Birthday Happenings And A Recipe

We celebrated Reid's birthday on Friday with dinner at home.  I made Roast Sticky Chicken and if you've never had it you're missing something good.  I got the recipe years ago from Real Food For Real People which is now a Yahoo Group.  You can sign up and have recipes E-mailed to you, but I turned off the E-mail feature a while back due to time restraints right now.   She said the recipe originally came from Mimi's Cyber Kitchen, but I wasn't able to find it on her site.   It might still be there, but I only took a quick look.  Lots of other interesting sounding recipes, so I think I'll have to get back over there soon and look around.

Roast Sticky Chicken is spicy, moist, and delicious.  It cooks for 5 hours at a low temperature.  This is how it looks before it goes in the oven.

And this is how it looks when it comes out.

Please excuse the crummy looking roasting pan.  It's actually a lasagna pan that I bought when we lived in Sicily over 40 years ago!  It's been used a lot.

Here's the recipe:

Roast Sticky Chicken

1 large chicken - (roasting)
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. white pepper
1 t. thyme
1 t. onion powder
1 t. cayenne pepper
2 t. paprika
4 t. salt (I omit)

In a small bowl thoroughly combine all the spices.  Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels.  Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin.  Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onions, and place in a shallow baking pan.  Roast uncovered at 250 degrees F for 5 hours.  After the first hour (I usually wait two), baste chicken occasionally (every half hour or so) with pan juices.  (It may take a while to have pan juices.)  The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of the pan and the chicken will turn a golden brown.  If the chicken contains a pop-up thermometer, ignore it.  Let chicken rest about ten minutes before carving.

With the chicken we had brown rice with nuts and asparagus.  I bought rolls, but forgot to serve them.  I also made Taffy Apple Salad the day before and forgot about that too.  There was too much going on and it just wasn't one of my better days.  :)  

We had cake and ice cream afterwards.  This is Reid with the cake.  It said, "Happy Birthday Reid!  And Many More!"

And here he is making a wish and blowing out the candles.

After dinner we spent the evening playing this game.

It's called Betrayal At House On Haunted Hill and is pretty involved.

Troy didn't make it on Friday, but came over on Saturday.   Jim, Keith, Reid and Troy went out for lunch.  I didn't go because I had things I wanted to get done around here, but I wish I had thought to take a picture of Troy with everyone too.  Keith left for Austin after lunch.

Tomorrow Reid has his appointments with the stem cell doctor and the cardiologist.  We should know more then about when he'll be admitted to the hospital.

I haven't been doing too much blog reading lately.  If I have a few extra minutes I usually read the first few blogs that pop up on my Reading List.  I hope to buy either a laptop or an IPad for when Reid's in the hospital and recovering afterwards and will try and catch up then.  If anyone has an opinion as to which would be better I'd appreciate your input.  My thought is that the IPad is easier to lug around, but the laptop would do more.  Thanks...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REID!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REID!

MAY YOU HAVE MANY, MANY MORE!

Yes, today is Reid's 35th birthday and how time flies.  It's hard to believe.  And his brothers are even older.  Where have all the years gone?

For the first time this week he doesn't have to be down at the hospital today.  Yesterday they changed out the large catheter that was needed for the stem cell extraction for a smaller one.  Today he has the day off (and the weekend too) before he goes back on Monday to see the stem cell doctor and the cardiologist.

Keith is here from Austin and we'll have a little family get together.  Chicken is on the menu for tonight.  (It's what I happen to have in the refrigerator.)  And now I better get busy and get a little something done around here.  I hear the vacuum calling.

4.8 Million Stem Cells!

Reid found out today that they harvested 4.8 million stem cells yesterday.  They shoot for 5 million, but since he was so close they felt it wasn't necessary to try and get more today.  YEA! 

Because they got enough yesterday he didn't need the Neuprogen shots this morning.  I am so relieved.  He probably is too, but he's too nice to say it.  He kept assuring me that I was doing just fine and he couldn't tell the difference between me doing it and a real nurse doing it.  (Actually, the nurse in the clinic told me that he told her I was doing just fine and since I wasn't there he didn't need to say it.)  We still have four doses left and Reid was told to hang on to it because he'll need it after transplant.  Dang!

He had a blood draw today and all his numbers looked OK except for his magnesium.  They wrote him a prescription for that and we picked it up before we left.  He's getting some energy back.  Today he walked around the hospital and for the first time in a while he didn't need the wheelchair.

Tomorrow he has a 1:00 PM appointment to have the large catheter that they needed for harvesting the stem cells removed and a smaller one inserted in it's place.  We've been told that they just insert it through the large one and then pull that one out.  They don't waste any time getting the larger one out and he'll be glad to see it go since it's been uncomfortable all along.  Keith arrives in the morning from Austin for a few days and he'll drive us down there.  I was a little concerned because Reid's never gotten out of Infusion Therapy quickly and if there was too much of a delay I'd be worried about trying to drive home in the dark again.

I'm not sure if they'll want him back for more blood draws or if they'll wait until his appointments on Monday with the stem cell doctor and the cardiologist.  It would be nice if he didn't have to go on Friday since it's his 35th birthday.  Not that he's up to celebrating, but a break from the hospital routine would be a nice present.

Stem Cell Collection

Today was the first day of the stem cell harvest.  Reid was hooked up to the apheresis machine around 9:25 this morning and was finished around 12:30.  This is the apheresis machine with Reid's blood being taken in, stem cells removed, and then the blood returned to him.  (He chose not to be in the picture.)
                                     
                                     

And here are the stem cells hanging in the bag to the right.

After this he had to have more platelets transfused.  I was kind of surprised that he still needed another transfusion today.  Hopefully, that will be it for a while.

Tomorrow morning he has to call at 8:00 to see if they got enough stem cells today for the transplant.  They probably didn't since we were told it normally takes anywhere from 3 to 5 days, but they said to call before he comes down.  Then we'll know whether or not he still needs the Neuprogen shots.  He'll continue to have them until they have enough stem cells.  He'll be glad when he doesn't need them any longer because they cause bone pain and he's been having terrible headaches from them.  Even if they have enough stem cells he still has to be down there for a bood draw, so we'll be making the trip again tomorrow.

Today the sun came out so I went outside for a few minutes while Reid was hooked up to the machine.  The press is being shown some Texas hospitality.  They now have all the conveniences of home.

It's Time To Harvest The Stem Cells

On Sunday Jim took Reid down to MD Anderson for a blood draw at 7:00 AM.  It was determined that he needed more platelets and he was given a 3:30 PM appointment for the transfusion. 

They came home for a few hours between appointments and left the house at 2:30 PM.  On the drive down to the hospital Reid developed a nose bleed which continued during the platelet transfusion.  Finally, the nurse said they'd give it a half hour to stop and then they'd call the doctor.  Fortunately, it finally stopped and they were able to return home in the evening.  Nose bleeds are not unusual when the platelets are low since it's platelets that help the blood to clot.

Today Reid had to be down there early for a blood draw, but because of the rainy weather it took us an hour and fifteen minutes to get down there.  That meant we had to wait in the Fast Track Clinic until they got the results.  The good news is that the test they use to determine if it's time to start harvesting stem cells was at 29 which is very good.  It needs to be at 10, so he was quite a bit over.  Unfortunately, his hemoglobin was low probably because of yesterday's nose bleed, so he needed another blood transfusion.  All his other numbers were going up which is also good news.  It means his body is recovering from this latest round of chemo.

He had a 2:00 PM appointment for the transfusion, but they hadn't started yet by 3:00 PM, so I had to call Jim at work to come down and relieve me so I could drive home while it was still light.  Darn these old eyes.

Tomorrow he needs to be back down at 7:30 AM for a blood draw and then they will start harvesting the stem cells which involves hooking him up to a machine that sucks the blood out, removes the stem cells, and then returns the blood to him.  This is called apheresis.  They will have to do this over a period of days...usually around four in order to get enough stem cells to freeze.  All of this is done on an outpatient basis.  This diagram probably explains it better.

Things are moving along now.  Hopefully, the beginning of next week he'll see the stem cell doctor again and the date will be set for him to be admitted to the hospital for more chemo and the return of his stem cells.  We'll know more at that time.

I'll try and post updates as time allows.

We noticed today that the reporters were still camped out in the medical center to cover Congresswoman Gifford's recovery only now they have tents and someone brought in Port-A-Potties for them.  I guess they plan to stay for the duration.  I heard she might have had a minor setback and needs to stay in Intensive Care a while longer.  Hopefully, she'll be moved to Memorial Hermann's rehab hospital shortly.

Thanks again for your support and prayers.

A Busy Day Down In The Medical Center

Reid had to be down at MD Anderson this morning for a blood draw and then an appointment at 11:00 in the Fast Track Clinic with the Advanced Practice Nurse.  We arrived around 9:15 and only got home around 8:30 this evening.

When we arrived in the clinic the nurse commented on the fact that he was still walking because he needed two units of blood and platelets today.  He actually walked from the waiting room to the exam room, but we had used a wheelchair from the parking garage to the clinic.  Anyway, they told us to go eat lunch and come back at 1:30 for the transfusions.  It took hours and it was a good thing that Jim had off from work today because I no longer drive after dark with my vision.  The need for transfusions wasn't anything to be alarmed about.  It's to be expected with the chemo he's been given and it's why we'll be back down at MD Anderson on Sunday so they can check his blood again.  Reid said he did feel better after the transfusions.

I read somewhere that MD Anderson uses more blood than any other hospital in the Texas Medical Center which is pretty amazing when you consider there are two Level One Trauma Centers there.

While we waited Jim and I went outside to watch the media circus.  Congresswoman Gifford was arriving in the Medical Center today and the crews were camped out.  I didn't have my camera so I took these with my cell phone.

In the next picture that's the parking garage on the left where we usually park and you can see the walkway to MD Anderson that goes over the road and into the clinics.

                                             


Then we went around the corner and they had the news crews kind of corralled between a couple of barricades on the sidewalk.  The Memorial Hermann rehab facility is located across the street from where they're all standing.  It's my understanding that the Congresswoman was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital's Neuro-Science Intensive Care Unit a couple of blocks away.  That's the same Intensive Care Unit Reid was in before his spinal surgery a little over a year ago.  I know she'll be getting wonderful care.  In this picture the tall building in the background is part of MD Anderson too.

I'm just glad we didn't have trouble getting a parking space in the garage.  I was a little concerned when I first saw all the activity.

Then we got home and there was a message from Sears saying to call them because they wanted to reschedule the service call for my dryer.  I made the appointment this past Wednesday and the earliest they could come was this coming Monday.  Reid has to be down at MD Anderson on Monday too, so Jim made arrangements to go into work late and be here for the repair call.  To make a long story short I let them know I wasn't happy and now they're going to come tomorrow between 1:00 and 5:00.  I'm just glad they're not coming in the morning because I intend to sleep late.  :)



Nurse Betty???

The days seem to fly by and I know it's been a while since I posted an update on Reid's progress.  I always seem to fall behind when he's hospitalized and then it takes me a while to catch up.

Reid was released from the hospital last Friday after his third round of ICE chemo.  This chemo has been quite different from the ABVD chemo he had last year.  With the ABVD he would feel rotten for a week and then the second week he'd start feeling better and better each day until it was time to go back for another treatment.  With the ICE chemo there is no recovery period.  He has relentless fatigue and the nausea comes in waves.  He might be able to eat one day and then have trouble the next day.  The last couple of days have been pretty good as far as eating goes.

The next step will be harvesting the stem cells for the stem cell transplant.  Much to our surprise we learned this week that I would have to learn to give him injections of Neupogen...two each day.  YIKES!  (Did I ever tell you that I'm a little phobic about needles?)  One of the nurses down at MD Anderson assured me that they've been able to make nurses out of lots of people.  Other Bettys have gone before me...

The Neupogen will help trick Reid's body into producing more stem cells than it normally would.  They'll keep checking his blood on a regular basis and when there are enough stem cells in his peripheral blood they will harvest them.  One of the nurses gave me a crash course on giving an injection this past Wednesday.  She demonstrated by giving him the first shot and I gave him the second one.  Thursday and today I was on my own.  So far, it's gone well.  Reid said it feels just like when the real nurses do it.  The ultimate compliment!  Of course, he could do it himself, but he doesn't want to do and I can't say that I blame him.  I know diabetics do it all the time, but since this is a temporary thing he really doesn't have to learn.

I watched a bunch of You Tube videos.  Everything is on You Tube nowadays including people giving subcutaneous injections.  You know how they say people become insensitive to violence by watching violence all the time?  I decided to see if that would work with injections.  I watched those darn videos over and over again.  Besides, I want my son well again.  If they told me I had to turn him into a voodoo doll or a pin cushion to get him well I'd do it.

Tomorrow he has an appointment in the Fast Track Clinic and we'll see how things are going so far.  There's a good chance he'll need a platelet transfusion again.

Meanwhile, with being so vulnerable to infection right now he's been staying away from his cat Ash.  However, this afternoon Ash climbed up on his lap for a few minutes and he let him stay.  He just makes sure he washes his hands or uses hand sanitizer when he touches one of the animals.

And I managed to get a few pictures of Ash's siblings today.  You can find their story in a previous post here.  It's hard to believe they were feral at one time.  They live mostly in our backyard and the garage and have become very friendly.  Their mother comes by every few days.  I know someone on the next block also feeds her, so I don't worry when I don't see her.  She is still feral and will scratch if I get too close.  I'm glad I managed to catch her and have her fixed so there won't be any more kittens!

This is Atticus.  He waits by the backdoor hoping I'll come out with more cat threats.

And this is Scout.  She's getting a little chubby and I'm trying to cut back on the number of cat treats she gets now.

This is sweet Jem.  He doesn't even like cat treats.  In fact, he has no interest in them whatsoever.  He comes over because he wants me to pet him.  I initially thought I'd never be able to tame him because he wasn't interested in treats, but one day he surprised me by walking over with the others.  The first time I pet him it freaked him out, but then he eventually came back for more.

It's getting really cold tonight (for us anyway), but we have cat beds for them in the garage.  They hang out in there when it's cold or rainy.

Thanks again for your support and prayers.

Moving Forward...

I have a few extra minutes this evening and thought I'd better get an update posted before Reid gets admitted to the hospital again on Tuesday for another round of the ICE chemo.  We've been keeping busy lately with numerous trips down to MD Anderson.

Since I last posted Reid had appointments with the stem cell doctor and his oncologist.  We received the results of his latest tests and scans.  The stem cell doctor said his response to the chemo has been terrific.  His oncologist called it good news.  They are prepared to move ahead with the stem cell transplant.  Reid said he isn't going to get too excited because he heard that last year with the first chemo, but we are very hopeful at this point.

This past Wednesday they implanted a central venous catheter and removed the chemo port.  They had some difficulty inserting the catheter because of scar tissue from the chemo port and he had to have another platelet transfusion for the procedure.  We had originally thought we'd be down there for a few hours, but we ended up being there a lot longer.

Jim and I attended classes to learn how to take care of the catheter.  We were required to take two classes.  Jim took the test and passed so we could get the necessary supplies.  (You can't get the supplies unless one of the caretakers passes. I volunteered Jim.)  In the classes we had to get used to calling Reid our patient and ourselves caretakers.  All new terminology for us. 

The classes are an excellent idea.  The risk of a blood born infection with a depressed immune system are great and we learned how to care for the catheter as safely as possible.  I'm thankful that we live close enough to MD Anderson that we can run right back if we have any problems.  I heard people in our classes talking about going home to places like Florida and South Dakota where they wouldn't be able to return in a hurry.

We returned to MD Anderson yesterday for Reid's bandage change.  The first bandage change is always done by the nurses in the Infusion Department.  The bandage and caps must be changed once a week, but since we live in the area we can bring Reid back to them for bandage changes.  It's pretty involved...not like changing a band-aid.  We still learned the procedure in case it ever gets wet and we can't get down there right away.  Meanwhile, we'll flush the catheter with Heparin every day to keep it from clotting.

Tomorrow he has appointments to have blood drawn in the morning and with a Physician's Assistant in the Fast Track Clinic in the afternoon.  Assuming all his counts are at an acceptable level he'll be admitted on Tuesday for the chemo.

After this chemo they will begin to prepare him for harvesting the stem cells.

At this point in the treatment Reid is extremely fatigued.  More and more he's using a wheel chair when we go down to the hospital.  He just can't do much walking at all.  When he walks from his room to the kitchen he's exhausted.  His coloring is very pale and he no longer has to shave.  I can see where this chemo is much more difficult than the ABVD chemo he had originally.

I heard from Troy yesterday and he thought he might have a sinus infection.  I told him not to come around here and to get to a doctor and get better in case we need his help.  Meanwhile, I continue to keep the hand sanitizer companies in business.  Everywhere you look there's a bottle sitting on a table, counter, in the car, etc.  We don't need anyone sick right now!

You might not hear from me again for a while, but don't be alarmed.  It just means I'm busy running back and forth to the hospital and too tired in the evening to post.  Thanks again for your prayers.

Time For Christmas Treats??

In our house it is!

While sitting in a waiting room for one of Reid's appointments I started thumbing through a magazine I had never seen before.  It was the December 2010 issue of All You magazine.   I came across a recipe for Peppermint Bark Trees and decided it would be fun to try and make them.  Some of you might have read my earlier post about what happened to the tin of Peppermint Bark my sister sent this Christmas when our dog discovered it under the tree.  Then my friend Karen jumped in and sent a replacement tin for the humans in the family which is now long gone.  We love the stuff! 

I had jotted down the recipe on a piece of scrap paper and then bought everything I would need a few days before Christmas, but never found the time to make them.  Today Jim took Reid down to the hospital for a platelet transfusion and I had a little time to putter around and play catch up on a few things.

Here are my Peppermint Bark Trees!  I finally made them today.

And here's where you can find the recipe from the December issue of All You magazine.  They seem to have all their recipes online which is nice.  I bought a Wilton mini Christmas tree pan.  It's one of those green silicone pans and I found mine at Joanne's.  I found one online to show you  here.  There were 24 sections and I found that I had enough of the white chocolate melts to make all 24 even though the recipe said it would make 18.  I needed 2 cups of the dark cocoa melts though instead of the 1 1/2 cups called for in the recipe.

So, Merry Christmas 2011 a little early!

Christmas Update...

Things have been kind of hectic around here lately and I've found myself with little online time to either post or read blogs.  Keith was here from Austin for Christmas and left on December 29th.  That was also the day that Reid had numerous appointments down at MD Anderson for the latest round of tests, scans, X-rays, etc.  We left the house a little before 8 in the morning and didn't get home until after 6:30 in the evening.  It was also my birthday and the best present I could hope to receive is for Reid's scans to all look good.

As anticipated Reid came home from the hospital on Christmas Eve.  A change in nausea medication seemed to have helped with this round of chemo.  He was able to eat a little and the only problem he had was with the constant fatigue which is to be expected.

On Christmas Day Reid had a 12:30 appointment for the Neulasta injection which is always given 24 hours after chemo.  Keith, Troy, and I took Reid down for that while Jim stayed home.  On Christmas Eve Jim came down with a cold, so we immediately began treating him like Typhoid Mary with everyone avoiding him like the plague.  With Reid's blood counts down after chemo he's very vulnerable to infection, but so far no one else has come down with Jim's cold.

We gave Reid the option of waiting to celebrate Christmas at a later date when he would be feeling better, but he did not want anyone else to have to wait.  There are no small children involved and everyone else was very agreeable to waiting, but Reid wanted to go ahead and celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day.  So, that is what we did after we got back from the hospital.

This is Jim (AKA Typhoid Mary) on the far side of the room opening one of his presents.  He was a good sport and wore that mask up until yesterday.  Meanwhile, I followed him around with disinfectants and hand sanitizer.

This is Reid opening one of his presents.

It was really something for him and his cat Ash, but Zoom decided to check it out first.  It's a remote control spider.

Troy was Christmas Boy this year.  It's a yearly tradition in our family and the person chosen as Christmas Boy hands out the packages.  He was supposed to be wearing the Christmas Boy hat, but we all forgot so he got away without wearing it this year.  This is Troy opening one of his packages.
                                  

Jim and Keith always complain about me keeping the house too cold in the winter.  They've lived in Texas too long and no longer remember the colder climates we've lived in, so anytime the temperature outside dips below 65 degrees they complain they're cold.  I bought them heavy bathrobes.

Here's Keith wearing his new robe while opening a gift.

Troy also got a new robe.  Reid didn't because he already has one.  Here's a picture of Jim wearing his new robe with Zoom hanging on.

As is usually the case, there are no pictures of me.  I'm the official family photographer.

I had bought some stuffed pork chops for Christmas dinner and took them out to thaw in the morning.  I didn't want to leave them out while we were down at the hospital, so I stuck them back in the refrigerator and took them out again when we got home.  They were still partially frozen when I put them in the oven so I added on some additional cooking time.  When we cut into them we could still see pink.  I put them back in the oven again for some additional time, but they still didn't look done.  Finally, I decided not to take a chance and threw them out.  Reid's food is suppose to be thoroughly cooked and since none of us could decide if they were cooked enough we couldn't take a chance.  It's was OK...we didn't really miss them.  We had enough other stuff to satisfy our hunger.

We had a nice day.  Even though the tree was put up at the last minute and I had one day to shop everything seemed to fall in place.  Considering what we're dealing with right now things went very well.

Tomorrow Reid has a 7:30 AM appointment at MD Anderson for a blood draw.  His platelets were down on the 29th and will probably be down even more by tomorrow so they need to check.  He'll probably need a platelet transfusion, but that's to be expected with this round of chemo.  Jim is well now, so he'll take him down this time.  I'm going to try and stay up to watch the ball drop in Times Square.  Fortunately, we're on Central Time so the ball drops at 11 here.

Next week will be a busy week with Reid having appointments at MD Anderson on January 3rd, 4th, and 5th.  He'll be seeing both the Stem Cell Transplant doctor and his Oncologist.  I'm hoping and praying that those scans look good.  I'll post updates as time allows, but I'm usually too tired in the evening to get online.

I have a few more pictures of Reid's cat Ash to share.  He keeps us all laughing.

This is Ash pretending to be a turtle.  That's actually a cat bed turned upside down.

And here he is hiding under the Christmas tree.
                                      

But Mikey found him!
                                      

Sometimes life becomes overwhelming for Ash and he decides to give himself a time out.

I wish everyone a safe and healthy 2011!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Round Two...

Reid was admitted to the hospital Tuesday evening for the second round of chemo.  As expected, his platelets had gone up to a safe level.  The way things look now he should be coming home on Christmas Eve, but will have to return to the hospital on Christmas Day for the shot that helps build up his white blood cells. 

Keith will be arriving from Austin on Christmas Eve and Troy will come over on Christmas Day, but we expect that Reid will not be feeling well.  After the first round of chemo he was sick for a week, so we will celebrate Christmas at a later date when Reid feels better and Keith is back from Austin.

I probably won't have time to post again for a while.  I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and you find lots of surprises under your tree!

Circa 1949?

It's been a while...

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I sometimes lack the time and/or energy to get something written.  I decided to spend a little time this morning writing an update.

Reid slowly recovered after his last chemo.  This is a stronger chemo and has left him quite fatigued, but at least the nausea gradually subsided.  We thought he'd be having his second round of chemo by now, but his platelets are still too low in spite of a platelet transfusion on Thursday.  The Oncologist said that this isn't at all unusual and we'll just wait until they go up to a safe level for chemo.  He'll have more blood work on Tuesday and another appointment with the Oncologist.  They've got him scheduled for admission to the hospital on Tuesday, so I'm assuming that means the Oncologist is pretty certain the platelets will be up by then.

This has been a busy week with four days spent down at MD Anderson for various appointments.  He was seen in the Stem Cell Transplant Center and we all attended a mandatory class on transplant.  We learned that he'll spend approximately three to four weeks in the hospital and then he'll need a caretaker with him 24/7 for up to another 30 days once he's home.  We might have to rent a place down near the medical center since they're required to be within 30 minutes of the hospital for those 30 days and we're 45 minutes to an hour depending upon traffic.

In order to receive the transplant he must be in full remission.  He'll be receiving more intense chemo when he's admitted to the hospital for the transplant.  This hopefully will destroy all the cancer.  It will also destroy the blood forming cells and suppress his immune system.  Having the transplant makes it possible for him to receive these higher doses of chemotherapy than would otherwise be possible. 

The transplant he'll be receiving is called Autologous which means he'll be his own donor.  His stem cells will be collected, frozen and stored in a laboratory.  Then he'll receive those high doses of chemo to destroy any remaining cancer.  The stem cells are then reinfused and we wait for them to engraft.  The doctor explained that stem cells are like the seeds of the cells.  Once they're infused we wait for them to grow like seeds in a garden.  He assured us that they always grow.

Prior to transplant the stem cells will be mobilized for collection by injections that cause more of them to pour out from the bone marrow into the blood.  They'll then be separated from the blood using some kind of machine and collected in a bag and the rest of the blood returned to him.

You can probably find a much better explanation of all of this here.  My explanation might not be completely accurate, but it's the way I understand things right now.  We were given reading material and a CD, but haven't had a lot of time to absorb all the information yet.

We've decided to celebrate Christmas when Reid is feeling up to it.  The way things are looking now that might not be until February, but we'll wait and see.

We received a surprise last week when the florist delivered a decorated Norfolk Island Pine.  My friend Sherelyn had read that I might not have time to decorate for Christmas, so she sent us a decorated tree.  I stood at the door crying and the poor florist didn't know what to say.  Sherelyn will be glad to hear that we did finally bring a few things over from the storage shed and I plan to do some decorating this weekend.  Of course, it looks like our decorations will still be up in February.

Meanwhile, we took the dog to the emergency clinic late last night.  My sister's package arrived and it included a tin of Peppermint Bark from Williams and Sonoma.  In my wildest dreams I never imagined the dog being able to open a tin box, but Jim and I went out to dinner and when we got back the tin was open and the Peppermint Bark was gone.  I know not to let the animals get near chocolate, but I thought the Peppermint Bark was well protected in a metal tin.  Some of the other gifts had been torn open too, but I believe Sophie might have had help from the cats.  I think they were just playing with the paper.  Anyway, Sophie started vomiting and around midnight or so we decided to take her to the clinic.  Her heart rate was up a little, but not dangerously so, and she was given a shot to calm her stomach.  Never a dull moment.

I'd better go.  I have a lot I'd like to accomplish this weekend.  Wish me luck!

THURSDAY UPDATE

I had to take Reid down to MD Anderson early yesterday morning for blood work.  Then he had a 9:00 AM appointment in the Lymphoma Clinic for more labs and then a 2:00 PM appointment in the Fast Track Clinic to evaluate how he's been doing.

Yesterday we used the valet parking at MD Anderson so we could get a wheelchair right at the door.  He's been pretty sick with this round of chemo.  He was taken quickly for the blood work and then we made our way upstairs for another lab appointment at  9:00 AM in the Lymphoma Clinic.  While he was checking in at the desk his cell phone rang and it was the lab downstairs.  They made an error and needed one more vial of blood.  So, we made our way back down there for another draw and then returned to the Lymphoma Clinic to wait.  We waited for an hour and a half and all Reid wanted to do was lay down and try to get comfortable.  I went up to the desk a couple of times and finally asked if I could leave my cell phone number and take him downstairs where they have an area where patients can lay down and sleep between appointments.  The lady at the desk said she'd send the nurse out to speak with us.

The nurse came out and told us that they had combined the two labs and he didn't need to be in the Lymphoma Clinic at 9:00.  He just needed to be there for his Fast Track appointment at 2:00.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  We had a printed copy of the schedule and I showed it to her.  We had waited an hour and a half.  If things had changed and he didn't need to be there why didn't someone come out and tell us?  Would they have left us waiting there until 2:00?  If he had felt OK it would have been one thing, but he was very sick.  In fact, he rolled the wheelchair into the men's room at one point because he didn't feel well and after about ten minutes I become very concerned, but I couldn't exactly go in after him.  I got up to stand by the men's room door in hopes a man would come by and I could send him in to check, but fortunately Reid came out a short while later.

I was so upset and the nurse apologized.  She asked for my cell phone number and told me to take him downstairs to the area where he could lay down and she'd call if they could squeeze him in before 2:00.  A short while later she called and he was seen by the Physician's Assistant.  All his blood work looked good, but he has to drink more which is difficult with his stomach upset.  She changed the nausea medication and had him increase the anti fungal medication and gave him a prescription for a mouth rinse since he's already developed mouth sores from the chemo.

I took him back to the area where he could lay down and went up to the pharmacy to wait for his prescriptions to be filled.  He was able to sleep for an hour or so while I waited.  I guess we got home around 2:30 PM.

The good news is that he hasn't taken any pain medication since leaving the hospital on Sunday.  I didn't even realize right away, but he told me he doesn't need it.  That means the mass must have already shrunk.  He's using his left arm and thinks he'll be able to type now on the computer.  That's pretty amazing since he was requiring some pretty strong pain meds just to get the pain to a manageable level.

We're having some computer problems, so don't be surprised if I don't post for a while or answer E-mails.  Hopefully, we can get it fixed soon. 

He's home...

We brought Reid home from the hospital last night.  He's very, very sick from the chemo.  It must have been a cumulative thing because we could see his condition change day by day.

He's vulnerable to infection and has to take antibiotic, anti fungal, and antiviral medications in addition to medication for nausea and all of his pain meds.  He woke up around 7 this morning and took some of the meds and went right back to sleep.  He's extremely fatigued.

I'm busy this morning cleaning the house, but my back hurts and I'm worn out from going back and forth to the hospital the last few days.  I just want to have everything as clean as possible to help avoid infection.

I can't even think about Christmas and have no idea when and if we'll get up any decorations this year.  I'd like to, but I just don't know when I'll find the time or energy to go over to the storage shed and bring everything over here and then put it up!  Besides, if all the chemo goes according to schedule he'll be pretty sick at Christmas time.

Tonight he has to be back at the hospital for a shot at 6:00.  This shot has to be given 24 hours after chemo is finished.  Jim is going to come home a little early so he can drive.  I just have too much trouble seeing to drive at night now.

This was the view from Reid's hospital room.  It's a little dark, but the tall buildings in the distance on the right and left are condominiums and I believe the building in the middle is the VA Hospital.

Now I've got to get back to cleaning...

Saturday Update...

Reid is feeling better than I expected.  He ate breakfast this morning, but his stomach was bothering him this afternoon.  The nurse told him that he needs to tell her so she can give him something right away.  He's in good spirits and was watching TV and napping while we were there.  His pain level has been at a two which is good.  I would say so far things are going very well.

Another Update...

I"m home now from the hospital.  Jim arrived after work and he's going to be staying for while this evening.  When the doctor came in this morning he wanted to know why Reid's chemo hadn't been started.  I think it was a resident with him and he said that the orders had never come up from Admissions with him last night and their pharmacist went down this morning and got them.  When they tried this morning to access his port it was clogged (not a medical term I'm sure, but that's what we say) and they had to put something in it for a hour to unclog it.

A little before 3:00 this afternoon they started the pre-chemo drugs.  They took about a half hour and then they began the first of the three drugs.  I just spoke to Jim and they've started the second drug.  With this one they have to check his blood pressure every hour because it can cause his pressure to drop too low.  I believe this one takes around two hours and then they'll start the third drug.  Then the whole thing gets repeated for the next two days.

The doctor told me that one of the drugs can cause confusion and if he seems confused and doesn't make any sense I should let them know right away.  He also said that would be very unusual in a young person.  I passed that information on to Jim before I left.

Before they started chemo Reid and I ordered lunch from Room Service.  They don't bring the meals to the floor all at once on a cart like they do at most hospitals.  Instead there are menus and Reid just picks up the phone and calls in the order.  I think he can do that from 6:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night.  The guest menu has prices, but other than that the menus are the same and there are lots of choices.  Reid had a pizza and I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich.  It was delivered by a man wearing black slacks and vest and a white shirt.  Kind of like what you'd see a waiter wearing in some restaurants.  It would be really nice if cancer didn't suck.

Jim said someone came in a little while ago and explained about all the medications he'll have to take once he gets home.

I'm hoping he doesn't get too sick from this chemo, but time will tell.  I guess he'll be coming home on Monday now since the chemo got started late.

Update...

The hospital finally called around 6:30 last night...just about the time we had decided they probably wouldn't call until today.  We had to wait for Jim to get home from work since I no longer drive on the freeways in the dark.

We got down there around 8:15 and left after Reid got settled in his room.  I would imagine they started the chemo last night, but I don't want to call his room and perhaps wake him up to ask.  It's before seven in the morning here and I don't think he'd appreciate it.  I'll be going down later this morning.

Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

Standing by for Plan B...

Here's how it works.  Reid is to be admitted to the hospital sometime today, but we don't know when.  He had to call MD Anderson this morning and leave his cell phone number.  When a bed is available they'll call him.  I was told yesterday by Admissions that he'll have until 10:30 tonight to claim the bed.  He'd just as soon wait until 10:30, but I don't drive on the freeways at night anymore so earlier is better.  We'll have to call Jim home from work if it gets too late.

The Oncologist told him that the hospital is nice and there's even room service.  Reid would still prefer the Hilton over MD Anderson.  He's not looking forward to chemo again.

This picture was taken last Friday.  Keith made Turkey Soup for dinner and Reid was wearing the shirt Keith gave him.  It kind of says it all.