11/30

jani's post said it all. just feeling very flu like. sleeping an awful lot. between the nausea and not eating, i lost 7 lbs. yesterday. oh well, only a couple of more days. can't believe it's december tomorrow. hopefully i'll be saying that when february rolls around. keep the faith.

Post from Jani

It's Saturday evening. and I just spent the day with Kurt. He's wiped out and pretty much slept all morning and day while I made bracelets and necklaces. It's as if he has a bad flu--headache, body aches, nausea, exhaustion. They administered chemo yesterday--at 3pm then 3am. He'll have his next dose tomorrow. It's going to be a tough 5 days. He didn't even drink his favorite, Oberweis chocolate milk shake, however I didn't have a problem polishing mine off. (I'm sure that's not on his heart healthy menu...we are working on calories at this point.) Speaking of heart healthy...he called the room service last night to order dinner, and they told he he was "restricted" to eat heart healthy. Mr. Steak was not happy. They wouldn't let him order a ham and cheese sandwich, but they let him have a hamburger. I'm confused. There's a lot that I need to learn about h.h. cooking! I'm learning a lot these days... I will be certified leukemia nurse by january! Please keep him in your prayers. Happy Holidays, jani

11/28

returned to u of c today. starting the first consolidation chemo this evening. the results of my bone marrow biopsy from tuesday were very good. i am considered in remission. everything is going as well as they had hoped. i will be here through the end of next week, receiving a more concentrated dose of one of the chemo drugs, trying to totally eradicate any trace of the disease. definitely ready to start moving forward again.

11/27

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!

11/25

just returned from the bone marrow biopsy. had one of the pros do it, but a little more uncomfortable than her first one. feeling good, enjoying my home/family time very much. although i'm ready to get back at it. go in friday morning for 5-6 days of consolidation chemo treatment.  i won't post again until friday afternoon with all the latest news.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! my family and i are very thankful for all the love, support, prayers, meals, well wishes and the outpouring of concern and compassion from all our family and friends!

once again HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone

11/24

at home this week. go to u of c for a bone marrow biopsy tomorrow, and will be admitted on friday for 5 days of chemo. i'm ready to move forward and put this all behind us.

11/23

nothing new. glad i get to spend thanksgiving at home. but i defintely want to get my treatments back on track. bone marrow tuesday, in patient on friday. happy thanksgiving everyone.

11/21

continuing to feel better. winter has come to chicago. it's pretty cold out. love ya

11/20

good morning. i just want to say i'm feeling fine. my in home nurse comes today to change my dressings and flush my hickman line. this is done every other day to prevent my line from coagulating. my agenda for today is to walk the dog, clean out a closet, and a couple of other miscellaneous things. believe it or not, counting the days to be readmitted. i wish i had a time machine to speed this whole thing up. want to put this whole mess behind me and move on. thanks for your continued support.

is my hair growing out? maybe a little.

11/19

i am definitely feeling stronger. not nearly as paranoid about my aches and pains. doing very small chores, trying not to over exert myself. taking the the dog around the block is an example. it is nice to spend some time with my kids and jani. love you all. keep us in your thoughts. thanks


You got to keep on keepin on
You got to keep your head up high
You gotta work with what you've got
And someday you will fly.

11/17

another long day at u of c. after meeting with the cardiologist he said my heart was healthy enough to resume chemo. he also said it was highly probable that i did have a minor heart attack on 9/26. when i went to e.r. on that monday it was with heart attack symptoms, but when they discovered the lump in my throat the diagnosis took a 180 degree turn. my oncologist said that i will have a bone marrow biopsy on tues. 11/25, and then be admitted on fri. 11/28 for the second round of chemo. i will be in the hospital for 5 to 6 days, although, i am now a "special " patient which could alter my stay. wish me luck and keep in your prayers. thanks again.

11/17

off to u of c today to meet with the oncologist and the cardiologist. hope to have a clearer picture of my treatment future soon. i'll let you know.

11/14

it was nice to sleep in my own bed last night. i feel good, although very hypochondriactic.  every little ache and pain is magnified. hope to not be so worried soon. trying to live as normally as possible. keep the faith.

11/13

home again. just a bump in the road. home for at least the weekend. back to u of c for a couple of appts. monday. feeling good, glad to be home.

11/12

still at lagrange memorial, and i will be sleeping here again tonight. after much discussion, my schedule should be as follows. discharged tomorrow, and at home for the weekend. i would go back to u of c for the biopsy and a meeting with the oncologist on monday. then home, hopefully through the next weekend. i would then start my first consolidation treatment on 11/24. this is all still very tentative. taking one day at a time. love you all

11/11

everyday is a winding road

experienced chest pain last night, wouldn't subside. drove to lagrange memorial at 10:30 pm to get an ekg. first 1 is slightly abnormal. after a couple of more, with the last one showing more abnormalities, they did an angiogram, then an angioplasty cleared a block in my right ventricle artery. this is not uncommon for leukemia patients, as my body is making way to many platlets. with my bone marrow biopsy at u of c hospital tomorrow at 8:30 am, i was very insistent to be released today. the compromise is to be transferred to u of c in an ambulance for further monitoring. waiting for a bed at u of c, hoping that all the blood thinners given won't delay my biopsy. i want to stay on my treatment schedule. keep praying. thank you.


i get a little closer to feeling fine

11/10

feeling stronger, gaining some weight back. still get winded pretty quickly. but getting better. my hair was starting to scare me, so i took matters into my own hands. next time for news is thursday afternoon.

11/8

been home for a couple of days, and it's been great. feeling fine, just don't have a lot of energy. i think that's why they sent me home. build myself up, so they can give the next treatment. meeting with the oncologist next thursday. hope to have a much clearer idea of what my immediate future holds. won't have any more news until then. my hair is definitely thinning out, as the picture shows. keep the faith.

11/6

HOME!

i'll be home 2 weeks and then back for another round of inpatient chemo.

i won't be updating for awhile, unless i go dancing.

thanks to everyone who supported my family and me. keep sending prayers. it's not over yet.

10/5 6:00

finally got the news i've been waiting for. i'm being released tommorow! still no details as to the next steps, but obviously very good news.

11/5

still waiting for the patholigists to finish my biospy. hope to know by this afternoon. while waiting, jani broke me out for some sun and fresh air. first time in 2+ weeks.

11/4

didn't sleep real well last night. lots of things going through my mind. physically i continue to get stronger and healthier. my white blood cell count contiunes to soar. the bottom of the normal range (the point at which the warden will commute my sentence) is 3.5. saturday morning i was .6, sunday morning 1.2, monday morning 2.1, 2.8 this morning. i'm obviously headed in the right direction. mentally i'm stronger now as well. i have some new emotional energy to focus on my condition. once again, thank you to all the family and friends who continue to support, understand, pray for, and send love to me and my family. jani, i need my pom-poms.

Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh! The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may Tomorrow!

11/3

hair today, gone tomorrow. not coming out in clumps yet, but shedding hair pretty quickly. bone marrow biopsy today. fingers crossed! white blood cells are climbing steadily, although still below the level the warden would let me go. pray for a clean slate today. thanks.

an update. they did the bone marrow byopsy around 11. much more pleasant this time (if rooting around in your hip bone can be pleasant) now anxiously awaiting the results. (wed. morning)


last pic with hair?

11/2

feeling fine physically , but my incarceration is wearing on me mentally. all the clock change did is add an hour to my sentence. tomorrow is the day 21 bone marrow biopsy, with results Wednesday. praying for absolutely no evidence of any remaining leukemia cells. my future treatment direction is based on these results, so let's hope. awoke today with several hairs on the pillow, by far the most so far. i know there are people out there that want to see me bald, they might get to see it. go bears, and would someone please put jimmy johnson in the wall.

11/1

the start of a new month. who woulda thunk. the fevers seemed to have abated, i've gone a couple of days without one. still haven't found hair on the pillow, keeping my fingers crossed. feeling fine, just wish i had a time machine to speed up time.

no relevance, just a shot of an old hero.