I will need to have multiple blood draws, PICC flushes & a weekly dressing changes that are not worth the gas to go all the way into Columbus. The nurse is trying set this all up for me. After explaining to him they will not be treating me Marcus finally agreed, I will still have to come to Columbus for Clinics & infusions. It sounds like I will be home for about 2-3 weeks before I have to come back in & start consolidation chemotherapy, if what they are telling me is right I should only be admitted for 5 days each round on 4 separate occasions. When I went to group today they were telling me that the Chemo is going to get tougher & my body which has tolerated it well so far is going to start wearing down. I told them well see about that.




Chanie & Krawski from ORW (I always butcher Krawski's name) came to visit me. Chanie brought me 4 cups of tomato soup & I had to laugh. We had a really nice visit. I did not go out & walk earlier because it looked cold & rainy out, but when they left I walked out with them & it was actually really nice out.




Jeff one of the nurse aide's had a list with a ton of movies on it. I picked out a few & he brought me in the Big Lebowski & season 1&2 of My name is Earl. I started watching the My Name is Earl Season 1, normally I don't watch TV at all, but the time goes so so slow up here. This show is the epitome of white trash & it is so stupid it's funny. So that should pass the lag times until I get outta here. That's it for now we will have to wait & see what the counts say tomorrow.

October 7, 2008

Another late morning, I can't decide if I have not had the energy or is it the will power to get up like I was before. I keep hoping if I sleep late it will boost my counts more.

My hemoglobin went from 10.3 to 10, my Hct went from 29.2 to 28.3, my White Blood Cells went from .7 to .9 and my platelets are holding at 14 without an infusion. My neutralphils went from 70 to 100. I need the neutraphils to go up to 500 to be released from the hospital. They said this is possible by this weekend but only time will tell. We have to wait & see if my body will cooperate.

Kim brought her Paige (Thing 1, our Paige is Thing 2) up to see me & she brought me a DOG, a big dog! It takes up the whole chair.

Kim had her girlfriend at work make me the scarlet & gray hat/scarf set. That will be nice as the weather gets colder. We went down to Wendy's & Paige bought me an M & M chocolate frosty. It was really good but I could not eat it all so I gave the rest back to Paige.

Marcus seemed in better spirits on the phone tonight & he took Spike into the prison with him for the first time, he started doggie day care/training. Marc said he sleeps in the car on the way in & on the way home. Misty is still sick, she needs to rest so she can get better, the kids have gotten so used to her doing things around the house, they expect her do them now & are not doing their chores like they should be. We need to fix that, Marcus has been so distracted with me in the hospital & I am not there to help so the kids are really pushing it to the limits.

Hopefully I will be outta here soon so things can get back to normal soon, that is whatever normal is.

October 6, 2008

My post is much later than usual for you early risers. I typically wake up at 4:00 am & stay up from the lab draws & vital checks. Not today, I have been awake but just so tired that I did not feel like doing anything. My counts are still low & I am still bleeding a lot so this may be a little expected.

My hemoglobin went from 10.1 to 10.3, my Hct went from 28.5 to 29.2, my White Blood Cell count stayed at 7 & my platelet count went from 29 to 12 with an infusion it only bumped to 14 which was not a big bump. They were going to give me more but they are concerned that my body may start to build up a resistance to the platelet infusions so they decided not to give me any more today & see what happens, this could also explain the tiredness. My neutraphils went from 68 to 70.

Marcus brought Zack up to see me.

I gave him the birthday presents I got him. After he went through all of them he was more interested in the pumpkin whoopee cushion Angie got me. He kinda freaked out a little when I showed him my head. Marcus took this picture of him. He scooted back to the chair & said Woah mom you look like a man!

He wanted to try to measure my head with his little tape measure but I was afraid he would cut me so I wouldn't let him do it. Needless to say I put my dew rag back on pretty quick. It was funny to watch Zack play with all the gag gifts around my room.

Misty sent up real food for me (mashed potatoes, chicken & broccoli) thank god they haven't taken my food order 3 times this week so I was stuck with the standard meals which are horrible & no tomato soup. Marcus brought up some more clean clothes so I should have enough until I get released, which I am hoping is this weekend but if these counts don't cooperate it will be longer. The hospital is a pretty boring place for a 6 year-old so Zack was ready to go home rather quickly. Marcus seemed to be real irritated as well so I told them to go ahead & go home.

After they left I ate the food Misty sent up it was real good, I got a letter from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Human Resources office about my FMLA & me being separated from my job plus having to give bi-weekly updates & leave forms which confused the hell out of me. I am in the hospital & waiting on my disability to be approved so I do not understand it all, I need to call them.

I have been having a lot of bone & joint pain which may be an indication that my counts are going to start recovering. My nurse practitioner increased my hormone pill to try & stop the bleeding which can only mean more lovely acne, I can't wait!

Marcus has been busy at home he started hanging pictures in the stairwell & he got my bathroom vanity installed & the faucet actually works no leaks I am so excited. He hates to work with electricity but he got my old lights out & put my new light in along with the mirror. There is still some work to be done but it is a lot further along than when I came in the hospital a month ago.

October 5, 2008

My Hemoglobin went from 10. to 10.1, my Hct went from 29.6 to 28.5, my White Blood Cells went from .8 to .7 & my platelets went from 20 to 8 so I got another Platelet infusion. Unfortunately my numbers are not going up yet. I am at day 19 after the first does of Chemo so I had hoped I hit my Nader & everything would be starting to come up by now. Maybe they will come up real fast & they are just being stubborn for the time being.


I had a great day. I finally got to see Marcus!!

& Bubby too!

They are both still getting over the crud so my Doc said if they wear masks they could visit. I told Marc & he came right up. I needed his hugs real bad. He brought me up CD ROM's with pic's on them so I will try to upload some slide shows this afternoon from Zack's Birthday & Paige's cheer leading check under my daily Blog. He was going to the MLMC National meeting in my place so they did not stay real long. I think he was nervous that he would get me sick even with the Mask on. He brought me the 3 scrub tops from Chaney they turned out great. & they are comfortable I will be wearing one tomorrow.

Aunt Lynn & Sharon, the people are not wearing the gowns & gloves because I tell them not to. I was on Contact precautions because of the VRE & I have cleared my tests for the past 2 weeks, they have come back negative. It is their protocol that I have to clear it 3 times each a week apart. I have them wash their hands real good & that is enough.


Dad & Elaine came down for a couple of hours.

Elaine made me another scrub top & brought me some M&M lounge pants. I showed her how ORW did their scrub tops because she is making me another one with Rooster's on it, it is going to have a matching head scarf/dew rag to go with it.



My Wing Woman MSgt Carie Brown

MSgt Carie Brown brought me a DOD Marrow Donor Program poster with my picture & a brief Bio on it. Over Drill weekend they did the drive, I am uncertain how many people they were able to register but MSgt Brown told me Major Sandusky, who was my previous Officer in Charge (OIC) when I was the Non Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of Air Crew Training was practically tackling people in the hallways to sign them up. Major Sandusky was the one who came up with the idea & coordinated it. At this time with the Chemo working I may not need the Bone Marrow transplant but the registry is a good thing it could help other people & maybe someday I may in deed need it. I heard Lt Col Nelson was the official swabber. It felt real weird not being at Drill this weekend. I miss everyone so much & this really means a lot to me.



We got out of the room & went for a walk around Campus they were recruiting all the students for Obama & trying to get them to register to vote. People were gawking at me again, I guess this is something I will need to get used to. She rally boosted my Moral as you can see below we got a little silly.




I was pretty tired by the end of the day but had a little trouble sleeping, I kept getting cramps in my lower back. Tomorrow is one more day closer to home. Marcus said he may bring Zack up tomorrow night, I hope so I really need to see him & he really needs to see me. I have had 27 infusions to date, so If you or someone you know can donate blood please encourage them to donate & send me their Donor ID Numbers. I will need more than 100 infusions before this is over with so every donation can help me with my insurance bills. I do not have to pay for the blood products but the equipment, handling & associated lab fees for cross & match. Thank you all so much again for your continued support!