The (Tentative) Schedule

Well, I hope you all got the e-mail I sent, and can now access this blog. The only e-mail I got back as undeliverable was Sarah. Andy or Lynn, could you please let her know about this? Also, I don't think I have Shelly's correct e-mail address. Also, Tammy should've gotten this, but I don't have Tom's address. As always, pass along to anyone who you think will be interested. Sadie and Diane will have to rely on the old telephone.....



As many of you know, Greg's blood counts have been down for quite a while -- red, white & platelets. I haven't been able to figure out what's in his veins, as its certainly not blood! Not booze, either. Anyway, we finally got aggressive with the doc, and demanded she do something. She scheduled him for 4 shots of Neupagin (no, its not served on the rocks!). He had his first last Thursday. Its designed to bring your white count up. Anyway, when he went in for his Friday shot, they checked his whites and, lo and behold! They were well within the normal range for the first time in about 2 months. Duh! I should've gone to medical school ("Um...I was told there would be no math"). The real test will come next Friday, when we see if they held. Stay tuned. The reds and plateletes have to come back by themselves. She said if she transfuses him, the counts will just go down. I don't really get it. Anyway, aside from being a little cold and a little tired, he feels pretty good. Just busy winding down the semester, moving his office (that's another story), and getting ready for the transplant. Its amazing how much needs to be done.



I don't have definite dates yet, as those won't come from the nurse in St. Louis until the first or second week of May. However, they gave us a tentative schedule, so I thought I'd include it for those who are helping out with childcare, etc. This is all subject to change, but hopefully, not much. Here goes:



May 14

Greg goes to St. Louis to get a shot of Cytoxin. This is to prod his body into releasing healthy stem cells into his bloodstream. He gets to come home that day. He also gets a catheter (not THAT kind!) so they can draw blood, administer drugs, etc. more easily. He'll have three wires sticking out of his chest for the duration, and can't get it wet. Sigh.



May 18 or 19

Greg goes back to St. Louis to hang around. Hopefully, we will have our duplex by then. He will not be admitted, but must be in town, as he will be susceptible to infection and if he has to be hospitalized, they want him there so they don't miss collecting the stem cells.



May 26

Begin collecting stem cells. Keep your fingers crossed! Once they get enough (2-4 days?), he can go home (to Springfield) if he's stable.



June 9

Admitted to hospital, start chemo. Generally, two days of chemo to kill his existing bone marrow, and then a day or so of rest.



June 12

Gets his new stem cells.



If all goes well, he's out of the hospital in 17 days or so, then another week of hanging around St. Louis, going to clinic every day, then home.



The Altoonian family is taking care of the boys for the first week. Matthew is really looking forward to staying at "Uncle Greg's" house.



Judy and Dana come the second week, on or around June 15, til around June 21 or 22. Judy, could you post a comment with your exact dates? After that I'm hoping the Skibinski clan can take over. I really hope the boys can stay together during transplant time, especially for Matthew's sake. He needs his brother, since I won't be around much. And, for those of you who don't know, Eric got a job, so he has to stick around here. He's going to lifeguard at the Nixa community pool. Yikes! Seems just yesterday he wouldn't go in the water. (Oh, wait! That WAS yesterday!)



I guess that's plenty for now. I'll post more details as they develop. Until then, thanks again for all your prayers, help & support.



Love,



Ann & Greg