Sharon dropped by this afternoon with a hamburger and a chocolate shake......shear ambrosia for the soul, after a week of institutional cooking! Even had a couple home made cupcakes from Jen....just does'nt get much better, well maybe it does. Tomorrow is the last day of chemo, will really be happy to get untied from the christmas tree. Then comes the waiting to see if my bone marrow has anything left. Bone Marrow Biopsey schedule for 2 weeks, that will tell the tale as to how much of a window we have for Bone Marrow Transplant.
Docs all say I am responding to the Induction Chemo real well, battled some high blood pressure last night caused by the chemo, 199/110, that was a personal lifetime high for me and also fighting blood sugar swings with insulin, caused by the same issues, both are said to be temporyand will normalize when the chemo is done. I guess my immune system is now official dead, so next couple weeks are critical to avoid infection/fungal/bleeding issues. I feel bad for teh nurses that have to wear coats and masks to see me.
My Brer Rabbit analogy for tonight is: Remember.....I'm the Rabbit, Fox and Bear are after ME!
One day, Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox and Brer Coon and Brer Bear and a lot of other animals decided to work together to plant a garden full of corn for roasting. They started early in the morning and raked and dug and raked some more, breaking up the hard ground so it would be ready for planting. It was a hot day, and Brer Rabbit got tired mighty quick. But he kept toting off the brush and clearing away the debris 'cause true to form, he had lots of stuff on his "to-do' list and a whole lot more on his "want-to" list.
Then Brer Rabbit got an idea. "Ow!" he shouted as loudly as he could. "I got me a briar in my hand!" He waved a paw and stuck it into his mouth. The other critters told him he'd better pull out the briar and wash his hand afore it got infected. That was just what Brer Rabbit wanted to hear. He hurried off, looking for a shady spot to take a quick nap. A little ways down the road, he found an old well with a couple of buckets hanging inside it, one at the top, and one down at the bottom.
"That looks like a mighty cool place to take a nap," Brer Rabbit said, and hopped right into the bucket.
Well, Brer Rabbit was mighty heavy - much heavier than the bucket full of water laying at the bottom. When he jumped into the empty bucket, it plummeted right down to the bottom of the well. Brer Rabbit hung onto the sides for dear life as the second bucket whipped passed him, splashing water all over him on its way to the top. He had never been so scared in his life.
Brer Rabbit's bucket landed with a smack in the water and bobbed up and down. Brer Rabbit was afraid to move, in case the bucket tipped over and landed him in the water. He lay in the bottom of the bucket and shook and shivered with fright, wondering what would happen next.
Now Brer Fox had been watching Brer Rabbit all morning. He knew right away that Brer Rabbit didn't have a briar in his paw and wondered what that rascal was up to. When Brer Rabbit snuck off, Brer Fox followed him and saw him jump into the bucket and disappear down the well.
Brer Fox was puzzled. Why would Brer Rabbit go into the well? Then he thought: "I bet he has some money hidden away down there and has gone to check up on it." Brer Fox crept up to the well, listening closely to see if he could hear anything. He didn't hear nothing. He peered down into the well, but all was dark and quiet, on account of Brer Rabbit holding so still so the bucket wouldn't tip him into the water.
Finally, Brer Fox shouted down into the well: "Brer Rabbit, what you doing down there?"
Brer Rabbit perked up at once, realizing that this might be his chance to get out of the well.
"I'm a fishing down here, Brer Fox," says he. "I thought I'd surprise everyone with a mess of fresh fish for lunch. There's some real nice fish down here."
"How many fish are there?" asked Brer Fox skeptically, sure that the rascally rabbit was really counting his gold.
"Scores and scores!" cried Brer Rabbit. "Why don't you come on down and help me carry them out?"
Well, that was the invitation Brer Fox was waiting for. He was going to go down into that well and get him some of Brer Rabbit's gold.
"How do I get down there?" asked Brer Fox.
Brer Rabbit grinned. Brer Fox was much heavier than he was. If Brer Fox jumped into the empty bucket at the top, then Brer Rabbit's bucket would go up, and Brer Fox's bucket would go down! So he said: "Jest jump into the bucket, Brer Fox."
Well, Brer Fox jumped into the empty bucket, and down it plummeted into the dark well. He passed Brer Rabbit about halfway down. Brer Rabbit was clinging to the sides of the bucket with all his might 'cause it was moving so fast. "Goodbye Brer Fox," he shouted as he rose. "Like the saying goes, some folks go up, and some go down! You should make it to the bottom all safe and sound."
Brer Rabbit jumped out of the well and ran back to the garden patch to tell the other critters that Brer Fox was down in the well muddying up the waters. Then he danced back to the well and shouted down to Brer Fox: "There's a hunting man coming along to get a drink o' water, Brer Fox. When he hauls you up, you'd best run away as fast as you can!"
Then Brer Rabbit went back to the garden patch. When the thirsty hunter hauled up the bucket full of water, a wet and shaky Brer Fox sprang out and ran away before the hunter could grab for his gun.
An hour later, Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit were both back in the garden, digging and hauling away debris and acting like nothing had happened. Except every once in a while, Brer Fox would look sideways at Brer Rabbit and grin, and the rascally rabbit would start to laugh and laugh 'cause both of them had looked so silly plummeting up and down in that ol' dark well.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Surprise - Day 4 in Hospital
Surprise Adventure - Day 4
Not feeling so "sleep deprived" today, got a new bed yesterday after putting up with a "special whammy bammy" air actuated undulating Binford 6000 bed for special people. The thing sounded like a Boeing 747 each time you moved a fraction of an inch then cranked up it's turbine powered air compressor to undulate to compensate for your new position….. now I have an old fashioned bed. You know, the kind that costs about half as much but is twice as comfortable. AHHHH! But isn't technology wonderful.
Below is the text of a letter I wrote to my sister Kathy, she is the one who has consented to take a short ride as a perfect match donor with me on this BMT adventure, she lives in Upstate New York where I was born about 7 years before she was, have not seen her in over 40 years, my younger sister Mary says she believes our deceased Mom has engineered this whole thing to get our family back together again….she may be right!
Letter to Kathy….
Good to hear from you...... thanks for writing..... am not feeling any ill effects from the chemo ( I think) , they keep telling me I am doing great. Two units of blood last night and two units of platelets this morning, they are trying to stay ahead of cell loss. I am researching the option of having BMT at OHSU (a local well known cancer hospital) and using Medicare instead of VA as a funding source. Medicare requires a 20% copay, but there are groups that assist with that, so am gathering that info. Medicare was not an option while I had MDS but will pay for a BMT if you have AML, red tape is crazy. It would allow us to stay at home, instead of shutting down everything to spend 6 months in Seattle, also options for you meet and become part of your extended family.
Sharon comes when she can, when doctor told us we had to be hospital Monday morning, we had 36 pups ready to go to their forever home, about 20 deliver already. The kids pitched in, Matt learning website/accounting/database procedures, Jen backing him up while supplying food and co-ordination. I and patched into home computer through my laptop tethered to a Blackberry, that works OK to check on Matt and continue administrate our business from here.
Took pics of the presentation of breakfast this morning and the early "Christmas tree" full of chemo bags which I will try to include in a daily update to our blog. Hope to be out of here by Thanksgiving. Say Hi to everybody, especially Mary..... tell Shan I would have plenty of time to build the visual Twist Family Tree if she could find some time to gather/scan the pics we talked about earlier this year.
Presentation of Breakfast:
Now those of you who know my wife Sharon, know she is a good cook, one of the favorite breakfasts she makes is a poached egg on English muffin….. I think that's what this is supposed to be. Sharon's is warm and soft, melts in your mouth, even if you don't have teeth….this one is cold and hard, requires good choppers and the egg can easily serve as a rubber Frisbee. I was hungry, so man of little will power I had, I caved, about a half hour later, I had my breakfast and a new case of sore gums……sure hope to have teeth by Thanksgiving! Presentation of lunch was not much different, some kind of pelletized meat sitting underneath a scoop of mashed potatoes that strongly resembled a Frisbee….. do you see a pattern developing here? There were some boiled zucchini slices which I promptly devoured and a cup of half melted rainbow sherbet which shortly follow…. Remembering a vague promise from Sharon for a visit that included food, and the reminder of damaged gums, I digressed from the remainder of the food in hope of that visit. About a half hour before dinner was served, my wonderful wife entered bearing a gift of spaghetti and meatballs in a bean pot, still warm….. probably based on the supposition that she makes that drive in 45 minutes while it takes me an hour. The smell of which soon filled my luxury suite at the VA, I am sure prompting the nurse to deliver the evening offering, sure enough, same thing that was served for lunch with a different color gravy on top of the Frisbee potatoes and a side dish of creamed corn instead of boiled zucchini, such imagination was hard to refuse but was already near foundered by the spaghetti, the addition of a piece of cake which Sharon ate and a cup of pears which I ate was all we could manage so the nurse graciously offered to remove the remainder it to a waiting receptacle, I assume to be recycled at the nearest hog/chicken farm into the basis of next month's presentations.
The last thing I would like to share is an early 'Christmas Tree" that stands beside my bed and is decorated with various pumps and brightly colored bags of chemo. Currently I have 5 bags draining into me and have has up to 7 today draining at one time today.
Well I tried to get the blog to co-operate but it wont....so click this link below if you want see this post with pics pics:
http://www.homewego.com/blog_surprise_hospital_day4.htm
True to my wacky little analogy section -- "What would Bre'r Rabbit Do"? -- Remember Brer Rabbit is me, Brer Fox and Brer Bear are the bad guys……just tryin to do me in..…..
Now Brer Rabbit, he feeling pretty good about outfoxing (excuse the pun) Brer Fox, he almost laughed hisself to death in his Laughin Place, had a good nights sleep and now was thinking about how to get back at that wascally fox. Hummm he say, bout this time of day old Brer Bear is always takin a nap in his cave, so Rabbit, he sneaketi sneck to the cave and he hears Bear snoring up a storm on the couch, peeks throgh the door and sees all is clear, chuckling under his breath he slow crawls up to the couch and begins to whisper in Brer Bears ear…."Honey Tree", Honey Tree"…over and over again. Pretty soon old Brer Bear gets to lickin his chops and drooling all over hisself, Rabbit was having so much fun with Bear that he never saw Old Brer Fox walk through the front door and Fox sees rabbit whispering in Bears ear, sneaks up behind him and whack, grabs him about the ears and Rabbit lets out a whoop that could be heard all the way to Remus Holler…… of course Bear wakes up lickity split and sees what is going on….. but then remembers "Honey Tree"……Fox says we got him….lets have dinner! Rabbit he says NOPE! If you eat me for dinner, you won't know where that big fat, delicious honey tree is that I found. Bear stopped mid step while pulling out the dinner plates and said "did you say Honey tree"? Yup says Rabbit, I said "honey tree"….. now Fox sees right away whets going on and he turned to run with Brer Rabbit but Bear grabbed him by the tale, turned him around and said "Fox..we..is..going..to..the..Honey Tree….. DO YOU AGREE? Fox knowing when he is beat says yup we is going to the honey tree. They throwed a rope around Rabbits neck and said "March". Fox following Rabbit holding the rope and Bear following Fox with a big club in his hand. About a mile down the road, Rabbit points into the woods and say "we gots to go there…..listen….sure nuff, they hear the buzzing of the bees and Bear he is getting real excited……but he ain't no fools…..he been here before and them bee stings hurt….. Fox he say " give me ur coat", "what for says Fox?" Bear says cause I gotta cover my head and nose from all the stinging, and gimme that rope to tie it down". But Bear Fox says "that no count Rabbit will run away" Bear says "No he won't, just sit on him". So Fox gives bear his coat and his rope, sits on Rabbit and Bear wraps the coat roun his head and nose and ties it roun his neck. Can't see real well, but heads for the buzzing and jumps in right where the buzzing is loudest…..Fox hearst a terible comotion and Brer Bear comes running out with Brer Bull swing his horns awful close to his backside……you see Brer Bull was taking a snooze in those buses and Bear jumped right on his head a grabbin at his nose, which Bull did not take too kindly too. Now Fox sees troble coming straight at him and afore he could move Bear plows right into him followed by Bull all in heap just a kicking and a bitin and a bellowin and raisin all kinds of dust…..naturly Rabbit jumped out of that that free for all real quick and took offa running to his Laughin Place, where he laughed so hard he cried. Now where is your Laughin Place, have you been there lately? By the way the take away from this story is don't mess with the Rabbit when he knows where the Bull takes his nap.
Not feeling so "sleep deprived" today, got a new bed yesterday after putting up with a "special whammy bammy" air actuated undulating Binford 6000 bed for special people. The thing sounded like a Boeing 747 each time you moved a fraction of an inch then cranked up it's turbine powered air compressor to undulate to compensate for your new position….. now I have an old fashioned bed. You know, the kind that costs about half as much but is twice as comfortable. AHHHH! But isn't technology wonderful.
Below is the text of a letter I wrote to my sister Kathy, she is the one who has consented to take a short ride as a perfect match donor with me on this BMT adventure, she lives in Upstate New York where I was born about 7 years before she was, have not seen her in over 40 years, my younger sister Mary says she believes our deceased Mom has engineered this whole thing to get our family back together again….she may be right!
Letter to Kathy….
Good to hear from you...... thanks for writing..... am not feeling any ill effects from the chemo ( I think) , they keep telling me I am doing great. Two units of blood last night and two units of platelets this morning, they are trying to stay ahead of cell loss. I am researching the option of having BMT at OHSU (a local well known cancer hospital) and using Medicare instead of VA as a funding source. Medicare requires a 20% copay, but there are groups that assist with that, so am gathering that info. Medicare was not an option while I had MDS but will pay for a BMT if you have AML, red tape is crazy. It would allow us to stay at home, instead of shutting down everything to spend 6 months in Seattle, also options for you meet and become part of your extended family.
Sharon comes when she can, when doctor told us we had to be hospital Monday morning, we had 36 pups ready to go to their forever home, about 20 deliver already. The kids pitched in, Matt learning website/accounting/database procedures, Jen backing him up while supplying food and co-ordination. I and patched into home computer through my laptop tethered to a Blackberry, that works OK to check on Matt and continue administrate our business from here.
Took pics of the presentation of breakfast this morning and the early "Christmas tree" full of chemo bags which I will try to include in a daily update to our blog. Hope to be out of here by Thanksgiving. Say Hi to everybody, especially Mary..... tell Shan I would have plenty of time to build the visual Twist Family Tree if she could find some time to gather/scan the pics we talked about earlier this year.
Presentation of Breakfast:
Now those of you who know my wife Sharon, know she is a good cook, one of the favorite breakfasts she makes is a poached egg on English muffin….. I think that's what this is supposed to be. Sharon's is warm and soft, melts in your mouth, even if you don't have teeth….this one is cold and hard, requires good choppers and the egg can easily serve as a rubber Frisbee. I was hungry, so man of little will power I had, I caved, about a half hour later, I had my breakfast and a new case of sore gums……sure hope to have teeth by Thanksgiving! Presentation of lunch was not much different, some kind of pelletized meat sitting underneath a scoop of mashed potatoes that strongly resembled a Frisbee….. do you see a pattern developing here? There were some boiled zucchini slices which I promptly devoured and a cup of half melted rainbow sherbet which shortly follow…. Remembering a vague promise from Sharon for a visit that included food, and the reminder of damaged gums, I digressed from the remainder of the food in hope of that visit. About a half hour before dinner was served, my wonderful wife entered bearing a gift of spaghetti and meatballs in a bean pot, still warm….. probably based on the supposition that she makes that drive in 45 minutes while it takes me an hour. The smell of which soon filled my luxury suite at the VA, I am sure prompting the nurse to deliver the evening offering, sure enough, same thing that was served for lunch with a different color gravy on top of the Frisbee potatoes and a side dish of creamed corn instead of boiled zucchini, such imagination was hard to refuse but was already near foundered by the spaghetti, the addition of a piece of cake which Sharon ate and a cup of pears which I ate was all we could manage so the nurse graciously offered to remove the remainder it to a waiting receptacle, I assume to be recycled at the nearest hog/chicken farm into the basis of next month's presentations.
The last thing I would like to share is an early 'Christmas Tree" that stands beside my bed and is decorated with various pumps and brightly colored bags of chemo. Currently I have 5 bags draining into me and have has up to 7 today draining at one time today.
Well I tried to get the blog to co-operate but it wont....so click this link below if you want see this post with pics pics:
http://www.homewego.com/blog_surprise_hospital_day4.htm
True to my wacky little analogy section -- "What would Bre'r Rabbit Do"? -- Remember Brer Rabbit is me, Brer Fox and Brer Bear are the bad guys……just tryin to do me in..…..
Now Brer Rabbit, he feeling pretty good about outfoxing (excuse the pun) Brer Fox, he almost laughed hisself to death in his Laughin Place, had a good nights sleep and now was thinking about how to get back at that wascally fox. Hummm he say, bout this time of day old Brer Bear is always takin a nap in his cave, so Rabbit, he sneaketi sneck to the cave and he hears Bear snoring up a storm on the couch, peeks throgh the door and sees all is clear, chuckling under his breath he slow crawls up to the couch and begins to whisper in Brer Bears ear…."Honey Tree", Honey Tree"…over and over again. Pretty soon old Brer Bear gets to lickin his chops and drooling all over hisself, Rabbit was having so much fun with Bear that he never saw Old Brer Fox walk through the front door and Fox sees rabbit whispering in Bears ear, sneaks up behind him and whack, grabs him about the ears and Rabbit lets out a whoop that could be heard all the way to Remus Holler…… of course Bear wakes up lickity split and sees what is going on….. but then remembers "Honey Tree"……Fox says we got him….lets have dinner! Rabbit he says NOPE! If you eat me for dinner, you won't know where that big fat, delicious honey tree is that I found. Bear stopped mid step while pulling out the dinner plates and said "did you say Honey tree"? Yup says Rabbit, I said "honey tree"….. now Fox sees right away whets going on and he turned to run with Brer Rabbit but Bear grabbed him by the tale, turned him around and said "Fox..we..is..going..to..the..Honey Tree….. DO YOU AGREE? Fox knowing when he is beat says yup we is going to the honey tree. They throwed a rope around Rabbits neck and said "March". Fox following Rabbit holding the rope and Bear following Fox with a big club in his hand. About a mile down the road, Rabbit points into the woods and say "we gots to go there…..listen….sure nuff, they hear the buzzing of the bees and Bear he is getting real excited……but he ain't no fools…..he been here before and them bee stings hurt….. Fox he say " give me ur coat", "what for says Fox?" Bear says cause I gotta cover my head and nose from all the stinging, and gimme that rope to tie it down". But Bear Fox says "that no count Rabbit will run away" Bear says "No he won't, just sit on him". So Fox gives bear his coat and his rope, sits on Rabbit and Bear wraps the coat roun his head and nose and ties it roun his neck. Can't see real well, but heads for the buzzing and jumps in right where the buzzing is loudest…..Fox hearst a terible comotion and Brer Bear comes running out with Brer Bull swing his horns awful close to his backside……you see Brer Bull was taking a snooze in those buses and Bear jumped right on his head a grabbin at his nose, which Bull did not take too kindly too. Now Fox sees troble coming straight at him and afore he could move Bear plows right into him followed by Bull all in heap just a kicking and a bitin and a bellowin and raisin all kinds of dust…..naturly Rabbit jumped out of that that free for all real quick and took offa running to his Laughin Place, where he laughed so hard he cried. Now where is your Laughin Place, have you been there lately? By the way the take away from this story is don't mess with the Rabbit when he knows where the Bull takes his nap.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Surprise- Surprise - Surprise
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise - October 15th, 2010 Prayer is a good thing!
Had news on Thursday that last Bone Marrow Biopsy showed that the drug (Vidaza) I am taking is no longer working and I have progressed to AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia). Blast count is now 24 and AML threshold is 20. This throws me out of consideration for a Bone Marrow Transplant for the near future. They want me in the hospital first thing Monday morning for a 7 day session of induction chemo followed by a 3 week stay in hospital sanitary environment as all my immune system will be destroyed. They want to monitor for any infection, fungus or need for blood transfusion. Ultimate goal is get blast count back below 20 and get the BMT done ASAP.
I asked what kind of alternative I was looking at and doctor said that without treatment I would be dead in 4 weeks, with treatment we are looking at a 60-70% success remission rate.
Kind of a catch 22, they were waiting for a spot (infection/fungus) on my lung to disappear, it had been progressively getting smaller each 4 week cycle that they tested it with a CT Scan, however my white blood count is so low I can't fight off the infection very fast. A BMT can't be done with that infection present.
Still without teeth and looks like I won't get them till am out of the hospital, hopefully by Thanksgiving. Real busy getting rid of 36 pups and caring for one with a broken leg. Kids and Sharon really stepping up to help learn Alderwood 101 in a weekend. I have my laptop set up so I can connect to my home computer using my Blackberry (971 344-3282) as a tether. So should be able to send and receive emails. I really don't know yet to what degree I will be isolated.
Kids will out to learn more today as we deliver more pups and Sharon is making a meal of venison spaghetti, that should go a long way to making me strong. I have a link on the front page of the Alderwood Labradors website (http://www.oregonlabrador.com) and another on Facebook that will take you to our blog which I will try to keep updated while in the hospital the link to the blog is http://www.twisterme.blogspot.com
I find it amazing in a situation which only has a few options, how clearly one can think. I also find amazing the concern people have for one another when things get serious. Somehow that speaks of a “brotherhood” of people that take away all the fluff and busy lives, there seems to be a common bond of concern if not outright love.
So where does this lead us? Certainly the focus is now on knocking the AML back to a level where a BMT is considered safe and would be effective.
10/19/2010 - Am in the Portland VA Hospital. And will be for about 30 days….. at least that is the plan today. The idea is to use a very tough chemo plan to cure this nasty old AML ( for a while) and take me back to the good old days of MDS….. what did I just say…… amazing how one’s perspective changes…… speaking of perspective you may want to look at a website I am building http://www.dareconsiderthis.org, it’s not finished yet, but you may find what is there interesting, comments are certainly welcomed! I will have considerable time to work on it in the next month or so.
Met with 5 different doctors today, all wanted to hear my story, I am calling them the “A” Team, as in aint no more Azacitidine (the wonder drug that stopped working) and as in AML the current major enemy of this country boy. The consensus was unanimous. There just ain’t no good alternatives. So. I will do a 7 day induction chemo program, taking one drug 24 hours a day for that period and another for a three hour period each day, plus a big old syringe of some kinda red stuff that they take 15 minutes each day to push into my arm. They are using my old friend the PICC Line in my right arm (been there for a year now), and a new friend, a super IV port in my right arm. Between those I am getting three types of chemo, a super antibiotic and at least 16 various pills daily, not to mention2 stools softeners and a laxative to make “Johnny on the spot”, or would that be a frequent spot on the Johnny…..whatever! The jury is out as to if I will loose my hair…… won’t that be a spectacle, wake up with all my hair, head and body, laying around me like a bird’s nest……probably would not happen like that, but kinda funny to think about it. So far no adverse reactions to the chemo…….keep praying!
True to my wacky little analogy section -- “What would Bre’r Rabbit Do”? -- Remember Brer Rabbit is me, Brer Fox and Brer Bear are the bad guys……just tryin to do me in…..
OK….Brer Rabbit he not feeling really, you know, not tippy top good…..but he feeling OK, just one hippity after one hop, of course not like when he was a young rabbit, he could hippity hop out of just about anythin, just as sure as could be! But the years have taken their toll on ole Brer Rabbit, he won’t admit it but there is a hitch in his hippity hop, but you know this…..he’s a thinkin just as sharp as ever, only now when his mind says…Rabbit, you can do that, his body say, Rabbit, are you crazy…..but most of the time, Rabbit don’t pay no tention.
So……one day Rabbit is takin a slow hippity down his favorite country lane, not payin much tention anythin, and right otta the blue…..Bam…Swish….YeeHaaaaaa! Rabbit gets hog tied and swinged up into the air in the trap that Fox and Bear had set. The idea was to catch Rabbit when he was thinkin about other stuff an not payin tention to where he was going. Rabbit, he finds his self in pickle,
Had news on Thursday that last Bone Marrow Biopsy showed that the drug (Vidaza) I am taking is no longer working and I have progressed to AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia). Blast count is now 24 and AML threshold is 20. This throws me out of consideration for a Bone Marrow Transplant for the near future. They want me in the hospital first thing Monday morning for a 7 day session of induction chemo followed by a 3 week stay in hospital sanitary environment as all my immune system will be destroyed. They want to monitor for any infection, fungus or need for blood transfusion. Ultimate goal is get blast count back below 20 and get the BMT done ASAP.
I asked what kind of alternative I was looking at and doctor said that without treatment I would be dead in 4 weeks, with treatment we are looking at a 60-70% success remission rate.
Kind of a catch 22, they were waiting for a spot (infection/fungus) on my lung to disappear, it had been progressively getting smaller each 4 week cycle that they tested it with a CT Scan, however my white blood count is so low I can't fight off the infection very fast. A BMT can't be done with that infection present.
Still without teeth and looks like I won't get them till am out of the hospital, hopefully by Thanksgiving. Real busy getting rid of 36 pups and caring for one with a broken leg. Kids and Sharon really stepping up to help learn Alderwood 101 in a weekend. I have my laptop set up so I can connect to my home computer using my Blackberry (971 344-3282) as a tether. So should be able to send and receive emails. I really don't know yet to what degree I will be isolated.
Kids will out to learn more today as we deliver more pups and Sharon is making a meal of venison spaghetti, that should go a long way to making me strong. I have a link on the front page of the Alderwood Labradors website (http://www.oregonlabrador.com) and another on Facebook that will take you to our blog which I will try to keep updated while in the hospital the link to the blog is http://www.twisterme.blogspot.com
I find it amazing in a situation which only has a few options, how clearly one can think. I also find amazing the concern people have for one another when things get serious. Somehow that speaks of a “brotherhood” of people that take away all the fluff and busy lives, there seems to be a common bond of concern if not outright love.
So where does this lead us? Certainly the focus is now on knocking the AML back to a level where a BMT is considered safe and would be effective.
10/19/2010 - Am in the Portland VA Hospital. And will be for about 30 days….. at least that is the plan today. The idea is to use a very tough chemo plan to cure this nasty old AML ( for a while) and take me back to the good old days of MDS….. what did I just say…… amazing how one’s perspective changes…… speaking of perspective you may want to look at a website I am building http://www.dareconsiderthis.org, it’s not finished yet, but you may find what is there interesting, comments are certainly welcomed! I will have considerable time to work on it in the next month or so.
Met with 5 different doctors today, all wanted to hear my story, I am calling them the “A” Team, as in aint no more Azacitidine (the wonder drug that stopped working) and as in AML the current major enemy of this country boy. The consensus was unanimous. There just ain’t no good alternatives. So. I will do a 7 day induction chemo program, taking one drug 24 hours a day for that period and another for a three hour period each day, plus a big old syringe of some kinda red stuff that they take 15 minutes each day to push into my arm. They are using my old friend the PICC Line in my right arm (been there for a year now), and a new friend, a super IV port in my right arm. Between those I am getting three types of chemo, a super antibiotic and at least 16 various pills daily, not to mention2 stools softeners and a laxative to make “Johnny on the spot”, or would that be a frequent spot on the Johnny…..whatever! The jury is out as to if I will loose my hair…… won’t that be a spectacle, wake up with all my hair, head and body, laying around me like a bird’s nest……probably would not happen like that, but kinda funny to think about it. So far no adverse reactions to the chemo…….keep praying!
True to my wacky little analogy section -- “What would Bre’r Rabbit Do”? -- Remember Brer Rabbit is me, Brer Fox and Brer Bear are the bad guys……just tryin to do me in…..
OK….Brer Rabbit he not feeling really, you know, not tippy top good…..but he feeling OK, just one hippity after one hop, of course not like when he was a young rabbit, he could hippity hop out of just about anythin, just as sure as could be! But the years have taken their toll on ole Brer Rabbit, he won’t admit it but there is a hitch in his hippity hop, but you know this…..he’s a thinkin just as sharp as ever, only now when his mind says…Rabbit, you can do that, his body say, Rabbit, are you crazy…..but most of the time, Rabbit don’t pay no tention.
So……one day Rabbit is takin a slow hippity down his favorite country lane, not payin much tention anythin, and right otta the blue…..Bam…Swish….YeeHaaaaaa! Rabbit gets hog tied and swinged up into the air in the trap that Fox and Bear had set. The idea was to catch Rabbit when he was thinkin about other stuff an not payin tention to where he was going. Rabbit, he finds his self in pickle,
Fox, he thinks he finally got Rabbit. Remember, the story goes that Rabbit’s mind was still as keen as ever, it’s just his body that wasn’t keepin pace, so Rabbit he gets to thinking, yup maybe it will work! Might just as well give it a try, the alternative don’t look too good! Rabbit says Fox…”you got me far and sqware, after all these years, just won’t be the same……who you gonna chase after I’s gone….. who you gonna think about, who you and Bear gonna fight over, yup we had a good ride, but you won!” Rabbit looked over at Bear and seed big bear tears rolling down his checks. He see Fox look at Bear and then real quick back at him……. “No he say……Bear noooooo…..don’t you listen Bear!” By this time Bear was making giant bear steps toward Fox, he grabbed Fox by the neck and blimity blam he whopped him right on top of the head, old Fox he lay low…. He seeing stars. His head goiin roun and roun…..he drop Rabbit…… Bear unties rabbit and shoos him off…… bear watches him run off, but hollers “we gonna get you Rabbit….we gonna get you” Rabbit he chuckle and belly laff, head straight to his Laaughin Place and there he laff and laff and the storel of the morey……no matter what happens, there’s always a way to get back to your Laughin Place……where’s your Laughin Place?
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