2/19/11 MDACC is IMPRESSIVE

MDACC keeps us impressing both Joe and me. Dr. Romaguera called us at 9AM on Friday and told us that he expedited the Infectious Disease Appointment from Monday to Friday at 2PM with Dr. Torres. He had also consulted with Dr. V, MDACC Myelofibrosis expert, who agreed with Romaguera the enlarged spleen is probably from the neupogin shots that facilitate the growth of White Blood Cells after chemo has knocked them down to almost zero. Joe's last shot of neupogin was over a week ago. They both feel that the spleen will decrease in size in a week or two so it is a wait and see. Dr R told us to page him after the visit with Dr Torres so he could come over to the clinic and measure Joe's spleen.

We walked into the Internal Medicine Clinic on the 6th floor near Elevator A right at 2PM. We were ushered to an exam room right away and an RN took Joe's vitals and asked Joe a hundred questions. Joe's blood pressure is staying excellent at 120/61 and he had no fever. Dr. Torres walked into the exam room with a hardy handshake and a nice friendly smile. He had a cane to assist him walking but he was only in his late 40's. You could tell he was very smart and we trusted his opinion. He examined Joe very thoroughly and reviewed the CT and X-Rays and agreed that there was an inflammation and spot on Joe's lungs in the upper lobe which needs to be investigated. He ruled out a fungal infection since one would be very sick with it and he said Joe looked pretty good. He left the room and called Dr. Romaguera to discuss what tests should be done so they could coordinate it. Dr Torres had a nose culture done and additional blood tests. Both doctors agreed that they needed to get into the lungs to examine the infection so it can be treated properly. They would set it up and let us know. They also want Joe to be examined on Monday by an ENT specialist and they would set that up also. Dr Torres stated that he would see us again on Tuesday and they would set that up also.

We headed down to the 2nd floor to the Diagnostic Clinic where the blood was drawn. Joe also handed the lab person the nose culture to be reviewed by the labs. As Joe was getting his blood, Goley called Joe and told him that on Monday morning he would see Dr Gillenwater, ENT specialist on the 10th floor near Elevator A at 10:15 to be examined. At 10:30 Joe would then go to the Cardiopulmonary Center on the 6th floor near Elevator C to be prepped for the bronch/lavage where they will sedate Joe and stick a tube down his throat to get to the areas in the lungs for samples. The prep takes about 30 minutes then at 11AM Joe has the procedure which takes about an hour. They will observe him till he comes back to normal. At 2Pm Joe goes to see the neurologist for further follow up on his seizure syndrome and to discuss the small non malignant growth at the base of his brain on the outside perimeter which Joe has had for over 20 years. Finally the day will be done. I am sure Joe will be quite exhausted so we will head back to the hotel so he can rest.

We stopped by the Lymphoma Clinic to have Romaguera paged since he was over in the hospital. He wanted to come over to the clinic to measure Joe's spleen which was 18 cm. It does not seem so bad to us since Joe's spleen has been as large as 30 cm. I guess the concern is how the spleen has grown into the groin area and more inwards. Thankfully Joe has no pain like some other patients complain about.

Saturday was a day off from medical tests and exams so we slept late then headed over to Panera Bread to have our usual light breakfast. I had my sesame bagel and Joe had the four cheese souffle that he just loves along with a large orange juice and small coffee. We headed back to the hotel where Joe ran up to the 3rd floor to change into shorts since the temperatures were in the mid 70's already and also to get Max. I drove over to Memorial Park which is only five minutes away which is well used by the locals with running, walking and biking. There are many walking paths and today we took the purple trail into the woods where the birds were singing their songs. We walked for a total of 40 minutes since I need to watch Joe from doing too much where he would be wiped out. Joe just loved being in the fresh air and walking since he had been looking forward to that for a long time. Max also enjoyed the walk and followed Joe and led Joe. After the walk, Joe wanted to get a foot massage so we headed back over to the Galleria area. He walked into one of the La Di Da places and they claimed they were too busy to fit him in. I drove to the other side of Westheimer near Fountain View Dr where I remember seeing a sign for massages at a reasonable price and it was a nice shopping center. The name of the place was Tulip Spa and they fit Joe in for an hour where he immensely enjoyed the massage on his lower legs and feet. The place was clean and busy. It only cost him $45. What a deal! As he was getting his foot massage, I headed back to the hotel, to drop Max off and catch up on my e-mails. I got back over to the spa to pick up Joe at 1PM and we decided to eat at the Mexican Restaurant next door called Los Cucos. The place was huge and very clean as well as colorful with nice waiters. The food was exceptionally good and we could not finished our dishes. We saw some unusual dishes passed us which was a large square iron sizzling skillet that was placed on a burner on the top of the table. It was filled of all kinds of grilled items and smelled terrific.

We headed back to the hotel and took a wonderful 3 hour afternoon nap. Afterwards I gave Max a good brushing since he is shredding lumps of fur. He loved it. The amount of fur that came off of him was tremendous. We may have to get him a haircut since there are lumps of fur all over the floor.

We had dinner reservations at Benji's in Rice Village. It was an action packed place with most people in their 20's and 30's with lots of talking and laughing. Joe had soup and a Caesar salad and I had a humongous pecan crusted double chicken breast with some of the best tasting veggies that I have ever had, It was a yummy dish. Max also like it since he feasted on the half of the chicken that I could not eat and the potatoes. The tab was reasonable for the quality. I would definitely order that dish again.

Now we are back at the studio apartment watching Saturday Night Live and relaxing. It was a great Saturday where Joe enjoyed the day so very much which gives me pleasure. Tomorrow is Joe's 68th birthday where we will attend St Phillips Presbyterian Church at 11AM. We will meet our friends from China, Yan and Hang for lunch at 12:30 at Kenny and Ziggy's. They will love it that I am sure. Sunday evening I have made reservations for the Capital Grille on Westheimer next to the Galleria for Joe's birthday dinner. He will love it.

I hope that your Saturday was wonderful also. May your Sunday also be a day to enjoy all the blessings God has bestowed on all off us. May the skies be blue, the temperatures warm with the birds singing their songs.

Thank you Lord for MDACC.

Ciao!