SHE'S IN

Terry was admitted to the hospital yesterday. She was hooked up to her new close friend, an IV pole. For the next few weeks wherever Terry goes--- her new friend goes. Her transplant will take place later today. For those who wanted her address and telephone number they are:

Theresa MacDonald
> University of Michigan Hospital
> 1500 E. Medical Center Drive
> Room 8A-111
> Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0110
>
> Her hospital telephone number is 734-936-8111

For those who wanted to visit, the visiting hours are 10 AM-10PM.

KEEP THE FAITH!

SLIGHT CHANGE OF PLANS

Today has been a day at the hospital. Terry started at 10 AM with a blood draw, saw Dr. Mineishi (transplant oncologist) and Isabella (Nurse Coordinator) from 11 AM to. 12:30. At 1:30 she had an extensive pulmonary test and tonight at 10:30 PM she will have a full body MRI.
So far-so good all of her tests are going well and she is still on to be admitted on the 15th. The change is that the stem cell transplant will start the morning of the 16th. We thought she would be getting the transplant the evening of the 15th. Evidently we were mistaken.
For those of you who want to visit, the visiting hours are 10 AM to 10 PM. You probably may want to call ahead to make sure she is up to having visitors. My cell phone is 734-634-8598. She cannot have any fresh flowers, plants, fruit or vegetables. When I get her address I know Terry would appreciate any cards and especially your prayers. I will blog her address asap.
I will probably write a daily update once the transplant takes place.
Merry CHRISTmas to all.

WILL THE BUMPS IN THE ROAD NEVER END?

December 1st is cancelled for Terry's transplant. She came down with a severe sinus infection and has been treated with antibiotics and a few other medications. She can't have the transplant with an active infectious process.
We saw the Transplant Oncologist earlier this week and now the tenative date is 12/15/09. That will mean Christmas in the hospital.
On a positive note, our daughter Karen and her housemate Annisa visitied for Thanksgiving. Although the visit was brief it was wonderful. They bring a lot of sunshine to us. We are thankful for every day, for all of our freinds, relatives and well-wishers.

AWESOME NEWS

We arrived home last night from our visit to Rome. There was a phone message from the Nurse Coordinator at the University of Michigan. The message was short but very sweet. "It's a go! Doctors Mineishi and Bloom conferred and Terry will have her stem cell transplant as scheduled on December 1st". Now we enter the next phase of her road to subduing the cancer.

A few people have asked some questions of this disease and the ensuing treatment. FYI, the stem cell transplant has nothing to do with embryonic stem cells. Terry will be receiving her own cells which were harvested from her bone marrow a few months ago. They have been "on ice" and will be defrosted just before the transplant procedure.

When Terry goes into the hospital for the transplant, we are told the procedure is rather anti-climatic. The cells are thawed and she will be given them by I.V. However due to a high dose of chemo given the day preceding the transplant Terry will have no ability to fight infections and will have to be hospitalized for a least two weeks and in a controlled form of isolation. She will be able to have visitors but whenever she wants to leave her room she will wear a mask. Terry will not be able to have fresh flowers or plants as they carry molds, fungi and other things that could do her harm.

Our prayers have been answered for this news. We know that a lot of people have been praying for her too. Please don't stop praying for her yet as she now needs a successful transplant. Thank you all for what you have done. God bless you all.

STILL ON THE FENCE

Terry had her biopsy last Wednesday and we were hoping to have the results by Monday-Tuesday at the latest. Both days came and went. Finally at 4 PM on Wednesday Dr. Bloom (Terry's Primary Oncologist) called with the results. Good news and we aren't sure news. The good news is that Terry's cancer cells in her marrow are down to 2 %. The goal was to get to less than 5%. However, the pathologist who examined Terry's bone marrow slide saw something that bothered her and she decided to do a few extra tests. That is why the results were late, as we were waiting for these added tests. The new tests show small islands of cancer within the core of the biopsy that are up to 15% cancer cells. Dr. Bloom wants to confer with the Transplant Oncologist (Dr Mineishi) to assess the viability of the impending stem cell transplant. To make a long story short we don't know and won't know if Terry will have her stem cells transplanted on December 1st or not. We are still up in the air and will probably know more early next week.

In the meantime Terry has a 10 day hiatus from chemotherapy so we are in Rome, New York visiting her family. Terry's Mom is in a nursing home, so this visit has been a jolt of good for both of them.

On a more macabre note, we visited our gravestone which was put in place a few weeks ago. I wanted to lie down and have our picture taken, but saner heads prevailed. Terry said "no".

I will update this blog next week, hopefully with good news. Please keep the prayers and good thoughts soming.

All Dressed Up and No Place To Go

Terry sure looks happy for a girl with cancer. The picture on the left is a recent photo taken for our church directory. The caption for this item is really a misnomer. We have been going a lot of places and visiting with many of our friends and family. We just dress more casually.
If everything goes right, Terry is scheduled to be admitted to the University of Michigan on December 1st for her stem cell transplant. We won't know about that for at least a few weeks.
This week Terry had to stop her chemotherapy as she has developed a case of shingles. I am no longer the only pain in her side. We don't know what this will do to her moving forward with the transplant. We will learn more in about a week.
This disease really sucks! Just when things seem to start to fall in line, something else appears and screw things up. Through all of this, Terry has had a great attitude. Someone wrote on the blog that she is a hero. She's got my vote too.
Soon after the transplant and the disease is put into remission, we will get all dressed up and have plenty of places to go.
Thanks again to all for your prayers, cards, notes, calls, etc. We are blessed to have so many friends.

A NEW MONTH - ANXIETY AGAIN

Terry has been taking her new regimen for a few months now and is tolerating it well. We thought her next bone marrow biopsy would be at least a month away. To make a long story short, Dr. Bloom ran another test measuring Terry's light chains. No, not the type you have in your closet! Her multiple myeloma is a kappa light chain type. Her kappa free light chains have been averaging anywhere from 22.1 to 25.4. Normal should be 0.33 to 1.94. Since she has been on this new medication, Velcade, her kappa light chains have dropped to 2.74. That is a remarkable result! However the proof of the pudding is in the tasting - in this case testing. We received a message from the transplant team, that they want a bone marrow biopsy scheduled soon. If that comes back as they suspect Terry will now get her stem cell transplant the first week of December.
Now it is time to get nervous again. If you have any extra prayers left, please say one for Terry to do well in the biopsy.
Thank you all for the cards, prayers, calls, e-mails, concerns and prayers. Yes, I meant to say prayers twice.