IMPROVEMENT/ENGRAPHMENT!!

Here is Hanna with her cancer fox.  Every cancer survivor must have a cancer fox.  I had one.  It makes a huge difference.  (Both were provided by very good friends and supporters of ours that pray a lot.)  We are so thankful for them, their faith, and the foxes they gave us.


This is just a short blog to keep you all updated.  After dramatic blogs about hair loss, explosive toxic diarrhea, and vehicular vomit episodes, we wanted you to know that things are getting better and are on the up and up.  The awesome new stem cells are working hard and Hanna's body is recovering well.

Hanna is feeling better, which is one of the three requirements for getting approval to travel home.  Yesterday she consumed bacon and steak.  Her appetite is coming back.  She only had the one episode of vomit and hasn't had diarrhea in several days.  She still has a couple of nasty mouth sores that keep her from getting too excited about eating.  But she can taste food again now a little bit.  The new White Blood Cells will find those sores soon and heal them quickly!

Her blood counts have improved incredibly and miraculously.

To go home:

Neutrophils must be above 500 for at least three days.  Shockingly, yesterday they jumped from "none at all" to 240.  The Medical Staff was so surprised from this tremendous jump that they had her blood retested.  240 confirmed.  Today it went up to 450.  (Picture us HIGH FIVING in the exam room!)  Almost there.  Certainly we will hit 500 tomorrow!

Platelets must remain above 20 for a week with no transfusion.  The transfusion last Sunday boosted them way up, but then they started to drop.  On Wednesday, they were down to 21 and another transfusion appeared to be imminent.  However, yesterday, it bounced up to 27 and went up to 46 today!  Welcome new red blood cells!!  We are really loving those Stem Cells and how hard they are working to create this new blood!

We pass the "one-week with no transfusion mark" on Sunday.  And if the Neutrophils hit 500 and stay up consistently, we could be saying good bye to our new awesome Mayo Clinic Friends (God Bless them all!!!) on Monday or Tuesday.

Your prayers have made a difference.  Hanna is well on her way to a great recovery.

All three of us are homesick and are already planning our return trip home.  We will really take our time to allow for bad weather, Hanna fatigue, etc. and make the trip over five days.  (This fact will drive our grown kids nuts as they can whip out a 21-hour road trip in just one day.)  We also will enjoy several days with no medical appointments or anything else planned just to rest up before leaving.

We are so glad we brought Frivvy the Cancer Comfort dog with us.



MORE ANSWERS TO AWKWARD QUESTIONS:

- When will you know it worked?  It worked.  We know the Chemo worked because of the havoc it wreaked with her digestive tract and hair follicles.  (It attacks the cells in the body that replicate the fastest.  That would be cancer cells, digestive cells, hair follicles, and nails.)  The improvement in blood counts indicates that the Stem Cells survived their freezing, storage, thawing, and being transplanted.

- Did it kill all the cancer cells?  A bone marrow biopsy (those are soooo much fun..........) will be done at the 100-day mark here at Mayo to see if there are any straggling cancer cells in her bone marrow.  (We are looking forward to seeing Minnesota in the wintertime..........January). If there are, more Chemo like she has had the past four months will be administered.

- How did she get Multiple Myeloma anyway?  Almost every blood and/or cancer doctor we have visited has stated the likely cause to be exposure to commercial chemicals or atomic radiation.  Hanna has been exposed to both.  The two of us each grew up on farms and spent time riding on the back of the spray rigs while our fathers administered toxins to the weeds in their grain fields.  (That's just what farm kids did back in the day and it was actually quite fun.)  And Hanna's family farm is just 20 miles as the crow flies from Hanford Nuclear Reservation.  Downwinder.


Finally, we were part of Rochester's first snow storm of the Winter this morning!!  The locals were upset and all said they hate snow.  But we both thought it was exciting, except we hope it stays away when it comes time to drive home.  We started listening to Christmas Music and have had it playing all day now.  The snow did not stick.  Below is what our street looks like.  The leaves are beautiful.


Excuse us now while we run over to Frap Doodle's for some celebratory ice cream!  We'll check in again next week, hopefully with news that we are checking out.

Today's Miracle:  Hanna is quite weak and walking has become more difficult, even with a walker or clutching on to me.  She has tripped the last few days several times and it was scary each time.  But not once has she fallen.  She feels like she is getting angelic help to stay safe and regain her health.


Hanna's 2 Bits:

There is a scripture that has always seemed odd to me "and there was never a happier time among the people".  It seems odd because it refers to a time of war--all of rural farmers had to abandon their farms and rush to a fortified city for protection. The war contained all the elements of war typical to their day. How could this be the happiest time? I've meditated on that over the past weeks and found an answer that rings true--they were happy because their focus wasn't split so many ways.  They had been focused on their professions, on gaining wealth, and other distractions probably not much different than ours--including all that stuff on our calendars that draws our focus from our family. With a strong focus on protecting their family and looking after each other they felt the joy of unity and the joy that comes from serving.  We are feeling that happiness now as we keep such a locked focus on remission and taking care of each other. 

Some day it may be written: "There was never a happier time among the people of Stewart-Longhurst than when battling Hanna's cancer at Mayo."


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