Connie was released from UWMC about 8:00pm Friday October 8th and headed home with her husband. They were both excited and nervous to be leaving the hospital after 2 months & 5 days. Connie was very weak as she walked from the car to her front door with her walker but the joy on her face as she entered her front door is something I will never forget. She just sat for a little looking around her house and was so thankful that she made it back home. She is still on oxygen at night but slept last night in her own bed in her own home. She said it is the first time she has felt safe and at peace for a long time.
Connie’s journey is not over, she still has a long way to go, but for now life is good.
Connie and Ron had to return to the lab at SCCA at 10:00 Saturday morning. All went smooth and she was in and out in a very short period of time. Her counts are up and she did not have to receive any transfusions that the doctors said maybe necessary. She returns to the lab again on Monday and Wednesday. On Wednesday she also has a doctor appointment. She will find out then when her next bone marrow biopsy is, possibly on Friday (as an outpatient) and if they find no Leukemic cells, she will be ‘in remission’.
Being home is the best medicine. The change I saw in Connie from Friday night to Saturday was amazing. She has regained her determination and feistiness to beat this illness. She is beginning to eat more, has read some on her kindle and even watched some TV. A big difference from being in the ICU only 6 days ago.
Connie continues to say “I could never repay everyone for their kindness and all the things people have done for me if I worked at it for the rest of my life”. She is so appreciative. She still intends to send out ‘Thank You Note’s’ when she is stronger, even though we tell her it is not necessary and everyone is just glad she is working to get better.
So on Connie’s behalf, until you hear directly from her again, thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers and get well wishes.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Zero, Zero, Zero!!!
Well the doctor came in and gave us the good news. Connie has zero leukemic cells, but she also has zero other cells. This is exactly the results the doctors wanted to see today.
So what does this mean. Well in a couple weeks or so they will do another biopsy to see if any leukemic cells have come back. We did not talk about the next course of treatment because it depends on what they find with the next biopsy.
The doctor gave Connie some strict orders, focus on the good news and take each day as it comes. As she put it, "be in the now".
Connie will still be in the hospital for the next couple weeks until her counts come back up. Her jobs is to get up, do laps around the floor, eat well, do her breathing exercises, and stay "healthy", no fevers, etc.
We will keep you posted, but today Connie received the best news that could have been received.
She gave a big WOO HOO!!! when she heard the news.
Thank you for all the good thoughts and prayers, somebody must have been listening. :-)
So what does this mean. Well in a couple weeks or so they will do another biopsy to see if any leukemic cells have come back. We did not talk about the next course of treatment because it depends on what they find with the next biopsy.
The doctor gave Connie some strict orders, focus on the good news and take each day as it comes. As she put it, "be in the now".
Connie will still be in the hospital for the next couple weeks until her counts come back up. Her jobs is to get up, do laps around the floor, eat well, do her breathing exercises, and stay "healthy", no fevers, etc.
We will keep you posted, but today Connie received the best news that could have been received.
She gave a big WOO HOO!!! when she heard the news.
Thank you for all the good thoughts and prayers, somebody must have been listening. :-)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Latest Hurdle
I wanted to give you all an update on how Connie is doing.
It has been a rough week for Connie, as many of you know she was within a half hour of being release from the hospital on Sat. 9/25 but started running a fever. She ran a temperature from Sat. until Thursday anywhere from 100 to 104. On Thursday it seemed the worst was over as she stopped running such a high fever and was pretty much back in the normal range.
On Thursday around 10am, Connie developed an irregular/elevated heart beat, this in turn caused her blood pressure to drop. The doctors decided it would be best to move her to ICU to more closely monitor her. After a couple different types of treatment, the doctors were able to get the heartbeat under control and her blood pressure back up. These symptoms are all a result of the chemo she had been receiving. Unfortunately though, this has happened a few times now since Thursday, which means that Connie remains in the ICU at UWMC.
Connie had me take this photo so you could see the many different IV's they had her on. As we like to call it Fred (the name that her IV pole was given) and her many cocktails. Connie is a braver woman than I, I know the last thing I would request is to have my picture taken.
We are hoping that the bone marrow results will be back on Monday from the biopsy they did on Friday (there is a chance that we may not hear anything until Tuesday though). Once we know something we will pass this information on.
As you can imagine it has been a tough week for Connie and her family, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
It has been a rough week for Connie, as many of you know she was within a half hour of being release from the hospital on Sat. 9/25 but started running a fever. She ran a temperature from Sat. until Thursday anywhere from 100 to 104. On Thursday it seemed the worst was over as she stopped running such a high fever and was pretty much back in the normal range.
On Thursday around 10am, Connie developed an irregular/elevated heart beat, this in turn caused her blood pressure to drop. The doctors decided it would be best to move her to ICU to more closely monitor her. After a couple different types of treatment, the doctors were able to get the heartbeat under control and her blood pressure back up. These symptoms are all a result of the chemo she had been receiving. Unfortunately though, this has happened a few times now since Thursday, which means that Connie remains in the ICU at UWMC.
Connie had me take this photo so you could see the many different IV's they had her on. As we like to call it Fred (the name that her IV pole was given) and her many cocktails. Connie is a braver woman than I, I know the last thing I would request is to have my picture taken.
We are hoping that the bone marrow results will be back on Monday from the biopsy they did on Friday (there is a chance that we may not hear anything until Tuesday though). Once we know something we will pass this information on.
As you can imagine it has been a tough week for Connie and her family, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
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