1/31

I'M HOME. got an early parole! get to sleep in my own bed tonight. yeehah.

1/31

if you can believe all the rumors and innuendos


tonight's the last night under lock down!
i've been by told several sources,
i'll be home for the superbowl!not quite the same ring. oh, well.

very exciting news. all of my counts are gaining very rapidly.
i obviously had a very healthy donor and their cells are growing at prestigious rates. (like the big word?) in the most optimistic world, i will never have to be admitted again for medical treatment of aml. all of my treatment from now on will be out patient! hallelujah! thanks to every one's thoughts and prayers, we couldn't have done it without you.




crawling from the wreckage
crawling from the wreckage
youd think by now at least that
half my brain would get the message
crawling from the wreckage
crawling from the wreckage
into a brand new car

1/30

i am definitely feeling better. all of my counts now appear very good.now comes the my opportunity to see how long it takes me to drive them over the edge. ha hah ha!

From the Observation Deck

I'm glad to say that by noon today, I saw a bit of the old Kurt--lying to the doctor about how he went for a walk, making obscene gestures behind Bruce's (the nurse) back, making faces at me when I asked him to drink more water and eat more sandwich, b---hing about the workman arriving a 10 days late to fix the heat. That's the Kurt we know and love.

His white blood cell count was up today so that's good news--they are going up!  That's it for now.  -jani

honestly feeling better, jani says i'm crabby. obviously a step in he right direction

1/28

You know the day destroys the night
night divides the day
tried to run
tried to hide
break on through to the other side
break on through to the other side
break on through to the other side yeah

sorry i haven't been posting been a rough couple of day

He's the same

Let's just call him Sleeping Beauty with a 10 o'clock shadow. The doctors said that days 7-10 are the worst. Today is day 7. As horrible as he feels, I am proud to say that he said to the doctor, "I'll get through this, just a few more days." That's great--he needs those positive thoughts in his head and body! Who is this guy???!!!
xxoo jani

1.27.09 - post from Florence Nightngale

Fact for the day: the stem cells are setting up shop in Kurt's bone marrow--that takes approximately 12+ days, for some people, shorter time; for others, longer. After that they hope his blood count will go up to get back to normal. Kurt wasn't normal to begin with! (joke). They have him on an anti rejection medicine so his body accepts the stems cells.

For those who've asked me about his heart, I asked the oncologist to contact the U of C cardiologist to make sure Kurt's ticker his okay. Everyone seems to be concerned about the stem cells, forgetting about the incident in Nov. We don't need another surprise or set back.

Yesterday Kurt went for a walk, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. One of the other patients referred to walking like the polar bears in the zoo, pacing back and forth, back and forth, up and down the hall way. Makes you appreciate the North Pole, I mean Chicago.

Today Kurt has been sleeping--nasty headache and nausea--part of this bad rollercoaster ride. I'm sure he just wants to get off.

That's it for now. Bon jour mi amigos.
-jani

1/26

must be feeling better. woke up at 8 with an agenda. (however small) shower, new linens and some breakfast. for you that haven't been following. these are good steps. let's hope i feel this way later today.

1/25

feeling ok. just very tired. thanks for the patience. love you

Please call first-post from jani

My apologies, doctors orders that Kurt needs to rest since he's been chit chattin' too much! Shocking, I know! I still think smiling faces and friends are a dose of good medicine. Kurt loves you all. So please call his cell before you come to see if he's up for a visit. If he doesn't answer, he's probably sleeping. Hopefully by the end of the week, he'll be feeling better and ready to watch more Blackhawks and violent movies. oxox jani

1/24

still feeling kinda blue. not sleepy very well, constant queasiness and headaches. drs. say this is to be expected. hope it passes soon.

1/23

my brother greg is in from l.a. it's great to see him. health wise, just killing time as my counts recover. could be a long couple of weeks.

Visitors Welcome!

Yes, Pete, healthy visitors are welcome.  Kurt is not under quarantine.  He'll be there for another 12-15 days so new faces are a must--I'm sure he's tired of mine!  xxoo Thanks for all your support.

jani

1/22

received stem cells last night around 10 p. sounds like everything went as well as possible. only real symptom this morning is a decent headache. otherwise feeling pretty good. all great news. i'll probably post later when i have more info.


i've been overhauled!

1/21

another day, another dollar. wondering what today is going to cost. the stem cells are to be picked up by a courier, and flown to chicago. they will be quickly processed and given to me
by iv at 10 pm. the infusion takes anywhere from 15 min. to 1 hr., supposedly i'll be sleeping.
probably a long day of waiting and being prepped. i'm definitely ready. once again thanks for the thoughts and prayers. love you all.

11/20 day 0

today is my so called rest day. day 0. i received my last chemo treatment yesterday. yee-hah. i get my transplant tomorrow evening. the predictions of my possible symptoms are all over the map. i heard everything from slight flu-like symptoms to maybe the worst i've had so far. everybody is different. you all know i'm not very philosophical, but supposedly this is a new birthday for me. reborn? i thought the world was dangerous enough with one of me. that's scary. having a very hard time wrapping my head around that one. my immune system is completely immature. diseases i had or was immunized for earlier in my life, i am totally vulnerable to. they have a detailed regime to slowly take care of this, but things like chicken pox, mumps, measles, etc. i have no immunity to. but finally, i think i'm on the last leg of this journey! wish me luck, and once again, thank you to every one's commitment to me and my family.

before after

1/19

feeling good. almost done with the last rounds of chemo, and then the real fun begins. hope everyone is staying warm. keep the faith.

1/18

slept better last night. i just do lights out around 8:00p, so i know i'll get 3 1/2 hours of undisturbed peace. after that is hourly rousts. it may only be an anomaly, but i was 173 this morning. i guess you safe for now bro.

1/17

doing okay. not getting a lot of sleep, at night at least. for some reason they start my treatments at 12 a.m. with hydration, 1 a.m. with premeds, and then 5 hours of chemo at 2. am. at 8 am i get another round of premeds, and at 9 a.m. i get 90 minutes of a second chemo.

party all night, sleep all day.

11/15

continuing to feel better. ate some soup this afternoon. first food since lunch tuesday. greg i'm gunning for 167. lookout. keep the prayer's coming. hope to see you all soon.

1/15 100 days since diagnosis...

sure feels longer. checked in again tuesday, looking at 30 days. that newcastle brown can sure get you down. sorry i didn't post yesterday, but i was feeling very blue. slightly better today. love you all, i can see a faint glimpse at the tunnel. let's hope it's not a train.

Post from Jani

Hi Friends,

Yesterday was a very long day waiting for his Hickman line to be reinstalled in his chest.  We finally got to his room around 3:30 to be greeted by numerous nurses and female doctors!  He's a celebrity.  They started chemo this morning.

Kurt can have visitors.  The whole isolation thing doesn't exist.  They use to do that a few years ago.  If you would like to visit him, please call his cell first and just make sure you don't have a cold/illness.  He is on the same floor, larger room!  I think a drop cloth, canvases and paint are going to  fit nicely!

Happy New Year, jani

1/13

on my way...hopefully the the last leg of the journey. see you in a month.

we are very lucky to have neighbors who truly are there to help us.

once again, thank you to a very special neighbor, snow blowing our driveway at 5:00 am.

love you all.

1/12

last day of freedom. need to run a couple of errands and pack. wish it was sunny.

1/11

going to morton's for dinner tonight. a last meal before my incarceration.

shrimp alexander
strip medium rare
hash browns
chocolate volcano cake

1/10

just another perfect day. i love l.a....grange

1/9

t-12 until transplant. definitely ready to move forward. love ya.

1/8

a lot to do today. off to u of c. blood draw at 10, ct scan of my chest/ lungs at 11:30, bone marrow biopsy at 1, meet with oncologist at 1:30. i should have a definite treatment schedule today. as it stands, i am being admitted tuesday for my transplant. hopefully the last leg of this journey. continue to wish me luck. thanks.


thirty days in the hole
that's what they give you
i know

What you doin' boy?
You here for 30 days
Get, get, get your long hair cut
And cut out your ways

1/7

another beautiful day in chicago. enjoy.

1/6

looks like i'm starting a couple of days early. probably being admitted the 13th. the sooner we start, the sooner i'll be done. find out for sure thursday.

1/5

feeling good. going for a walk. see ya.

Visitors Welcome!

Okay, Kurt has less than two weeks in La Grange before he heads to Chez U of C, please feel free to stop by and visit him, go for a walk around the block, go to the zoo, etc. etc.  His immune system is "up" so he can have visitors!  I'll be at work so I'll need someone to keep an eye on him!  Thanks!

Happy New Year, jani

1/4

feel good happy new year

1/3

t -12. i am starting to see the brick wall ahead. trying to enjoy my last 12 days before my next incarceration. wish i had a time machine.

1/2

went to u of c this morning and had blood drawn. my counts looks good. feeling good louis.

1/1

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S! celebrated a very close friend's 50th birthday yesterday. hard to believe, but we are getting really old. as it stands now, i go back for treatment on jan. 15th and hope to be home by the drop of the green at daytona. i really look forward to a great 2009. thank you to everyone for all their love and support. happy new year to all.


go hawks!