Day 43, sort of...

Today is Mark's 43rd day since this whole ordeal started. The doctors refer to you by the number of days since your very first day of chemotherapy. It certainly feels longer than 43 days but things are looking up.

Mark is on his second day of his second round of treatment and is feeling pretty good. Doing it as an outpatient has it's benefits and drawbacks. He is happy to be home with us but the long commutes into VGH are tough. Mark also gets the comforts of home but along with them comes the daily routine of having two small children to feed, bathe and get to bed. Fortunately for us, our family has been here to help. Phew! Up till now, Mark has been coping with the physical side effects pretty well. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this will hold out for the 4 remaining days of this treatment and beyond. Sometimes the effects are felt once you're done. Let's hope not!

For now, we've got 43 days behind us and 4 more "treatment days" ahead of us.

Well, we got good news yesterday...I'm in remission! No need for a transplant yet, thank goodness. My new Hickman line will be put in tomorrow morning and my 2nd round of chemotherapy will most likely begin on the weekend. We're all so relieved, especially after waiting almost 4 days for the biopsy results. Just when my hair has started to grow back it's time to start the whole process over again. We are all very hopeful that my 2nd chemo session will be as succesful (though not as nauseating) as the first. Fingers and toes crossed. Thanks for everything.

-Mark

Biopsy tomorrow

On Friday I'll be going in to the leukemia clinic to undergo another bone marrow biopsy to determine whether I'm in remission or not. I'll get some blood work done and that will be it until they figure out my next course of treatment. If all goes well with the biopsy and it shows I'm remission, I will most likely start another round of chemotherapy some time next week. It won't be until after Thursday since I'm having a new Hickman line put in that day (the line in my chest that allows direct access to my blood stream without having to jam a needle in my arm). If the biopsy shows that the cancer is still in my marrow I will most likely need a transplant from an unrelated donor. That poses a whole new set of problems with what is called Graft versus Host Disease. This set of complications arises because the donor blood has T-cells which can attack my cells, organs and tissue. Some people have no signs of GVHD, some people have mild symptoms and others have severe problems. Let's all hope we don't even have to go down that road.
I've been feeling great and I'm really enjoying being back at home where I get lots of hugs and kisses from Audrey and drool from Noah. The rest of my treatment should be on an outpatient basis which is good and bad. While it will be nice to sleep in my own bed and see Leslie and the kids every day, chemo may be tougher at home without a handy call button linked to a nurse who can administer all kinds of fun drugs! Hopefully they'll send me home with a few different anti-nausea drugs to help out. We should have more answers by the end of the weekend at which time we will be sure to update everyone.
My brother, Chris, flew home on Wednesday and my father, David, is now here to help out and to bond with his grandkids too. Chris and I managed to get out and play a round of golf on Monday which was so amazing. It was nice to be outside playing my game and not really thinking about this stupid disease. I even played well, and soundly thumped Chris by 11 shots! Sorry Chris, if you're reading this. For now I'm going to enjoy the bit of freedom I have before the next round of treatment begins. Keep your e-mails and comments coming as they are always so much fun to read. Thanks to everyone who has donated. We can't put into words how appreciative we are for the help it lends us. Stay tuned, more to come soon.

-Mark

Day 29

Mark is home!!!

Day 28, Good Friday

I can't help notice how quiet it is up here on T15 this morning. All I can hear is the ventilation system and the steady pace of Mark's IV pump. The halls are much quieter than usual because of the restriction on visitors. There's a nasty flu bug going around and they are being especially cautious. Mark's doing his crossword while I type and wonder what to put on the page. So much has happened over the last 4 days...

Mark had a bone marrow biopsy done on Monday to determine if he has gone into remission or not. Unfortunately, the results were ambiguous and a little puzzling to his doctors so they have elected to repeat the biopsy again in about 10 days. This news was hard to hear but we are trying to stay positive in light of it.

The results also came back to see if Mark's brother Chris is a match and we were disappointed to find out that he is not a perfect match for Mark. The chances were very slim to begin with (only 25%)so we had prepared ourselves for this outcome.

On the up side, Mark might be home for Easter. His doctor feels that he needs time to rest and build up his white blood cells so he will get to come home in a day or two. Chris has promised to cook a "PC turkey in-a-box" for Mark's homecoming, Easter and Grandad's birthday all in one. We are very excited about that. For those of you who don't know what a PC turkey-in-a-box is, it is a complete turkey dinner, stuffing and all, ready to go in the oven. They're delicious! You've got to try one.

Mark and I are so thankful to all of you who have helped us. There have been so many expenses that come with a lengthy hospital stay and we are truly grateful. |It is comforting to know we are not alone on this journey to Mark's recovery.

Day 20 and Counting

Day 20
Hard to believe we are here already...

March 14th was the night Mark and I found out he had "probable leukemia". For that one night, we still had the glimmer of hope this was all a mistake, a mix-up, a chance that when we woke up on Wednesday - we could put it all behind us. Day 20 and counting.

We still both smile occasionally and have conversations about what Audrey did at preschool today, as well as what are Mark's counts? What are the numbers? Does Mark have any nutrifills yet? When will he get his platelets today?

Life is completely different for us now but this is it...hard to swallow but, we do. Between the tears of joy I have now everytime our children do something so ordinary and the tears that escape when I have a "moment" I try my hardest to remember that all our friends and family are thinking of us. The days feel longer now but things seem more real, more important now than ever.