No Cancer

Hi All
Just talked to the Dr. and the test show no signs of the myloma. They will do a bone marrow biopsy in the next two weeks which will show if there is any left in the marrow but it looks really good.
Thank God
Pat

Pat is Getting Out

Everyone it is finally happening, that is right she is getting out.
Pat will be going to the Hope Village on Wednesday in time for Thanksgiving. She is so excited and happy. She is doing great and all her numbers are where they are suppose to be. So the doctor is letting her get out of the hospital. However the doctor had told her he would let her know today and then was not able to come and see her until 6pm by which time she had worked her self into a big fury. When the doctor got there she did not give him a chance to even talk before she was asking when she can get out. He examed her and then finally told her she could get out on Wednesday. Which is good because I thought my mom was going to take him on and my money would have been on her to win.

Any way she is getting out and we are so excited.

love
Hope

Low Bacteria Diet

So what does a low Bacteria Mean. Kevin (because he is amazing) was able to up load the guidelines below. Please just click on the page and it will get bigger so that you can read them. This way everyone can know what she can and not eat. This is not all the information but it is most of it. When in doubt ask, but this should help out most of us. Thank you all.

P.S. if you make food and she can not eat it, we can.

love Hope.

Heading Home for the Holidays

Well folks we are close to getting her out of the hospital. Again she will still be at City of Hope but in their apartments on site. Once the RV site are redone she move there. So mom is look at trying to get home for Thanks Giving however the doctor is not so sure. She needs to be eating three meals a day and is up to two. But she is getting better everyday and looks great and is more her self.

My dad and myself met with the nutrients today about how to care for her food. There seems to be a lot of things she can not eat and very little she can. So please make sure before you cook her anything it is okay. We have hand outs and information sheets that I can give if you ask. I am also going to list the general rules here.

GENERAL FOOD RULES:

she is on a low bacteria diet. Foods from take-out or restaurants are not allowed at all.

Preparation:

1. wash hands and all surfaces (including cutting boards) with bleach solutions (see 2)
2. wash can foods and drinks with bleach solutions (1 part bleach to 9 part water)
3. Allow dishes ect to air dry do not towel dry. Best to hand wash not dishwasher.
4. DO NOT use the microwave to cook any of her food.
5. Wash all food with 1 teaspoon bleach to gallon of water solution (fruits and vegs)

Once the food is cook she has to eat it within an hour or she can not eat it. Once eaten she can eat the left overs the next day then it has to be throw away (if cleaned up and put away within an hour.) Frozen food has to been eaten within a week (cook at home then Frozen). Frozen food from grocery stores is okay. Frozen foods have to be cooked in the oven or stove top, can not be cooked in Microwave. She is allowed only five kinds of Fruit which are: apples, oranges, bananas, watermelon, and honeydew. No other fruit.

We are asking for extra cook books that were giving to us to hand out to those of you that may be interested. If you have questions or concerns please let me know I will do my best to answer.

Please take care and thank you

Hope

Light at the end of the Tunnel

So things are still looking good. She is doing better every day. Today (Saturday November 14th) she ate some chicken broth soup and kept it down. Also her and I went for a short walk around the nurse's station. The doctor came in late on Friday and we talked to him and her numbers are looking good. He said he was going to take her off the Morphine and that her numbers were looking very good. We asked about her blood type and he said it was not time yet to look for that, it was to early, and that the blood bank keeps him posted on all that daily.

All in all she is getting better everyday.

She asked about Thanksgiving. The doctor told her it was too soon to tell her for sure. That he does not release bone marrow until after 35 days and Thanksgiving is the 35th day. He said he would try but would not promise her anything. So we have a plan A and plan B, C, D ect. depending on what needs to be done. But it will all work out in the end.

One more important note is that she is now showing signs of host vs graft disease. This is not necessarily a bad thing. She has a small rash. If it stays this small then things are great. We want a small amount of host vs graft, because what is happening is: the new cells are killing off my mom's old cells including the cancer cells. Which means that it helps reduce the chance the cancer can come back. the other good news is that she has gone this long with out it happening. So the longer past transplant the better odds that it will be minor concern and not a major concern. So prayers and thoughts to keep it small and that it eats the cancer.

If you have question you can email me or visit any of the links on this blog. We are all doing well and getting ready for our real work to begin. When she is release from the hospital and we are in charge of her care. This is when we may need more help with food, visits, care, and general everyday stuff. She will be staying in the Hope Village until the RV site are back up running (they are currently under construction). Which is on the hospital grounds. They have lots of cool things there such as a comedian every Friday night (and we are talking big names). So there is lots to do there including a play ground for the children. Not sure how long she is there it depends on how she is doing. Most likely by Christmas she will have day pass home for a night or two. But since we do not even know about Thanksgiving I guess trying to figure out Christmas is just Crazy talk. Okay enough for tonight. Have a great evening and please count all the wonderful things in your life. I know that I am.

Well I guess that is all for now. Take care and thank you all.

Hope

Still Here and Still Kicking

Okay so Pat (aka Mom) will probably kill me for this picture but I think she looks great bald. Her head is perfectly round. Who has a perfectly round head? She is doing good. Her new cells are making themselves right at home. Which is great, but they are also having a big party in their new home, which is making my mom sick, it suppose to make her sick but knowing that does not make it suck any less. She feels a little better everyday and is able to do more everyday. The doctor and the nurse say she would feel even better if not for the flu, which she is still fighting off.

The doctor is slowly getting her ready to get out, she needs to eat, and be off the IV's. But this needs to happen slowly and in time and they need to be careful not to cause her more problems by taking her off too soon and making things worse for her.

Well we are still visiting everyday and sometimes she loves visits and sometimes she more tired than anything. So please be patient with her if she falls asleep while you are talking (she does it to me all the time). However I am sure that it takes a lot of energy to grow new cells, and fight off cancer, so I guess she is forgiven.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming we are not out of the woods yet. However they are greatly appreciated. Also thank you to those of you who have been able to make a blood or platelets donation it helps out so much. Thank you all for your kindness and love.

Hope

Great News

The good news is that my mom's new cells are growing! We are happy with this news, however we need to still watch for rejection. Soooo we are happy with a chance of worry.

She is feeling better and able to talk more and stay awake longer. With the first hurdle not so much jumped over but knocked down and crawled over we still have many more to go. But one down is better than none.

She still needs blood and platelets so if you have the time please donate, you can donate directly to my mom at City of Hope only. However all hospitals need blood so please donate any where.

Much love. Take care.

Hope

Day Eight and counting

So things are going okay in the hospital. They are suppose to shave her head tomorrow (Monday November 2). She is on course for her treatment, and reacting with all the side effects on schedule. However reacting to the side effects sucks big time. Lets just say she is on a morphine drip and at times is extremely fuzzy. So cards and notes are greatly welcomed. Please remember no flowers or balloons they are not allowed in the hospital.

We are waiting for her T-cells to starting producing and that should be sometime in the coming week. As we wait for the cells to start to grow we also are concerned for the host vs graft issues, she is having some problems with her kidney function, so has not been able to receive as much of the anti-rejection medication as the doctor would like. It has been a weird balancing game of give her the medication having her kidneys react, then flushing her kidneys out then having them come back, and then getting the medication again.

The doctors and the nurses are very nice and have been a big help with getting information and treating my mom well. For a while my mom need a 24 hour nurse in her room because she was a big risk for falling. They did not want her getting out of bed by her self and she could not be trusted to not get out of bed, so 24 hour nurse. However she does not need one any more she is doing better calling and getting out of bed her self without too much risk.

Well that is all I have for now, sorry been so long I have been busy visiting her,will try to update more often. thank you all for caring.

Hope