Now that it's over, I can admit that Dr. Rixe had us a little worried with his phone call and insistence on meeting after the low white blood cell count. But we needn't have worried! He was reassuring on all counts.
First we saw Dr. Salkeni, a fellow in Dr. Rixe's office, who explained that mom's white blood cell count had gone up to an acceptable level and her neutrophils, a subtype of the white blood cells that does most of the infection fighting, was actually very high, at 2800 (where 1500 is acceptable). Platelets were still a little low (79-- they like to see them at 100), so they asked her to have blood work done on Friday to make sure she was in good shape for chemo today, and everything turned out fine, so she is off to Cincinnati today!
So the plan is: chemo today, tomorrow, Wednesday, then MRI two weeks from Wednesday, which will be March 16th. She will also meet with Dr. Rixe that day to go over the results. One surprising thing I learned from Dr. Salkeni last week was that, since the amount of tumor left is so minute, the anecdotal accounts of how mom is doing and feeling actually tell them more about how the chemo is working than the MRI. And by those accounts, she is doing amazingly well.
She even SMELLED something, for the first time in a year! She was able to smell a particular hand soap, and when she told Dr. Rixe this, his whole face lit up, and he said, in his wonderful French accent, "This is new! This is a very good sign." He was just so pleased with how she was doing. He even told her that the low counts weren't too much to worry about and that if she felt like socializing, she could socialize, and if not, "Stay home. Stay calm." Apparently, the former has been the case because Friday she hosted a slumber party for her sisters, Saturday morning they went out for breakfast at the Farmer's Market and then shopped downtown, then Saturday evening she attended the Pope John/Shawe Auction Dinner and had a wonderful time (according to my sources).
We went up last night for a quick visit, and she was working away on the laptop, getting Harlan's FAFSA done online. She is amazing! I know I keep saying that, but it is true. :) And, as Dr. Rixe said at the close of our meeting, "She is strong. She is very strong." Indeed!
Love to all,
jk
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Numbers Up, Spirits Still High
Mom's white blood cell count climbed steadily last week (from 0.8 to 3.9), so that is a very good sign. She is still feeling great; she volunteered again yesterday. Today we go to Dr. Rixe in Cincinnati for a consult. He was worried about the low numbers, so hopefully this gain will put his mind at ease and we can move forward. We will know this afternoon what the next steps will be. Stay tuned!
Three cheers,
jk
Three cheers,
jk
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Numbers Low, Spirits High
So mom's blood work numbers were a little off this week (low white cell blood count), but you wouldn't have known it from the way she has been feeling. This week alone, she has gone for a two mile hike, attended Julie Rubio's yoga (with dad!!!), volunteered for the Prince of Peace auction, fixed a beautiful chicken soup with rice, and today she is off to Clifty for a Thimbleberries retreat with her sister, Jane. Whew! It's exhausting just to type all that. But as long as Mom has her nap each day, she is full of energy.
Dr. Rixe was a little concerned about the numbers, so we are planning to meet with him next week and go over next steps. Because of the rarity of her tumor (fewer than a hundred people in the United States are currently affected by a SNUC), treatments are very individualized. So we will see how it goes next Wednesday. In the meantime, I hope you are all well and enjoying this little burst of sunshine we have had. Spring will come, after all!
Much love,
jk
Dr. Rixe was a little concerned about the numbers, so we are planning to meet with him next week and go over next steps. Because of the rarity of her tumor (fewer than a hundred people in the United States are currently affected by a SNUC), treatments are very individualized. So we will see how it goes next Wednesday. In the meantime, I hope you are all well and enjoying this little burst of sunshine we have had. Spring will come, after all!
Much love,
jk
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Guest Post from Ryan Vande Water
This is from Ryan, my parents' Godson:
Hello Everyone!
I wanted to write a little bit to tell you about something that our family has added to our daily routine for Ms Rosie. But first, some background. When I was talking to Paul and Rosie a couple weeks ago, they mentioned that they had read an article in the paper about Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and the miracle that had most recently been attributed to her. (the healing of Phil McCord) I told them that when I had heard of Rosie's tumor, I had immediately asked for Mother Guerin's intercession... mostly because I knew that she had interceded for other people with tumors, and also when her remains were exhumed, her brain was found to be intact... after 50 years! Julianne and I have a special connection to Saint Theodora... Julianne was a student at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (founded by St Theodora) and her shrine is currently located in the church where we got married.
(If you haven't heard of Saint Theodora, you can find more information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9odore_Gu%C3%A9rin
I know that there are probably a lot of you out there who have felt the same way as our family: We would love to help more, but how? Well, let me give you an idea. Our family has added a small prayer to our evening dinner blessing. It's very simple, easy to remember, and doesn't ask for much. After we bless our food, we add 7 simple words: "Mother Guerin, please pray for Ms Rosie." Of course, you can say more! But this one is easy for the kids to remember and understand.
I hope that you'll join our family in this simple prayer.
Regards,
Ryan Vande Water
PS. For non-Catholic readers of the blog, I've included links to how saints are "made" and why Catholics say prayers of intercession to saints.
More information on the canonization process:
Why Catholics pray to saints:
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Chemo: Course Three, Round One, Day Two
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all well and warm this first day of February. The worst of the storms seem to have passed us over here in Madison, so Mom and Dad had no trouble getting to Cincinnati yesterday. They arrived on time for an early start (8am!) for Mom's first dose. Everything went smoothly, and when I spoke to them yesterday, she had taken a nap on the sun porch, and they were catching up on the blog and enjoying all the comments (and of course my witty prose). She said she feels good-- a moment of "chemo stupor" here and there, but those only last a second or two and then she's feeling fine again.
Somehow, despite the fact that she is out of town, she is still managing to take care of everyone else. Example: she had made dinner for us Sunday night, but we were under the weather, so she saved it. Yesterday, she was directing me from afar, describing each container and its state of preparation, listing out cooking and reheating instructions. So tonight we had dinner courtesy of Ms. Rosie (and a few others too, I suspect ;) ): ham, sweet potatoes, salad. My kids loved it. But they missed their Gram and Pa. We went up to check on Casey Jones and Marley this morning, and Esphyr was quite upset to find her grandparents gone. "Where are Grandma and Grandpa?" she kept repeating. When she finally understood that they were in Cincinnati at the doctor, she consoled herself with: "They will come back. They WILL come back."
One more day and they will! Go, Mama, go!
Cheers,
jk
I hope you are all well and warm this first day of February. The worst of the storms seem to have passed us over here in Madison, so Mom and Dad had no trouble getting to Cincinnati yesterday. They arrived on time for an early start (8am!) for Mom's first dose. Everything went smoothly, and when I spoke to them yesterday, she had taken a nap on the sun porch, and they were catching up on the blog and enjoying all the comments (and of course my witty prose). She said she feels good-- a moment of "chemo stupor" here and there, but those only last a second or two and then she's feeling fine again.
Somehow, despite the fact that she is out of town, she is still managing to take care of everyone else. Example: she had made dinner for us Sunday night, but we were under the weather, so she saved it. Yesterday, she was directing me from afar, describing each container and its state of preparation, listing out cooking and reheating instructions. So tonight we had dinner courtesy of Ms. Rosie (and a few others too, I suspect ;) ): ham, sweet potatoes, salad. My kids loved it. But they missed their Gram and Pa. We went up to check on Casey Jones and Marley this morning, and Esphyr was quite upset to find her grandparents gone. "Where are Grandma and Grandpa?" she kept repeating. When she finally understood that they were in Cincinnati at the doctor, she consoled herself with: "They will come back. They WILL come back."
One more day and they will! Go, Mama, go!
Cheers,
jk
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