A day at Emory

Day 1 at Emory went well. I arrived at 6:15am on Tuesday 4/19. I had my port inserted in my chest on the right side. It seems to be working good so far and is only a little sore. They began chemo last night around 8pm and it ran over two hours. I had my second dose at 2am and now I am on dose 3 right now. I have 16 doses of Busulfan over four days. I haven't had this type of chemo before, but according to the side affects I think I will be just fine! The nurses kept me up all night. They had to draw blood at the top of every hour. They say that it will not be like that tonight.
Mom and I are going to walk after this first dose and after my shower. I have to walk 21 laps around the floor which equals 1 mile. They say 2 is better than one, but for now I think one in the morning and one in the evening will be just fine!
I hope everyone at home is doing good!

Peace and Love to you all!

Atlanta

Pre transplant chemo begins tomorrow. Mom and I arrived in Atlanta at 3:30pm today. We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. And MY OH MY is was sooooo yummy! I was glad that I chose there for my final meal before I spend 3 weeks or so at Emory.

I will be in radiology in the morning at 6:30am having a central line put in my chest. I hope that this one will take better than the one I had in November. No, Let me change that I KNOW this one will work better! I have to stay positive! No other way to get through the next couple months. I should begin chemo tomorrow, also.

Just wanted to update ya a lil on what is going on. I will do my best to update daily while I am here!

Peace and love to all!

I am an emotional mess!

Well y'all it looks like my transplant will begin on April 19. I will arrive at Emory on April 19th and I will begin chemo that day. I will be taking chemo for 6 days and Chris (my donor brother) will arrive on April 25th for blood work and they will take his stem cells on April 26th and give them to me. I am suddenly becoming an emotional mess. It seems like everything is happening so fast. I cry at the drop of a hat. I cry when i fold laundry, I cry when I wake the kids and Keith up every morning, I cry when I cook dinner and I even cry when I go to bed at night. I cry because I will not be here (i will be 250 miles away and not just across town in the hospital). I cry because I am going to miss Keith, Satin and Jonathan more than anyone will ever know. I know I have to do this because this is my best chance of being Leukemia free forever. I don't have any doubts that the kids will be taken care of. Satin has decided to stay most of her time home with Keith and Jonathan, of course, will be staying with Kevin and Chris. He is really excited about staying with his uncles. Satin wants to stay home and take care of the house, the dogs and Keith. She and Keith have all the TV shows set to record in the living room so they will have things to do. They are even planning their meals for when I am gone. I will keep everyone posted of my newest chapter in life. Peace and Love to everyone! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

HEY EVERYONE!!!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I haven't been updating like I should be! I have been very busy... But I will make every effort to do a better job!

Well to start I was admitted to Memorial Hospital for my second consolidation chemo on March 8. I was back home by March 13. This time chemo was a little bit rougher on me. They say it happens that way sometimes. I had a terrible headache everyday and I was nauseated, too. All this was new because I had not had any of these side affects before. But now that it's over and I feel pretty good today. After Chemo my blood levels dropped fast this time and remained low longer. I have have 6 units of blood and 2 super bags of platelets. But now I do feel alot better.

I have appointments at Emory on Monday and Tuesday for pre transplant tests. My brother, Chris will also be getting checked out to make sure he is healthy enough to donate stem cells. Keep us in your Prayers as we travel to Atlanta. I may get to see my Brother Steven this weekend also., I haven't seen him in 8 years!

Y'all have a great night and I will update you guys after Emory!

Peace, Love and Chicken Grease!! Oh yeah my hair growing, BUT ITS REALLY GREY!!!

Playing catch up AGAIN

Well I know I have been MIA for a month or so... I am sorry but I will do my best to get everyone caught up.

I was released from the hospital on January 30 and felt pretty good. I continued to feel good even though my blood levels were dropping.... UNTIL i had to get two units of blood... I got two units of blood and started running a fever that night. I continued to run a fever for about 4 days. It never went high enough to take me back to the hospital. But it sure made me feel bad and tired and worn out. I got thru this and my levels began to rise and I felt better again.

I went for my second visit to Emory on March 2 and we decided that another round of consolidation chemo would be best for me. I am still having a stem cell transplant as long as my brother, Chris, and I pass the pre test. He already passed one by being my perfect match!!! The transplant will send me to Atlanta for 3 months. It will be a tough three months but we will make it. I will miss my husband and kids more than i can even explain. My mom will be going to Atlanta with me because I can't be left alone.

We had the Bowling for Stephanie Fundraiser and it was a HUGE sucess! We raised well over $7000.00 and had alot of fun!!

Well I will promise to do better on my blogging and keep you updated through round 3 which starts tomorrow!!!

Day 5 round 2

January 29, 2011

Today has been a good day! But why wouldn't it be RIGHT!?!?! Keith came up today to spend the day with me and Satin. Mom went home to clean and such. I started my 5th bag of chemo tonight at 8:30pm... ONE MORE TO GO THIS ROUND!

My family and I are hosting a Blood Drive on March 5, 2011. We are also planning a Bowling tournament that day also! My family loves to bowl and we hope to raise some money to help defray my medical costs. My hubby's band Rock-A-Licious will also be playing that day! Its going to FUN FUN FUN! Oh yeah we will have over 25 different prizes for a raffle also!
Cant wait to see everybody there! If you want more info just drop me a comment or e mail me jonnsatsmom@yahoo.com

Love and Peace to all!
See ya on the FINAL day of my hospital stay!

Day 4 round 2

January 28, 2011

Hey y'all! Well it's day four and all is GREAT! I had my fourth bag of chemo this morning and it went fine. Dr Luskey came in and said I could go HOME on Sunday afternoon if I wanted or I could stay til Monday.. Guess what I chose SUNDAY~~~~ I cant imagine wanting to stay here another night! I'm still feeling pretty good, but I can tell I'm getting a little tired. Yesterday I walked a lot and didn't get tired. Today I didn't walk as much (but I did walk a couple times), but I have been a little tired.

Satin is spending the weekend up here with me. Man can that kid eat! She has been downstairs 3 times in the last 4 hours. lol

Well folks its bedtime!

Love and peace to ALL!