Answered Prayers!

This wooden sculpture (easily six to seven feet high) is in the floor level lobby of the Hyatt Centric, the hotel in which our family has been staying while in Chicago. This saying reminds me of the line in the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" which is "...Morning by morning new mercies I see"!

This update covers three topics...but you may want to skip ahead to the second one, because it is the most exciting of all!

Last week's trip to Chicago:

I had several appointments at Northwestern on Thursday, August 6th. Because the first was at 8:45 in the morning, I decided it would be best to head to Chicago the day before and spend the night. My aunt Lisa chauffeured me to and from Chicago, and I greatly appreciated her ease with driving in traffic! We enjoyed Gino's East pizza and a little shopping at Nordstrom Rack and Trader Joe's that night.

My first appointment on Thursday morning was for a blood draw and for my PICC line dressing to be replaced. I'd noticed some itchiness and discomfort under the dressing in the previous week, so it was no surprise when the nurse removed the old dressing and announced I was developing a skin reaction to the adhesive. She replaced it with a new dressing specially made for sensitive skin, and I do think that is what I needed! If you'd like to learn more, I've added a section about my PICC line at the end of this update.

Next up was my sixth bone marrow biopsy. If you remember, my previous two biopsies (June 30 & July 7) were not very fun because the specimens were difficult to obtain. I was a little apprehensive about this procedure, but didn't allow my feelings to get the best of me because the information the biopsy provides is so very important. A woman named Kristen performed the biopsy. She asked me to lie on my stomach because that is how she had been trained to perform this procedure. I obliged even though I dislike this position! Kristen let me know every step of the way what she was doing, and I appreciated that very much. (She said some people prefer not to know what is happening.) Answered prayer: this biopsy was the quickest, most comfortable, and most productive of all! Kristen easily obtained a liquid and a bone specimen, and I didn't even need pain medicine! We both wondered if my stomach-down position made the difference - especially for the correct and complete placement of the lidocaine to numb the area - so I will likely request this for future biopsies.

Another nurse stopped in to tell me that my blood work had been analyzed, and that I was in need of a unit of blood and two units of platelets. She seemed very concerned about my platelet count, but I was actually pleasantly surprised at how high it was (17) given I was approaching the end of my chemo regimen. (My platelets had been hanging out around 8 - 10 in the previous week.) The transfusion appointment was scheduled for 2:30 that afternoon.

After a couple hours break for people watching and eating lunch, it was time for my pulmonary procedures. I found myself back in the same place as my initial pulmonary baseline test on May 22nd - I even had the same technician! This procedure was different than the first, though - Albuterol and Pentamidine were administered through a nebulizer for the purpose of preventing a serious form of pneumonia. This required me to take deep, slow breaths into the tube as the technician monitored my progress until the medication had been inhaled. This is certainly not a difficult process, but certainly produces a lot of saliva!

Afterwards, we quickly made our way to a different building on campus where the outpatient infusion center is located. This is the same floor/hallway in which Ed donated his stem cells. (The nurses remembered him because of our distinctive last name and how kind he was throughout the donation process.) It didn't take long for the platelets to go in, and the blood transfusion took its usual hour and a half or so. A small blood draw during the blood transfusion showed my platelet count had risen to 27 with those two units. (I'm still not sure if there was a certain number the powers-that-be were wanting me to have.)

I was finished at around 4:45 pm. We headed home, stopping for supper in Dwight, and arrived back in Minier at about 9:45. Another answered prayer: we did have a safe journey to and from Chicago!

Exciting News! The Transplant is ON!

I was hopeful that the biopsy results would arrive sooner than later...I should've known they would arrive later! Each day, many asked or sent messages to ask if I'd heard about the biopsy results and that they'd be sending good thoughts and prayers that I was in remission. I appreciate everyone's care and concern for my situation!

Blood work Monday morning led to a platelet transfusion yesterday. I was very tired yesterday, so last night I went to bed extra early and slept well. Awhile after waking this morning I checked my email, discovering a late night message from my transplant coordinator. My Northwestern doctors have determined I'm in remission from the leukemia, and the transplant can proceed! An amazingly answered prayer!

My coordinator called me as soon as she could this morning, and we discussed what will happen in the next few days. My parents and I will go to Chicago later today, leaving around 3. We plan to stop for supper in Dwight in hopes of avoiding so much heavy, suburban traffic. Tomorrow morning I will have three appointments: blood draw/PICC line dressing change, then an appointment each with my oncologist and transplant doctor. It is very likely I will also need transfusions later tomorrow pending the blood draw results because my blood counts need to be at certain levels before the transplant chemo takes hold. Then, I will be admitted at 7:30-ish Friday morning to the stem cell transplant floor to begin the process. It is possible I will receive the higher level, pre-transplant chemo that day along with more transfusions.

If all goes as planned, I am scheduled to receive the donated stem cells next Friday. The medication given to me afterward will cause lots of side effects and make me feel awful. While this isn't something I'm looking forward to, I am certainly thankful my journey has not been as difficult nor as serious nor as long as some I've heard about. God has been with me this entire time...and so have all of you! Thank you for your continued care, love, and prayers!

If you're curious about the transplant process, you can click here to go back to this previous update on my website to learn more.

FYI: My PICC Line

My fantastic PICC Line selfie!

As you can see, my PICC line has three lumens, or lines, which allow access to draw my blood or to administer fluids, chemo, or medications. Each line also has its own clamp. The PICC line makes blood draws easier (especially in the middle of the night when I'm not entirely awake) and provides a quick, easy pathway for medication should I develop an infection or critical condition. I received one of the chemo meds through the PICC while in Chicago. I could also eventually receive nutritional supplements through this line, if needed.

This is my second line in this arm; my first was a two-lumen line which I had for about one week when I was hospitalized in Peoria. I also have a port in my upper right chest which essentially has the same function as the PICC line, but it takes longer to access. I will likely have the port much longer than the PICC line.

The PICC line is a high maintenance friend, however. It cannot get wet, so I have to wear a plastic sleeve with elastic at both ends over my left arm when I shower. Swimming is out of the question! As previously mentioned, the PICC line dressing and the end tips must be changed by a nurse once a week. The nurse must sign and date the new dressing. Each of the lumens must be "flushed" with saline twice each day to prevent infection and to make sure they are working properly. I have had to rely on my mom, my neighbor Joyce, and other friends and family who were in the right place at the right time to help me flush my lines. Thanks to all of you! (I did not want extenders which would have lengthened the lines so I could flush them myself. Imagine having three lumens which were as long as your arm - a pain to keep from tangling or creating a safety hazard and keeping wrapped up in a sleeve. No thanks!)

I purchased a stretchy, fabric sleeve to wear over the PICC lines while at home. I just didn't want to risk catching one or more of the lines on something since I was likely to be more active than when in the hospital. I wear the sleeve all day and all night and have found it to be more comfortable than I had anticipated.

In this photo, you will notice two green end caps and one blue - there is no significance to this other than it was the last blue cap I had! Different hospitals or supply companies use different colored and sized caps for PICC lines, but all caps have the same function and have a tiny, disinfectant sponge inside as another line of defense.

I am not sure if the purple/red line is used differently than the others. I generally don't pay much attention to which line is being used.