Hi Everyone!
A week ago...we couldn't have imagined hearing the words that came today from mom's team of doctors...and we are happy to share with you a positive report - They are very pleased with how well mom is doing! She is neutropenic, however she has had no fevers for the past couple of days, her nausea is better, lungs are sounding good, and even though she's sleeping a lot, she is up and moving more and eating better. There is a CT Scan scheduled for Thurs to check the status of the pneumonia, and they expect to see no change (which is good!). So we are happy today! Mom is too!
Pray for a good week - she is at her lowest (counts) and may still spike fevers due to being neutropenic, but it's to be expected. Pray for the CT Scan to show no growth of the pneumonia. Pray for the chemo to do it's work on the leukemic cells and rid her body of them! And pray for rest!
Thanks again for your loving & supportive prayers and encouragement. We are blessed beyond belief by all of you and can't thank you enough.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Last Day of Chemo
It's Saturday and the last day of chemo. I'm visiting Mom with David and his friend, Erick. Julie is here and Dad just went to work out. Mom is having a pretty good day. She seems very sleepy and is moving at a slow pace, but she feels ok. She's sitting up in her chair right now talking with us. She has done very well this week and has been fever free for the past couple days. Fevers are the main way they measure how she's doing, both with the chemo and with her pneumonia.
She still has her most difficult days ahead. We are on day 5 (day 1 chemo starts) and usually days 7-10 are the most challenging for her health. The doctors have been pleased with how she's handling things. We are praying that the next week goes as well as it can for her.
She's had a good amount of friends and family visit her over the past few days and this has helped her pass the time. Thanks to all of you who have sent cards or visited. It means so much to Mom.
Love you all!
She still has her most difficult days ahead. We are on day 5 (day 1 chemo starts) and usually days 7-10 are the most challenging for her health. The doctors have been pleased with how she's handling things. We are praying that the next week goes as well as it can for her.
She's had a good amount of friends and family visit her over the past few days and this has helped her pass the time. Thanks to all of you who have sent cards or visited. It means so much to Mom.
Love you all!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Chemo is starting
Adam was with my mom at the hospital overnight and sent out this text this morning because they will be starting chemo today:
"Team of doctors were just in (they come in every morning to check on her and report anything new). Things are still very stable with her pneumonia. They said they will do whatever Mom needs through her therapy over the next few weeks. They said that this chemo will be challenging and not easy in any way. They don't see a point in treating her disease and making her go through this without getting rid of the leukemia. That means the chemo has to be intense."
He also text: "She's ready to fight and I like her attitude today. We had a good talk this morning and she is showing me she's ready. One other cool thing is that when we woke up this morning I asked her how she was doing and she said "doing good," and for the first time since arriving at the hospital she asked me "How are you doing?" I liked that!!"
Amy and Julie are with her today and she's had many amazing visitors over the past few days! We are so thankful for each one of you who have spent time with her in the hospital. Even though she's tired and doesn't interact like normal, she perks up and is re-energized with each visit. We still encourage anyone to visit. As long as you're not sick, anyone is welcome. It helps Mom pass the time and feel a little less cooped up.
We can't thank you enough for all of your love, support, and prayers. We will continue to trust in God's plan through each step.
"Team of doctors were just in (they come in every morning to check on her and report anything new). Things are still very stable with her pneumonia. They said they will do whatever Mom needs through her therapy over the next few weeks. They said that this chemo will be challenging and not easy in any way. They don't see a point in treating her disease and making her go through this without getting rid of the leukemia. That means the chemo has to be intense."
He also text: "She's ready to fight and I like her attitude today. We had a good talk this morning and she is showing me she's ready. One other cool thing is that when we woke up this morning I asked her how she was doing and she said "doing good," and for the first time since arriving at the hospital she asked me "How are you doing?" I liked that!!"
Amy and Julie are with her today and she's had many amazing visitors over the past few days! We are so thankful for each one of you who have spent time with her in the hospital. Even though she's tired and doesn't interact like normal, she perks up and is re-energized with each visit. We still encourage anyone to visit. As long as you're not sick, anyone is welcome. It helps Mom pass the time and feel a little less cooped up.
We can't thank you enough for all of your love, support, and prayers. We will continue to trust in God's plan through each step.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Saturday.
Another quick update to let you all know that my mom has not started the chemo treatment yet. I guess you would say that it's a pretty "delicate" decision due to the pneumonia; and because she does still have a few good fighting cells in her, they want to get the pneumonia as "better" as they can get it before they start the chemo. Again...the chemo will take away all the bad leukemia......but it will also take all the good fighting stuff with it too, and this pneumonia can kick back into gear much faster and more aggressive if there is nothing there to fight it with. The tests have yet to determine the type of pneumonia it is - no "fungal" pieces of this puzzle have yet to come out in the lab but the meds they put my mom on seem to be working, so......we are waiting for the go ahead. It's important that you all understand the seriousness of this situation and again, we thank you for the prayers and love because she really feels them and it!
Prayers for strength & endurance.
Prayers for her mental state - gearing herself up for treatment.
Prayers for the combination of meds they will be using and for her body to withstand it all better than they would expect it to.
Prayers for her nausea (from all the meds she's on) and because it will get worse with the chemo.
Prayers for the doctors determining the next steps.
Prayers for us here as we urge her on.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Another quick update to let you all know that my mom has not started the chemo treatment yet. I guess you would say that it's a pretty "delicate" decision due to the pneumonia; and because she does still have a few good fighting cells in her, they want to get the pneumonia as "better" as they can get it before they start the chemo. Again...the chemo will take away all the bad leukemia......but it will also take all the good fighting stuff with it too, and this pneumonia can kick back into gear much faster and more aggressive if there is nothing there to fight it with. The tests have yet to determine the type of pneumonia it is - no "fungal" pieces of this puzzle have yet to come out in the lab but the meds they put my mom on seem to be working, so......we are waiting for the go ahead. It's important that you all understand the seriousness of this situation and again, we thank you for the prayers and love because she really feels them and it!
Prayers for strength & endurance.
Prayers for her mental state - gearing herself up for treatment.
Prayers for the combination of meds they will be using and for her body to withstand it all better than they would expect it to.
Prayers for her nausea (from all the meds she's on) and because it will get worse with the chemo.
Prayers for the doctors determining the next steps.
Prayers for us here as we urge her on.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Quick Update
Mom is feeling a little bit better each day this week. I'm up here with her today encouraging her to take walks and eat a few bites here and there. She's very tired still, but has shown much improvement since the weekend. The doctors say her lungs sound a little better today, and by seeing her activity level, they believe the antibiotics are treating the pneumonia properly. She will have a ct scan tomorrow evening, and if her pneumonia is not showing expansion, they hope to get the chemo started in the next couple of days.
Thank you for continuing to pray. She needs the Lord's strength so much right now. It has been quite a roller coaster of a week. Please check out Adam's post below if you haven't already.
Love you all! You are the best support system anyone can hope for!
Thank you for continuing to pray. She needs the Lord's strength so much right now. It has been quite a roller coaster of a week. Please check out Adam's post below if you haven't already.
Love you all! You are the best support system anyone can hope for!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
Toughest Lady I've Ever Met!!
It's Monday night and my family apologizes for not updating the blog sooner...it's been a very busy and challenging couple of days but I'm going to try and get you caught up...
This is Adam, Mary's son, and I took over for Julie and David on Thursday night and got the chance to stay with her until my Dad came up on Friday. Friday was a very tough day, I'm not going to sugarcoat things...the Team of doctors came in that morning and had some pretty challening things to say to Mom (and partly to me as well). They explained to us that the pneumonia that Mom has is a very challenging form and they believed it was a "fungal" pneumonia. As you probably already realize, Mom's immune system is non-existent because of her leukemia and she's been having to get transfusions for blood and platelets since arriving at the hospital over a week ago. Viral pneumonia would have been challening enough for her to deal with due to her condition but to know that she's facing a steep uphill battle with this fungal pneumonia had us all very nervous. Thankfully you all were praying for her and although you might not have known specifically what to pray for, your prayers were still paying dividends!!
My biggest concern when we woke up on Friday morning was making sure that Mom was ready for the current battle that she was facing. The previous few days as well as Friday morning had her feeling very lethargic and the medicine that she was taking was making her very weak and sleepy most of the time. I knew I had my work cut out for me that day because they were telling her that she needed to have a bronchoscopy which is where they take a camera down her throat into her lungs in order to look at her lungs and get a sample to find out the specific type of fungal pneumonia she had. Talking her into that was NOT going to be easy because she already told Dad the day before that it "wasn't going to happen!" Well, after her and I got back from her CT scan she was getting some rest and God sent a little Angel into the room, her name is Dr. Jessica Altman, mom's leukemia doctor. She was a sight for sore eyes because any time she comes in to see Mom you can instantly see Mom's mood and attitude change for the better. It was no different on that Friday afternoon, Dr. Altman has a way about her and a calmness that gives Mom and our entire family confidence that she can move forward and dominate whatever hurdle is ahead of her.
Dr. Altman looked right at me and said "she can beat this pneumonia, I have no doubts about that". So then I said "Dr., I believe in her as well, she's about the toughest person I've ever met!" Apparently I was "way off" because Dr. came right back and said "Adam, let me correct you...she IS the toughest person that I have ever met!!" She went on to say that she has treated a lot of patients during her time as a leukemia doctor and she's never seen anyone who has been stronger and more determined than Mom. We've learned a lot more about what she means over the last few days...Mom's not supposed to be here right now, there is no data to support her making it through 3 other rounds and now going on to beat it for a 4th time. She's in uncharted territory because there is no data on her chances of survival to beat this leukemia again...and when the doctors told us on Sunday that they give her a 50/50 chance to beat the pneumonia I figured those odds are pretty incredible!! Much higher than any odds she's had before! In all seriousness, she is already our "miracle Mom", and we had/have no doubts that she can make it past all of this again. God has used her in so many ways over the past 4 years, and she's touched lives that we probably don't even know about. We haven't been able to figure out why God "chose" her to carry this disease, but the farther along we go the more we realize that He is the only one in control. He alone knows the reasons, but we have hope that He will continue to use her for his glory no matter what her outcome might be!
Later on Friday she ended up moving forward with the bronchoscopy after getting the encouragement that she needed from Dr. Altman. All of my siblings and spouses joined me at the hospital so that we could all be there with her without the kiddos. And while I'm thinking about it...thank you to all of you who have reached out and either offered support and actually taken a role in helping in some way, you are amazing and we can't do this without each of you! That visit seemed to jumpstart her mood and a shift started to occur...she had perked up some and was talking and interacting more...which was a great sign to all of us. Saturday then came around and we ended up bringing the kids up to see her, and it was like we were at 213 E. Lincoln St....kids running around everywhere, people eating food and candy, conversations that were way to loud for a hospital...and right in the middle of it all was Mom, loving every second of it! Uncle Joe and Aunt Cheryl came by with their daugher Sarah, and then later her sister Sue visited with her daughter Jenni and husband Mark (Sha right!), and I know she enjoyed that as well. All the while my Dad was there all weekend, helping her in any way that he could...I've been very proud of him each and every time she's been through this, but especially this time because this is definitely the toughest it has been for her...and he's barely left her side!
I'm almost done, hang in there!! Sunday was the reunion, and I know Mom was really looking forward to that day, but she obviously could not be at Sue's for the festivities. Thanks to technology we were able to Facetime her and everyone got a chance to say hello even if it was just for a second or two. It was a great time being together but it wasn't the same without my Mom and Dad there. We were able to update the family and prayed together, about 100 people strong!! It was decided that day that all of my Mom's siblings were going to try and get up there today to see her, and I'm told that many of them were able to go and spend some quality time with her. It must have paid off because while Bre and I were at dinner with our kids we received a picture from Julie that showed my Mom, her niece Kim, and her best friend Kathy taking a walk with her around her floor!!! It was an awesome sight to see because that can only mean one thing...she's getting stronger and continuing her fight...remember, she's the toughest lady that we've ever met!!! Needless to say the weekend ended very well to see Mom moving around, conversing with friends and family, and eating some food in order to get her strength back. We still don't know what type of specific pneumonia she has but just keep praying that it goes away because they cannot start any chemo to treat her leukemia until she has overcome this pneumonia.
That's all for now, thanks for being patient, and thanks for your love and support. Get up there to see her when you can, she would love to see you...and if you can't make it then write something on her blog or send her a text. We'll update again soon, God Bless and love to you all - DO WORK MOMMA!!
This is Adam, Mary's son, and I took over for Julie and David on Thursday night and got the chance to stay with her until my Dad came up on Friday. Friday was a very tough day, I'm not going to sugarcoat things...the Team of doctors came in that morning and had some pretty challening things to say to Mom (and partly to me as well). They explained to us that the pneumonia that Mom has is a very challenging form and they believed it was a "fungal" pneumonia. As you probably already realize, Mom's immune system is non-existent because of her leukemia and she's been having to get transfusions for blood and platelets since arriving at the hospital over a week ago. Viral pneumonia would have been challening enough for her to deal with due to her condition but to know that she's facing a steep uphill battle with this fungal pneumonia had us all very nervous. Thankfully you all were praying for her and although you might not have known specifically what to pray for, your prayers were still paying dividends!!
My biggest concern when we woke up on Friday morning was making sure that Mom was ready for the current battle that she was facing. The previous few days as well as Friday morning had her feeling very lethargic and the medicine that she was taking was making her very weak and sleepy most of the time. I knew I had my work cut out for me that day because they were telling her that she needed to have a bronchoscopy which is where they take a camera down her throat into her lungs in order to look at her lungs and get a sample to find out the specific type of fungal pneumonia she had. Talking her into that was NOT going to be easy because she already told Dad the day before that it "wasn't going to happen!" Well, after her and I got back from her CT scan she was getting some rest and God sent a little Angel into the room, her name is Dr. Jessica Altman, mom's leukemia doctor. She was a sight for sore eyes because any time she comes in to see Mom you can instantly see Mom's mood and attitude change for the better. It was no different on that Friday afternoon, Dr. Altman has a way about her and a calmness that gives Mom and our entire family confidence that she can move forward and dominate whatever hurdle is ahead of her.
Dr. Altman looked right at me and said "she can beat this pneumonia, I have no doubts about that". So then I said "Dr., I believe in her as well, she's about the toughest person I've ever met!" Apparently I was "way off" because Dr. came right back and said "Adam, let me correct you...she IS the toughest person that I have ever met!!" She went on to say that she has treated a lot of patients during her time as a leukemia doctor and she's never seen anyone who has been stronger and more determined than Mom. We've learned a lot more about what she means over the last few days...Mom's not supposed to be here right now, there is no data to support her making it through 3 other rounds and now going on to beat it for a 4th time. She's in uncharted territory because there is no data on her chances of survival to beat this leukemia again...and when the doctors told us on Sunday that they give her a 50/50 chance to beat the pneumonia I figured those odds are pretty incredible!! Much higher than any odds she's had before! In all seriousness, she is already our "miracle Mom", and we had/have no doubts that she can make it past all of this again. God has used her in so many ways over the past 4 years, and she's touched lives that we probably don't even know about. We haven't been able to figure out why God "chose" her to carry this disease, but the farther along we go the more we realize that He is the only one in control. He alone knows the reasons, but we have hope that He will continue to use her for his glory no matter what her outcome might be!
Later on Friday she ended up moving forward with the bronchoscopy after getting the encouragement that she needed from Dr. Altman. All of my siblings and spouses joined me at the hospital so that we could all be there with her without the kiddos. And while I'm thinking about it...thank you to all of you who have reached out and either offered support and actually taken a role in helping in some way, you are amazing and we can't do this without each of you! That visit seemed to jumpstart her mood and a shift started to occur...she had perked up some and was talking and interacting more...which was a great sign to all of us. Saturday then came around and we ended up bringing the kids up to see her, and it was like we were at 213 E. Lincoln St....kids running around everywhere, people eating food and candy, conversations that were way to loud for a hospital...and right in the middle of it all was Mom, loving every second of it! Uncle Joe and Aunt Cheryl came by with their daugher Sarah, and then later her sister Sue visited with her daughter Jenni and husband Mark (Sha right!), and I know she enjoyed that as well. All the while my Dad was there all weekend, helping her in any way that he could...I've been very proud of him each and every time she's been through this, but especially this time because this is definitely the toughest it has been for her...and he's barely left her side!
I'm almost done, hang in there!! Sunday was the reunion, and I know Mom was really looking forward to that day, but she obviously could not be at Sue's for the festivities. Thanks to technology we were able to Facetime her and everyone got a chance to say hello even if it was just for a second or two. It was a great time being together but it wasn't the same without my Mom and Dad there. We were able to update the family and prayed together, about 100 people strong!! It was decided that day that all of my Mom's siblings were going to try and get up there today to see her, and I'm told that many of them were able to go and spend some quality time with her. It must have paid off because while Bre and I were at dinner with our kids we received a picture from Julie that showed my Mom, her niece Kim, and her best friend Kathy taking a walk with her around her floor!!! It was an awesome sight to see because that can only mean one thing...she's getting stronger and continuing her fight...remember, she's the toughest lady that we've ever met!!! Needless to say the weekend ended very well to see Mom moving around, conversing with friends and family, and eating some food in order to get her strength back. We still don't know what type of specific pneumonia she has but just keep praying that it goes away because they cannot start any chemo to treat her leukemia until she has overcome this pneumonia.
That's all for now, thanks for being patient, and thanks for your love and support. Get up there to see her when you can, she would love to see you...and if you can't make it then write something on her blog or send her a text. We'll update again soon, God Bless and love to you all - DO WORK MOMMA!!
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