Update

Dear Fod's,

It has been a while since the last posting and we wanted to update you on Debbie's progress. She continued to slide through last weekend and we went down to HUP on Monday and Tuesday to get blood and platlates. We also had a meeting with Dr. Porter on Monday.

In typical HUP tradition, Debbie knew that she needed blood on Monday and called ahead to Porter's office to get the process started. She was having bad headaches which she now knows come on when her hemoglobin is too low. In order to maximize our visit, Deb wanted to get typed and cross matched before waiting for her appointment, so that they could order the blood while we were with the Doctor and transfuse her after the visit before the lab closed. When we got there, we had to wait to talk to Heather and when we did, we had to wait until we saw the Doctor, and when we were done with the Doctor, it was too late to get the blood. Mind you, we were all done by 2:45, but in HUP world, it takes a minimum of 2 hours to get the blood up to the floor and by the time it would have arrived, the girls would have went home. So we had to come back on Tuesday! They did give us platlates and we were free to go home at 4:45 on our favorite road.

The doctor also ordered a CAT scan to make sure that Debbie was not having any cranial bleeding because her platlates and hemoglobin were so low. While we were waiting for the blood that never came, we made an appointment in Lansdale for the CAT, but then had to cancel it when we learned of the return trip to HUP. Luckily, our Aetna case manager was able to have the CAT arranged for Tuesday morning at HUP.

We arrived back down at HUP at 7:30 AM and waited for the office to open. Once Debbie was settled in, I had to return to the office for some immoveable meetings until 1:00. Debbie was done by that time and back we went to fetch her home. We beat the traffic on that day. The CAT scan was clear and this batch of blood and platlates seem to have helped her turn the corner. Her recovery definitely took longer this time than the last. The nurses said that Debbie's marrow is getting tired from all the chemo and that it will take longer and longer to come back. Not a pleasant thought.

Debbie has agreed to a final round of consolidation chemotherapy starting next Monday for 6 days, just like the last round. Next week she intends to visit with Jester and her family and to spend some time with her grandbabies. That will be good for her.

Debbie had a good day today. She ventured out to the King of Prussia Mall and is eating pizza at the moment. All good signs! We will keep you posted.

Deb sends her love to all.

Debbie's Birthday Update

Dear Fod's,

Thank you for all of the cards and well wishes that have been pouring into Debbie over the past few days to celebrate her birthday. She has received more cards this year than she has in the past three -- but not that she doesn't deserve them!

Deb's chemo has continued to work within her and today she hit a low point. She had 0 WBC and a platlate count of 1. If you can get lower than that, we have never seen it. We were scheduled to be in HUP today anyway, but it was probably a day or two late. Debbie was not feeling well before we left this morning and now we know there were very good reasons. We will need to increase the home visits and get her blood tested more frequently.

They had typed and cross matched Debbie on Monday during our platlate visit so they were ready for her when we arrived today. She received platlates and 2 units of blood and was feeling better, but very, very tired. We were there for about 5 hours today.

When we arrived home, she went straight to bed and has been resting. She had some bean with bacon soup for dinner and will be sleeping early tonight. Hopefully, her counts will start to climb and she will regain her immune system. We go back to visit with Dr. Oz on Monday and will learn what they next have in store for Debbie.

We will keep you posted after our visit on Monday. Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers for Debbie.

Deb sends her love to all.

Home Again

Debbie arrived home yesterday afternoon and is doing remarkably well for all that she has gone through over the past 5 months. She was more than ready to leave HUP when I arrived, about 1 hour later than expected, on Tuesday afternoon. Literally, she finished her last dose of chemotherapy at about 11:00 and was allowed to leave. Obviously, over the next few weeks we are going to need to be very careful that Debbie does not pick up a bug or a cold until her counts recover. As it now stands, her counts are still good -- the scary part is that they will continue to fall for quite some time before they bottom out and begin to recover. They will be taking blood samples twice a week to monitor her counts so that we have some idea of whether she is heading up or down. But that will be a far cry from the daily counts that they took while she was an in-patient. The hospital sent us home with a 2 week supply of neupogen which is the "super-shot" that is intended to jump start her system. Debbie will take these shots once aday until her counts recover.

Deb's rash is continuing to worsen, which was not unexpected. The last batch of rashes took quite a number of days before they peaked and began to subside. Debbie is very itchy, but she is tolerating this well, as she does with most of these things.

Debbie's "home coming" meal was her favorite egg plant parmesano which we prepared after she returned home. Apparently, she had that again for breakfast and lunch today -- so her appetite remains unaffected by this ordeal, which is good. Debbie stayed at home and took it easy today getting her house back in order. Except for the rash, she is doing superbly.

We need to be very careful with Debbie until her counts return to normal. Presently, she is on the upside of the slope and the chemo will continue to drag her counts down for some number of days. I would expect that she will be hitting the bottom some time next week. As we understand where her counts are and what this means for visitors, we will keep you posted. For now, the cautions are obvious -- no colds, flu, maladies of any form, etc., nor anyone in the immediate household. We must remember that no matter how good she looks, her immune system is completely compromised.

Deb sends her love to all.

Consolidation Chemotherapy Day 4

Deb had a very nice evening yesterday with Eileen and Beth. They ordered out to one of the local restaurants and enjoyed a carmel apple for desert. Debbie said that she actually slept last evening and she looked much more rested today.

My buddy George stopped in for a visit this afternoon on his way to his part time job at Swarthmore College. Shortly thereafter, Allie and Joey went down for a visit with some very special soft pretzels with mustard. Because of the weather today, everyone stayed inside -- but did their laps none the less. Joey called me from our favorite road while I was parking the car. Debbie had a nice afternoon of visitors today until around 7:00 PM.

I arrived shortly after 4:00 PM and we watched a movie together on Debbie's DVD machine. This machine is really amazing. It has a crystal clear picture and, with headphones, wonderful sound. We both had a set of headphones on and we laid across the bed and watched the show. It was nice to relax together, even though we didn't land in Heathrow at the end of the movie. We then did some laps, turned our noses up on the dinner again, and went downstairs to the gift shop for potatoe chips and soda. Luckily, the carmel apple fairy brought another one down today and that will probably be both dinner and dessert tonight.

Sorry to say but the rash is coming back now, there is no doubt about it. It is still a very low grade rash compared to last time, but it is spreading and itching like crazy. The nurses brought Debbie some benadryl and hopefully this will settle her down. I think that she will be OK because she is not on any antibiotics, but there is definitely a storm brewing here.

So far, we are still on track to come home on Tuesday afternoon.

Deb sends her love to all.

Consolidation Chemo Day 3

Debbie has gone through the first round of high dose chemotherapy and she is doing very well. She received her first dosing on Thursday evening and then again on Friday morning. By Friday afternoon she felt well enough to go out for a walk with Mike and she did a little shopping. They had a nice lunch together at one of the local cafes. I visited with Debbie after Mike left and we actually drove passed each other on our favorite road around the zoo exit. Deb was doing fine during the evening and was walking her laps like the veteran that she is. Her nurse buddies were telling her to "go girl" and she did.

Debbie was "off" from the chemo last night and this morning and she will go on again tonight and on Sunday morning. Mike and I visited with Debbie this afternoon -- could have been this morning, but for our favorite road -- and Debbie felt well enough to go outside and enjoy the wonderful weather we are having here. It was in the upper 60's today and it was beautiful. We walked down through Penn for a few blocks and had a nice lunch at a cafe called "Mad Mex." Debbie enjoyed her lunch, walked back to her room and promptly fell asleep. Debbie does not sleep well in the hospital and neither would most of us. She and Mike were both "sawing wood" in a short while and I went out to walk.

While they were sleeping, I saw one of my man buddies that I met while on Ravdin 9. His wife Mary took Debbie's room on 941 when she went into ICU. Ray is a very nice man who is a retired Executive Chef -- a real Emril!! Plus he lives in South Jersey. He gives me pointers and we catch up on the progress of our wives from our side of the road. It is nice to have him to talk to.

Mike and Debbie slept for about 1 hour while I visited and read the papers. Eileen Cota and Beth Campbell were coming down to visit with Debbie and they were intending to make a night of it. Debbie doesn't like the evenings, so I am sure that they will boost her spirits. They were going to order in and I am sure that they are having a fine time.

While we were visiting today, it looked like Debbie may be developing a rash. It is hardly anything and we hope that it is nothing, but we are very sensitive to these things. Something looks like it is cooking. We will be monitoring this closely and hoping for the best.

I will visit again with Deb tomorrow afternoon and will post tomorrow evening. So far, everything is on track to come home on Tuesday afternoon.

Deb sends her love to all.

Consolidation Check In

Debbie was checked into HUP for her consolidation chemotherapy this afternoon. Our friend Mary Ellen did us another kind turn and made sure that Debbie got her old room back on Rhoades 6, Room 6008 -- a beautiful corner suite -- with a sofa bed, hard wood floors and a nice tile bathroom. Most especially, however, Debbie has all of her nurse buddies back taking care of her.

When Debbie arrived on the floor -- all of her friends were there to greet her and it took us 10 minutes to walk about 10 feet. Other patients were poking their heads out of the room to make sure the President wasn't on the floor. Debbie has touched so many people during her ordeal and they have touched her back, that it was a very special moment and there is a very special bond between them. Nurse Patty was there to hug us and help us to settle in and get ready for the next round. Debbie is in the best hands and we are thankful for everyones' kindness.

They will start the new round of chemotherapy tonight @ 9:00 PM and they will follow it again with another round @ 9:00 AM. She will get a days rest and then they will repeat the cycle or the 9's for a total of three. If all goes well, she will be discharged on Tuesday afternoon to come home to recover.

Everyone continues to be amazed at how well Debbie looks and about her remarkable recovery. They are all hopeful that we are now on the path to a total recovery.

FOD's, Debbie's land line!!! is 215.615.8147 -- please use this line to talk with her. She does have her cell phone, but I have to encourage the land line for fiscal reasons.

Debbie sends her love to all.

Emma calls a Time Out!

Dear FOD's,

Debbie had a nice weekend with her friends and family -- my parents came up on Friday night for dinner and her extended family from Easton came on Saturday, with a months worth of "good eats," followed by a night cap of best buddies and cosmos for the Oscars on Sunday. As a special surprise, Cousin Eileen came in from St. Louis on Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday evening, when Brendan. There was 2 million words, pool contests, eating contests and bowling contests! In a normal world, that would be enough -- but not here. Half way through the Oscars, Jester called and said that she was going to the hospital -- one month early. She went into the operating room @ 10:30 and we got a call at 2:30 AM to tell us that Emma had arrived. Although 1 month early she was 8 pounds and 20.5 inches long and a thriving little girl! Not too shabby for a premie!

Deb called HUP on Monday morning and explained the situation and they were more than happy for her to visit with Emma for a few days and to check in on Thursday. Of course, we took this opportunity to run down Rt. 95 and we were there by 2:00 pm on Monday afternoon. Emma is beautiful, Jester is doing very well and Debbie is on "Cloud 9." This was so good for Debbie, she could not believe it. "Gammyhood" agrees with her.

We spent the afternoon with Jester and Emma and then went back to their home and spent time with Walid and Mr. C., who was very glad to see his Gammy -- although he is not too sure about his new sister. We will be sending Emma an air helmut and keflair for her homecoming gift. She will thank us later.

I took the trains home and Deb will drive home tomorrow. The current plan is for Deb to go into HUP on Thursday. Assuming that this goes forward, we will keep you posted.

Deb sends her love to all.