Last night we worked together like a somewhat oiled machine. Callie had a "shoe box" book report due which needed some final touches, and I wanted to get up to see Carla before it got too late.

McCall was done with her homework, so I asked her make lunches and to assist Callie with decorating the box and assembling one of the items Callie was making for the report while I went to the hospital. I was up there earlier in the day and Carla was looking so much better and resting a bit easier.

When I arrived this morning at the hospital, Carla was walking around in her room, and had been for the past 30 minutes! Her voice sounded less muffled. Wow! You have to remember that she has not had any steady sleep for the past 11 days. So, once she was done walking, I put a movie in the DVD player, logged into work, and she fell asleep.

The girls and I arrived later this evening to hang out with Carla and she improved even more from this morning. We bring her cards she gets in the mail, read her the school newsletters, share the kids homework the teacher sends home. Tonight the kids brought their nightly reading and went into the hall and read while I rubbed Carla's feet and legs. The kids are quite comfortable in the halls where they see leukemia patients and their families walking, doctors, nurses. I'm very proud of them with the courage they show. They are learning courage...just like me.

Thank you Colleen and family for bringing us dinner. We had just finished homework, and your meal was perfect timimg...almost anytime is a good time for food. We went right up to the hospital after our meal. Thanks again.

Turning the Corner

Forget Sigourney Weaver, Carla is one tough woman. She appears to be turning the corner and on the way to getting over this mucositis. Friday seems to have been the peak, and only felt slightly better yesterday. She was telling the doctor on Thursday that they have to fix this because she has her next round of chemotherapy coming up. Talk about looking ahead!

This condition resulted in much swelling from Carla's neck into her face. So much so that Carla was concerned about possible future swelling and breathing. I immediately notified her doctor of her concern and they contacted the pulmonary specialist to evaluate her. After a CT and chest X-ray, he suspected possible parotid gland infections as well as the mucositis and prescribed a special antibiotic. In addition, to alleviate any breathing issues, prescribed two breathing treatments to soothe her throat and also reduce swelling. Everything seems to be going in the right direction now. I hope to sleep a little a better tonight.

Even though she is tough, I know that she has been hurting and it hurts me. Please continue to send your positive thoughts. She is a lucky person to have so many friends and family that care so much. I hope she feels well enough in the next day or so to get online from the hospital and keep in touch with all of you.

Thank you Flitton's for dinner on Wednesday. Theresa and Raphael, thank you for the lasagna. Theresa is quite a cook. She is a gluten free chef! Thank you Casey for dropping off some bread and your dastardly good treats. You and Theresa should open an eatery of some sort.

Difficult day

Today has been one of the most difficult days. In the past few days the mucositis has advanced from Carla's throat into her mouth and tongue. Its a very painful condition and she has been on pain medications to help alleviate the pain, but only makes it tolerable, not even close to feeling well. After trying to manage it with asking for meds, they moved her to a pain pump. This pump can be programmed to deliver a continuous flow of medicine, push the button, and/or ask nurse for additional dose. This has been adjusted up over the past few days as they are trying to manage the pain for her. She uses all three options.

Carla was given a sign from Jonni which read, "What the Hell!" This is another one of those opportune times to use that phrase.

Many different cultures have been done to determine if this is something other than mucositis. So far nothing has turned up abnormal, and the doctors are administering broad antibiotics to make sure nothing is missed.

Her blood counts have been increasing daily. The doctors are telling us that this condition should clear up quickly when her white blood counts climb even higher. We are hoping the combination of treatment and count improvement brings a quick recovery. She has climbed to .8L neutraphils (800), over the standard neutrapenic level of .5L, but nowhere near normal. We will take any increase. Some of the nurses are willing to do a "Neutraphil Dance" to spark a surge of those cells. I tell them, "Go Shake 'n Bake."

Thank you Gisseman and Swensen family for bringing dinner. Not only are you providing our family dinner, you are also providing a meal for the caregivers that are needed for my children when I am not able to be there at dinner time, like tonight. You all are appreciated so much and I cannot thank you enough for all the support you are providing us.

Happy Birthday Callie!

Callie had a pool party on Friday January 21 after school. Grandma Pam, Grandpa Dennis, and Lisa Petersen helped out with the day.



Today is Callie's birthday, January 25th! She is 10, a full decade! She is growing into such a smart, loving, beautiful girl.



Even though Carla was feeling VERY uncomfortable, she wanted to see Callie open her presents. Carla was so happy to see the kids. Callie was SOOO excited to get her Hair Straightner. Callie wants straight hair and McCall wants curly hair.



Status: The doctors are calling it Mucocitis. It has gotten a bit worse since yesterday. This can happen to some chemotherapy patients when the body defenses are down, but not so typical this late in the cycle. Learning never stops.

Hospital stay

Carla was admitted into the hospital today around 12:30pm. She wanted to give me a break from taking her to the clinic and asked that her mom, Pam, take her. When she got there the main doctor immediately admitted her. He knows enough about Carla and could see that her symptoms required additional care. Her mom called me, told me to bring her "go" bag, and then off to the hospital. Not sure how long she will be there.

Over the weekend, Carla had started developing a very sore throat and mouth which prevented her from getting the necessary fluids and food. We called the clinic and followed their instructions. We actually went in at 6:00am on Sunday, hours before her appointment because of the symptoms. Thank you Patti, next door, for coming over until Carla's parents made it to our house.

Pam, thank you for taking Carla to her appointment, being there for her and staying so long. Thank you Dennis, her dad, for coming over the house so that the kids would have someone there when they came home from school. Jason, her brother, thank you for keeping things normal for the kids by taking Callie birthday shopping and helping them with their homework before I could get home. Family and friends working together, thank you.

Thank you Hopkinson family for the dinner today. Besides being delicious, it was a time saver and made sure our family was fed. Jensen family...what can I say? When you showed up this evening, I could feel your strenghth in "numbers". The "fun" bouquet will be more than fun! It was a busy day.

"Heavy" Day

Looking across the table at the doctor we are listening with deep intent and a bit of disbelief as he explains to us the information of the last test on the tissue and next steps.

Carla will need to have a Bone Marrow Transplant.

There was so much information discussed today, treatment plan, how it works, how its done, etc.

We asked many questions about the transplant and hospital's program, all seemed favorable.

Let's be honest, I had to pull myself together to ask some of the questions. This was not the conversation we were expecting to have.

At the end of the discussion I said to Dr. Petersen, "This is heavy stuff." He acknowledged me and said that if this were his family member, the transplant would be his recommendation.

We will provide additional information.

Thank you Susan, Sandy, Sally, Ray, Janice (work buddies) for bringing us dinner and the extra items.

Is Bone Marrow brewing...?

You know that feeling when you sense a change is about to occur, the anticipation, but you just don't know when? It's like the first 30 seconds of the Superman Theme song, before the horns blare and takes you to the next level of excitement and you fly out of your living room. We are right at that moment looking for a sign of Carla's blood count recovery.

http://www.supermanhomepage.com/downloadpro/download.php?file=91

Carla and her aunt went to the hospital for typical blood test, while I went to work...not being at the appointment is like watching a made for television show instead of being the people portrayed in the show. After checking her blood, they sent her home! No blood, no platelets! She simply sends me a text "Dont need anything today!! heading home!!". Now, being a numbers guy, that AIN'T good enough information. I asked if she got a print out of the results, and she just texts back "Enjoy your lunch and I will tell you later!! xoxoxo". What a stinker she is being!

Well, to spare all of you the same anxiety, Carla's hematocrit (Red Count) dropped from 29.2 to 29.0 over two days. During bone marrow suppression stage she has been dropping about 1.0 - 1.5 points per day. Although not discussed with any sort of medical professional, this tells me that Carla appears to be making her own Red Blood cells, compensating for the loss, and could be on the cusp of dawning a red cape and flying around the block a time or two (post 30 second mark on the Superman Theme). Without an actual increase in the hematocrit, my cape is over my shoulders but not tied for flight. "I don't dance unless I hear music." - Denzel Washington (Ron Boone) Remember the Titans.

Next 2 hurdles are even more significant; Whites/Neutrafils (infection fighter 0.4L/0.0L) and Platelets (ability to stop bleeding/clot).

Thank you Garn family for delivering dinner to us. We wish Jeff Garn a speedy recovery on his knee surgery from last month. Go Red Devils! Thank you Aunt Sandy for caring so much and taking Carla to her appointment today.