The Latest

Hey everyone, Jim here again. I just talked to Dad and he's doing okay. He wasn't up to hunting and pecking on his scaled-down keyboard (those sausage links don't move as quick as they used to), so he asked me to sum up our conversation for y'all.

The chemo has started to take its toll a bit more I'm afraid. Of course, we all know he's WH ("without hair") now, but the treatments have caused his mouth and tongue to crack and split, so there's some discomfort there. He also seems a bit more tired than when I visited.

He had an MRI on Sunday for the pain in his right leg. Dr. Chris suspected it wasn't due to the bone marrow biopsy, as we thought, since there was pain coming from several different areas. He's the doctor, and he was right. The pain seems to be generating from yet another disc problem in his back, so it looks like they are going to try a cortisone shot to get the pain under control. No word on that getting done yet.

The timetable for the "Day 14" BMB seems to have been pushed back for unknown reasons. Dad seems to think it's because they want his numbers to stabilize a bit, so we need to get that straightened out.

Last, there is a bit of an issue with the meds he's on. He has requested a meeting with Dr. Chris and his day-time nurse so he can get on a better schedule between the narcotics and non-narcotics, so hopefully this too will get straightened out. There needs to be more regularity with the delivery of the drugs and less asking (from him) to get them. Apparently the "myth" about everything moving slower in the south isn't so far off ...

That's all for now ... please keep the well wishes coming and give him a call when you get a chance.

Another milestone- tadaa! This morning about 3am I was disconnected from all Chemo fluids, I'm free as a bird, in a trapped gilded cage!! My numbers have reached the zero mark, which is their benchmark for acceptability. Now we wait 3 days totally unhooked for my next bone marrow tap. At that time, they determine if in fact my true numbers are at zero, then we start the second half of the series, trying to get my numbers back up to an acceptable range, where I can go out in the world and not catch infections (Priscilla says "and kick ass" ..not "kiss ass," as Amanda mistakenly typed!). I'm feeling very normal, better than I did when I came in. You can tell from the inserted photo that I have a new "do" and it happened exactly when they said it would. Keep you posted, hang on! TFL

Pa's version

Thanks to Priscilla , for getting me my own netbook , and of course to Zimmy, for showing me what the hell to do with it! My intent is to keep y'all updated on the latest day by day (and mostly boring stat's) whilst I'm here at Shands. Today my big thrill was getting a FULL BODY maqssage. Have been having some problems with my right rear tigh and leg, following a bone marrow tap in that area. So far so good hope that it lasts.

Getting Things Started

Ok, so I'll officially check in as Dad's first "ghost writer" ... this is Jim, his youngest son (and favorite - sorry John and Mike, but the truth has to come out sometime). But I digress ...

Dad checked into Shands Hospital at the University of Florida on Friday, August 28th after being diagnosed with AML. You can check out all the websites on the right for the specifics, but it's basically a form of Leukemia which requires intensive chemotherapy for an extended amount of time. Initially, they say he'll be here for at least a month.

Here's what Dr. Cogle (AKA "Dr. Chris") relayed to us when I got here on Wednesday (9/1):

• Dad will be getting a round-the-clock, 7-day chemo treatment to treat the disease. For the first three days, he was "treated" to a double bag of goodies, but for now he's only hooked up to one IV bag of rat poison.
• Dr. Chris said he's got about a 30-50% chance of the first round of chemo wiping out the AML.
• At the 14-day mark from his original Bone Marrow Biopsy (which was taken on Wed, 8/26), they will conduct another BMB. This, combined with a different test taken two weeks after the start of the chemo (which started when he checked in), will let us know if the Leukemia will respond to the chemo or not.
• Based on the gene abnormailities that present themselves in the above tests, he may need additional chemo treatments. If the "bad" type of gene abnormailites are detected, then the chemo wouldn't be capable of doing the trick. In that case, he could be sent shopping for a Bone Marrow Transplant (AKA Stem Cell Transplant).

Despite this most recent set-back, Dad's spirits are pretty good. I have to hand to the Big Fella, he has handled this like a champ so far. Of course, all the nurses and doctors have already told him the worse is yet to come! But, for now, he still has a full head of hair and is able to get around pretty good. A slip-up during the BMB last week has left his butt and right leg in a great deal of pain, but he'll manage .... somehow!

Calls are great, but as the treatment wears on, I suspect he's going to need his rest more and more. With all the poking and proding they do in here, sleep is a valuable commodity. I set this up so he can let us all know what's going on. Please check in and leave comments for him to read ... there isn't much to do in sunny FLA when you're trapped in a 10x10 hospital room.

If you can manage a visit, please do. Priscilla could use a break from the hospital setting and Dad really enjoys the company. Don't forget to bring some sort of OSU paraphernailia, since everywhere we turn there is yet another reminder of those hated Florida Gators!