Monday: Valerie's WBC's 0.5
Valerie was feeling pretty weak so after she morning check up and afternoon appoinment with her doctor we went home and watched movies. After a fabulous showing of Sex and the City Valerie took a turn for the worst. I have always written this blog/emails with Valerie in mind. What would she want to read later on, what would she mind that I shared with everyone we know. With that in mind I can say honestly the next three days were awful. A horror to watch as Valerie went from perfectly fine to crying out in agony. It is hard to explain what kind of pain it is but she says it is like all of your bones are being crushed at the same time. Her deep bone pain makes her unable to move her limbs by herself and stiff like someone with really really bad arthritis.
Tuesday: Valerie's WBC's 1.1
We had a feeling that the pain was from her making WBC's but it does not make it feel any better. I had to leave for Denver today and honestly can say that leaving her was the hardest thing I can ever remember having to do. I almost changed my ticket but Mom, Dad, Brent and Vanessa are there so she is in good hands. Before I left we met with the social worker and transplant coordinator. I think the meetings went very well, we had already welcomed Ursula our transplant coordinator to Team Snail and it was great to meet Pamela, our social worker and welcome her as well. These two women are a very important part of our team, they coordinate all of the information and move along the process for Valerie from here on out. We were thrilled to learn of the extra help Valerie can receive and different paperwork we needed to complete to make sure she was covered. The time line is looking very long and terribly complicated for all of this but we are confident in Ursula and Pamela to show us the way, Quickly! By the time we were leaving the meetings Valerie was in so much pain that she went straight to the hospital for IV pain killers and a stronger prescription.
Wednesday: Valerie's WBC's 4.3 RBC's 8.4 Platelets 29
(her RBC's must stay above 8 and platelets above 15 or she needs transfusions)
The pain is continuing so much that she spent most of her day in a private room at the hospital. I don't have details but I can imagine. The pain killers make her sick but without them it is intolerable.
Thursday: Valerie's WBC's 29
No, I am not missing a decimal point. Bad news is we don't know what this means. It could mean a lot of things, worse case the leukemia is back again already. This would make the decision about whether or not she needs another consolidation chemo round before the transplant. It could also mean that she is reacting to that $4k shot she got and this is just a spike. Let's pray for that one, only time will tell. Good news is she finally turning a corner today. She had more energy and was making lists of things that need to be done etc. The time line was laid out today and I know we don't understand it all but it seems so far away! Today and tomorrow Valerie has tons of additional tests. They will start tests on Vanessa on the 10th of November because that is how long things take to cook so to speak. After all of the tests Vanessa will be started on the Neupogen to build up the WBC's on the 19th and then they will start harvesting the stem cells on the 23rd and 24th of November and then the mega chemo round starting after that. Then the transplant.
Prayer requests: Valerie's pain remains tolerable and the spike in her WBC's is just that.
The medical group and insurance company approve the transplant asap!
Tuesday: Valerie's WBC's 1.1
We had a feeling that the pain was from her making WBC's but it does not make it feel any better. I had to leave for Denver today and honestly can say that leaving her was the hardest thing I can ever remember having to do. I almost changed my ticket but Mom, Dad, Brent and Vanessa are there so she is in good hands. Before I left we met with the social worker and transplant coordinator. I think the meetings went very well, we had already welcomed Ursula our transplant coordinator to Team Snail and it was great to meet Pamela, our social worker and welcome her as well. These two women are a very important part of our team, they coordinate all of the information and move along the process for Valerie from here on out. We were thrilled to learn of the extra help Valerie can receive and different paperwork we needed to complete to make sure she was covered. The time line is looking very long and terribly complicated for all of this but we are confident in Ursula and Pamela to show us the way, Quickly! By the time we were leaving the meetings Valerie was in so much pain that she went straight to the hospital for IV pain killers and a stronger prescription.
Wednesday: Valerie's WBC's 4.3 RBC's 8.4 Platelets 29
(her RBC's must stay above 8 and platelets above 15 or she needs transfusions)
The pain is continuing so much that she spent most of her day in a private room at the hospital. I don't have details but I can imagine. The pain killers make her sick but without them it is intolerable.
Thursday: Valerie's WBC's 29
No, I am not missing a decimal point. Bad news is we don't know what this means. It could mean a lot of things, worse case the leukemia is back again already. This would make the decision about whether or not she needs another consolidation chemo round before the transplant. It could also mean that she is reacting to that $4k shot she got and this is just a spike. Let's pray for that one, only time will tell. Good news is she finally turning a corner today. She had more energy and was making lists of things that need to be done etc. The time line was laid out today and I know we don't understand it all but it seems so far away! Today and tomorrow Valerie has tons of additional tests. They will start tests on Vanessa on the 10th of November because that is how long things take to cook so to speak. After all of the tests Vanessa will be started on the Neupogen to build up the WBC's on the 19th and then they will start harvesting the stem cells on the 23rd and 24th of November and then the mega chemo round starting after that. Then the transplant.
Prayer requests: Valerie's pain remains tolerable and the spike in her WBC's is just that.
The medical group and insurance company approve the transplant asap!
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