 | 6/1 - This was a tough day for Jeri in some ways.
She did get most of the staples out of her leg last night. The
incision on her leg is healing well except for around the knee so we are
backing off on some of the exercises to let that area heal some more.
We had an excursion to the grocery store and Jeri complained about lots of
pain while we were in the car enroute. She was fine when we got her in
the wheelchair and she started shopping. I got her back in the
chair tonight for a spin around the cul-de-sac and now it is her foot that
is uncomfortable. Oh well, there were too many mosquitoes out
anyway! Tomorrow, Jeri has her evaluation at the physical therapy
place. |
| 6/2 - One of Jeri's friends came to visit today.
It was a good day for that. She's usually feeling good these days |
| but
somewhat dreading the next chemo (for which we don't yet know for sure when
or what). Today was the first day with physical therapy up in our end
of town. She had a good visit. They measured her knee bend at 73
degrees. It would have been more but their bed was too short and her
foot was on the floor. She's tall. They were please with the
work she's done up to now and told her to slow down a bit & let things
do some healing (same thing Dr. Johnson
told her). She'll start going 3 days a week beginning Monday. |
| 6/3 - Jeri and I went to get her a shampoo and haircut
today. We went to the place I usually go rather than her (and Virginia
and Randi's) usual place. She had a nice, relaxing shampoo and then
got her head buzzed....like me. She's banned me from publishing a
picture on this web site but I can say that she's still very pretty.
Now it's easier to see the hair that is starting to peek out and grow on her
head. |
| 6/4 - I got Jeri to watch the Lakers and Blazers with me
this evening. Actually, she's been watching the NBA playoffs with me
since the conference finals began. Randi and some of her friends
brought Jeri a surprise dinner, complete with cake and homemade ice
cream. They did a good job. I'm back out of town for the next
few days so Virginia will be in charge of the updates. |
| 6/5 - Well, Brit and Randi both went out of town for a
few days and Jeri and I are on our own. Jeri continues to heal and her
movement is increasing. Today, she was able to get into the front seat
of my van and ride comfortably. Before this, she could only fit into
the back seat. Small victories! Now that basketball is over for
a few days, we had to make a Blockbuster movie run with a couple of side
trips to the Bath and BodyWorks for some new lotions and then Le Madeline
for some takeout for lunch. We both enjoy these nice quiet days! |
| 6/6 - Just another nice quiet day. Our car trip
today involved looking for a very elusive pillow. We will continue the
search tomorrow after receiving a few tips along the way. Jeri had her
first full physical therapy session today. She said that her dad is a
much tougher taskmaster than the physical therapist but it was still
difficult at times. She feels like she is ready to try sitting in a
chair at the table now (oohhhhh, eating out therapy ahead!) Brit is
still gone but Randi returned today. The noise level has risen! |
| 6/7 - Jeri continues to do well. She was pretty
sore from yesterday's physical therapy but got all the soreness worked out
in the therapy session today. She still has a significant amount of
pain in that left leg but even that is slowly improving. It would be
so nice if the leg felt significantly better before chemo was added back
into the mix. Still no word on the pathology report... Jeri and
I did errands for a couple of hours before and after her therapy
today. Her stamina is definitely improving. She should sleep
well tonight! |
| 6/8 - What a long day today (long for Randi and I but
reallllllly long for Jeri.) We left the house at 8:30 this morning,
headed for the clinic. We arrived back home at 5:30 this afternoon
(just love that rush hour traffic...I think they have someone stationed on
the roof of the Feigin Building where the clinic is located and as soon as
the traffic is at its worst, they call down and tell the doctor to tell us
that it is ok to leave.) We started off in the cancer clinic where
they drew lots of blood from Jeri and did a physical exam. The
physical therapist in clinic also examined her and she got to talk to the
Child Life Specialist. Then Dr. Murali came in and began the
explanation of what procedures come next. Before Jeri can start the
next chemo, the doctors will harvest stem cells from her. These will
be frozen and given back to her after each chemo. The chemo that she
will be taking will decimate her bone marrow and these stem cells will
rescue and restimulate the bone marrow. The procedure that they use to
harvest the stem cells involves taking blood from Jeri, separating the stem
cells and storing them, and then returning the blood to Jeri. So, our
next stop was to Methodist Hospital for the blood doctors to examine her
veins to see if they could handle this process. The doctor there told
us that while chemo is great for killing tumors, it is not good for the
veins. Her veins did not pass the inspection so her harvest will have
to be accomplished from her central line. The problem there is that
her central line is not big enough for that procedure. Our next stop was to
the surgeon who implanted the central line. We had to wait a couple of
hours there due to come miscommunications. (I hate it when that
happens.) Anyway, on Tuesday she will remove Jeri's central line and
replace it with a larger one. This will require general anesthetic but
she will not have to stay overnight. Jeri had finally reached the
point where she could get her central line wet and now she will have to
start all over again. Oh well, there is just no help for it and she is
taking it in her usual pragmatic manner. We are all looking forward to
a much more relaxing day tomorrow (including a pedicure for Jeri and lunch
out). |
| 6/9 - I made it back home today and am back as your
report. Thanks Virg, for keeping the diary up to date while I was away
on business. Jeri had physical therapy again today. She's able
to bend her new knee a full 90º while sitting an
82º when lying flat and lifting her thigh while bending her knee.
Pretty good progress. The incision continues to heal nicely and Jeri
was comfortable enough to remove the final 4 staples. Around
everything else, today was a day for pedicure therapy. Remember, she
can't have a manicure because the nurses press her fingernails to check her
circulation. They are some form of bright pink. She had them
multi-colored the last couple of times. We called them M&M
colors. Each foot had 1 orange, 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow and 1 some
other color (maybe blue). The doctors and nurses all liked the
effect. We'll see if they like this style. |
| 6/10 - Today started out with an unexpected
trip to the TCH emergency room.
One of the lumens (1 of 2 lines) of Jeri's central line
was blocked and would not take a flush last night. Jeri tried moving
around, changing positions, pushing against me & any of the other tricks
that had worked in the past when one of the lines was being stubborn.
Nothing worked. The plan was to wait til morning and see if things
loosened up during the night. It didn't. It was semi-deja vu of March
9 without the late night adventure. A nurse in the emergency room
had a special syringe that allowed her to create a vacuum in the line and
then was able to inject the fluid that keeps the blood from clotting.
Just a couple of minutes....besides the 2 hour round trip to the hospital
and another hour waiting to be seen. Jeri's been so blessed by not
having too many problems that we can take one every now and then. Virg
and Jeri made it home and turned around and went grocery shopping.
They also went to get Jeri a shampoo at the place she got her haircut last
weekend. She can't get in the shower and it's still not too
comfortable for her to get up on the kitchen counter. We'll hope for a
slow couple of days before Tuesday when Jeri goes in for the central line
replacement. It's supposed to be a fairly routine procedure.
We'll see. It certainly sounds simple relative to the last hospital
visit. |
| 6/11 - Today was a much quieter and less stressful
day. Brit had to leave on another quick business trip. Randi
spent the afternoon at orientation for her new job at Gap. Tonight she
is helping a friend paint her room. Jeri and I headed to the mall for
some retail therapy. We didn't come home empty handed so we are
happy. |
| 6/12 - I'm home. Guess I better see the results from yesterday's edition of retail therapy. Today was a
quiet day. Jeri had physical therapy and can now bend her knee 92º.
Progress is being made. She wasn't feeling well and didn't want to
go. She felt energized after the session. There's a message in
there for all of us who don't feel like getting our daily exercise. |
| 6/13 - Virginia, Randi and
Jeri went to TCH very early this morning
to have Jeri's central line
replaced. I'm not sure which kind she has but now she is supposed to
have something called an apheresis catheter. I'm looking for a reference
to see the difference but haven't found a good one just yet. Anyway,
they didn't have the size they wanted so she has a dialysis catheter.
They needed one to facilitate the stem cell
collection. The procedure is very similar to dialysis in the sense
that they remove blood from one place, circulate it through a machine to
remove what they want, and send it back. They just remove something
different. But I digress..... The procedure started a bit late
(it is hospital time after all) but took about the length of time they had
forecast. Everyone was out of the hospital by 1pm and on the way back
North to rest while picking up lunch along the way. Jeri has a sore
throat from the breathing tube and the catheter side of her chest is very
tender. (see the quote on the front page.) She says that this is
pretty easy compared to the last surgery. Virg now gets to learn how
to care for the new device (OK, I'll try to help too). |
| 6/14 - Today was a (nearly) 1 month checkup appointment
with Dr. Johnson. He was
pleased with how Jeri was doing. He thought the incision was healing
nicely and said that Jeri could get in the shower. We broke the news
to him that Jeri had her central line
replaced yesterday and couldn't get it wet. Oh well, no shower.
He said that she could put the leg in a bath when the last bit of scabbing
went away. He was impressed with the range of motion Jeri had and the
way she could lift the leg. He said I could go back to the drill sergeant
role. Jeri wasn't impressed. The home health care nurse came by
to change the dressing on yesterday's operation. |
| 6/15 - Physical therapy went so well that Jeri was told
to increase the number of repetitions of each exercise. She also
started G-CSF (aka Neupogen) shots to
stimulate blood cell growth in anticipation of stem cell
collection. |
| 6/16 - More physical therapy today. Jeri could
bend her knee 105º when lying down and 99º
when sitting on the edge of the bed. I think the bed needs to be
taller. All numbers are showing results from Jeri's daily work. |
| 6/17 - Jeri is "making
hay while the sun shines." Stem
cell collection and chemo both start soon. Jeri's trying to get in
lots of activities while she feels good. We all went to one of her
friend's (Rachel) Bat Mitzvah this morning. It was a beautiful service
followed by a nice meal and great party. Rachel had lots of family in
from all over the country. Her parents were very proud and justifiably
so. Rachel was on Jeri's dance team. There were several other
members of Champions Superstars
there and they all took care of Jeri. They had a good time. It
was good to see Jeri enjoying her friends, even if she was in the
wheelchair. (Click here to check out
the picture. Rachel is the one in the middle.) This evening,
Randi and her boyfriend Chris took Jeri to see the Applause Theater Group
production of Cinderella. Applause is the theater group that Randi had
been active with the last couple of years. Jeri hit the rack as soon
as they got home. She was pretty tired but had a great day. Nice
to see her spend some time with her friends and have some fun for a change. |
| 6/18 - Jeri rested from all
of yesterday's excitement. She goes down tomorrow morning to get the
blood test to measure the effectiveness of the G-CSF
shots. That will determine when they start the stem cell
collection. Here's a note from Virginia's sister, Dr. Kathy Feisel
that help to explain apheresis.
"Dear Brit, It Is "aphaeresis" and
generally means separation, in this case of blood products, (sometimes the
"a" is omitted) anyway, this is the process that platelets/white
blood cells are extracted with out the loss of red blood cells to the
donating person are lost (maybe they are anemic or can't donate a whole
pint). What it means for Jeri is that people who can't donate because
they're red blood cell deficient, can still donate, because they have good
platelets. This can be done at an apheresis blood center like Carter ( or
what ever you have there), to donate platelets takes 1.5-2 hours it is no
more uncomfortable than donating blood.. just pick out a good movie and make
sure you eat/drink calcium (in solid amounts) before you donate platelets. I
love y'all,. Give me Jeri's blood acct# and you'll get some platelet
donations............." (I corrected the notation on June
13 and found a web site reference. It helps to have the correct
spelling. Thanks Kat.) FYI for anyone interested....Virginia
is looking into establishing an account for blood and platelet donations for
Jeri. Dr. Murali says that it's
almost 100% that Jeri will need platelets and highly likely that she will
need whole blood when the next rounds of chemo begin. |
| 6/19 - Jeri and I arrived at the clinic this morning at
7:30 for her blood draw appt. I think we beat all of the staff
members. Then, we discovered that the clinic does not stock the type
of heparin that we have to use to flush out the new central line. They
told us that most parents bring it with them. It would have been nice
if someone would have told us that ahead of time. So, the nurses had
to order the correct heparin. By the time all of that was done, the
blood was finally drawn at 9AM. Then we were told to wait for the
results of the test. When we found out that it would take at least an
hour to get the results back, we hotfooted to the nearest Waffle House for a
quick breakfast. It would have worked out great except that we could
find no parking place when we returned to the clinic. All of the
handicapped spots in two garages were full and the valet parking at the
clinic was even full. We finally valet parked at the hospital after 45
minutes of frustration. When we arrived back at the clinic, we were
told that Jeri had passed her blood test with flying colors and that they
wanted to start the stem cell harvest immediately. Oh! Nobody
had told us that they would start it today...oh well, we are flexible.
So we wended our way through the tunnels to Methodist Hospital where the
collection is done. They had Jeri hooked up to the machine for four
hours today. The doc said that there was a chance that enough stem
cells could be collected in that four hours but alas, t'was not to be.
When we arrived back home, there was a message on the machine that we need
to be back at 8:30 in the morning for more collection. Hopefully, that
will take care of it! |
| 6/20 - Oops! I (Virginia) forgot to mention that
Brit is currently out of town and I am taking care of the updates for a few
days. So all of the I's in yesterday's update were Virginia. We
were back at Methodist Hospital this morning for more stem cell
collection. They had Jeri hooked up to the machine for 3 and 1/2 hours
today. Unfortunately, they still do not have enough stem cells so Jeri
will have to return tomorrow morning for another 3 and 1/2 hour stint.
Randi will accompany her tomorrow. Jeri did great in her physical
therapy this afternoon. Each day brings more bend in the knee and
easier movement. She is such a hard worker! |
| 6/21 - Well, Randi didn't have to accompany Jeri
today. My tennis match was cancelled so I got to take Jeri back to the
Medical Center for more stem cell collection. Unfortunately, they
still don't have enough stem cells so we will be repeating the trip again
tomorrow morning. Jeri will have to spend another 3 and 1/2 hours
doing the stem cell collection and then we will dash over to the clinic for
a quick injection (quick being a relative term) and then we will head back
to the north part of town for Jeri's next physical therapy session. It
is going to be a busy, busy day. I just hope that all of the
timetables work out ok. Brit will be returning tomorrow and we are
looking forward to that. |
| 6/22 - Virginia and Jeri made their last trip for stem cell
collection although they didn't know it until later in the day when a
message was left on the answering machine. Seems that they were out
doing a bit of retail therapy when I got home from Bartlesville. Today
was a tough day for them. The stem cell
collection was from 8:30am-12:30pm, then off to the clinic for a shot
that turned into an exam and then left the medical center just in time to
rush back toward home for physical therapy at 3pm. It was a full day
for sure. Dr. Murali wanted to
admit Jeri tomorrow to start chemo. Jeri turned on the charm and logic
and may have him convinced that next week is just fine. The most
convincing argument I heard was that it's better if she knows when it will
begin and has time to mentally prepare and do the things she wants to do
before feeling bad again. Personally, I think it's just an excuse for
more retail therapy. Anyway, it's back to the clinic in the morning to
meet with Dr. Murali to finish the
exam and spend some time discussing the plan and schedule for the next phase
of treatment. |
| 6/23 - Virginia, Jeri and I
went to the clinic this morning to meet with Dr. Murali.
He worked with his colleagues to schedule Jeri's next chemo for Monday so
that she could have the weekend to mentally prepare for the next
phase. It's going to be 3 cycles of at least 4 weeks each to begin on
Monday. I'll save my rant for my special page. Anyway, here's a
link to the new roadmap2 (I call it
phase 2 for lack of a better term.) Yesterday's clinic work was
completed while we were there. We also had a chance to look at the MRI
results. We were able to compare the one following diagnosis with the
one right before surgery. It was definitely a big tumor. We had
a late lunch and then headed home so Jeri could attend physical
therapy. Jeri and Virg say that she did fine but they didn't give out
any numbers. PS, We are really blessed to have someone like Dr. Murali
who is working so hard to look after Jeri. He's really gone out of his
way to answer questions and keep tabs on all the other doctors. |
| 6/24 - Today was a day for getting things done before
chemo on Monday. Jeri had a pedicure this morning. All
three girls went shopping this afternoon. Last gasp chance at retail
therapy before chemo wears Jeri out again. Tonight we all went to
dinner together. We went to Resa's
Steakhouse in North Houston. Fine steaks. Jeri's appetite was good. Check the pictures
for some shots after we returned home. |
| 6/25 - Last day before Jeri begins chemo. It's
been spent getting ready, both mentally and physically. Jeri got
caught up on her thank you notes. She also spoke to a few friends who
called although she didn't really feel like company. Virginia, Jeri
and I went out to eat so she could get the last Mexican food fix before her
taste buds go south. There is dread and anticipation in the air.
Nevertheless, the clock ticks away and Jeri knows that this is
necessary. Dr. Johnson says
that this is the way to go. Dr. Murali
is ready to get started before the C has a chance to gain a foothold.
Guess it's time to go for it. PS, check the update on Melanie
Ellis. Click here. |
| 6/26 - Today Jeri received 12 hours of hydration before
the chemo started at 10 PM. The chemo was only infused for 30 minutes
and then more hydration followed. She will receive additional chemo
over the next two days also. Jeri is in the bone marrow transplant(BMT)
unit at TCH since she will be receiving stem cells. (This will occur
on day 5 of the hospitalization.) Meanwhile, Jeri is enjoying the much
larger and nicer room that she has in the BMT unit. Mom enjoyed the
real mattress that they have for the parents to sleep on. Because Jeri
was just getting hydration and was still feeling good, she was able to enjoy
the features of the room such as the nice tv and vcr as well as the Sony
Playstation. There is also a computer in the room but it is on the
fritz. Jeri said that they forgot to include a minibar in the
room. Hopefully, she will feel this good tomorrow also. |
| 6/27 - Well, I knew that it was too much to ask.
The nausea has taken hold of Jeri again and she feels pretty yucky.
She is in surprisingly good spirits though. I (Virg) don't believe
that I could be so stalwart...I am such a baby. Randi stayed with Jeri
for a good part of the day so that I could run away and play a little tennis
and then get a much needed hair cut. |
| 6/28 - Well, Brit will be back tomorrow, so this will
be my last update for awhile. Jeri is in her third day of chemo
now. Randi stayed with her this morning so that I could play tennis
again. Jeri spent most of the day sleeping. The anti-emetics do
that to her. But, she would rather sleep than be sick at her stomach. |
| 6/29 - Poorly is how the day started for Jeri.
She had one of those feel-bad days where nothing was quite right. The
pillow was too soft, the room was too cold, the TV color was wrong and so on
and so on. She's had those days before during the chemo and will
probably have them again. Much better is how the day appears to be
ending. She showed that winning smile a bit and was awake enough to be
talkative. She was going to try to eat something this evening.
One of the volunteer organizations had brought dinner for the parents in the
bone marrow transplant unit. Jeri's diet isn't restricted since she'll
be receiving her own stem cells. Hope she keeps it down. I guess
I'll find out tomorrow. Speaking of stem cells........Jeri is supposed
to receive hers tomorrow (Friday). Another of many firsts. Hope
her body has no trouble with them. Rejection should not be a problem
since they are her own. It may take a while for her body to adjust to
something new. |
| 6/30 - Well, Brit is spending the night with Jeri
tonight, so Virg is updating for today. Jeri received her stem cell
infusion this morning. It was an uncomfortable process for her.
She had hot flashes, waves of nausea and a horrible taste in her
mouth. The taste is caused by the preservative that they use to freeze
the stem cells to -70 degrees Celsius. I could smell the preservative
and it is really obnoxious. She will have that smell on her breath for
the next 24 to 48 hours but fortunately, she cannot smell it anymore.
When I left at 4:30, Jeri was feeling remarkably well. She is really
fatigued from the low blood counts but she was eating well (Campbell's
Chicken Noodle Soup and a parfait from TCBY). She also had that ornery
gleam back in her eye...Dad better keep an eye on her when they play cards
tonight...she can be sneaky! The doctors say that she should be able
to come home tomorrow morning. We are all (especially Jeri!) looking
forward to that. |
