Forgot to include our new address:
Gift of Life Transplant House
705 Second St, SW
Rochester, MN
55902
Thursday, September 30, 2010
New Home
Yesterday Mark went back to Greenwood, his doctor today in KC had the same impression as the doctor at Mayo, so that is good. Michael and I moved into the Gift of Life House. The American Cancer Society helps sponsor it, so everyone here gets a reduced rate. It is a house with about 48 guest rooms. We have the run of the house and it is a beautiful old home with many interesting rooms. Everyone is very nice and so many steps are taken to help us feel at home here. We are assigned a kitchen and I can make our meals. Since everyone at the house has either received or will receive a transplant, there is a huge focus on cleanliness. For anyone who watches "Monk", you will have an idea about the obsession on cleanliness that is maintained here, and like Monk, Michael and I kicked it up a few notches.
Michael had his labs today and they are holding. His counts will probably be dropping in the next week. He's doing well, mainly very tired and sleeping a lot. Last night he spent a few hours writing in a really quiet out of the way spot. Tonight, I have that place and he is sleeping.
Melissa is in San Francisco and tomorrow, she and her friend, Jackie, will begin their 3day Susan G Komen walk for Breast Cancer, 60 miles over 3 days.
Thank you for your prayers.
Michael had his labs today and they are holding. His counts will probably be dropping in the next week. He's doing well, mainly very tired and sleeping a lot. Last night he spent a few hours writing in a really quiet out of the way spot. Tonight, I have that place and he is sleeping.
Melissa is in San Francisco and tomorrow, she and her friend, Jackie, will begin their 3day Susan G Komen walk for Breast Cancer, 60 miles over 3 days.
Thank you for your prayers.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Mark to Mayo
Mark came up to Rochester last night, but not just to visit. He had a second opinion as he was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer recently. The doctors feel it has been caught early and is considered low grade. At Mayo the recommendation is surgery and Mark will see his doctor in KC later in the week. They feel it is very likely this is all of the treatment he will ever need. We are relieved with this report from the doctor.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
1st round of chemo done
Michael's infusion was done last night and we got back to the hotel about 9:00 PM. He went into the hospital on Thursday and it was finished last evening (Saturday). He it tolerated well, it was just a long cycle of getting all of the meds in and some had long infusion times. The doctors had done some tests to check his heart during the chemo since he had the pericarditis in May, and all the tests were normal.
The nurse showed us Michael's labs before we went home. The Lymphocytes had gone down, but the Neurtrophils had increased by 3X. The Neutophils will go down due to the chemo cycle, but it was very encouraging that it had gone up so much--keep the prayers coming!!
We thank you so much for the specific prayers for the Lymphocytes and Neutophils to bounce back quickly and to stay strong and for the chemo to blast the tumor away. And now one more specific prayer request, since the tumor is so close to the heart and Michael had the pericarditis in May, if you can pray for his heart to stay strong.
Today, Michael has been doing pretty well. He had a light workout and enjoyed following the Chiefs victory. Tomorrow, he gets his shot of Neulasta and labs. His counts may not drop for another few days on this cycle, but he will get lab Monday and Thursday at least for now, so we can tell how he is tolerating the chemo.
I got a little bit of a mild cold yesterday, so I got a separate room at the hotel to decrease the chance Michael would get sick. So I am limiting contact and using good handwashing and tons of sanitizer when I am around him.
It finally dried out up here after several days of heavy rain (and we finally got all of our clothes dried out). The weather in Rochester from what we hear is warmer than in KC and many of the trees up here are quite beautiful.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers!!
The nurse showed us Michael's labs before we went home. The Lymphocytes had gone down, but the Neurtrophils had increased by 3X. The Neutophils will go down due to the chemo cycle, but it was very encouraging that it had gone up so much--keep the prayers coming!!
We thank you so much for the specific prayers for the Lymphocytes and Neutophils to bounce back quickly and to stay strong and for the chemo to blast the tumor away. And now one more specific prayer request, since the tumor is so close to the heart and Michael had the pericarditis in May, if you can pray for his heart to stay strong.
Today, Michael has been doing pretty well. He had a light workout and enjoyed following the Chiefs victory. Tomorrow, he gets his shot of Neulasta and labs. His counts may not drop for another few days on this cycle, but he will get lab Monday and Thursday at least for now, so we can tell how he is tolerating the chemo.
I got a little bit of a mild cold yesterday, so I got a separate room at the hotel to decrease the chance Michael would get sick. So I am limiting contact and using good handwashing and tons of sanitizer when I am around him.
It finally dried out up here after several days of heavy rain (and we finally got all of our clothes dried out). The weather in Rochester from what we hear is warmer than in KC and many of the trees up here are quite beautiful.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers!!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
1st round of chemo infusing
We got to Rochester Hospital this morning for lab and admitted to his room at 11 AM and the chemo just started infusing at about 5:30 PM.
Back to yesterday. The plan is that Michael will get 2 rounds of chemo, now and in about 3 weeks. In about 6 weeks they will do another PET Scan. If the tumor is not shrinking the way they want they will change chemo drugs. If it is shrinking halfway, he may get more chemo. If it shows a good response with the PET Scan the Stem Cell Transplant will occur. (I think yesterday I called it a Bone Marrow Transplant.)
Anyway, Dr Colgan thinks there is a good chance he will respond well to the chemo because the 1st tumor did. This chemo is a combination of 4 drugs, all are different except one.
The stem cells will be his own, that are taken after the tumor in his mediastinum has shown a good response. He will have a central line that the stem cells will be taken from his blood and then will be frozen. That could take 1-4 days. Then the MAJOR chemo begins which is about 3-4 times what is normal, then about 6 days later he will receive his stem cells.
Michael will stay at least 4-6 weeks in Mayo after the transplant, hopefully he will leave the hospital days after the transplant and will stay in the Gift of Life House (for Transplant patients). He will have to go back every 1-2 days to be checked.
Presently, Michael and I are staying at the Microtel Motel which has been quite comfortable, but we are working on the long term housing arrangements. Some of the housing is reduced and some is free. Just prior to leaving, I got a call from the insurance company and part of our plan includes some assistance with lodging and food. We may have to move a few times, but we figure we will just be flexible. Mark and Melissa are at home for now and will later be back and forth to Mayo, more on that next week.
So many people have asked how they can help. We have a huge request, we have some specific prayer requests. The sooner Michael has a good response from the chemo, the sooner the transplant takes place and that will increase his chances of success. Also, since he just ended his other chemo in May, his white blood count, specifically neutrophils and lymphocytes are on the low normal side. These protect him against infection, also will increase the chances of success on the transplant.
We are so thankful for every prayer and would especially appreciate prayers for the chemo to totally blast the tumor away and that his neutrophils and lymphocytes bounce back quickly and strongly after the chemo.
A note on Michael, so far he is tolerating the chemo well, it's only been an hour, but that is good. He has a good appetite and is watching Shreck 2 on the movie channel. For this chemo he will have to stay in the hospital until Saturday. This is not due to expected problems, but due to the fact that it is basically a continuous infusion. In the weeks after he will be watched closely for decreases in platelets, neutrophils and lymphocytes.
We are thankful Grandma Kay's knee surgery went well today (thank you Grandpa Jay). Mark and Melissa are visiting with her now.
Thank you again for all of your prayers.
Back to yesterday. The plan is that Michael will get 2 rounds of chemo, now and in about 3 weeks. In about 6 weeks they will do another PET Scan. If the tumor is not shrinking the way they want they will change chemo drugs. If it is shrinking halfway, he may get more chemo. If it shows a good response with the PET Scan the Stem Cell Transplant will occur. (I think yesterday I called it a Bone Marrow Transplant.)
Anyway, Dr Colgan thinks there is a good chance he will respond well to the chemo because the 1st tumor did. This chemo is a combination of 4 drugs, all are different except one.
The stem cells will be his own, that are taken after the tumor in his mediastinum has shown a good response. He will have a central line that the stem cells will be taken from his blood and then will be frozen. That could take 1-4 days. Then the MAJOR chemo begins which is about 3-4 times what is normal, then about 6 days later he will receive his stem cells.
Michael will stay at least 4-6 weeks in Mayo after the transplant, hopefully he will leave the hospital days after the transplant and will stay in the Gift of Life House (for Transplant patients). He will have to go back every 1-2 days to be checked.
Presently, Michael and I are staying at the Microtel Motel which has been quite comfortable, but we are working on the long term housing arrangements. Some of the housing is reduced and some is free. Just prior to leaving, I got a call from the insurance company and part of our plan includes some assistance with lodging and food. We may have to move a few times, but we figure we will just be flexible. Mark and Melissa are at home for now and will later be back and forth to Mayo, more on that next week.
So many people have asked how they can help. We have a huge request, we have some specific prayer requests. The sooner Michael has a good response from the chemo, the sooner the transplant takes place and that will increase his chances of success. Also, since he just ended his other chemo in May, his white blood count, specifically neutrophils and lymphocytes are on the low normal side. These protect him against infection, also will increase the chances of success on the transplant.
We are so thankful for every prayer and would especially appreciate prayers for the chemo to totally blast the tumor away and that his neutrophils and lymphocytes bounce back quickly and strongly after the chemo.
A note on Michael, so far he is tolerating the chemo well, it's only been an hour, but that is good. He has a good appetite and is watching Shreck 2 on the movie channel. For this chemo he will have to stay in the hospital until Saturday. This is not due to expected problems, but due to the fact that it is basically a continuous infusion. In the weeks after he will be watched closely for decreases in platelets, neutrophils and lymphocytes.
We are thankful Grandma Kay's knee surgery went well today (thank you Grandpa Jay). Mark and Melissa are visiting with her now.
Thank you again for all of your prayers.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Met with doctors today, chemo tomorrow
I had hoped to give a longer update today, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. We had a long day today; we met with a doctor on the Bone Marrow Transplant Team, Dr Inwards, and then with the Hematologist, Dr Colgan who has been following Michael from the beginning. There was also lab and we met with a coordinator for long term housing options. Michael and I decided we would have to embrace our time here and learn how to not just survive, but to thrive. So to help achieve that after a long day at Mayo, we went to Best Buy and got a keyboard (that Michael can use with headphones in the hotel) and some music books at a Music Store. He spent most of the evening on the keyboard. Tomorrow we go back to Mayo to start chemo again prior to the Transplant...more on that tomorrow (I hope). Thank you for your prayers.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Preparations for a Journey
We are starting on a long journey with our son, Michael. Michael had just started the semester at Iowa State in Ames. He was so thrilled to be back and start taking his life back after having to miss out on the Spring Semester due to his previous treatment for Lymphoma. But things changed with his check up at Mayo on September 2. A mass was seen on the PET Scan and a biopsy followed the next day. Five days later we found out that he will first have chemo to shrink the tumor in his mediastinum (in the space by his heart). Then he will start the Bone Marrow Transplant. That process will also involve more chemo prior to the transplant of his own bone marrow.
It will be a long process with likely many bumps on the road. We do not know when the process will start, nor how long it will take. We have many questions and we have to wait for now to find the answers.
At this time it looks like the transplant will be at Mayo. Michael and I (Brenda) will be living up there for several months. Mark and Melissa will be at home working, holding down the home front and hopefully coming up for visits and for a week here and there.
While we have many questions unanswered, we know that we have many prayers coming our way already. It is truly a help to us and we thank you. And we can't thank you enough for all of those who have been such a big support from earlier in the year as well. Thank all of you for helping "Michael be a Miracle".
It will be a long process with likely many bumps on the road. We do not know when the process will start, nor how long it will take. We have many questions and we have to wait for now to find the answers.
At this time it looks like the transplant will be at Mayo. Michael and I (Brenda) will be living up there for several months. Mark and Melissa will be at home working, holding down the home front and hopefully coming up for visits and for a week here and there.
While we have many questions unanswered, we know that we have many prayers coming our way already. It is truly a help to us and we thank you. And we can't thank you enough for all of those who have been such a big support from earlier in the year as well. Thank all of you for helping "Michael be a Miracle".
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