happy happy joy joy

What a crazy trip this has all been. And yet, at every turn we keep getting greeted by blessing after blessing. Today we received the best news yet. Joe has been discharged from Short Stay for good behavior. :) What does this mean? This means that even though we haven't yet reached Day 30, we no longer have to go to the hospital every single morning. What does that mean? It means that tomorrow, we get to SLEEP IN! Joe's WBC is up to 3300. Today he was officially taken off all of his antibiotics, which significantly decreases his pill intake. Now he just needs to take two anti-rejection meds and one anti-viral med. Also, for the first time in weeks, Joe's magnesium level was in normal range. Because of the drugs he's on, the level will probably dip again. But Joe will take tablets instead of getting an IV. The truly amazing part is that for now, Joe only needs to go to the hospital twice a week. Seven days down to two is a HUGE blessing. It was supposed to be a gradual taper, but Joe has been doing so well. Praise the Lord!

Joe's mouth sores continue to improve. Nausea is rare and doesn't last too long. Joe's appetite is getting a little better, although his taste seems a bit blunted. His mouth sores have improved greatly. The only new thing is tenderness in his fingertips. His fingertips and the meaty part of his palm are red, and they are sensitive to heat and friction. The doctor said that this is a common side effect of FK5O6 (tacrolimus/Prograf) as well as Busulfan (one of the chemotherapies Joe was on pre-transplant). In time, this too shall pass.

What can I say? God is good, and all of your prayers, love, hugs, and support are apparently working. Thank you, thank you!

Home Sweet Home.

We are HOME! Joe has been enjoying his tv, his couch, his bed, and his shower. There is no doubt that we were extremely well taken care of at Hotel Mom & Dad. Joe's parents were absolute angels and helped us more than we could ever hope or ask. But it sure does feel good to be back home. My family and Joe's parents all stopped by in the afternoon to make sure we were okay, and to make sure that our refrigerator was stocked to maximum capacity. We are very loved.

Our visit to the hospital this morning provided us with very good news, again! Joe's WBC is now 2700. Jumping, jumping, jumping. His platelets rose to 72, and his RBC went up to 10.6. We are quite pleased with those numbers. Twelve more days until Day 30 and the big bone marrow biopsy.

Joe and I wanted to share some photos from these past few weeks. Rest assured that every single one, good and bad (okay, not so bad!), has been pre-approved by Joe. It is really amazing how big his smile is in so many of the photos. He's a beautiful person with beautiful character. You can view the photos by clicking on the following link...

Joe's Transplant Process.










As for the photos of the cute little guy I've posted... Well, that's my little brother Victor. And on the 29th, he is turning TWENTY-ONE!!!!!! Yup, he's all grown up now. He also happens to be an extremely bright goody-two-shoes. So it is highly unlikely that he will be taking advantage of any of the things that are now legal for him. Maybe because in every card that he has ever received from us, Joe has written, "Just Say NO." :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICTOR!!!!!!

Wonderful news!

Going to the hospital every day has become our daily job. But it's a lot worse, because it's not fun or fulfilling. But the good news is that Joe is getting better and better each day thanks to the wonderful doctors and nurses caring for him.

We made it to the hospital today in good time, only to be greeted by a full waiting room that kept getting more and more packed. We've never seen it so busy. Our wait in the waiting room was almost a full hour. Fortunately, somebody was great enough to order Joe's meds in advance, so they were ready when we got to his room. Joe is now getting half the fluids he was previously, he is still on vanco for a few days (which has brought down his temperature, and taken away the tenderness around his port), and of course magnesium. Unfortunately, one of Joe's anti-rejection meds depletes magnesium, so even after he stops getting it IV, Joe will have to start taking it in tablet form.

Now for the wonderful news. The doctor rounding today came into the room and said, "wonderful news!" Joe's WBC (which jumped up to 376 yesterday) is 900 today! This is the real deal. His WBC should just keep jumping up now. Platelets and RBC take a little more time, but we can be patient with those. Joe hasn't seen our house in over 3 weeks now, and he is itching to go back. He's decided that Sunday will probably be the day we head out of Hotel Mom & Dad. Of course, it has been noted that we are welcome back to the "hotel" anytime. We've been really blessed to have the extra help.

Thank you Marcus for visiting Joe while you've been rotating through the hospital. You really helped the days go by faster.

Thank you Albert for the great care package! We know you are super busy, so it means a lot that you took the time and thought that went into it.

Movin' on up!

Today marks two weeks since Joe's transplant. He has been feeling fatigued, but things are slowly getting better and better. Today was a good day for counts. Joe's platelets are now 66. His WBC jumped up from the 60s to 166. And his hemoglobin is 10.2. The doctor said that his platelets should continue to rise, his WBC should start jumping up, and it is pretty definite Joe will be able to avoid getting any blood transfusions! Yippeeeeee!!!!! It is amazing how well Joe has been doing through the whole transplant process. God continues to bless us beyond measure.

Joe's temperature started to creep up last night. It went up to 99.9. This morning it was 99.6. Also, the area around Joe's port has been a bit tender. There has been no swelling or pus. Just to be on the safe side and to avoid any surprise admissions due to fever, which is a sign of infection, which means several days and nights in the hospital - Joe was given Vancomycin today. If you recall, this is the stuff that causes red man syndrome. Joe didn't have as strong of a reaction today as he did back in August. But this time, with no hair he did look a bit like the red version of a Blue Man from the Blue Man Group. All is well now. Joe is just more tired than ever because he got some Benadryl to help with the itching from the Vanco.

Once I get back to my normal computer, I'll start sharing photos from these past couple weeks. :) As always thanks for all of the love.

New Man

My husband is a new man! Yesterday, he went from looking like this, to looking like this, to looking like this. Just as Gretchen says, "bald is beautiful." Joe looks as handsome as ever. My mother said, "so now you have a sexy, bald, husband?" Joe's mom likes to joke that I'm caring for a baby...with a 21 year old mom. Joe says he now knows what it is like to be an old old man. He has no hair. He shuffles from the bed, to the restroom, to the hospital, and back again. Reading is his main source of entertainment. His diet consists of Ensure, popsicles, Jell-o, and millions of pills. Although, Joe's mouth sores started getting better today. Yay! Joe's platelets continue to rise little by little. His WBC look like they are creeping up as well. So things are going as well as they could be. Tomorrow will make 2 weeks since the transplant.

I must share the story of Joe's hair. He started off the day with a full head of hair. During his visit to the hospital, Joe was really fascinated by how easy it was to pull out his hair. Joe jumps in the shower after every hospital visit. Yesterday afternoon when he started washing his hair, it all started falling out. When Joe stepped out he had big bald patches on the front of his head.

In the evening, Joe's dad had requested that I make some chili. Joe LOVES chili, but unfortunately he couldn't eat any with his mouth sores. So while I had chili with my in-loves, Joe found a way to entertain himself. He went to the bathroom and started yanking out all of his hair. He figured this was better than leaving trails of hair everywhere and waiting for it to all fall out on its own. After dinner, I went to help. It was actually really funny in a weird kind of way. So by the end of the evening, Joe was officially bald!

That is about it. We are really encouraged by his progress, and just keep praying that all continues to go smoothly. Praise the Lord!

Uh-oh...:)

It may be starting. Joe just might be losing his hair. Maybe. Yesterday, before and after his post-hospital-visit shower, I noticed all of these loose hairs on Joe. We then discovered that of all places, Joe was starting to lose hair from his armpits! It was just sliding right out. Joe then decided to test the hair on his head. That stuff is much more stubborn, and yet Joe was still able to pull out tiny little tufts of hair. We buzzed Joe's hair yesterday afternoon since it was getting really shaggy. Joe is really fascinated by the prospect of becoming completely bald. He seems to be encouraging it by randomly yanking at the little hairs on his head. Still, it looks pretty thick up there. Today, there were fewer loose hairs. We thought maybe he would wake up to a pillow covered with hair, but that hasn't happened yet. There was just one lonely hair, possibly two! We shall wait and see.

Joe's nausea and belly pain has pretty much vanished. To replace those ailments, Joe now has a very stubborn headache that appears throughout the day. Also, he is starting to develop sores in his mouth that are irritating. The one positive thing that has resulted from the mouth sores is that Joe has an excuse to eat popsicles. His nurse suggested it this afternoon, and Joe was very excited about it! Another praise worthy thing is that even though Joe's last platelet transfusion was a bit of a nightmare, his counts went up! Yesterday it was 40, today it was 45. Joe's hemoglobin level is steadil decreasing, and we're anticipating a blood transfusion within the next week.

Some happy news about one of the girls we've been praying for. Amy is more than sixty days out from her transplant, and her thirty day bone marrow biopsy showed that she is 100% engrafted. Woohoo, and Praise the Lord! Also, pray for Alivia and her family as she will be undergoing a splenectomy in a few days, and a transplant a few weeks after that.

A very Happy Birthday to John of John & Carole, TK, and Kelly from small group who celebrated birthdays recently. And a very Happy Birthday to SuAnn who should be celebrating today!

Thank you so much Janet & Frank, and Aunt Vivian, Zim, & Yim for your generous gifts. You are all so very thoughtful and sweet.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who have been flooding our mailbox with cards! We really appreciate your support.

And a super giant THANK YOU to Greg who is absolutely the best neighbor in the world. If there is such thing as a best neighbor award, he should get it. Greg, you have been so incredibly helpful, we appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

Long day.

Sometimes it seems that Joe's body wants to create a little excitement just to make things more interesting. On Tuesday, Joe's platelet count was 10. He had a platelet transfusion. Yesterday, his platelet count went all the way up to 11! Today it was 9. Joe had another platelet transfusion. His body, after pondering a bit decided that things have been a bit boring. So Joe's body decided to break out into a rash after receiving the transfusion. It started out as a bit of itchiness in the neck area. Then some little bumps near the belly. Soon enough, Joe's whole front and back was bright red. Joe was in agony with the itchiness and burning. Then came some tightness in his chest, and nausea. Fortunately, some benadryl, solumedrol, and ativan fixed Joe up in no time...it also knocked him out. Joe thought he was asleep for about 30 minutes, but it was actually a few hours. There is absolutely no sign of the rash anymore, which is great. Joe got an EKG just in case. It was normal. A whole bunch of cute nurses were popping into the room to make sure that Joe was okay. He was being given the royal treatment. All is well now. Hopefully, Joe's body decides to behave better now. We were only at the hospital for eight and a half hours today.

His WBC is still low, low, low - just 51. Yet, Joe continues to avoid getting any fevers. Praise the Lord! He eats a bit here and there. Just enough to keep him going. And in case you're curious, Joe still has a full head of hair. It is stuck to his head like superglue. We're taking bets as to whether he'll end up losing it or not. Okay, maybe not. I don't want to be accused of encouraging gambling.

Just a friendly reminder, although we are thankful for the gesture, Joe is not able to receive fresh flowers and plants right now. Just knowing that people are loving and praying for Joe is the best gift ever.

Also, a certain day of a certain week, of this month is special. And although I like to acknowledge such things when I'm aware, this time I've been given strict orders not to say anything. So for those readers who know what I'm talking about - I'm not being bad and forgetful. I'm just obeying orders. And for those who haven't the faintest idea what I'm babbling about...that is good, because you're not supposed to. :)

Sixty-six!

The normal range for WBC (white blood cells) is 4500-11000 cells/MCL. According to Joe's blood draw this morning, he has 66 cells/MCL. They have to be counted manually. It just amazes me how low they are. This week Joe's WBC are expected to be at their lowest. Sixty-six is pretty much lowest. In a few days they should start inching their way up to a more acceptable range. For now, Joe wears a mask while outside of the house. And we've all become pretty obsessive about washing our hands and being clean. Joe even gets his own personal blood pressure cuff and thermometer at the hospital. Pretty special, eh?

Remarkably, Joe is currently feeling better than he has been in awhile. Yesterday and this morning he had a throbbing headache. Today it was discovered that one of his drug (FK5O6/Prograf) dosages may need to be tweaked. Patients on Prograf are tested twice a week. Joe was tested yesterday, and the results today show that his levels are too high. This is a possible reason for his headaches. So hopefully, the headaches will be better once the dosage is changed.

Joe did have a platelet transfusion today, and more magnesium. His appetite is increasing little by little, and Joe can tolerate more than just rice and broth now. When we left the hospital, Joe said that his headache was gone. Everything else felt good too. Hooray for every victory!

Thank you to Akiko and Joe for the balloons! They are so fun and cheery.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

We went back to the hospital this morning. Joe received some magnesium in addition to his usual bag of saline. His platelets are down to 14, so it is almost definite that Joe will be getting a platelet transfusion tomorrow. Joe is extremely neutropenic now. The doctor who has been rounding keeps stressing that this is a critical period. During this point of the transplant process, most patients end up being admitted to the hospital with fever/infection. It is almost like a rite of passage. But you still never know. A lucky few manage to sneak past this little detour. Let's hope and pray Joe is one of the lucky few!

The good news is that Joe has been eating a bit more since yesterday. Not only that, but most of the food he has been eating has been staying in his body for a normal-ish amount of time. Joe had been experiencing some diffuse pain in his belly for several days, and that is finally going away. Each day we see a bit of progress. The nurses and doctors like to remind us not to be disappointed or discouraged if there are setbacks along the way, or if Joe feels blah for awhile. Still, it makes the days easier to stay positive and celebrate the tiny victories. If we encounter setbacks we'll deal with them. Before that, it doesn't make sense to worry, does it?

All of our days are running together...

For most of the morning I kept thinking it was Tuesday, only to realize it is only Sunday. Each day is so similar, it is becoming difficult to keep track!

Just like the sun peeping through the clouds, Joe's silliness will reveal itself throughout the gloom of each day. He will say something completely ridiculous or cute that will make me laugh and reassure me that everything is going to be okay. To be perfectly honest though, the past few days have been pretty miserable for Joe. After he was discharged, he had little appetite (with the exception of Friday evening when he would sneak bits of food with a gleam in his eye.) Unfortunately, virtually everything that entered Joe would quickly exit in a most unpleasant manner. These past two nights have been rough as he has been waking up several times to dash to the restroom. Joe almost constantly feels nauseated. The drugs help, but they aren't perfect. It has been rough. It is so difficult to see Joe go through this, and I can only imagine how awful it is to live through it.

According to the doctors and the nurses though, Joe is just an average Joe. Everything he is going through is perfectly normal and expected for a post-transplant patient. It would be much more remarkable and interesting if Joe were to not experience any nausea or loss of appetite. So he pretty much just needs to bear with the blahs for a little while longer, then things should start to get better. Besides that, the doctors and nurses feel that Joe looks great considering he is five days out from a PBSC transplant. I must agree. (Not that I'm biased or anything.)

Thus far, Joe has managed to avoid any transfusions. This shouldn't last long, but we're happy to avoid them for as long as possible. Each morning we go to the hospital, Joe has his blood drawn and is given IV fluids. Yesterday, Joe didn't eat anything which was more or less suggested by the doctor. Today, he is feeling every so slightly better, and so Joe started to eat again. So far his lunch (congee/jook/rice porridge/mue/okayu/lugao/pick your favorite name...) has not made a reappearance in any form, and it's been a couple hours. This is a very good thing.

Now, Joe is happily perched on the couch, in front of the television, watching football.

___
Just to go back to transplant day briefly (or not so briefly!). As I mentioned before, everything went very smoothly. The donor had her cells harvested on Monday. Joe's transplant was on Tuesday. It is really interesting, because many years ago, Joe did a summer internship in a Lab at Allegheny General Hospital. There he met a gentleman named Don. After Joe started his residency at West Penn, he had the opportunity to go back to AGH several times for rotations or conferences.

One time, Joe decided to go back to the lab where he worked and see if he still knew anyone there. Don was still there!!!! Now here is the fascinating part. This year, Don started working at West Penn in a lab where they do all things bone marrow related. Turns out, he had seen Joe's name several times but never made the connection. That is until Joe returned for his transplant. Someone referred to Joe as Dr. Lin. Then it all clicked. Don went up to visit Joe before the transplant. Then on Day 0, Don personally delivered the cells to the room, and wrote Happy Birthday on the dry erase board. Don apparently knows a bit more about Joe's donor. But being the good worker that he is, and wanting to keep his current job, he hasn't revealed anything to us. Oh well.

For transplants, doctors aim to get 4-6million cells/kilo. (I hope I'm writing this correctly!) Joe's donor provided 10 million cells/kilo. The doctor gave the go ahead to give them all to Joe. So now we hope and pray that the donor cells thrive and set up camp in Joe, and the bad cells get booted. This is all creating a temporary mess in the Land of Joseph, but temporary is the key word. None of us can wait (Joe most of all) until he engrafts (that is, when the stem cells begin to grow and make cells) and then starts to feel better.

For now, it is all about taking it easy, and taking everything one step at a time. Fortunately, we have tons of help. We are now living in Hotel Mom & Dad. It has been great since we are all together. My parents have been visiting as well to provide added support.

As usual, we are feeling the love from everywhere. I can not stress how encouraging it is for Joe to know that so many people are keeping up with his status. I know that he is lovable and one can't help but want him to hurry up and get better. Joe doesn't always realize this though. So thank you everyone for making this just a little more clear for him!

___
A very Happy Birthday (a little early) to my dear pseudo-cousin Van. Have a wonderful time celebrating. Hope you find some time to relax and get pampered!

Freedom!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Joe is out of the hospital!!!!! We still have to go back every single day for a month. But Joe is so happy to be out of the room he called his jail cell. According to his doctor, Joe's only on parole...but Joe will take what he can get!

Joe still doesn't feel like himself. I guess in many ways he is a new person now. Mostly he has no appetite (although he did try to tell me he wanted french fries...). This morning it was even tough for him to keep down liquids. According to the doctors an Ativan 30 minutes before meals might help Joe get some food down...although it will make dinner conversation virtually impossible. Also, each morning for as long as necessary Joe will get some IV fluids while in short stay. This way, we know he's not dehydrated.

Joe received even more cards today. He now has a stash of more than 90 cards, courtesy of West Penn and all of the amazing people who sent them. Thank you so very much for all of your love and support!

Happy belated Birthday to Joe!

Just a quick little update. I'll write more later...

Joe had his transplant yesterday. It was really incredbile. They hooked him up to a bunch of monitors. Out came a little bag with 251 mL of cells. The bag was hung. Fourteen...FOURTEEN MINUTES later, Joe had new cells floating around his body knowing exactly where to go. Joe was closely monitored for an hour after the fourteen minute transplant. All was well. He then had to continue to receive IV fluids for an additional 3 hours. After all was said and done, it was getting late. Joe could have been discharged, but since we have to be at the hospital every morning at 8am for thirty days anyway, he decided to stay another night.

Well, this morning, Joe's stomach was bothering him a bit more than usual. He was sent to get a CT scan. Apparently, he has some inflammation in his colon. Things like this are to be expected as his counts continue to go down. They were still going to let him go home. But then after the bigwigs discussed some more, they decided that they would like Joe to stay a little longer just to be safe. So, my dear Joe is still in the hospital. He's not too thrilled about being here yet another day. Who would be? But Joe is staying strong.

One more note, Joe received over 70 cards as of the time of his transplant yesterday. It came in two waves. Each delivery, the lady would go, "I can't believe it!" So much love for Joe!!!!

Thank you to Susan N. for telling everybody about the West Penn card site!
Thanks to Sheena for hanging out with me the other night.

Day -1

Wow, wow, wow! All of you did an amazing job making Joe's day today. The hospital delivered 28 cards to his room today! This makes a total of 30 cards that he has received from the WPAH site, not to mention the ones he's received by snail mail. The lady who delivered the cards said that if he received a dozen more, he may break a record! Joe was so thrilled to read all of the sweet and thoughtful messages. He received cards from three different countries. After every few cards, Joe would look down and exclaim, "Wow! There are still so many cards left!" Thank you so much for the outpouring of love. The smiles on Joe's face were priceless. If you haven't already, you can still join in the fun! Just click here. Follow the directions and choose "West Penn Hospital." The best part is that it is free. :)

Last night Joe finished all of his chemotherapy. He was SO happy! Joe took it like a man, and that part is finally over.

Joe started his second dose of Thymoglobulin today. The wonderful part is that so far he is tolerating it extremely well. He has had no major side effects from it. Let's pray this continues to hold true! Apparently two other patients on the floor are receiving Thymoglobulin, and unfortunately they are not tolerating it so well. We don't know who they are, but we can surely say a prayer for them as well. It isn't easy for them, and it surely isn't easy for their families either.

Today, Joe also started taking two different anti-rejection drugs in pill form: FK5O6 and Cellcept. He will have to continue taking them for a year. Among other things he is also taking acylclovir, which he'll be on for at least 180 days. Also, avelox and diflucan which Joe will take until his neutrophil count rises again.

Tomorrow is the day! Day 0 (Zero) - Joe's new birthday. There will be no fireworks or fanfare. Just a bag of stem cells that he'll receive the same way he has received blood transfusions. That means today is Joe's last day being 100% Joe, 100% of the xy species, and 100%O+ blood type (His donor has A-type blood). This also means we need to be praying for his donor right now!!!!! This is her crazy day. After getting filgrastim injections for several days, she likely started the harvesting process this morning. The place where she is having her stem cells harvested is having her do a double donation. So she was hooked up for four or five hours this morning. She had, or will have a short break. Then this afternoon she'll be hooked up for another four or five hours. We are so incredibly thankful to this stranger for giving so much of herself so that Joe has a chance to be cured. How amazing is it that a girl of only 21 has been chosen to do something so noble, and has accepted the challenge. I imagine she has gone through so many emotions herself. She doesn't even know Joe! She is a very brave young lady. Hopefully one day, we will have the opportunity to meet her and thank her in person.

Shortly after Joe's transplant, either Tuesday or Wednesday and assuming all goes well, Joe will be able to go home. However, he'll have to return to the hospital every day for at least thirty days. Each day he'll have his blood drawn to see if he'll need any transfusions and to monitor his progress. We'll probably stay with his family initially so that we can all be together.

That's it for today's update. Thank you again so very, very much for all of the love you have sent Joe's way. It has really lifted his spirits to know that so many people are rooting for him.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
~Isaiah 43:2

Day -2

Joe is currently bonding with Jay over football! Joe is still in good spirits, although he has decided that being drugged up is not at all fun. Tonight will be his last night of the fludarabine and busulfan. This morning, Joe was started on the first of three rounds of Thymoglobulin, an immunosuppressant that seems to be quite unpleasant. There seems to be a whole host of other drugs Joe has to take along with the Thymoglobulin to ward off its potential evilness! The same goes with the chemotherapies. Poor boy. I'm sure he is taking more than 10 different drugs a day now.

Joe has pretty much lost all desire to eat. His meals now consist of a can of creamy milk chocolate Ensure Plus, and little else. He keeps saying that all of this is still better than his first hospital admission when he had the awful rash and constant fever.

Joe's preparing himself for what's to come, but hoping it won't be too bad. The nurses have warned him that post-transplant is when things get rough. That is when he'll start losing his hair. That is when he might develop rashes or infections. That is when the mouth sores may come back. Of course everyone is different. Everybody gets hit with some unpleasantries, but there is a spectrum. Joe is being a real trooper, he's still smiling and he's still being his sweet self. I'm sure that he'll be able to handle whatever comes his way. In his own words, "This ain't no thang." But I'm still going to pray like crazy that all goes smoother than possible. It warms my heart to see him being so strong, but it breaks my heart to see him go from bouncing around to being bedridden in a matter of days. I love that boy.

Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support.
Thank you to Jay for visiting and entertaining us with your stories, and for the collection of books!
Thank you to Julie and Gordon for stopping by and bringing chocolates!
Thank you to first-day-on-call-Paulette for stopping by to bring Joe every flavor of gum on the planet!

Day -3

Joe received the sweetest gift yesterday, and here he is posing with it! It is a baby blanket from Evonne, Thomas and Leah. Four years ago, Leah was born premature and had to stay in the NICU for 97 days. When the family was able to finally leave the hospital, this is one of the blankets they received. It has been a symbol of comfort and love for them as they also had an amazing network of people supporting them and praying for them. Now they've passed this blanket onto Joe. Beautiful, don't you think?

Joe was feeling much more nauseated last night. He finally accepted some Ativan, and was able to get his first good night of sleep since being admitted. This morning he was in much better spirits, although he still has a headache. Joe's definitely looking forward to watching some football today and tomorrow though! Also, his hem-onc friend Jay will be stopping by for a visit.

Still Smiling!

All is still well on the 7th floor. Joe is still smiling. He is experiencing headaches due to the lumbar puncture, but they go away when he is lying down. At times he experiences some nausea. Last night, he discovered that he doesn't have too much tolerance for meat anymore. Then this morning he discovered that bacon is still okay! In Joe's words, "if this is the worst of it, I'm good to go!" So we're praying that all continues to go smoothly. Three more rounds of chemo. Joe is excited for the weekend because he'll have football to distract him!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this already, but in case I haven't Joe is not allowed to receive any plants or flowers while he is in the hospital. This rule will likely apply for awhile after he is discharged as well. Save your money and send him virtual hugs instead!!!!!!

Thank you so much to Auntie and Uncle Liang for the encouraging books. You are so sweet.

Thank you so much to Thomas, Evonne, and Leah for such a touching and meaningful gift, and sharing a bit of you with us.

Happy belated birthday to Simon!

Little Update

Just a little update. :) First of all, thank you for all the support we've received from all over! The phone calls, emails, comments, prayers...they mean so very much.

Joe was admitted to the hospital yesterday morning. He had a super busy day being a human pin cushion. His blood was drawn, he had an IV put in temporarily, he had a central line put in, he had lumbar puncture, and a bone marrow biopsy. He says the bone marrow biopsy was the most painful. The l.p. was surprisingly not bad at all. Today however, he cannot feel the biopsy and his back is extremely sore from the l.p.

Last night at 6pm, Joe started his first bit of chemo. He was given fludarabine over an hour. Tonight he gets some more of the fludarabine and another drug will be added. I believe it is Busulfan. That will be over 3 hours. So he'll be getting chemo for a total of four hours. Joe is also getting all kinds of pills. And, he is getting IV Fluids around the clock to make sure that his kidneys flush properly.

As of this morning, Joe is still smiling. He is definitely feeling a bit drained, but he still has his appetite. To prove his "Joe-ness" and that all is going well so far, Joe has named his IV pole Khemo Van Oelhoffen aka "Bling Bling!"

I'll continue to update when I can. Thanks again for all of your love!!!!!!!

p.s. You can send joe a card for free by going here. (West Penn Hospital). They will print it and deliver it to him. Pretty cool!


Here is Joe posing next to his new buddy, Khemo Von Oelhoffen. They have become inseparable. I'm a little jealous. :)


















And here is the lovely view from Joe's jail cell...er, uhm...hospital room.

Shorty after Joe was diagnosed, he received these photos. They have meant so much to us, so I had to post them. How to express the gratitude for all the love that surrounds Joe?

If you haven't already, please read the two entries Joe posted below. They are beautifully written, and will give you just a glimpse of how amazing of a person Joe is. Tomorrow is the day. Thank you for your love.

To My Donor

Dear Donor,

Boy, how do I go about thanking someone who is about to save your life?! Whoever you are out there, I want to commend you for making it this far. I'm pretty scared of this whole process and I'm pretty sure you are too. Your efforts are nothing short of heroic. I know that when I was your age, doing something like this would have been the furthest thing on my mind. You are literally giving a piece of yourself to me. We virtually share the exact same DNA. Weird, huh? Pretty soon, we are forever going to be linked in more ways than that. I hope to meet you face to face in a year, but even if that doesn't happen, I just want to thank you. You won't get to read this message for quite a while, but right now, there are a lot of people praying for you too. So Godspeed, and don't fret, it's all been worked out!

Joe

Hee Haw!

Remember Sam Wainwright, who was George Bailey's friend in It's a Wonderful Life? Well, Karen and I just watched that movie recently...

Anyway, Happy New Year everyone! We hope you all had a wonderful Holidays. Well folks, in a day and a half, I will be moseying on down to the hospital for a little tune-up, an oil change of sorts. I go into it feeling moderately terrified but cautiously optimistic. Actually, a lot more than cautiously, but quite optimistic. I've got quite an awesome team behind me. I feel like that Verizon cell phone guy who's got that huge network in the background complete with helicoptors and cranes and not the guy with the phoney "network" comprised mostly of paper cutouts. (My cell phone is Sprint by the way).

You've all probably made some New Year's resolutions, but if you haven't done so, I urge you please to consider becoming a bone marrow donor. The chances are infinitessimally small that you will ever need to donate, but that opportunity to save a life is incomparable. Believe me, before all this happened, I would have been the first to stand in the "No Way" section because I was afraid of the pain and/or torture. This is nothing compared to what the patients have to go through. There's no doubt that my donor came about because of someone else's efforts. I saw somewhere that in the US (or maybe anywhere), there has only been one patient in need of a transplant who has ever found a donor through his own efforts.

These last few months have been great and I wanted to thank everyone who have called us, sent us e-mail, letters and cards, given us gifts, prayed for us, hugged us, gone out to dinner with us, visited us, hung out with us, and basically all out supported us. We've had a wonderful time and learned so much along the way. I've spent a great majority of time over the last six months reading voraciously. I recently decided to write down most of the books I can remember reading and came up with about sixty books. There is fiction and nonfiction and everything under the sun in there, so if anyone needs any good book recommendations, just ask!

More than anything, what I've learned these last few months is that life is good. If, in my 32 plus years here, I can dole out any advice, it is to be kind. We all share the same earth, and in the grand scheme of things, most of us have it so good. So go out and hug your loved ones a little tighter and be kind, be generous. Also, if you can think of it, be especially kind to my family, my in-laws' family, and most especially my dear wife, Karen. I can't imagine going through this without them. I can only imagine that the only thing harder than being sick is to see someone you love have to be sick.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being my Verizon network (even though I use Sprint!) I'll be okay. This ain't no thang! I'll be looking to party with you in a few months.

Joe