February 12, 2014

Part one and two of the mini transplant went off without a hitch. The only hitch has been the weather. Eric is not able to get here tonight due to the storm in Atlanta. My flight was cancelled to go home today too. Eric is now scheduled to arive tomorrow and I am booked on flight home on Friday. This actually works out well with his modified transplant schedule. He had to remain in the hospital until 3:00 which would mean I would have to leave for my flight and he would have to drive himself back to the apartment. The boost is done as an outpatient. It is called the Sleeping Beauty. The cells are somehow infused with cancer killing molecules to replace his defective chromosone which causes his blood cancer. It is injected into him where it lays dormant unless it is needed to go to work. If the cancer comes back, it should attack and kill the leukemia blasts. The test for graft vs host have not been competed, but his doctor does feel thsre is some present. The treatment for GVHD is steroids which will kill the Sleeping Beauty cells, but his doctor feels it is worth the risk to move ahead with the boost. His doctor told him he has to stay in Houston for 4 more weeks, which did not make Casey happy. He is so ready to get home to his dog, swimmers and normal life. The UNC vs dook game was also cancelled for tonight. It has not been the best day for Casey. I am anxious for Eric to get here as a nice and welcome diversion. You guys are the best! Also, thank you to Jen and Kathleen for letting Griff and Eric come out here to spend time with Casey.

February 8, 2014

I'm here in Houston with Casey. The weather has been cold here too, but there is relief in sight. Predicting high 60s today and 70s tomorrow. We have a busy week. We spent most of the day at the hospital on Thursday for his normal treatment and check-up. Yesterday he had an endoscopy. He was not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight and they only did the procedure at 4:30pm. Monday he goes to the hospital for normal treatment and check-up. The mini transplant which was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, is now scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, which will give them time for the pathology report on the endoscopy. The glitch is that I am scheduled to go home on Wednesday afternoon and Eric is scheduled to arrive. The doctor is aware of the schedule conflict and is working with us to have Casey be finished early on Wednesday. I hope he is able to drive me to the airport. I can always call a cab, if needed. The most important thing is getting Eric here on time for the UNC vs dook basketball game on Wednesday night. Eric is a friend from UNC. Brings back fond memories of watching UNC basketball in 2005 on Rosemary Street with a house full of students. We watched UNC win the semi finals, followed by a trip to Franklin Street where everyone was celebrating and having a great time. 2 days later they went on to win the national championship, but I was home in PA and missed that celebration. I have so many great memories of Chapel Hill, there was never a dull moment.
I pulled the January page off of the calendar in Casey's apartment to find February is well marked with the Great Event of February 9th. Tomorrow is Stevie's birthday and she surely does not want it to go un-noticed. She left her mark! Sorry, I will not be home to celebrate with Stevie, but I didn't forget. I hope you have a wonderful day. I will make it up to you! I got a whole bunch of rubber gloves, masks and syringes for you.

February 2, 2014

It is official. The groundhog has predicted 6 more weeks of winter. I am looking forward to spring.
Casey's skin biopsy came back clear of graft vs host, so the dates for the mini transplant are February 10 & 11th. Stevie's birthday is February 9th, so it is fitting that he gets her cells on Monday the 10th. I will be in Houston with Casey at that time. Last week when my sister, Debbie was with Casey, they went over all of his instructions for when he gets home to Pennsylvania, along with a packet of information for Dr. Ehmann, his oncologist at Hershey. Good to have Aunt Debbie with Casey for that because she speaks nerd. All of those years spent in the microbiology lab have made her fluent. We are all getting prepared to bring Casey home. I took his dog to the vet and got her annual shots. They assured me they are not live vaccines, but I still feel the need to be extra cautious and have them done before he gets home. We do not have an exact date, but March 2nd is day 100, so we are planning on that week. We have Casey sitters all lined up to that date. Two of Casey's college friends and team mates are each taking a turn. Eric Mohr will be coming from Atlanta and Griff Helfrich will be coming from San Francisco. That will be a special treat for Casey, not only to have them there to chauffeur him around, but to get to spend time with them. Stevie's husband, Erik will also His friend Kyle Salyards is with him now. They usually get together for the Super Bowl, so tonight will somewhat be like a typical Super Bowl Sunday for Casey. It is so very nice of you all to do this for all of us. Casey has a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks.

January 23, 2014

I am at home in Pennsylvania in the cold weather, while my sister Debbie is with Casey is in Houston. Stevie spent some time with Casey after Lauren left. Debbie is taking good care of him. They are going to do what they call a boost or mini transplant. They saved some of Stevie's cells, which they are infusing with the targeted chemo and will turn Stevie's cells into killer cells. Theoretically, they will attack any leukemia blasts when they start to form. Stevie's cells are busy at work kicking butt, but knowing Stevie, I wouldn't expect anything less. Yesterday Casey had pulmonary tests, ekg, and chest xrays to make sure he is deserving of Stevie's cells. Casey does have a rash, so today they did a skin biopsy to make sure it is not graft vs. host disease. They are looking at the first week of February to do the boost. Casey continues to hook up his IV daily and give himself shots for the blood clots between hospital visits.
Stevie and Casey went to Austin and watched the Grand Prix swim meet. They saw some people they know. Some of the swimmers from Stevie's swim team were there. Kyle will be going out next. I am sure Casey will enjoy having him there to watch the Super Bowl. Casey's college friend, Griff with be going out in February too. We are getting closer to day 100 and bringing Casey home.

January 12, 2014

Today ends my stay in Houston. Casey's friend Lauren is here to take over. Our past week has continued to bring promising improvements to Casey's health. His counts are rebounding and he is feeling good. We took a metro ride through the city on Saturday. Wednesday we went across the street to the Reliant Center to the boat show. Friday, we took a drive to College Station to watch Emily and her Georgia bulldogs take on Texas A&M. The facility was real nice and the meet was exciting (the final score was 150 UGA and 150 A&M, tie), and it was great to see Emily. Yesterday we went to watch Connor (Charlie & Melissa's son) swim in an age group meet. Unfortunately, we left after the first event. Casey should not be around kids and in closed areas. You would think we would know better, but a least we got to see Connor swim one event.
We filled in time with trips to the hospital, where the doctors are impressed with Casey's recovery. They do not know how stong willed Stevie and her cells are. I saw Betty Lou asked if this means there will be two Stevies, all I can say to that is could there ever be two Jenns?
The weather is sunny and 70 and so is the outlook!
Thank you for your continued support.

January 2, 2014

Happy New Year everyone! 2014 is starting out to be a fabulous year. The results from Casey's bone marrow aspiration and biopsy showed he is fully engrafted, 100% Stevie, with no leukemia or any disease. His blood counts are climbing without the help of neupogen and he is feeling good. He gets daily IV infusions of magnesium and anti fungal medicines and daily shots for his blood clot, which we can do at home. We go into the hospital on Mondays and Thursdays for check ups. Yesterday we had our traditional pork and saurkraut and then we walked the whole way around Reliant Stadium (Bill O'Brien's new home)which is right across the street from the apartment.
Gary will be going home tomorrow to snow, cold weather and crazy puppies. I get to enjoy another week of 60 degree weather.

December 27, 2013

I hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas. We did miss the rest of the family, but Gary, Casey and I had a nice little Christmas celebration in Houston. We grilled on Christmas Eve and had a turkey dinner on Christmas day. Houston is a very diverse city. The grocery store has huge hispanic, asian, and indian sections. No PA dutch section, so I was a little lost until I found the huge wine section. Santa was able to find us and Casey was able to face time his dog (and sister). I do enjoy the 60 degree days and do not miss the snow. Casey did not have to go to the hospital on Christmas. We hook him up to an IV everyday that he does not have to go into the hospital. He gets anti fungal medicine and magnesium through the IV. We go for walks through the apartment complex and watch a lot of television. Things are going smooth. Casey had a bone marrow aspiration last week and the results should be here next week. Meanwhile there is a lot of football to watch.
Thank you for all of the cards and gifts. You have all been wonderful!