July 2009
40 posts
Movin' Out
It’s time to go home!!!
After 23 days here, Mike is going home tonight to sleep in his own bed :)
There have been some good days here at the hospital, and there have been some hard days. But now we can look forward!
Despite 5 days of chemo and 8 days of having no white blood cells, this transplant went as we expected — and probably even better. He never got a serious infection. ...
Weekend Roundup
Hello friends and family,
Apologies for the lack of posting over the weekend. I made a quick trip to Chicago for a wedding! But I’m back now, and found the patient in the same good state I left him in.
His appetite remains good, and his counts are strong. Still waiting on that Potassium level to stabilize.
We were just outside for about an hour, for the fourth day in a row. It’s...
890?!
Yesterday, we posted that Mike’s Neutrophil count had jumped from 0 to 200. But today, it’s at 890!!! What a jump! “Out of the danger zone.” The WBC count is at 1.3 :)
Monday Funday
Good day. This morning, Nurse Linda, disconnected Mike from his IV pole – albeit temporarily – for some freedom and, more importantly, an unencumbered shower. He feels very good when he gets cleaned up and has his linens changed. We continue to constantly rotate sets of clean mesh outfits. As you might suspect, they are color-coordinated. Today he is wearing his favorite Oregon State Beavers...
Before we left his room last night, Mike noticed that he started feeling different/better. He did very well overnight, with the help of a couple of Ambien. Just now, he had some toast, orange jello, and a cereal bar.
Dr. Lazarus was in this morning and remains pleased with the direction his counts are trending. WBC<0.1 still, but that is not an indication of how good he is feeling! They...
Saturday
The patient has been in bed most of the day, but feels pretty decent and has been chatting with visitors. No fever, but his WBC count remains under 0.1
As soon as the WBC count starts to increase, it will really increase! He is still receiving growth factor to help them cells grow.
The doctors revealed today that his blood cultures show that he has a parasite! What the heck! That means that he...
TGIF
Today, Friday, started the best of any day: he took a shower, put on fresh clothes, “brushed his tooth,” took a walk in the hall, and got the room cleaned to his liking :)
Dr. Lazarus said he’s doing great and none of the blood cultures indicate infection.
We’re waiting for the WBC counts to start increasing again!
Even better
Fever is gone, and the patient is eating! Yay!
Thumbs up
The patient is feeling better today! He has a low-grade fever, but Dr. Lazarus (Lazzy) is not overly concerned. More updates later today!
Better days are ahead
The patient is having a pretty rough day. They did warn us we were in for some tough days in the middle of week 2 - which we are now as today marks day 10 in the hospital.
He’s been quite lethargic and out of it, although not nauseous or tired. It’s hard to say how he’s feeling, but it’s not right. His WBC count (which yesterday was 0.4) is now 0.1, and he’s also...
Grow, Grow!
Today’s White Blood Cell (WBC) Count is 0.4 (Normal is 3.5-10)
Whoah that’s low! That means that he is neutropenic, for the first time. Neutropenic means highly suceptible to infection, and also means we all must wear masks to visit him. The masks are a little annoying — sweaty on the inside.
We’re not sure if the counts will go any lower - if indeed they have bottomed...
Liveblogging the Stem Cell Transplant
Today is T=0, or transplant day! The reason for the season.
11:33am: Joanne enters room, informs us she has the cells! They were thawed this morning. She asks us all to put on masks. Those present in the room: Me (Michelle), Jen, Emily, Laurie, and Tim Hagan. We’re all excited. Dad is high on Benadryl, saying weird things. Favorite nurses Becky and Eileen are present.
11:34am:...
Weekend Roundup
Hi followers,
Sorry for the sporadic weekend posts. Won’t happen again!
The patient is doing well. Has been quite sleepy but did get up for some visitors! Has apparently “lost his taste” for banana popsicles, which isn’t surprising after having eaten approximately 50 of them over a week.
Tomorrow’s a big day!! Getting them stem cells back. We’re going to...
Daily Roundup
Hi, everybody! Today a bag of Cisplatin in the evening marked Mike’s final chemotherapy, and we are all relieved to be done with our fifth and final day of treatment. The weekend brings a regimen of anti-nausea medication and hydration as Mike’s counts begin to drop as we prepare for Monday’s transplant.
Today Kelly, the youngest of the seven Rose children, came in to UH to...
A Good Read →
Thought I’d include the link to Jonathan Alter’s story, My Life with Cancer, from Newsweek in April 2007. In it, he discusses his battle with lymphoma and his stem cell transplant. (Click on “A Good Read” - the title of this blog and that’s the link).
Jonathan Alter is a longtime political and media writer and commentator for our favorite news magazine, and has...
Daily Roundup
The cheem (chemotherapy- we abreviate everything) has started to catch up with him a bit today. We’ve had two of our favorite nurses for the whole day though, and they’ve given him a good amount of anti-nausea medication. It makes him sleep a lot. But as we all know, sleeping is better than barfing (or “splashing” as our family calls it).
All that remains is one more...
Popularity Contest
So apparently the way it works here on the 6th floor is that all of the nurses sign up for the patients they will care for during a specific shift.
The nurses have informed us that everyone wants to sign up for my Dad, and that he’s all booked, with alternates!
He says this is only because he has not pooped the bed… yet.
But to be fair, he is quite charming.
Nurse: Okay, Linda is going to your nurse tonight. She’s cute – did you meet her before? She’s a little Indian girl?
Dad: Yeah, the typical old guy thing to say to her would be: “Hey did you see that Slumdog Millionaire.” But I wouldn’t.
Daily Roundup
We’re one Ambien away from the end of Day 2.
Today was a good one, and here’s why:
Lots of visitors — thank you all
Minimal side effects from the chemo
Good dinner from Little Italy
Dad was able to have Dunkin coffee and wipe down some surfaces this morning
At about 8pm, finished up the chemo regimen for the day, and Dad was released from the IV pole — freedom! Took...
Visiting Information
We hope you’ll come visit during this time and help keep us company. We love visitors.
Mike’s temporary new home is located at University Hospital (at University Circle) in the Lerner Tower, Floor 6, Room 6023.
Feel free to visit anytime, but if you’d like to call first, the room # is 216-844-9623.
It is best to park Cornell Rd. Garage near the corner of Cornell and Euclid....
What IS a stem cell transplant and what would...
The writers of this blog have recently been informed by its subject that “the success of your blog will depend on my input, in terms of humor and medical proticol.” Well O-kay! With that in mind, this posting was dictated by the man himself, Mike Rose:
The thinking is that: even though no tests or scans indicate any cancer, a stem cell transplant (and the chemo that you get while in the...
First Day!
What to expect this week: The first few days will be among the best to visit, if indeed you are interested in doing so. We will post information how to do that shortly! We will also be explaining a breakdown of the three-week process so you can feel informed as we go.
On the first day, Mike arrived at the hospital downtown at 7:30am and was getting a hydration IV shortly after. The hydration...
Launch Par-tay
Welcome to Mike Rose’s Official Stem Cell Transplant Blog! Who would’ve thought?
Starting on July 6th, I’ll be updating daily to keep our wonderful family and friends updated on his progress. We didn’t feel that Caring Bridge or Care Pages, although great sites, were quite the right fit, so we have found a home on Tumblr! We hope you’ll bookmark this page and check frequently in support of...