Doctor's Appt.

Jeff's blood showed 10% blasts today, and we'll know the results of his biopsy on Thursday. We expect he'll be admitted some time over the weekend, but it could be as late as Monday. He'll be getting a different chemotherapy protocol in hopes of keeping the leukemia guessing. They've started the search for a donor, but we haven't heard any preliminary results. Like I mentioned in my last post, please send Rhonda an e-mail if you're interested in getting your name on the donor registry.

Be A Donor

Over the next few weeks, the transplant coordinators in Hershey will begin the search for an unrelated bone marrow donor for Jeff. There's a reasonably okay chance that they will be able to find a match, but it is not a certainty by any means. In addition, there are lots of other people fighting for their lives who need donors.

In order to help Jeff and others, my neighbor and good friend Rhonda will be organizing a bone marrow donor drive in our area. In order to get the Registry staff to come here, we need 100 people to volunteer ahead of time. So you know what you're getting into (it's pretty simple and totally worth it), please click on this link. If you're still interested after reading about your commitment, please send Rhonda an e-mail at ronderh@hotmail.com. She and her committee will take care of things from there. Also let her know if you'd like to be on the committee....there's a little bit of fundraising that needs to be done so that we can help the marrow registry to cover the costs of the drive.

The Plan

We've asked for a couple of days at home, so we won't go back to Hershey until Tuesday. They'll immediately do blood work and a biopsy. If it's obvious from the blood work that the leukemia is progressing, he'll be admitted for treatment right away, if not, we'll have to wait for the biopsy to confirm the relapse.

We'll learn more on Tuesday about the treatment regimen that Jeff will be getting. Because he's relapsed fairly quickly after the last round, he'll be getting a new combination of chemo drugs, but I don't know what they are yet. The transplant coordinators will start looking for another donor, because ultimately, Jeff is going to need another bone marrow transplant, and they believe that an unrelated donor will give him the best chance at long-term survival.

Probable Relapse

Upon closer examination of Jeff's blood from Monday's visit the to Hershey, the pathologists have determined that Jeff has 5% blasts circulating in his bloodstream, which most likely means relapse. They'll confirm it sometime soon, but he'll most likely be admitted to the hospital for treatment by Monday.

I'll post more when I know it. We're still waiting to hear from the hospital as to what the treatment plan will be.

Good check up in hershey today. Posted via cell phone.

Jeff, JD and Spongebob

Jeff's been doing pretty well. His blood has been looking acceptable and he's been completely weaned from the steroids. His energy level is almost back to normal (my opinion - I'm not sure where he thinks he is on that topic), and he continues to work 20 hours a week. We'll go back to Hershey at the end of the month, and with any luck, the doctor will give the go-ahead to go back to work full-time.

Since I would much rather write about things other than Jeff's health, I thought I would fill you in on what JD has been up to. Have I mentioned that I have the cutest baby in the world? Anyway, he's learning lots of new words, and last week he actually pointed at me and said, "Mama." We've also discovered that if we point to Spongebob and ask JD "who's that?", he says, "Spongebob"....well, his version of the word, and it's actually pretty recognizable.

JD loves playing with cars and tools. He walks around the garage for 20 minutes at a time, carrying a wrench and "fixing" stuff. I guess in that respect, he's taking after Jeff. He prefers the 4-wheeler to the tractor, loves playing in the sandbox, and fills up his Dad's cart with rocks. He already loves the water and has no problem sticking his head directly under the garden hose. I'll post some new pictures soon.

Speaking of Vampires

The Twilight series of books (and now movies) has caused quite the stir and re-ignited readers' interest in vampire literature. Just check out the book selection at Wal-Mart, and you'll find a bunch of vampire stuff that wasn't there a year ago. The four books, written by Stephanie Meyer, were very enjoyable, and I'd recommend them to any female reader who is looking for a entertaining read.

Anyway, that being said, I have my own vampire story. JD has been refusing to lay down while I change his diaper. So, he stands on the changing table, while I struggle to fasten the diaper in some manner that is still effective enough to hold the poop inside. While he stands there, he wraps his little arms around my neck in the best feeling hug...until his little teeth sink into my neck.

Right now, I have red bite marks on my neck from where he bit me this morning and refused to let go. The more I protested, the harder he clenched his teeth and finally, I had to give his little butt a smack so that he would let go. This, of course, hurt his feelings, and even though I'm the one who has bite marks on my neck, I felt horrible for making him cry. But, this wasn't the first time he's bitten me and probably won't be the last, so I'm going to have to figure out a better way to get him to let go...or stop biting me completely.