Tote that Barge. Flush that Line.

Joe's blood count and vitals numbers are just peachy. We're waiting on the results of one test and then we'll have an idea of when Joe can blow that pop stand. Tomorrow we'll get training on how to flush the Neostar line and give Magnesium through it.

And, now for something completely different. Animal fun facts and story:

First, it's all about otters:

http://cuteoverload.com/2010/11/29/meowters/

Then, it's about a very smart dog (looks like Sellie):

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious I pinned a note to his collar:

'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar:

'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

Going for Gold

The doc said, "Engraftment takes a lot of energy." Joe's going for Olympic Gold in the engraftment event. Feels like we have this GIANT cheering section. Thanks very much for all your positive thoughts and words of encouragement.

Houston, We Have Engraftment

There's evidence that Joe's system is growing stem cells. Yay. Things are still going well and as expected. The docs, PAs, nurses and techs have just been stellar (keeping with the space metaphor here). They work well together, coordinating their efforts to minimize interruptions. They've been managing side effects very well and timing meds so that Joe can get more sleep when he needs it. Just wonderful. And, Joe's been a very active participant, too, asking and answering questions, dealing extraordinarily well with pain and discomfort, exercising. Yay Joe.

In honor of the occasion, I ordered a spiffy ear thermometer for home just like they use in the hospital. When I mentioned this to a nurse, she said that there's even newer technology that allows you to get a temperature by rolling a thermometer across the forehead. Sigh. It really is hard keeping up with the latest and greatest ...

Happy Holidays

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No, we didn't really submit the hospital Thanksgiving dinner photo to the New York Times, even though they requested photos from readers. Dinner consisted of ham (not bad) with a pineapple slice and stuffing (a bit dry, but OK). This photo is especially for Sarah, who enjoys pics of hospital food. The food here is much better than other institutions we've been to (e.g., another hospital that shall remain nameless and a college that once offered leftover fish in green jello to conference participants). This was my first hospital food experience. I tasted the food so it felt needed while Joe was enjoying an imported Morgan & York bocata jamon and butter.

So, Happy Thanksgiving.

Now, onto other holidays with this wonderful video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm3dm5J5r0A

Pre-engraftment

This is a term used by the oncologist.  If he hadn't said it, I'd have thought it was the condition prior to moving to Chicago and going into politics. I told that to a nurse and it went right over her head.  She said that if we did move, Chicago also had a great bone marrow transplant hospital.

Thanks to everybody for support, silliness, and something else beginning with "s" I guess.  Pursuit of happiness will consist of me checking off the days since transplant, and chanting engraft, you buggers, engraft!

Fashion on the Floor

Joe's the best dressed patient in the unit by simply wearing jeans and a casual button shirt. The nurses and PAs thought he dressed up for his transplant (um no, this is what he wears everyday). Most patients wear plaid or polka dot jammies and fuzzy slippers (I know I would).

Meanwhile I'm getting fashion ideas from the staff. One PA has a stunning silver and gold dive watch that I want to appropriate. And, several nurses have great, practical cargo-style uniform pants with lots and lots of lovely pockets.

All is still going according to plan in these pre-engraftment days.

Cheers!

Joke du Jour

At The Movies

A man lay spread out over three seats in the second row of a crowded movie theater. As he lay there breathing heavily, an usher came over and said, "That's very rude of you, sir, taking up three seats. Didn't you learn any manners? Where did you come from?" The man looked up helplessly and said, "The balcony!"

According to Hoyle

We've had a string of relatively good days, for some definition of "good". Things are going "according to Hoyle" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_Hoyle, as expected by the docs. We're in the phase where the white blood cell count is low until the new bone marrow cells begin to grow, aka engraftment. Joe's doing all the right things, things we should all be doing, like healthy eating, enough fluids, exercise, lots of sleep, fun intellectual activities. Things got a little bit easier on Friday when Joe got to swap out his bulky "Patient Pal" IV-pole for a sleeker "Trans-Pal". He doesn't need to have a "Wide Load" sign when he does his laps anymore.

On the the day he was admitted, Joe was required to select two prints from the collection brought by a representative of the Art Brigade. "Oh, just anything." just wouldn't do. Perhaps she sensed he was the son of an artist. He selected a "Vichy, Comite des Fetes" by Roger Broders, a 30's Moderne travel poster http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Vichy-Comite-des-Fetes-Posters_i804071_.htm and a kind of peaceful, kind of eerie painting of 3 gasoline pumps out on the Great Plains. This week he chose Gustave's Caillebotte's "Paris on a Rainy Day, 1877" http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=/getposter.asp&APNum=323317&CID=779BAC3C77654C3693EFAB2D2C18727B&PPID=1&Search=caillebotte&f=t&FindID=0&P=1&PP=3&sortby=PD&c=c&page=1
and a silly photo of an assertive squirrel coming out of a mailbox. The prints in the hallway change weekly, too. A good thing.

Much better today, thank-you.

As Mr. McLuggage says himself, "things are in fact better than, um, yesterday". Took a few laps around the floor today (as opposed to being on da floor) past views of Mediterranean scenes. Yay.

Generating healthcare data like crazy

The docs say Joe is doing fine. We're so grateful for the 10 out of 10 match donor; many people don't even have the option. That said, this is not one of those life experiences you want to have if you can avoid it. The side effects of the immunosuppressants (to keep Joe's system from rejecting the new cells) and the residual chemo have not been fun for Joe. He's a real trooper, though, and we're hoping that tomorrow will be a more boring day of generating healthcare data.

Happy Transplant Day ...

... that's what the card that Joe got after his stem cell transplant said. The donor is a very healthy 23 year old who provided so many stem cells that everyone double checked the numbers and 3/4 of the cells are being frozen future use. The Physician Assistant who administered the stem cells said her mantra is "Keep it Boring" and that's what Joe did today. Hooray! Now onto the Joe Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2010 (JRRA).

Make Sure to Answer the Door When FedEx Knocks

The stems cells will arrive via FedEx (!) sometime tomorrow who knows when from who knows where (donor confidentiality, don't ya know). Thank-you, Anonymous Volunteer Donor!

Chemo Done and Plans

Today was the last day of chemo with all its rough side effects.

After visiting Joe, I met with the core caregiving team, which includes Coney Dog, of course, to eat snacks and discuss the Joe Recovery Project. The recovery is likely to be a long slog, 6 months or so. At the moment, my freezers are completely full of great leftovers from meals Joe has made. I'm chipping away at these gourmet MRE's and will beg for comfort food when the reserves are getting low; it would not be good for anyone's recovery or morale for me to start learning how to cook at this time. I'm also considering using an online calendar or accepting help to coordinate offers of assistance at some point in the coming months.

Thanks for thinking of us!!!

Chemo, Process, and Cuisine

Joe started chemo at 4AM on Thursday. He thinks they start early so that patients won't be awake enough to put up a fuss. They've got good meds to manage the symptoms. He'll get chemo through Sunday, then one rest day before getting the shiny new stem cells on Tuesday, Nov. 16. One friend said that she "hopes Joe gets stem cells from a donor as witty and sparky as he is!!" I'm afraid this comment is making me think of "Young Frankenstein"... "Young Frankenstein" is in the air. Not wanting to give Joe any germs, we've started the "elbow routine" from the train station farewell scene. Jon Stewart was doing the same thing with his guest, Rosario Dawson, to avoid passing along his stomach flu bug.

Being a Process Guy, Joe's already identified many areas where the system could be improved. Surprisingly, the food's not bad. Looks like food, tastes like food. They even have decent coffee-flavored coffee. Beats the SPAM, Pop Tarts and canned crab meat the stranded Carnival Cruise Lines passengers got.

The flood of good wishes and offers of help make us so happy. Thanks! This weekend I'm going to start to think about how I can take you up on all those offers.

Here we go

Get Neostar. Check.
Get admitted. Check.
Chemo starts tomorrow.

Joe would rather not have visitors at this time.
Thanks for all your good wishes!

My Schedule

My managers have been extraordinarily supportive and flexible as we've been preparing for this healthcare excitement. We've worked out a project load that I can work on half time (probably afternoons), which will give me time to help Joe during his recovery. My sister will be helping, too. If things go as they did last time, there are going to be lots of people helping out in lots of ways; it's a beautiful thing.

All Systems Go

We got news that the donor cleared today, so it's all systems go for admission to Hotel UMich on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Joe'll be getting a shiny new immune system via a stem cell transplant.