5/23/11 Last Round Done! Released!

Thankfully Joe has successfully completed round 8 of the HyperCVAD-R chemotherapy today and was released from MDA Hospital at 2:30 PM after the results of the Methrotrexate levels were under .1. There were so many times since October 11, 2010 when we did not think that Joe would be able to complete all eight rounds. To be able to type those words is a great feeling with the major milestone met. We will continue to be in Houston for the two week recovery period from the chemo followed by a whirlwind of staging tests starting on 6/6. We think that we will be home on Saturday, 11th of June, if all goes well. From our past experiences we have run into various infections that set us back or rather put us in a hold pattern. It was hard emotionally on Joe more than me since it just wanted to get over it. He is not the type of person who can handle being restricted to a hospital or hotel room. One unusual thing that happened with Joe that after the first two rounds of chemo, he refused to take showers. He would clean himself up pretty good with a washcloth and soap and always smelled good. The area that got a mess was his head and hair since he did not wash it. I suppose he thought there was so little of it so why bother. While he was in the hospital this past week, I shaved the remaining hair off his head and there was a massive amount of dead skin and crud on his scalp. I took him into the bathroom and washed his scalp for about 30 minutes until it looked sparking and shiny clean. He had no idea that it was that bad though I had I mentioned it to him many times. After awhile, I just stopped bringing it up, since it seemed I was nagging him about so much stuff such as drinking more liquids, eat all his food or some food, exercise by walking which he stopped doing. He lost so much weight the last two weeks that the dietitian wrote on his records that his weight lost over two weeks was considered "severe." She wrote that his weight was down to 156 pounds which scares the heck out of me. Joe can be quite stubborn so I have to be more creative in getting him to do the right stuff to help himself.

Last night Joe and I went up to the 17th floor Family Quiet Room to visit with Holli and Johnny Baker from Baytown, Texas. I have become friends with Holli via the ACOR.ORG on line support list for Mantle Cell Lymphoma. We have become cheerleaders and can discuss the most basic of bodily functions with out worrying about it offending any one of us. Holli had her hat on with a mask and gloves to protect her from germs. We had to pretend to hug each other from a distance since Holli's biggest enemy is infections since her immune system is zero. Her stem cell donor is from Germany and she is so grateful to that person. In a year she will find out the person's name and where they live. It took a long time for Holli to get a match so she was so excited and thrilled that a 8 out of 10 match was found. Holli has had the usual reactions such as diarrhea, nausea, lost of appetite, exhaustion, sores in her mouth and nasty blood blisters in her mouth that burst every so often. Holli is also doing a clinical trial where she got chemo before, during and after the stem cell transplant. Johnny, her husband, has been by her side and such a great caregiver and partner.

Please continue to pray for Joe that infections will stay away and that his re-staging results will show no cancer in his body so we can come home. Continue to pray for a cure for all cancers and strength for the families who are in their battles to win their war.

Ciao!