Quiet Saturday

Mom has been doing ok this week. She's been able to stay home and relax in the comfort of her own bed. She is slow to get around and would prefer to stay in bed all day, but knows the only way to get any better is to get up and move around once in a while. She's tried harder to do that this week even though it's usually a chore. She's switched over to all oral medicine now and her stomach has felt a little bit better. She still doesn't have a desire to eat much but has to take a few bites when she takes her medicine.

I think her attitude has improved some from last week. She's choosing every day to put in all the effort she can to get better and to interact with us. It's good to see her showing us she wants to feel better.  

There is no bone marrow biopsy scheduled at this time. Dr Jessica still believes there is cancer present but it has not shown up in mom's blood work yet. Jessica thinks it's there because of how slow mom's counts are coming back up since chemo.  There's nothing they can do for her at this time other than treat the symptoms she has.

We continue to support her every steps of the way and pray for a miracle to happen. Thanks for all the prayers, notes, meals, and visits. 

Time At Home

Hello Everyone!

Once again, we are sorry for the delay in updating the blog...as you can imagine, it's been a very busy time for the entire family. 

As you know, Mom arrived home last Wednesday night and overall things have been quiet for her at home.  She's continued to have visitors at the house but overall she's still very weak and wants to be either sleeping on the couch or in her bed.  She needs 24 hour care and Julie has been taking on that role since Mom has been home again from the hospital.  I want to call her out because she's been doing an amazing job not only taking care of Mom, but also making sure that things are running smoothly for both Dad and around the house - Thank You Julie! 

As most of you probably know, I am a "Glass Half-Full" kind of person.  My outlook on Mom's situation has always been one that is centered around trust in the Lord to be in control of her situation entirely, and also one that involves a strong amount of Hope that Mom will eventually get better and be healed of this disease.  At the same time we also have to be very real with what she has been through and the aggressive nature of the AML that she has had for periods of time over the past 4+ years.  Her body, both physically and emotionally, has been through more than any one person should have to take...and although it's not fair in any way, that toll is starting to limit the options that we are going to be able to pursue for her.  We are not exactly sure what that means for her at this moment in time, but our main goal right now is to try and make her final days with us (whether that be 1 or 1000) the best they can possibly be for her. 

So what does that mean for you?  I'm going to be direct...I am encouraging you to go and see her, if you are healthy, or to send something to her that can be read to her by one of us (her children).  Mom is weak and may or may not be able to express her appreciation for those things, but if you know her well than you will know that your visit or card/letter will mean a great deal to her.  All you need to do is to reach out to one of us; Amy, Julie, Suzanne, David or myself.  The only requirement for a visit is that you are healthy, and that can be tough at this time of the year, but please be careful and error on the side of caution. 

Lastly, today Mom went up to meet with Dr. Jessica as well as some of the other members of the team at Northwestern.  We are still exploring all options for treatment for her and it appears that later this week they will probably do another bone marrow biopsy to see if the leukemia is officially out of her system or not.  We'll keep you updated on those results and anything new that happens this week.  This morning I went over to see her and she was resting very comfortably in her bed after a pretty good night of sleep.  Her and Dad purchased a new bed about 2 months ago and it's safe to say that she is very happy and content to be in the comfort of her own bed/home.  Thank you again for the prayers, thoughts, support and mostly the love that all of you have continued to show to my Mom and all members of our immediate family.  God Bless and Love to you all!

Adam 

Home :)

Just a quick post to let you all know mom got to come home a couple hours ago! We are so thankful they recognize how important it is to her to not stay at the hospital longer than necessary. We will update more tomorrow but wanted you all to be happy with us, knowing mom is sleeping soundly in her bed tonight.

Back at the hospital for a bit

Mom had to head back to the hospital over the weekend due to a high fever. The high fever means she has an infection of some sort and her body isn't healthy enough to fight it off itself. She wasn't happy to go back because she is much more comfortable at home but they will keep her there again until they get her temps under control. Today her temps have already been better. 

We are still unsure as to the next step for Mom. It's been a challenging week for all of us close to her to face the unknown. We know they don't want to do more chemo because she's been through as much as her body can handle. We believe that if they get her healthy enough she will begin a new trial drug that works differently than anything she's used in the past. We are hoping her doctor stops in soon to clear up what's going on and provides some clarity for Mom. 

In the meantime, please be praying with us. We are praying for God's healing hand to work in Mom and to see a mighty miracle. Thanks for your love and support. 

We will update when we know more. 

Wednesday

Mom is doing ok at home. She is very tired and rests most of the day but has had family and friends surrounding her and keeping her company. She loves being home, even if she can't live normally.

Mom had to go to the hospital today with Julie to get more blood. She goes all the way to Chicago for transfusions. Things are going well with that today. Julie has also learned a lot about helping Mom with her medicine. She hangs my mom's iv antibiotic every 12 hours and gives her the other oral and seringe medicine she needs throughout the day. It's not the easiest thing being home managing all of this, but it's way better than staying at the hospital!

Healthy visitors are welcome to see Mom. Maybe give one of us kids a heads up that you're going to be stopping by. 

Thanks again for your continued prayers, notes, and all of your love.

Peace!

Coming home tonight!

It has been a slow recovery for Mom this time around.  She has been getting a little bit stronger each day and her counts are slowly starting to recover.  She's been begging the doctors to let her go home.  She's been there for over 6 WEEKS now and is so ready to leave that little room.  The hospital is great and the staff is wonderful, but it's impossible to feel okay in any small room for that amount of time.  She now has some neutrophils showing up in her blood so they said she can go home tonight!!

Dr. Jessica (Mom's main doctor) came in this afternoon and chatted with Mom and Julie for a little bit.  She agrees it's time for Mom to go home.  As great as this is to hear, Jessica said she's also concerned about how slowly Mom's counts are coming back.  She said, "The bone marrow is not recovering as briskly as we'd like and I think that's because there are still leukemia cells in there."  She said there are still options if that is the case.  Dr. Jessica told us a couple months ago about a new clinical trial drug that she was very excited about.  We don't know any details but at this point we know Mom gets to come home and that they are going to see how she does over the next week.  No new bone marrow biopsy is schedule at this time but they'll probably do one within a couple weeks.  Julie said things were positive and hopeful during their conversation with Dr. Jessica and Mom felt okay with it all.  She just wants to get out of there!  Taking things 1 day at a time!

For now, Mom comes home tonight (YAY), she rests and gets to be with family and friends, she will have home healthcare come to her house every other day to take care of her needs and draw her blood, and she has an appointment scheduled for next Wednesday with Dr. Jessica at Northwestern. 

Please continue to pray with us for Mom's health to improve and for this cancer to be out of her system for good.

A little boost :)

We saw a little movement in the numbers today! White count went from .1 to .2 - Yay! We will take it :)
We also saw her hemoglobin and platelets hang on for a couple of days without transfusions - hemoglobin even moved up on its own! Another good sign :)

Still no set day of when she can come home, but we got another step closer!

She is still fighting nausea and low-grade fevers..much more minor, but still a bother, so we are praying against this continuing for much longer!

She been walking more and more..she's getting stronger and stronger and fighting thru the nausea and fevers, and is anxiously awaiting the day they tell her she is ready to go home!

With love!