 | 1/1 - HAPPY
NEW YEAR!!!!!! |
| 1/2 - The blood counts were good enough so Jeri will
spend the first part of the new year at TCH.
Her ANC needed to be at 1,000 but was only 935. Dr. Murali
thought they could begin anyway since the other counts were within
range. Jeri and Virginia went to the clinic this morning and got the
news. They figured that it would be a while before a bed was available
so they called me at the office to meet them for lunch after they did a bit
of light retail therapy. We met at Escalante's,
near the office, for a bit of Mexican food. Jeri and Virginia went
home to get some rest and wait for the phone call that a room was
available. The call came around 9pm this evening. Jeri and
Virginia took off for the hospital for the night. Treatment will
probably begin in the morning. Jeri is never ready to go (who would
be) but she was as prepared as possible. She was glad to make it
through Christmas and New Year's. She knew it was coming and was
mentally prepared to begin. Here are the counts:
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
9.7ñ |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
115,000ñ |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
1,700ñ |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
935ñ |
|
| 1/3 - Jeri is resting this evening. She's had both Ifosfamide
and the Etoposide (VP16) today and is
getting a bit queasy. She's getting some medicine to help that a
bit. In spite of the chemo, she's still eating. She had a
hamburger for lunch and requested ice cream for dinner. The hamburger
stayed down. Let's hope the ice cream does the same. Virginia
will stay this evening and then I'll take her place tomorrow evening and
Friday. |
| 1/4 - Today was just another boring day of chemo.
Just the way we like it! Jeri had a couple of Taco Bell tacos for
lunch with a gingerbread latte from Starbucks. She enjoys the parental
catering service. I (Virg) also had to make a Marble Slab run for an
afternoon snack this afternoon. Brit is staying with Jeri tonight and
tomorrow night. I will return to the hospital on Saturday AM (so that
Jeri will be spared all of the football playoffs and Dad will be able to
enjoy them from the comfort of his easy chair.) |
| 1/5 - Jeri finished her third day of chemo today.
One more day of chemo and then a day of hydration. (Don't want those nasty
chemicals hanging around in her major organs). Brit made a La
Madeleine run for lunch and then got pizza for the two of them for
supper. Jeri must be feeling pretty good as she called home a few
times today just looking for conversation. |
| 1/6 - Today was the last day of chemo for Jeri.
She'll receive a dose of Ifosfamide
followed by three doses of Mesna at 8
hour intervals. Mesna is used to
prevent some of the side effects of the other drugs. She expects to be
released tomorrow (Sunday) around 3pm. Randi and Chris gathered up a
van and SUV load of friends of hers and Jeri's and ventured to the hospital
this afternoon. Jeri called it JeriPalooza. (That's a play on Lollapalooza
for those of you over 30.) She enjoyed the
company. I spoke to her on the phone afterward and she was still
pumped up. She'll need to get her rest now, for sure. |
| 1/7 - Hooray!!! Jeri made it home today.
They were pretty much on schedule at TCH for this round. That is
simply amazing. Jeri was tired and glad to be home. It didn't
take her long to find the remote control for the TV. Now the wait
begins for the next CT-scan.
It's been two chemo's and about two months since the last scan. It was
positive so we're hoping that this one will be a continuation of the good
news. |
| 1/8 - Jeri is still pretty tired today but had enough
energy for a card-playing and visiting session with one of her dance
teammates today. When we got home, the recliner looked really good to
her and she hasn't stirred since then. A big thanks to all of you who
have donated blood in Jeri's name. |
| 1/9 - This was another day to spend in the
recliner. Jeri has been reading all day and just taking life
easy. She reviewed some Biology notes for her first home school
session of the new year, tomorrow. |
| 1/10 - Today was a much busier day for Jeri than the
previous couple. She had physical therapy for an hour this morning at
10:45. Then, we went out to lunch at RJ Goodies, a local sandwich and
pastry shop. (Best quiche in town!) When we got home, it was
time for school. It looks like Cherry Ellas, her teacher, left plenty
of work to keep Jeri off of the soap opera circuit for awhile. It will
be early to bed tonight as we have a 7:45AM appt. at the clinic tomorrow. |
| 1/11 - Clinic went quickly this morning through our
bleary eyes. (although the gingerbread lattes from Starbucks
helped)
Jeri's counts were good enough that she didn't need any transfusions
today. Those will probably come next week. We even got to visit
with Dr. Johnson, the surgeon who removed the tumor from Jeri's leg and did
the leg salvage operation. He was impressed with Jeri's range of
motion in the leg. He continues to be less impressed with her stated
desire to become a lawyer. He thinks she would be better off going to
medical school. I am sure that this particular debate will
continue. Since we were out by 10, we drove back to our side of town
for lunch at Jacquisine. Jeri was definitely recliner fodder after
that. Her energy level probably won't improve much until next
week...she never complains though.
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
8.2 |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
38,000 |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
500 |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
345 |
|
| 1/12 - Jeri didn't have school today. Her teach wasn't able to make
it. Jeri had done her homework, just in case. Virginia and Jeri
decided to use the time to go to a movie. That's about it other than
the G-CSF
shot to stimulate those white counts. Oh yes, the next CT-scan
should be sometime next week. |
| 1/13 - Jeri stayed around the house today. She's
pretty much homebound until the blood counts improve. |
| 1/15 - Schoolwork was today's theme. Jeri worked
on her education most of the day. That is, most of the day until time
for some of her favorite TV shows this evening. She's tired and gone
to bed early in anticipation of getting up early for tomorrow's trip to the
clinic. It will be amazing if she doesn't receive blood. Tiring
as easily as she has been is a sign that the blood counts are pretty
low. We shall see, won't we. |
| 1/16 - Today was clinic day. Jeri and Virg headed
out early this morning. Jeri's blood counts were low but the
hemoglobin is hanging in there. She didn't need whole blood but did
get a fill-up of platelets. Platelets take a long time to
administer. They didn't get home until after 5pm. These things
have a way of ending in time for the famous Houston rush hour. Amazing
how that works. They've confirmed the schedule for the next tests as
one week from Thursday (January, 25). Jeri will get the full
treatment. She'll have the CT-scan
we've been anticipating along with a chest X-ray and bone
scan. (Editor's note: Virginia corrected
me that it is a leg X-ray, to ensure that the bone allograft is healing
properly. I made an incorrect assumption about a chest x-ray..)
They will start early in the morning and probably finish in
time to face rush hour once again. We didn't get the regular listing
on the counts so these are the best we can do after picking Virginia's
memory. Oh yes, Jeri also gets to discontinue the G-CSF
shots. That means the white blood cell counts and ANC will drop
precipitously by the next blood test.
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
8.5ñ |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
14,000ò |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
Off the chartñ |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
11,000+ñ |
|
| 1/17 - Brit is gone tonight and so Virg will be
doing the update. The tests that Jeri will have next week do not
include a chest x-ray. The x-ray is of her leg. This is
important to the doctors so that they can make sure the bone graft is
continuing to heal well. ( I just told Brit that there would be an
x-ray as one of the tests...I just forgot to tell him what kind.) Jeri
had a good day today with both physical therapy and home schooling.
Her teacher says that Jeri continues to do well. Jeri would like to
meet her teachers up at the high school and spend an entire day going to all
of her classes. We are aiming for next Monday. (The way Jeri's
home schooling works is that her teacher that comes to the house receives
all of the assignments from Jeri's teachers at the high school. This
is to ensure that Jeri is on track with the rest of the freshman
class.) Jeri is really looking forward to the day when she can return
to school. She misses it. |
| 1/18 - Brit is returning tonight but the ugly weather
will make him late. Jeri had a great day...she got to sleep in as late
as she wanted, go out to eat and pick out lots of extras when she
accompanied me to the grocery store. She did manage to slip in some
schoolwork along the way. |
| 1/19 - School and Physical Therapy were the orders of
the day. The day started with Jeri picking up a little mess she left
in the family room last night. She didn't protest too much. Her
teacher came for school today. Jeri did well. This afternoon she
had Physical Therapy and began work on the treadmill for the first
time. Not a bad way to finish the day and head into the evening. |
| 1/20 - Jeri was glad the weekend came. No school
and no official physical therapy classes. I did manage to
"catch" Jeri practicing walking with her cane. That's
good. I had been giving her a hard time that the only time I saw her
exercising was when I asked her to do so. I told her that one day I
would like to "catch" her doing her exercises. I guess today
was one of those days. Now, of course, she has more to live up to. |
| 1/21 - After sleeping the morning away (the same as
Randi), Jeri accompanied her father to the Home Theater Store
(Ed. Note - They have a bad web site. Shopping, not
buying. BBP) to check out
HDTV's. (Definitely not Mom-type shopping.) Tonight, she went
with Randi to church and to religion class afterward. This is the
first class that she has been able to make...she's been doing those at home
too. |
| 1/22 - Another first for Jeri today. She went to
the Q Sports Club (not a first) and did time on the treadmill and exercise
bike. That's the first treadmill on her own. she just started
that in physical therapy last week. She did the treadmill, exercise
bike and practiced walking with her cane.....all in the same day.
Wow! I didn't even have to nag her. She also had a bit of Retail
Therapy earlier in the day. I guess some of those Christmas spoils
were starting to burn holes in her pockets. Jeri and Virginia go to
the clinic tomorrow. |
| 1/23 - Today's visit to the clinic went reasonably
quickly. Jeri's blood counts were barely high enough to avoid a
transfusion (platelets or blood). That was good news for Jeri and Virginia
both. It meant less time at the clinic and a bonus opportunity for
lunch. They went to Lupe
Tortilla's for fajitas. Not too shabby if you ask me......
They will get a chance to do it all over again Thursday, likely without the
lunch, when Jeri goes back for the much anticipated tests. Here are
the counts:
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
7.6ò |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
43,000ñ |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
1,100ò |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
308ò |
|
| 1/24 - Jeri was a tired girl today. Working out on Monday,
Clinic on
Tuesday, low blood counts...you name it. And on top of all that, she
had school and physical therapy today. She managed to make it through
in good spirits. |
| 1/25 - The day started early for Jeri and
Virginia. They left just before 7am to head to the clinic and TCH.
The day started with a blood test at the clinic and then on to the hospital
to begin the tests. She was scheduled for a CT-scan,
leg X-ray and bone
scan. They got to watch the bone
scan in real time. The technician administering the test gave
commentary on what they were seeing. She didn't see anything that
would cause alarm but cautioned that we needed to get the official results
to be sure. She's been pretty reliable so it's a good sign that
"old C" hasn't returned to any bones. The blood test showed
the platelets were still low but borderline for a transfusion. Jeri
said she was feeling ok so they didn't recommend a transfusion. The
schedule was such that they had a late lunch at King
Fish Market. They both gave it passing grades. Dr. Murali
called this evening to give the preliminary results of the CT-scan.
The news wasn't what we had hoped. The preliminary results showed that
the existing spots on Jeri's lung had grown slightly and there were what
appeared to be new spots. He said that tomorrow, he will do a thorough
review with the doctor who interpreted the scan. He said he would call
sometime tomorrow and let us know what a more thorough examination
revealed. In any event, it was not the result we would have
preferred. Here are the counts:
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
7.6= |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
54,000ñ |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
800ò |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
256ò |
|
| 1/26 - We received a callback from the doctors
today. We've got a consultation with one of their colleagues that is
running a clinical trial for which they believe Jeri may be qualified.
We're scheduled to meet on Tuesday to see what it's all about. Other
than that, they day has been pretty quiet. Jeri had physical therapy
this afternoon and spent time on the treadmill and exercise bike. |
| 1/27 - It's the weekend and Jeri was in weekend
mood. She and Randi both did homework this morning. That was after
Jeri finally rolled out of bed. I think her hours are getting turned
upside down. She's still playing a computer game as I write this at
12:50am (Sunday) morning. |
| 1/28 - Super Bowl Sunday! Jeri made it through
the first half of the game with the rest of the family so that she would be
sure and not miss the half-time extravaganza. After that, she
was "Nintendoing" in the other room while the rest of us finished watching the
game. She is in bed early tonight as she will be going to school
tomorrow for the entire day. She will be going to all of her classes
and meeting her teachers (as well as her teachers meeting her.) She is
really really looking forward to it. I knew she would miss the social
aspects of school but she is finding it increasingly boring to do school
work all by herself. Randi is also excited as she will be helping Jeri get
from class to class and showing her the ropes at the high school. Jeri
wishes that this were the precursor for a return to regular schooling but
knows that in reality, it is not. (Mom's note: I just hope that
she doesn't pick up any nasty bugs at school!) - Virg |
| 1/29 - Jeri did enjoy her day at school. Three of
her classes today just involved watching movies...I believe she thinks that
high school is not as difficult as it is cracked up to be. She fought
a nasty sinus headache all day and between that and all of the walking from
class to class, she is really pooped tonight. (In bed before ten...unheard
of for Jeri!) Tomorrow, we will be going for her regular weekly clinic
appt. followed by a conference with the experimental procedure
doctors. With any luck, we will have more answers and fewer questions
after that meeting. (I am an eternal optimist!) - Virg |
| 1/30 - Jeri and I started our morning with our regular
clinic visit. Current blood counts are below. Brit was able to join us
then and we met with one of the experimental trial program doctors and
discussed the next steps in Jeri's treatment. There aren't many
options and none that immediately said "try me". Those are
decisions that don't have to be made for a few weeks since Jeri's blood
counts need to fully recover. After we got the heck out of there, we
enjoyed a very nice lunch at Damien's before Brit had to fly off to
Bartlesville.
|
Category (see
link for definitions)
|
Normal |
Adequate / Acceptable |
Jeri |
| Hemoglobin |
12 |
8 |
8.7 |
| Platelets |
250,000 |
100,000 |
82,000ñ |
| White Cells |
4, 000 - 10,000 |
4,000 |
1000ñ |
| ANC (Absolute Neutrophil
Count) |
1,500-5,000 |
1,000 |
490ñ |
|
| 1/31 - Jeri struggled through her physical therapy this
morning but after a nice lunch at R J Goodies, she felt better for her home
schooling. She is excited because she has received permission to go
back to high school for yet another day on Monday. She is even more
excited about getting to sleep in tomorrow morning (while mom plays some
tennis). |
