Breathe Easy for a Bit

Jeff's marrow was clean, which means that he'll probably recover his blood counts in remission. Now, we have to hope that the remission is durable enough to get him to transplant before relapsing.

I'm wondering where Danielle is right now...probably plotting revenge against me because I told the world that she gets out of the car too slow.

In Limbo

For me, waiting is the hardest part. Danielle and Paula will verify that I get annoyed with them because they take too long to get out of the car. I'm usually driving, so I have to get parked and get my stuff ready and then get out of the car. I still manage to beat them out the door by several steps. I then have to stand there WAITING for them, while they diddle-daddle. I don't think I'm a particularly fast get-out-of-the-car person, they are just slow. And, I'm impatient.

So, you can imagine that waiting for biopsy results is not very easy for me. I like to know what's next, or be planning what's next so that we can get on with our lives. We don't know what the next step will be until we know what Jeff's marrow looks like. Best case is that Jeff's marrow is empty and he actually recovers in remission and stays in remission until transplant time. Worst case is that Jeff's leukemia is becoming chemo-resistant and Jeff decides that enough is enough. The treatment of this disease causes enough pain and misery that at some point you have to look at your chances and decide whether or not it is worth spending, what may be the last few months of your life, in a chemo and gvh induced hell, or spend it relatively comfortably. Thirty year old men should not have to consider things like this, and neither should their wives.

Anyway, while we are waiting, I'm trying to be present to the moment, because really, that's all that any of us really has. Yesterday, while I was practicing being "present to the moment," and doing some of my work at Panera Bread, somebody managed to hit my parked car. Luckily, the damage was minimal AND they were nice enough to leave me a note with their name and number. I'm not sure if I'll bother getting it fixed. I like a car with character, and really, isn't that what bumpers are for?

The last little bit of excitement that occurred yesterday happened when JD got stung by a bee. JD is a curious little bugger and I guess that he wasn't willing to take my word that bee stings hurt. When my little man started screaming so suddenly, I knew exactly what happened, and confirmed it when I pulled the stinger out of his little thumb. He carried on for a bit, and showed my his puffy thumb about 10 more times before he went to bed.

Biopsy

Today, they'll remove a piece of Jeff's bone marrow for biopsy. This particular biopsy will give us a good indication of whether or not Jeff will recover in remission. Recovery of his blood counts is probably still a good week away, so we'll continue at Day Hospital every other day.

More of the Same

Jeff is feeling about the same as he was a few days ago, although with an increased steroid dose, some of the GVH is getting a little better. His spinal fluid has been cleared of leukemia (I think maybe I mentioned that before?), but he will be receiving a maintenance dose of chemo weekly via lumbar puncture until the time when an Ommaya reservoir can be surgically placed in his head. His blood counts will need to stabilize and they'll need to boost his platelet count before he gets the surgery.

JD and I will make the trek back to this morning. Being away from the hospital gave me a chance to refresh my perspective on this whole mess, and I think I'll now be much better able to take care of Jeff.

Recharge

JD and I came home to recharge for a couple of days. I can't even begin to describe how hard this is...well, I suppose I could describe it, but no need to upset everyone.

Jeff has his first Day Hospital visit this afternoon. He is quite weak and has some residual issues due to the GVH and chemo. Hopefully, the steroids will continue to resolve them, and his blood counts recover sooner, rather than later.

A Rally for Jeff

Apparently, the Mark Eckert household recently held a rally in Jeff's honor. Please keep in mind that if you send me pictures, they might get posted to my blog!!

I've once again been forced to do my work, and all other things requiring the internet at Panera Bread. They make a great cinnamon crunch bagel, and of course, I pair it with a morning Pepsi. Recently, I tried to stop consuming anything containing sugar....obviously, that didn't work out so well.


Jeff has been fever-free for about 2 days, and with any luck, he'll be discharged tonight. The steroids seem to have helped with his rash, and overall, he is feeling okay. Even though we'll still be spending lots of time at the hospital, it will be completely refreshing for that time to be as an outpatient.

Storytime

I find it very difficult to take pictures while Jeff is sick - it's not something I want to remember...but I thought you'd enjoy these photos from yesterday afternoon.