CANCER FREE!

It's official! We got the news today - her bone marrow biopsy came back clean. She is officially cancer free!
It has been an unbelievable roller coaster, an amazing 8 months and a life change experience. All of the things that everyone says are true.

There really aren't words to express what each and every thought, word, prayer, praise and hug meant to all of us. We love you and we wish each of you all the best, may none of you ever be in our shoes.

Love,
Amie

Survivor!

Yesterday was Mom's appointment in Portland to have a bone marrow biopsy and meet with Dr. Fleming again. Everything went really well! They say the biopsy is just to confirm what the blood tests are telling them - no signs of leukemia!
She'll be going to Dr. Lee's once a month for a year for blood work and back to Dr. Fleming in January for a check up. She should be going back to work for a few hours a day on Monday if all the paperwork gets finished. She's slowly feeling better and getting stronger.

How amazing!

ps - if you aren't doing anything on Saturday, join us at the courthouse for the Soroptimist Walk for the Cause, Run for A Life. It starts at 9am.

What a great week!

The past week has been so good for Mom. Dave and Kari came on Saturday morning. Kam and I picked up Kari and took her to the lake in Prineville with us and Dad and Mom picked up Dave and took him back to Albany. We got home Monday afternoon. Dave, Kari and Mom headed to the beach on Tuesday and came back Wednesday...they had a great time! This was just exactly what Mom needed - a distraction!
Anyway, Mom finished up the last of her antibiotics Tuesday morning. This morning Kam took her over to have the central line removed (it barely bled) and have blood drawn again. Then they had a doctors appt with Dr. Lee. Great news - everything looks good, the counts are rising quickly and Dr. Lee says she is now without restrictions. She can eat, play, sleep, work...whatever she wants as long as she takes it all a little at a time. She goes back to Portland on the 28th for (cross our fingers) the last bone marrow biopsy to be sure there are no signs of leukemia cells.
I am cautiously saying - she is in remission! (technically she's been in remission since she left the hospital in Portland but now I can say it and feel like I can mean it). I'm still having a hard time with saying that it's over. This has been a life changing experience for all of us. It has affected the course of our lives and I can't say the journey is over, its just changing paths again. Life moves on and we go about our daily business but I think we'll all always carry this with us.

First day home again

Mom's first appt was this morning at 9:30 and her friend Vikki took her over to Corvallis. Mom said the gals in the infusion room were really bubbly and nice and had no problem with her line, other than to ask why she had that rather than a regular port. Mom and Vikki went out for coffee after and then Mom spent the rest of the day at home, resting up. She sounds so much better already!
Tomorrow is her 62nd birthday and I'm so glad she'll be at home to celebrate it. Dr. Lee even told her she could go out for dinner, not sure where they are going to go yet...The kids made her cards before they left for Prineville with Kam and I'm going to drop them off for her at lunch. I'll be gone after tomorrow, so no more updates until next week. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

After a long day at the hospital she is finally at home. She needed platelets before she left so they were planning on her leaving around 1. But with the IV antibiotics she needs they ran into a snag - apparently the infusion room at the Corvallis hospital doesn't know how to use the central line in her neck and they didn't want anything to do with it. Unbelievable to me that the hospital could use something that another section of the hospital doesn't know how to use! And this isn't the infusion room at Dr. Lee's - its actually AT the hospital. I guess they don't usually let people go home with them in, so the only people who use the lines are the nurses on the floors. But anyway, Dr. Lee was so up in arms over it she threatened to come in to the infusion room and dose it herself every day. The funny thing to me is that they told Mom if she was comfortable with it, she could actually use the line herself and wouldn't have to come in to get the dose every day...so it can't be that hard to use. The infusion room finally agreed to do it and she's scheduled to go at 9:30 tomorrow for the first dose. And they decided she only has to do it until the 7th instead of the 10th.

They got home about 5:45pm tonight and she wanted pork chops and mashed potatoes for dinner...we'll see how that went. :)

Getting out soon, we think!

The doctors say all the cultures and bloodwork are coming back clear, no signs of infection which is great news. Her WBC is only at .5 right now and her platelets go up when she gets a unit and then head back down - but she is doing much better. They are talking about letting her go home tomorrow to finish recuperating there. She'll have to go back to the hospital every day for 10 days to continue receiving antibiotics in IV form. Her spirits are pretty low right now and they think it may be better for her to go home and be out of the hospital. So we'll see how it goes, they are checking on her insurance to make sure they'll pay for the antibiotics if she isn't admitted...
Kam and I went over tonight to see her and she looks a ton better but the central line in her neck is really bugging her and keeps bleeding so they are keeping an eye on that. She had dinner there but it didn't look like she ate much of it. Her brother Dave called while we were there and that sure perked her up, he'll be here on Saturday morning with his daughter Kari. They'll be here until the 9th and she is looking forward to their visit.

Well, she is making it through this setback. Slowly but surely she is starting to feel a little bit better. Had a little trouble with her central line bleeding during the night but they did finally get it to stop. She had some yogurt in the afternoon which was the first real food she's eaten all week. The doctors think maybe Tuesday her blood counts will be high enough for her to leave the hospital but we'll have to just wait and see. She is really getting tired of being in the hospital - kinda cranky about it so I hope she can get out soon.
The girls and I went over and cleaned the house today so I should only have to run over there on Thursday or Friday to finish getting ready for Dave and Kari to come on Saturday.

Yesterday

Mom had the port removed around 2 yesterday afternoon. Everything with that went fine and she was feeling better, still with a fever but it was lower than it has been. She has an IV in her left arm but they needed to get another going in her other arm and her veins are all collapsed and weak and they stuck her a bunch of times. They finally decided that she needed a central line in her neck so she ended up back in surgery to have that put in. I guess it can stay in for up to 2 weeks and then will need to be removed, she didn't know if they would take it out before she leaves the hospital but I assume that they will. It is apparently a really easy procedure, said she was back in her room in about 15 minutes. She is really, really tired, all of this was pretty hard on her.
We still don't know when she'll be getting out of the hospital. We have to wait on the fever to go away and her blood counts to come back up, they are still really low.

The port is coming out

Well, they now think that the port is what is causing the infections each time. They aren't sure why but all things seem to point at it, so they are taking it out about noon tomorrow. She doesn't really need it now anyway, she has an IV in her arm. She still has the fever and she has to go under to have the port removed, so I'm a bit nervous about that. Dr. Lee seems confident that this will help and she will soon be on the road to getting out of the hospital.

Yesterday was about the same for Mom. She is still fighting the fever, up and down with the meds...I did talk to her a couple of times and she was mostly able to keep up with the conversations but I don't know if she'll remember them today. Dr. Lee said that she has the same infection as before and they don't know how or where she keeps getting it. Could be literally from anything.
So, we're just waiting for the medicine to fight off the infection for her and get that temp to stay down.

A little more info...

I went to see Mom this afternoon. Her fever is hovering around 103. She is on oxygen and some very strong antibiotics. She always has trouble with leg cramps when her counts are low, which is due to a lack of potassium. They have her taking a bunch of pills daily but with her going to the hospital in the middle of the night it looks like they got missed today and she is having a lot of pain in her legs. They have those leg stimulator things on her again but I can't really say they help much. I hope they got her on IV potassium after I left tonight.
She wants to go home so bad. Keeps saying she didn't ask for this...trying to tell us she'd be home tomorrow. I think we're all getting tired of seeing the inside of those hospital walls so I can't begin to understand what she thinks when she's in there.
They took a blood culture this morning but we won't have results back until tomorrow afternoon so we don't know what we're fighting for sure yet. Dad said they told him they would do another culture on Thursday to see if the antibiotics are doing their job.
That's about all I know for now...will check on her in the morning again.

In the hospital again

Well, we were so hopeful that she would make it through this time without having an infection but she ended up in the hospital early this morning. Dad said he took her in about 2am and had to leave about 5 to go home and go to work. He is trying to get caught up at work so he can leave again and head back to the hospital. I guess her temp was up around 104, not sure how she is doing or anything right now. Will find out more later this afternoon.

It's Friday already! Mom is doing really well! Kam took her to get blood work on Monday and Wednesday...Wednesday afternoon she got platelets. She has been feeling really good this week. Last night Rachel spent the night with them so she'd have someone at home in case she started feeling bad...this morning Kam and Rachel took her for blood work again. She just got some platelets and will be admitted at noon for 2 units of blood. She should be out by 8pm or so tonight and back home. Jessika is spending the night tonight so she has someone with her tomorrow while Dad is at work. When she gets a fever she gets really sick, really fast and we need someone there to watch her and call to get her to the hospital, she really can't do it on her own...

But we are certainly hopeful that she will get through this treatment without an infection and start feeling better again by the end of next week.

We got some really exciting news yesterday. Her brother Dave and his daughter Kari are coming for a visit! They'll be here from the 4th to 9th of September. For both Mom's and his birthdays! The last time Dave was here was for my wedding in 1994 and I think the last time we saw them was in 2001... (Mom and Dad may have been back there once since then but I can't remember for sure) so we are really excited!

Home again!

She broke free this morning sometime. When I called they were waiting on the IV nurse to come take it out and then they could leave, everything was done. I think they probably left about 10 or so. Kam is taking her over to get her WBC shot and have blood drawn in the morning...then we're on the downhill slide for the next week or so. We're just really praying that she makes it through this time without any set backs.
She is feeling pretty good right now, says she's better this time that she felt at this point in treatment last time. So maybe she won't have such a hard downhill battle this time.

The week's half over...

Well we are so close now! She is doing really well so far. The kids and I went over to see her Tuesday evening and had a nice visit. Then Wednesday they moved her to her own room (2405) so at least she has some privacy now...Today she said she is really tired but otherwise feeling ok...having a little nausea but it's been worse. So we've got 2 1/2 more days in the hospital and then home again to recuperate.

Back at it again!

So Mom is all checked in to the hospital again. This time in room 2417, with a roommate. We'll hope they move her before the week is over. She's just kind of resigned to being there...but really looking forward to making this the last time.
The kids and I are going over to see her tomorrow after work. She should still be feeling good, it's usually the 3rd day that the chemo starts kicking in.

Mom and Dad said they had a great time camping this weekend. I'm really glad they took the weekend and got out of town. I'm hoping they might get another weekend in before the end of the summer, but we'll see.

So much for making plans...

Dr. Lee called and asked Mom to come in for a blood test today to see where she's at and when they should schedule the next chemo treatment. She said that Dr. Fleming is really pushing for sooner not later and they were kind of at a stand off over when to get started again.

So Mom went in and had blood drawn and Dr. Lee said that if her platelets were at least 50 they could go ahead with chemo next week but was thinking they would be in the 30-40 range and she would need to have blood drawn again on Thursday.

About 6:00 tonight she called Mom back and said the platelets are just over 80! That's up from 29 on Tuesday last week. So Mom has this weekend of freedom, which they are taking advantage of by going camping with Dick and Marjean, and then it's back to the hospital on Monday. It's hard to believe that we are already looking at this last(we pray) treatment.

Someone said a couple weeks ago that they prayed for a sense of normalcy for us...it's amazing at what becomes "normal". I'm having a hard time with thinking ahead, of what could be "normal" for us soon. All I can see is the fight that we've been in...and I don't want to get ahead of this process. I don't know if I'll ever be able to be rid of that sense of fear and move on from this.

Another check up in Portland

Tuesday was time again to go up to Portland to meet with the doctor there. He was very pleased with her progress. Her blood counts are steadily moving up even though her platelets are still pretty low at about 29. I asked what he said about the infections and he just kind of shrugged his shoulders and said some people end up in the hospital every time and some don't ever get an infection. So he wasn't concerned about it. He said that Mom could go back in for the last chemo anytime in August but I think we are sticking with sometime around the 15th of August. We'll see what Dr. Lee says after getting this doctor's assessment back.
Her next appointment in Portland is September 28th. This is when they'll do the bone marrow biopsy and we'll know if she's done with treatment. That is assuming that all goes well between now and then. So, we can see the finish line just have a few more hurdles to jump first.

Mom is really feeling much better. She took the kids to town yesterday for lunch and to do a little shopping. After they came back out to our house and did a little swimming...she was still here when I got home from work. They all had a really good time.

On the way up!

Yesterday Mom headed back over for blood tests at Dr. Lee's office. She is doing really well now. Her WBC was over 3.0. Her platelets are still low at 21 but are at least on their way up.
This morning Mom and Dad ran some errands, had breakfast out and even went to the farmers' market. They bought fresh fruit and veggies...then this afternoon we went over there and had bbq burgers and potato salad and fresh green salad. She said it was yummy! Dad said she finished her whole plate at breakfast and he thought it was just because she was so excited to eat something besides his cooking or packaged food. :)

She goes back to Portland on Tuesday for a check up and then shouldn't have to go back to the doctor until the 13th of August provided everything goes smoothly between now and then. It's looking like the 15th of August or so for the last round of chemo.

We giggled over her hair today - she's got just a little bit of white, white stubble now. Not sure if its going to stay or fall out again...she was just getting enough eyelashes back to actually see them again but she said they are starting to fall out now. She said there were 2 women in the infusion room yesterday that are on their last rounds of chemo (for different types of cancer) and they both had at least an inch or so of hair...Mom is just hoping she has enough for family pictures this fall but I said it didn't matter, hats are cute!

She's home again!

I keep forgetting to update this for some reason...she got home Tuesday afternoon. She said Dr. Lee was so excited for her to go home, told the nurses to hurry up and get the paperwork done so Mom could leave. :)
Her WBC was at .9 on Tuesday so she is still on a restricted diet and not going out in public yet, but at least we are on the way back up!
She was feeling pretty good last night, had done a little cleaning in the kitchen, but is still really tired and can only be up and about for 10-15 minutes at a time...but this is the cycle we go through each time.

Thank you to those who have sent books for her to read, she should be good for a little while now. :)