Starting Line for Shrew

Vanessa was able to go to the hospital to start her tests today! The sooner the better for our little snail. She sent me this picture when my Dad and she were waiting. It is from her phone so it is fuzzy but I still think it is great! It looks like hope to me!
Don't worry, she is wearing a mask just so she doesn't get sick, that could mean a delay of weeks for the transplant.
She had an EKG, x-rays, tons of blood drawn, vein approval, apheresis orientation and a meeting with the transplant coordinator, Ursula and it is only 3pm there!

Who is Shrew you ask? Vanessa's self given nickname. What is a Shrew? There are these creatures called Elephant Shrews and when Alex was a baby Vanessa took him to their favorite place, the zoo and they both fell in love with these animals. Alex was giggling, Vanessa just thought they were fabulous and so the Snail got a twin named Shrew. How a Chipmunk, a Snail and a Shrew are sisters is only for Vanessa to understand I suppose. :) To this day the boys and Vanessa hold their finger up to the nose and wiggle it around like an Elephant Shrew (below) at each other, it is their greeting.

Typical Snail

This is so Valerie: Our Mom has been sick and so when Valerie saw this flower on the patio of Trader Joe's she knew it would make Mom feel better. They dropped it off at Mom's apartment with a ring of the doorbell just to make Mom smile. Since we name everything, this is Sammy the pink hydrangea.

Snail's Schedule

A change in the Snail's schedule came in the last two days and we were waiting for confirmation before we told everyone. Valerie did not have to go back into Scripps Mercy to have another round of consolidation chemo on Wednesday. Her oncologist and transplant doctors met and agreed that her numbers were so good they would rather she was stronger for the irradiation and transplant chemo. We received the results of her latest bone marrow biopsy and it was CLEAN!! As an added treat she does not have to go in every day to be seen as an outpatient but only a couple times a week. This will really help her strength because just the trips to the hospital or doctor's office wear her out.

Here is the tentative schedule. The dates (starting Nov 14) may be moved up a day or two if possible.

Nov. 6 or 9 Valerie and Vanessa sign paperwork at UCSD

Nov. 9 Vanessa preps at UCSD

Nov 14 Valerie preps at UCSD (CTI and body mapping)

Nov 15 or 16 Valerie is inpatient at UCSD

Nov 18 Valerie starts total body irridiation (2x daily for 3 days)

Nov 20 Vanessa starts Neupogen shots

Nov 21 Valerie starts Chemo for 2 days

Nov 23 Valerie gets to rest

Nov 24 & 25 Vanessa gets Stem Cells harvested
(Cells are counted by the lab and immediately put into Valerie)

Nov 26 Valerie has a brand new immune system!

Two prayer requests (besides the obvious):
My Mom is really sick with a nasty cold and cannot be around Valerie or Vanessa AT ALL! Please pray she gets better right away so she can see Valerie and help with her care. The transplant will be here before we know it and we need her to be well. Here is the wonderful photo she sent me from the beach yesterday. A walk on the beach between naps and Kleenex is great medicine!
Valerie is still weak from the last chemo round. She has really bad days and some days that are pretty good. Please pray for strength, her pain, her poor upset tummy and now a new problem has emerged. She is having a problem with her hip, it just doesn't want to work. The doctors have confirmed that it is not neurological and must be bone or muscle related. This is painful and reduces her independence which we all know she cherishes. Please pray this resolves itself quickly!

The Snail Bracelets Are Here!

If you specifically requested a bracelet they are on the way today! If you would like a bracelet and are in SD please let me know, extras where sent to Brent's house for the SD part of Team Snail. If you would like a bracelet and did not specifically tell me please let me know, more are ordered and I will be happy to send you one in the next batch. All I expect in return is some snail pictures or snail bracelet pictures!

Please remember we are wearing these until Valerie is cured!

Walk with Team Snail!

The Light the Night Walk we did in Denver is going to be in San Diego on November 20th at Qualcomm. I have started a team for everyone who wants to walk for our little Snail! Please visit this link to join Team Snail or donate in Valerie's honor.

http://pages.lightthenight.org/sd/SanDiego09/TeamSnail

Sad Snail

Yesterday Valerie had her bone marrow biopsy and the rest of her tests which are never fun but they went very well. It is nice to have everything done that they need from her in order to go forward with the transplant. Soon they will be able to start on Vanessa's tests.
The Snail is sad today because last night she found out that she does indeed have to go back into the hospital for another round of consolidation chemo while the transplant tests and such are being done. Her oncologist and transplant doctors had a conference yesterday about our little Snail and agreed that there was too much time in between chemo rounds for her to wait for the transplant preparation mega chemo which should be just after Thanksgiving. So here is the new time line:
Valerie back to Scripps Mercy on the 4th of November
Vanessa will start her transplant tests on the 10th of November
Valerie will be out of Scripps on the 11th of November
Vanessa will start the Neupogen shots to build up her WBC's on the 19th of November
Vanessa will have her blood draw for the transplant on the 23rd-24th of November
Valerie will start her mega transplant chemo and transplant sometime this week but we are not sure of the details.

Please pray for pain still, her spirit and great results from all of these tests!

In like a lion, not a Snail

Well this month decided to come in like a lion, hopefully it will go out like a lamb with a smooth transplant. Valerie had another bad day of pain and the meds are just not as effective anymore. Frankly this baffles me because she is a smallish type person and I am sure they have things that can take down an elephant much less a Snail!

Prayer for the pain but also for the rest of her tests tomorrow. She has yet another bone marrow biopsy and the final set of tests that the transplant team needs. Please pray she can have calm thoughts during the biopsy and that the rest of the tests go smoothly as well.