Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day...the stem cell transplant. Mom is doing well so far. Her stomach is upset from the chemo in her system, but so far no side effects that are really hard on her. Usually those come about a week after the chemo, so maybe over the weekend...please be praying for those.

Most importantly, please be praying for the transplant that will happen tomorrow at 4. The doctors will give mom medicine that will allow her body to relax, and she may not even remember the transplant. The transplant consists of Joe's (Mary's brother) stem cells being put into our mom's blood stream via her picc line. She had her new picc line successfully inserted into her left arm this afternoon. The stem cell transplant will take about a half hour to an hour. Once that's done and the medicine wears off a bit, mom should be up walking around that night.

Like Adam said, we've seen many people in the hospital who have gone through the same transplant. We feel like God has us in the right hospital with the right doctors, and that He loves our mom more than all of us put together. We believe this is her way to a better, healthy life, and we're trusting God every step along the way.

Thank you so much for your prayers over the next 24 hours for our mom. We love you all.

All Quiet On The "Southern" Front

Hello everyone, just wanted to give you all an update in regards to Mom's last couple days. It's "all quiet" for the most part, Mom has been resting very well since arriving here a few days ago. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and relieved Amy, and it was a pretty uneventful day. We watched a few chick-flicks and spent most of the night catching up. She's been getting chemo the last three days as well as several other antibiotics/fluids, and up until today she had not been feeling any side effects.

Thanksgiving Day was very quiet as well, it was just Dad and I with her all day. We spent the morning watching the Macy's parade, which is the one and only time I hope to do experience that, but Mom enjoyed it so that's all that mattered! She did get to eat a turkey dinner (hospital-style) but was so full that she could not get excited about the pumpkin pie!! (And no, I didn't eat it!) We've been consistent with taking walks a few times a day and Mom still feels very strong both mentally and physically. There is a lady next door to her that has the same diagnosis as Mom and just completed her stem cell transplant, so they are starting to get to know each other and it's been good for her to talk to someone else going through a very similar process. It definitely wasn't a "typical" Thanksgiving Day, but she knows that everyday she's here is one day closer to getting out of here, so she didn't complain or get upset one time.

Suzanne, Amy, and Dad arrived this morning to spend the day up here. Mom is a lot sleepier today and she's just now starting to feel some of the side effects of the chemo. Her stomach is upset and the nausea is starting to kick in a little bit, but the staff is so amazing here and they are dealing with her issues as well as possible. Doctor Altman was here this morning to check in, and they are still calling Mom the "low maintenance" patient because she's still doing so well. Please keep her in your prayers, mainly that these side effects stay at bay and she can continue to rest comfortably.

It's tough seeing Mom back in the hospital after such a nice time at home, but we know that she'll be home very soon and back to a "normal" life again"!! Thanks again for all your prayers and calls, keep em coming!! Love you all,

Adam

Back at Northwestern

Well, were back in Chicago..............Same hospital new room........#1587.

Arrived at Northwestern at 8 this morning. Had only one procedure today. Spinal tap was performed to check spinal fluid for any abnormal leukemic cells. A couple hours later the Dr. called from the pathology lab and said that her spinal fluid was clean. They saw no abnormal cells. Praise God! Now she is clear to start Chemo tomorrow morning.

Spent the day resting and walking.

Now we ask for continued prayer as she starts the chemo. Pray for strength, peace, and minimal side effects.

We know that Jesus will be with her every step of this journey!

Thanks,
Amy

Praise!

We are praising God for some great news we received yesterday. The doctor called my mom yesterday and told her that she no longer has FLT3!!

I'm not sure if we talked about this in previous posts, but when my mom was admitted to Northwestern at the beginning of all this they told us that my mom's bone marrow showed that she had a couple extra chromosomes, aka FLT3. This was really bad news because they told us it would be harder for her to get into remission and more likely for the leukemia to come back after she was in remission. It also caused the doctors to be more aggressive with mom's case and was a big cause for concern all around.

We didn't know what to expect with the FLT3 besides that we were trusting God with it, and He sure took care of it for us! I said in the last post that my mom was pretty nervous/anxious after our family appointment on Tuesday because they talk about all of the negative things that could happen with the transplant...well then mom received the call yesterday that the FLT3 was gone. She said it was just another confirmation that God's in control!! Praise Him!

Stem-Cell Time

Hi all! As you know, we met with the doctors yesterday. It's difficult to be told all the negative things that could happen during mom's upcoming stem-cell transplant. This is a serious procedure and there are a lot of things our mom needs prayer for over the next few weeks. Please pray more than ever for God's guidance, strength, and healing for Mary though this next round.

She will be admitted to Northwestern on Tuesday, the 24th. She'll start chemo the next day (Day -6) and continue receiving chemo for 4 days total (through Day -2). Then she'll have 2 days of rest. Finally, on Day 0, she'll receive Joe's stem cell transplant (which the doctors call her birthday). The chemo will clear out all of mom's bone marrow, and when Joe's stem cells are transplanted, they will make up her new bone marrow. Obviously that makes it sound much simpler than it really is, but that's the main purpose of the procedure.

They expect her to be in the hospital for about 3-5 weeks...which may get her home for her birthday (Dec 20th) or maybe for Christmas. Regardless of when they release her once her levels are back to normal, we'll celebrate when she's finished!!

Please please be praying for her. She's nervous to go through the pain again, for the extra challenges that this (more intense) chemo will bring, and also nervous because of the complicated stem-cell transplant procedure. We will continue to trust in our Lord during this time and remember that our lives are for His glory. No matter what the doctors say, we know we have Jesus to believe in...

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6



Message from Mary's sister, Sue:

Good morning to all! God is good - He is good ALL the time!

After reading all the comments (from the previous post) this morning, I'm weeping and overwhelmed by how God's love is being felt through friends and family, old and new. May I take this space to tell you I'm so thankful for the body of Christ and the encouraging words and prayers you send for my sister. Keep pressing in for this portion of the battle; fear and doubt try to enter in and we want no part of it! God is faithful and we want our eyes fixed upon Him!

"Yet will He bring darkness to light; yet will He bring day from night....."!

Blessings to you,Love, Sue

Great News

We received great news we today...my mom's bone marrow is still clean!! They did the bone marrow test on Thursday and just received the results about a half hour ago. Amy called to tell me and I could hear my mom in the background talking/crying to my dad about how happy she is! Praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing!

And now onto the last phase...

We'll be up at Northwestern tomorrow for the family stem cell meeting. They're going to walk us through what it involves and answer any questions we have. Then, mom will go into the hospital later this week to do the stem cell transplant. We think she'll be in there for about 3-5 weeks if everything goes according to plan.

Please pray for this next battle that our mom is about to take on! Love you all.

Hospital Appointment

Everything went well at the appointment yesterday. Mom had lots of tests done to make sure she's still healthy for the stem cell transplant, along with a bone marrow test to make sure the cancer is still gone.

The doctor said that if everything checks out right then mom could head back to the hospital for her transplant towards the end of next week. We probably won't know for sure until the beginning of next week.

On Tuesday we're having a family meeting at Northwestern to talk about the transplant and for us to ask any questions.

Other than those things, our mom is still doing well. Her blood tests are coming back with great results, she's gaining strength and energy, and she's getting out of the house more while still being smart about staying healthy.

She loves you all and thanks you for all your posts and love.

Update

Hello again...
Our mom is still doing well. We had a great weekend with all of my siblings home. We had Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday since everyone was around and it was a great time. We definitely kept my mom busy and probably wore her out, just like the doctor ordered!

Joe (Mary's youngest brother) had his appointment yesterday at Northwestern to get his stem cells taken. He was there for most of the day and gave more than enough! Adam told me how honored Joe felt to be able to do that for his sister. We're so thankful for his bravery and love for our mom. Thanks Joe!

Mom has another appointment on Thursday to get a bone marrow sample taken. They need to check to see if there is any cancer coming back. If there is then they will have to do another round of outpatient chemo. If not, then they move on to the stem cell transplant. Once we receive the results of the bone marrow, we'll know more of what her schedule will look like.

Thanks for your continued prayers <3

Good Week

Hello again! I just got off the phone with my mom. She had an appointment with her new doctor today up at Northwestern. Her original doctor, Olga, had a baby a couple weeks ago and is now on maternity leave. Mom's new doctor, Jessica Altman, will be with my mom for the rest of this year. Mom was so pleasantly surprised with Dr. Altman. She said she was delightful, caring, and just as intense as Olga!

The doctor said that everything in mom's blood is looking good. If you remember, they took a bone marrow last Friday to see if there was anything wrong to try and determine why mom's white blood cell count wasn't coming up (but then it came up on Saturday). Well, the results of that bone marrow were inconclusive. The doctor said that they shouldn't have done the bone marrow at that time because of a shot mom had received a few days before (which was supposed to increase white blood cell production). The bone marrow may have shown signs of immature cells (not good), but this could be because of the shot. That's why they have to wait another week and test the bone marrow again. So please be praying that the bone marrow test next Thursday comes back clean, and we have the green light to schedule the stem cell transplant!

Mom has been feeling good this week. She's enjoying (VERY MUCH) being home! The doctor told her to be as active as she can over the next week. They want this period at home to make my mom strong, ready to fight the next battle.

Adam, Bre and their kids will in from Pennsylvania this weekend along with Cory and I, Julie, David (of course since he lives in mom's basement), and Amy and Brian are always around with their kids! We'll definitely keep her and dad busy!

As always, please continue to pray. We can't thank you enough for your love and support :)

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Mary's Home! :)

Mom was discharged from the hospital in the afternoon today and arrived home around 3:30! She said she loved her first breath of fresh air (after 7 weeks)! We had the house all ready for her and she's enjoying being home very much. Her counts are all great today and there's a nurse stopping by tonight to check on her.

She can have visitors but we can't stress enough that you must be perfectly healthy to see her. We don't want to take any chances on her getting sick while she's home. It's good that her white count is up, which fights infection, but she still is weaker than normal. If you'd like to come see her sometime please call Amy to make sure mom is up for visitors. Amy's number is 815-343-5977. And if you do get a chance to stop by, we ask that you keep your visits short and sweet since mom is still not 100%.

Thank you all SO much for your support, for your prayers, and for all the love you've shown us these past few months. As you know, we're not through it yet, but we've put our trust in the Lord and know He will see us through. We love you all.