LIFE AT "LA" RESIDENCE INN

Cort suggested that we might feel more at home if we dubbed our abode as "La" Residence Inn so we're giving it a try. Today marks one week since our discharge from the Hospital and so far so good. We are having to make a lot of adjustments but find each day gets a little better. Our visits to the hospital are marathons which makes it hard on Sharon. On Monday we were there for 6 hours and on Thursday for nearly 8 hours. She required platelets on Monday which stretched it out and then both blood and platelets on Thursday. Those days really take their toll, especially when a full day usually entails one short walk, a couple of naps and just being up and around. Sharon is having trouble dealing with the fatigue but got a good lecture from our coach that the fatigue is normal and trying to push through it will do more harm than good. Her counts are looking better with her white count up to 2.8 on Thursday. She is still having a lot of stomach cramps but is eating quite well. All in all she's doing good. She just needs to remember to measure progress in weeks not days and to give up when she's tired. We are certainly grateful to be close by and not have an additional 4 hours of driving. We now see the wisdom of the Doctors at play.
The picture is Sharon in front of her first chidhood home in Pasadena
Thanks again for all that each of you is doing and together we continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

GRADUATION DAY!

Yes the picture is no mirage. That is actually Sharon loaded up and leaving behind her residence of the last 55 days at the City of Hope, but who's been counting. We are now proud residents of the Residence Inn by Marriott until they deem it safe for us to be more than one hour from the hospital. We are still baby-stepping with her new immune system and so are susceptible to all kinds of bugs which must be dealt with within one hour of symptoms appearing. We are really excited though to be on our own and moving forward. It's a good thing that I got so much training with Ricky because I will be Sharon's IV and Medication Nurse for the next two months or so. She came home on 15 different medications and one IV. We will be returning to the City of Hope every Monday and Thursday for testing and for any treatment that may be necessary. They tell us our clinic days will be anywhere from 4 to 12 hours so to come prepared with snacks and lunch. Sharon is on a pretty unique diet as well which includes no micro-wave or restaurant food. So that means I get to get acquainted with a stove again, that ought to be exciting. We have 55 days until we reach the magic 100 day mark when some things will be semi-normal again. We won't see things really at normal until the one year mark however.
Once again we thank all of you for your faith and prayers and want you to know we continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH. "

We're Still Here!

Just a bit of news from the Big Island. I'm sorry I haven't posted sooner or made comments- I was having trouble with my username and couldn't publish. Anyway, we have been reading about Mom's progress faithfully and praying fervently for her health. We are grateful to hear that things are on the move and hope for Mom's release any day now. I think that this journey has been amazing and that Dad has suffered and been just as brave as Mom. You two are incredible!
Yes, we are having a baby- I'm sure you all know by now. I'm about 14 weeks along and will be due at the end of October. Today was actually the first time that I counted the weeks- I've been trying not to think about it! The girls are well and are looking forward to seeing you all in the summer. They keep talking about Disneyland. Enna is looking forward to the Tower of Terror. I am looking forward to sitting on the bench with an ice cream or churro!

The Liife of the Slickman

If you are sitting at home wondering, "Does Ricky have another bedsore?", "Has he reached his 10 peanut max for the week?", "Is he still alive???", then wonder no more. The latter half of Pops-Slicker has joined the blogging world and has sent his fingers a flying on all the mysteries and wonders of his life. Here's something you may not have known- Ricky likes big butts, he's single, and rocks out to the sweet sounds of Barry Manilow and the BeeGee's. There may be no "I" in team, but for Ricky, there's two in "life". If you must know more, than click on the link on the right to check out "The Liife of the Slickman".

REFLECTIONS

Today marks 5 months since that day Sharon drove herself to the hospital to get some pain medication for her supposed annual kidney problems. A lot has happened in those 5 months and I hope you will bear with me while I make a brief recap.

In those 5 months the following has taken place:
Sharon is diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
3 days at JFK
56 days at Eisenhower
50 days at City of hope
22 days of Chemo Therapy
4 days of Radiation
5 bone marrow biopsies
1 bone marrow transplant (4 days instead of usual 1 day)
6 visits to City of Hope prior to admission

And you all wondered what she has been doing with her time!! Throughout it all we have had the support and faith and prayers of all of you. This has been a journey of faith for all of us.
Today also marks the 40th day of our critical 100 days post transplant. We have seen many miracles and continue to see them every day. We began today to transfer all of our medications from IV to oral. If that goes well and we have no recurrence of GVH we may get discharged by the end of the week. Sharon said this morning she felt better than she could remember. We've been out and had a nice walk and at the moment, in honor of Stephanie, she is pounding down a corn dog. Her new motto is to stick with the kids menu. I guess the has something to do with the infancy of her new immune system.

All in all we count our blessings every day and continue "TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."



Recent visits from Jeff's family and from Max

BYE BYE SHARON

We are pleased to announce that Sharon no longer exists, at least as far as bone marrow is concerned. All of the tests have been completed and 100% of the cells remaining are Uncle Dicks. Hip Hip Hooray!!!!
Sharon is doing much much better. She is eating well, gets out and walks everyday, and is faithful in completing her PT and OT. Dr. Stein tells us that if things keep moving he will start to consider discharge the end of next week. We don't get our hopes up too much, but it sure sounds good to us. We continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

BLASTS ARE PAST

I'm sure that none of you are waiting to see news from the City of Hope after the introduction of Super Fan, but I'll bump him from top billing anyway. Doctor Stein has informed us that the bone marrow biopsy shows that there is NO LEUKAEMIA present in Sharon's body at this time. All the results are not complete but that is the one that matters.

She is also doing much better as far as the GVH is concerned. She still has some cramping but all the other stuff has settled down. He will start backing off the steroids tomorrow and see how she does. We had a great visit today from Jon and family, which she really enjoyed. We also got in a nice long walk. She has started eating again and enjoyed her spaghetti dinner tonight. All in All things are looking up and we continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

A Fan is Born

It was bound to happen sooner or later...Max put on his Angels jersey, Angels jacket, grabbed his Angels Binky and demanded we take him to see a game. So we obliged and took him to his first Angels game tonight. He begged for a hot dog and nachos, but had to settle for rice cereal and applesauce. He loved watching the game, singing during the 7th inning stretch, and then falling asleep on his mom's lap during the 8th inning. I think he was mostly mesmerized by all the lights and action. He is looking forward to many more games and his biggest aspiration is to get on the jumbo tron. Thanks Paga for helping to create the next generation of Angels fans!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Just a very quick update not a literary gem. Sharon had the scope as planned on Wednesday afternoon. Everything went well. The results are back and she has mild GVH. This is what Dr. Stein expected and he had already begun to treat it. She is on Prednisone and another steroid which we hope will clear up the problem.
She had the bone marrow biopsy today around noon and we will know the results of that on Monday night or Tuesday morning. Dr. Stein was encouraged however after doing the biopsy that things were going along well and wasn't willing to even talk about what-ifs.
Mom has more energy although she still has a lot of discomfort, but like the trooper she is we still get in our two walks a day.
Thanks for all your prayers. We continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

A BLIP IN THE ROAD

Just when you think things are rolling along you get another growth opportunity. Over the weekend Sharon developed severe stomach cramps, nausea, and diarrhea. The doctor tells us that this likely our first experience with Graft Versus Host Disease. Therefore, our much anticipated release from the hospital has been delayed for one to two weeks. Tomorrow the GI Doctor will be scoping her from both ends to determine the exact cause of the problem. Doesn't sound like much fun to me. They have started her on a couple of different steroid treatments to get us past this hurdle and say she should start feeling better in a few days. In the meantime she is a pretty miserable little girl but continues to keep her spirits up and her "Fight On" mentality in place.
Also, on Friday they will be doing the first post-transplant bone marrow test. This will determine if the leukaemia is gone and if the majority of her white cells are Uncle Dicks. So keep those prayers flying upward in her behalf.
As for us, we continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."