SCHNITZEL ANYONE?

Ted got great news today! His doctor told him the results came back and the engraftment is 100%.

We are feeling very optimistic, but as Ted says "we're not out of the woods yet." They took several tubes of blood today and will do more molecular testing. They will be watching him closely over the next few months for what is called Graph versus Host disease (GVHD). It has been explained to us that all patients will have some GVHD, which usually occurs three months post-transplant.

(From the transplant notebook.) "To better understand GVHD, the role of T-cells will be defined. T-cells are special cells of the immune system that recognize foreign substances in the body such as bacteria and viruses. These cells recognize "self" from "non-self" cells in our bodies. During transplant, the donor marrow contains T-cells which may look at the patient's cells and identify them as "non-self" and launch an attack on the patient's tissues. These immune cells can also cause a release of chemicals to signal other cells to join in the attack. Because the patient's own immune system is weak from treatment, the patient cannot launch a counter attack. This attack on the patient's organs or tissues is graft-versus-host disease."

Meanwhile, Ted (a/k/a Hans) is celebrating by considering a new business ... maybe he will be in your neighborhood soon! Watch the video to join in the excitement!
Click here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n34bK7oGwOA

MAYBE TOMORROW ... AGAIN!

The key word in the last post was "maybe". I'm sorry to report that Ted didn't get the results yet. So "maybe" we will get them tomorrow. I had a few calls today ... some of you were worried because I didn't post. I should have let you know that we didn't get the results. Sorry about that! We are "maybe" going to get them tomorrow.

Today we had one of our famous ice days in Texas, so Ted didn't have to make the trip over to Baylor. But since it has heated up a little and melted the ice, he will be going tomorrow. So hopefully he will get the report. They are telling us that things are good, and I guess that should be good enough for us, but when we hear that we might get a report that Hans' cells have kicked in, we are so anxious to hear (as I know you all are, too!)

Ted is feeling so much better. So once again I will say "maybe" we will hear more definitively tomorrow that things are not just good, but great!

MAYBE TOMORROW!

Nothing new to report today. Ted had a blood test on Friday, which we are hoping to get the results from tomorrow that may tell more about the cell count and what the percentages are of his new cells. His numbers are still looking good. He was hoping to have the results today, but since his main doctor wasn't there today, they told him he should have the results tomorrow!

RELAXING DAY OFF

Today Ted and TJ went to the movies and saw Gran Torino (even though it was snubbed by the Academy today :). Then this evening TJ's good friend, Wes, stopped by to visit. Ted had a nice day off.

A FEW ADJUSTMENTS

Today TJ took Ted to Baylor. He said they were surprised at how good some of his numbers were. Specifically the HCT was looking really good! They adjusted some of his medications, took out two, and added one new one. The new one is for CMV, a virus that he tested positive for, but they said it is very common and they are being extra cautious. The two they took him off of are a result of the good numbers ... a good sign!

Also, I think Ted's appetite is getting better. TJ and Neil picked up food at Spring Creek Barbecue and Ted ate a good dinner ... another good sign!

Since they don't have to make the trip to the hospital tomorrow, TJ is planning on taking Ted out. I'm not sure Ted is totally on board with the plan, but TJ has a way of getting him to do things, so we'll see!

THE FETT MEN

Here's a picture of Ted, TJ (left) and Neil (right). TJ got in last night and took Ted to Baylor today. They said it was very busy, so they didn't get home until about 3:00.

TJ went to the store and got some protein and other nutritional type things for Ted. I think he's going to be much better at pushing Ted than I have been. TJ says he's going to put "some meat on his bones." I'll just say I'm glad I will be at work while this father/son bonding experience is going on.

This week the doctor said that Ted could come in Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They said his numbers are still looking good!

WEEKEND PASS!

Ted got a weekend pass! He doesn't have to go back to Baylor until Monday. He did get a unit of blood on Thursday, and they said the numbers were good today!

Also, they figured out what was the cause of the neck pain. Remember the triple lumen line that he had put in on December 19th? It had a small clot, so they removed it today. They feel like that will clear up the neck pain. He still has the single port, so they will use that line to draw blood and do treatment next week.

Ted is feeling much better. Lots of answered prayers today!

A BETTER DAY

Things calmed down a bit for Ted. Today he is feeling a little better. They gave him some new medicine for the stomach problem, which seems to help. He slept much better last night than he has in a while.

His son, Neil, drove him to Baylor today. He has spent his days off from work with Ted, which helps us out so much. (Thanks Neil!)

Yesterday and today he spoke with a PA who told him that he is doing good. He wants us to measure progress in weeks instead of days. On a day-to-day basis it is very slow, but when you consider that the transplant was only three weeks ago, he has come a long way. They still haven't said the engrafting has started for sure because they want to see a steady increase of the numbers. He has had a few days where they went up and then today the HCT was down a little.

On Sunday, Ted's son (TJ) is coming in for the week to help out. His twins are less than three months old, so we know leaving them won't be easy, but we sure are looking forward to having him here. (Thank you TJ and Lori!)

In review ... a good night's sleep, reassurance that things are good, spending time with Neil, and looking forward to TJ's arrival ... definitely uplifting for Ted!

A LITERAL PAIN IN THE NECK

I want to start off the post with good news, so I will start by saying that Ted's WBC and HCT numbers looked really good today. I guess we were hoping that along with the numbers going up, he would begin to feel better, but that is not the case.

Ted feels terrible. Tonight we called the after-hours number because his stomach cramps were unbearable. The doctor told him to take a Hydrocodone to manage the pain. The chemo and the medicines are wreaking havoc on his system. It's a vicious cycle, take medicine for the symptoms, then the medicine makes something else worse.

While we tried to enjoy the day off yesterday, a new symptom came up, a literal "pain in the neck." It is very high in the neck almost in the jaw area. So after going to Baylor today, he headed for the dentist for an x-ray to be sure it wasn't an infection in his mouth. Thankfully, they didn't find anything, (after two hours at the dentist office)...and the pain is still there.

Even through all of this, Ted is being so strong. He told me his first disability check arrived today. He said, "Look, I'm getting paid for this!" We had a good laugh about that! Your worst day at work would definitely be better than this. And we all know, Ted would rather be working!

I hope I don't seem to negative here, I'm just trying to be honest about how things are. We knew there would be bad days. We're just praying that the good ones are coming soon!

A MUCH-NEEDED DAY OFF!

After being in the hospital from December 19th until December 28th and then returning every day to Baylor from the 29th until today, January 10th, they gave Ted the day off tomorrow (Sunday). We are so excited to not have to spend the day over there tomorrow!

Today his WBC (white count) was very good. The HCT (red) was still a little low, so they gave him one unit today. But he doesn't have to go back until Monday. We are so excited to sleep in and for Ted to rest at home all day Sunday!

COME ON NUMBERS!

I feel like I'm at a Las Vegas table yelling "Come on Numbers!" We got some good news today ... One of the numbers that they are watching went up a little. "Come on Numbers!!" The doctor's words ... "I think they're swimming around, trying to sneak in."

Today was a good day!

THE WAITING GAME

I hate waiting. I've never been good at it, and this is no exception. Each day Ted goes to Baylor and gets his blood drawn to see where the numbers are. We were told that the engrafting wouldn't begin until "at least" day 10 to 14. Today was day 14, but apparently it hasn't happened yet. They gave him a Neupogen shot today and more magnesium. The shot is to boost the white cells. The magnesium is low because one of the medicines he is taking causes that.

Today Ted drove himself there and back. We have had offers from several people to take him, but he feels comfortable for now driving himself.

Thank you all so much for the continued prayers. We are hopeful that we will have good news in the next few days!

DAY +12

After the long day on Friday, we were so glad when Saturday and Sunday were much shorter. We were home both days by around 12:30.

I went back to work today, and since Katie is here, she drove Ted to Baylor. I was a little nervous about it because Katie hates driving in traffic and rain and is a self-professed bad driver. I heard her telling Ted that he should probably take some anxiety medicine and maybe give her some, too. (But they made it both ways just fine!)

Today Ted ended up getting 2 units of blood and also an infusion of magnesium, so he didn't get home until 4:30. It is a long day for him and the trip over and back each day is exhausting. He is resting as much as he can.

The numbers haven't really started going up yet, although one of the ones they are watching did go up a little bit today. We are hoping in the next few days to see some changes and hear from the doctors that the engrafting has started.

Even though this has been very difficult for Ted, he still says it's not as bad as he was expecting! I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to blog and he said to tell you all ...

"Today is the same sh*t ... different day! Thanks. Ted."

DAY +9 ... COTTON BOWL

The visits to Baylor each day have been around three to four hours, so today Ted and I headed for Dallas around 9:30. We thought it was a good idea to get there before the traffic for the Cotton Bowl and figured we'd be back on the road to come home around 1:00 or 2:00 and catch the game at home.

We ended up with good seats for the entire Cotton Bowl Game in Dallas ... only a few miles from the stadium. :)

Ted's HCT was low, so he got 2 units ... each unit takes an hour and a half. They also gave him magnesium, which takes about an hour, along with the regular hydration which also takes about an hour. It is expected that a transplant patient will need to get these transfusions during this process, so it's nothing unusual or wrong. Ted is doing great!

Hopefully we will be back home in the early afternoon to enjoy the warm weather! And Ted is going to try and clean the white paint off my car from when I hit a pole in the hospital parking lot ... yikes, sorry about that, Ted.