Day +1 & +2.....

So, no news is good news….. Not much to report yesterday… EXCEPT THE DUCKS BEAT USC!!!!!!

Yes, we listened to the game on the radio while lounging at ‘The Spa at OHSU’…. OK, BMT Room 25. In any case, it was a great game to listen to.

Also today we talked to folks at the Fire Department... tonight is the annual Pumpkin Gutting party that I usually coordinate. Thanks to a helpful group, spearedheaded by the Martin's, it should be a success this year as well. I'll need to see pictures!!!!!

Florence is still doing well. Her mouth is starting to feel a little tender and some nausea is creeping in. However, since they have the ability to offer better living through chemistry (that would mean DRUGS), the effects of each of these are being kept in check.

The chemo is now taking its toll on her blood cells and since the stem cells are still looking for a place to live and start working, Florence’s counts are falling and will most likely need some external support soon (that would mean transfusions). All of this is quite normal and expected.

Florence wanted to send out some photos to show……. Decor and the meds she was taking the first four days (Pills in Caps).. So here they are...

Until next time……
Larry

I Made It and She's Doing Great.....

Hello from OHSU…. That’s right, they let me in…of course it required an all orifice cavity exam!!!!!!! And you all thought it was easy to get to stay here!!!!!!

Florence ‘s room is now better equipped for the season with a flashing lighted skull adorning her IV pump. The nurses first thought the pump had a lighting issue or gone bad until they got in close enough to see that it was a skull.

As for ‘The Florence’, she is looking good and feeling good. A little tired, she slept most of the day but tonight is awake and talking. Her stem cell transplant went extremely well, the doctor told me that they were very pleased with how uneventful it went. She is also getting a couple of units of blood today which is normal at this stage.

Oh, the exam thing …. Didn’t happen….

That’s it for now…. Larry

Day'-1' and Counting, And I'm Off......

Talked with Florence again, she sounds better today… more energy it seemed. Today was another rest day in preparation for Day’0’

Tomorrow, Friday, will be Day‘0’, ‘Stem cell’ transplant day. They are given to Florence thru her central line like an IV. After they are in we wait to see when the little suckers take off and start making blood cells. The record is 10 days, but it can take 28 days, too.

I have managed to shake the ‘bug’ and will be joining traveling to our summer/fall retreat tomorrow to be with Florence (Look out 5C Staff I’m coming back. Oh, I hear you’re having a giant microbe outbreak). I hope they get the Duck vs. USC game at OHSU because I told our friends to fill my seat.

Well it is suppose to be sunny for the next 5 days… wonder if I could get all the stuff Florence has asked me to bring up there on my Harley?????? Hummmmmmmmmm… Have to work on that one……. (Hey Amber... this one's mine..... well one's mine, the other's AFD's)


Keep wishing us well, all the prayers help…..
Larry

Tried.......

When I called Florence this afternoon she said she was tired and that was about the extent of the conversation. Those that know Florence will appreciate that she must be tired to cut a conversation that short.

I'm still trying to clear my head, still a little stuffed up. As you can see by the picture it isn't too bad. See Florence, nothing to worry about!!!


I'm still hoping to get up there this week, so keep those good thoughts and prayers coming.
Larry

Done with Chemo.....

Talked with Florence this evening. She sounds tried but she says she is doing well. After 4 days of chemo pills and then today a chemo IV (the strongest she has had so far) I guess she deserves to be tired.

This chemo today was harsh and caused some drop in her blood pressure and rise in her body temperature. These were expected and she was being monitored for them. The crack BMT team on 5C kept everything under control and Florence said she really didn’t notice any issues….. Then again she said she was sleeping, or you could say drugged, or maybe you might even say a drug-induced stupor???

I am hoping to be up to Portland before the weekend. The sinus issue is clearing and I will know better in the AM if I can go sooner. Needless to say the Kirby didn’t work so maybe a Dyson…..?????

I need to remember to ask Florence how many cards she has received….. She hasn’t told me to date….. probably saving it as a surprise for when I get up there. She'll hand me the stack and say “start hangin’ them up”. It will give me something to do while she sleeps.

Tomorrow and Thursday should be resting days for Florence with no chemo. I hope she feel better then. For now keep those good thoughts and wishes coming.

Larry
PS... Can't wait to see my apartment!!!!

Going Good.....

Not much is happening at OHSU. Florence has been out walking the halls of the hospital. No large gift shop bills YET….

Her Chemo continues without incident. I’m hoping to get up there soon however I’m still congested but getting better. So I hope to be up there Tuesday or Wednesday. She tells me I even have a bed!!!

Keep all the good thoughts and prayers coming…..

Larry

Comments and Feeling Good.....

A couple bits of business….

If you want to send a comment, you click on ‘Comments” at the end of the daily blog. That lets you see all comments for the blog. Select the LEAVE YOUR COMMENT box at the right and type your comment. Then look below the box and complete the ‘word verification’ (Type the colored letters into the verification box). Then select 'other' for Identity. Type your name in the box and click PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT. That’s it…. Try it.

Florence loves getting comments on the blog and would also appreciate getting e-mail addresses so she can e-mail back.

As for Florence, Her chemo consists 7 little pills, stuffed into one capsule. She is taking 5 of the capsules 4 times a day. So that’s like 140 little pills a day!!!!!! But NO IV at this point.

She says she is still feeling good and plans to walk to the gift shop tomorrow….. Yeah, she can go out of the unit with a mask on and my guess is she has her CREDIT CARD with her. I’ll be waiting for sharp pains in my right hip tomorrow.

Some folks have inquired about visiting so Florence will be checking on what they expect her white cell counts will drop to and also how she will be feeling after chemo days. Stay tuned… At the least we will blog about it and let ya’ll know when stopping in may be a good thing…..

Thanks it for now….
Larry

She Be There......

Well Florence is at the U and she sounds up and great.

Florence said there are bats in the hall hanging from the ceiling (apparently the place has gotten a little run down since our last 'U' vacation). The staff said they were trying to get a 'Welcome Back' sign up but weren't able to accomplish it in time for her arrival.

She is in room 25 this time which is further down the hall and has glass interior walls with curtains. She says it's great!....

Snail Mail address:
Florence Allen, Unit 5C Room 25
c/o Oregon Health Science University.
3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd.
Portland, Oregon 97239-3098

I'm sure Ben will be thrilled handling the increase in mail..... He said he had never seen one person get so many cards.

So the plan....
Florence's brother got her there at 4pm today and Baseline Labs have been taken and VRE test done. They say her first Chemo will be at 4am tomorrow morning. The first 4 days will be pills.... MORE pills....... the 5th day will be an infusion. Then there should be 2 days off which will put her transplant on the 26th... Day '0'. BMT folks count everything from the day of transplant so today is Day '-8'..... Days after transplant are '+' days so they will hope to see her counts come up about Day '+10' (or 10 days after transplant).

That's all I know for now... She does have a laptop with her so she can see your 'COMMENTS'

Thanks again..... Larry

Up and Away...........

Thursday is the day Florence goes to OHSU. I will be stuck here at home with stuffy sinuses taking antibiotics in an effort to get well and up to the hospital. That sounds backwards.…. Get well then go to the hospital…… I would hate to have a virus and make Florence ill while on chemo. So I’m going to stay behind while Florence’s brother takes Florence to OHSU. I know all the staff will watch out for her and keep her occupied.

So the morning should include a call to bed control to find out when her bed is ready then they will head for Portland. For me it will be waving good-bye then some work over the next couple days until I clear up, that I hope will be soon.

I will be talking with Florence daily and blogging to keep you all up to date. I will include her address at OHSU.

For now wish her well and good strength.
Larry

Still Home for a Short Time.....

Florence is starting to get cabin fever and wants to get the Transplant started and over with. In the mean time an allergy attack has my head & sinuses feels like a balloon. I will have it under control by Thursday, though.

Many folks have told me that they thought Florence was currently in the hospital and really sick.... Well she is currently at home since September 10th and will be admitted again on Oct. 18th to OHSU for about a month.

As for really sick, aside from having a potentially fatal disease if treatment doesn't work, she is remarkably..... Florence. The pictures of her Hat debut is still how she looks and she says she feels great! Modern medicine has its benefits. Her stamina isn't back to normal but she does go for walks with me and neighbors.

The BIG worry is that someone will inadvertently come over with a bug or virus and she will catch something. This would complicate and delay treatment.... not a good thing.

Oh, her hair is actually getting long enough to comb (sort-of). She showed up with the sides combed flat and the top spiked up. Great look,, I think.... a little butch-wax or hair gel and she is set.

That's it for now..... Larry

(Butch-wax??? What's that??? I think Larry's showing his age!! ;-) Florence)

Really Good News....

Great day today…. Waiting for the news about the marrow biopsy was tough. I didn’t want to go into too much detail until we had the results back. This afternoon I got a call telling us that Florence’s marrow is still clean (NO Leukemia cells found) That is what they were concerned about and why the marrow biopsy was done. They had told me the drop in Florence’s cell counts was either due to a tired marrow or that the Leukemia had returned. Glad to hear it just be tired marrow……

So what now??? As of this afternoon, the admit day is Thursday. Not sure why not sooner but there is most likely a good reason. Maybe they are waiting so we get a special room!!! In any case, Florence says let’s get it on…. She is ready to tackle this as soon as possible. Not sure the unit staff is ready for us though…… hummmmm…… maybe the delay is because they d…….. naw, they love us there…. I think?…..

That puts us at OHSU starting Oct 18 and back home about December 1. So, good news today and a schedule to shoot for.

Again, thank you for the thoughts and prayers,
Larry

Pinholes and TV Cameras......

Not a lot of news from today. Florence had a bone marrow biopsy, her 5th, or maybe it’s her 6th. Lost count so I guess one could count the pinhole scars on her backside to find out. This time she did keep the screaming down to about 90dbls, really unnerving. The results won’t be available until Monday we expect. Maybe a preliminary report will be available Friday afternoon.

For now the team is holding to admitting early next week and an Auto Stem Cell transplant. Lets all keep our fingers crossed. That will put us home just after Thanksgiving.

In the mean time, Florence’s TV debut is over with only a few requests for autographed pictures. Actually, I think it went well.

So unless we hear differently, we won’t know much until Friday.

Later,
Larry

uuuhhhhhh…. Oh yeah, the screaming thing….. another lie, sorry. She handled it like a trooper. Just a couple of teeth clenched groans was all.

Lights, Camera, ........

Today was the Marrow Drive that the Albany Fire Fighters arranged and setup to honor Florence but KEZI keeps saying Florence spearheaded. OH Well..... In any case, Deloris, who came down from the National Marrow Donor Program, said it was an excellent turnout since we signed up 90 new donors. It was nice that Florence was able to stop in to thank folks and wouldn't you know it, KEZI was there too (with camera) and if you watch Ch 9 News tonight guess who you will see. Yup, the Florence.....

Earlier today Florence had labs drawn and the good news was her red cells were doing good BUT her white cell counts are dropping..... OHSU is concerned so we will be going to Portland in the morning for another marrow biopsy. Well, Florence is getting the biopsy, I'm watching, I'm guessing you figured that out...... This of course will further delay her transplant since the biopsy results have usually taken 2 to 3 days to get back and the results are necessary to proceed. So Thursday is out and the new target is early next week.

We are asking everyone to wish and pray for a good marrow biopsy outcome. Everything has gone so well so far with all the positive thoughts.

I will keep everyone up on info and results as I get it.
Larry

Say Wat........

So this morning we are trying to get all the loose ends done and the phone rings. OHSU calling to let us know that Florence's admission day has been moved to Thursday. What we understand is over the weekend they had some admits that required BMT and the marrow was coming in from Europe.

(So I wonder if it's like the airlines... if you get bumped you get like an upgrade or something.... Maybe a second bed?????? A room with a view????? Zamboni ride?????? A new multi-colored chemo????? Who knows, it could be just wonderful.......)

Well now we have a little extra time to get to the loose ends and even help out at the Bone Marrow Drive tomorrow morning that the Albany Fire Fighters set up. Guess I will get down there at 0600 hours to help set up and assist with the process. Kind of glad I will get to help.

Our fire fighters found out they could get fire fighters and police officers done for free and after talking with the National Bone Marrow folks they found out they could also get up to 100 civilians done for free, too. What a great deal.

The delay also gives time to straighten up a little for our return nd maybe get the trailer semi-packed for when I have to bring it up in about 4 weeks. So the extra time here will be put to good use, Florence will be going in tomorrow to AGH for a tune-up and oil change..... I mean blood work-up and dressing change.

Till we here more, this is LA signing off........

So, Here We Go Again.......

So I’m reading comments from the last Blog and what do I see….. ooooh CR_P, a comment from the 5C RN’s…. They’re reading this stuff!!!!! Now I‘m trying to figure out if I lied about anything that would have offended them…. I CAN’T REMEMBER…I could be in deep dodo this time and it could be back to sleeping in a chair come Monday… …

Oh, Monday… That’s right, Florence will be admitted to OHSU (our 2007 summer get-away) with me in tow and depending on how the 5C RN’s feel about this blog, I may have a comfortable bed waiting for me, OR it’s the chair.

Florence’s treatment should start Tuesday with 5 days of Chemo, followed by one or two days of rest, and then Transplant her stem cells. She should be in the hospital about 3 or 4 weeks. After that about 2 weeks in the RV park and then home.

The chemo should run for a couple hours each day. One drug will be used on days 1 thru 4 and another on day 5. Stem cells and Neupogen will follow. The Neupogen should help increase Florence’s white cell counts faster and with that her immune system.

I will be trying to come down and work a couple days now and then once Florence’s counts start up again. We’re getting a new Lieutenant assigned to Training and we will have a new recruit academy starting in December so some attention to the office will be needed these next weeks. Thank goodness for computers, e-mail and a great FD staff, Field folks and Admin. Without their help I could not keep this up.

So today we packed and tried to get some RV prep done. We should have some time in the morning to finish what we started. Some folks have asked for an address again so as soon as Florence is in a room I will let ya’ll know what it is…. Sorry Ben, the card floodgate may be opening again… (Ben works on 5C as the clerk so he handles all the mail).

For now wish us good thoughts and prayers.

Thank you all,
Larry & Florence

PS… wonder if there are squirrels at OHSU???????? …………….

Where To and When.....

Tomorrow is Florence’s appointment with her Doctor to discuss the transplant and sign consent papers. He will also decide if she is strong enough to start the procedure on Monday…. Yeah, this Monday, October 8th. This could mean we will be headed to Portland for a month+ again. (Any OHSU staff out there…. We need a bed, make that two)