9/26/2009 - Latest Blood Test and Biopsy

Hello, everyone! It has been a while since I gave any updates. Until yesterday, everything was pretty much the same except that I enjoy my time with the family a lot more these days. I was surprised to find myself patiently helping my daughter with her homework, and actually liking it! This was new for me. I guess I must have missed them very, very much! Or maybe this sickness is slowly making me a better person. I think it is both.

Oh yes, I have also been remiss in checking and answering emails and facebook posts. Sorry for the long silence. Hope you understand. Please keep writing though, because I always enjoy hearing from friends and family - who doesn't?

I had another blood test yesterday, and the numbers were great! My white blood cell count, platelets and ANCs were within normal range. My hemoglobin was a little low but not low enough to require a blood transfusion. And what prize I get for having such good blood test results? A biopsy! :-( Of course, I made sure that I had morphine to numb the pain. The morphine knocked me out most of the day yesterday. I told my sister to slap me awake if I start singing at the doctor's office. I'd rather be slapped by my sister than by another patient when they hear me singing!

The doctor's office has scheduled a consultation with a bone marrow transplant doctor at the City of Hope next week, then another consultation with my oncologist the following day. The purpose is to discuss the potential next steps after my next chemo - whether to have more chemo treatments or to have a bone marrow transplant. In America, it is very important for the patient to be fully aware of the advantages and risks involved in a medical procedure. In the case of a bone marrow transplant, there are many advantages but also significant risks with the worst case scenario of potential death due to rejection of the "foreign" stem cell. At this stage, because I am in the intermediate level of risk, meaning not necessarily curable by chemo alone nor absolutely needing a bone marrow transplant, the doctor wanted me to be fully aware of the pros and cons and give us the option of choosing which way we want to go. I would prefer to just have chemo to keep things simple, but I do not know whether that will be the thing best for me. Only God knows what is best, so please pray that God will give both doctors - my oncologist and the bone marrow transplant doctor - the wisdom to give the right recommendation. Even if the choice is up to us, we will still want to follow the doctors' recommendation.

The next chemo treatment has not been scheduled yet, but it should happen in a week or so. The doctor's office is having difficulty finding a Home Health company that is covered by my insurance and also has a nurse who is licensed to administer chemo at home. If they can't find anyone, I will have my next round of chemo at the hospital. The next round consists of 3 alternate days of 24-hour sessions. This means I may have to be in the hospital again for 6 days to include the time spent during admission and discharge. It will be more convenient to have the chemo at home, but I am not sure if it is the best for the family. Once again, I pray that God will work out all the details for the next round of chemo.

Thanks to all your prayers, our family and my sister continue to be in good spirits. My body also seems to be responding well to the treatment. I am very grateful for all the prayers that have been offered on our behalf. We are a living proof that God answers prayers. He continues to be a gracious and loving Father to us all, and will never give us more than we can bear. God has His reasons for allowing us to go through this trial. Even now, our family is also being blessed through it. I have learned so much during this journey, and I hope to come out of this a much better person with a clearer understanding of what is truly important in life, and to live my life with a purpose that goes beyond this lifetime.

Thank you for your prayers and may God bless you all!

9/20/09 - Enjoying Family Time

Now that I am home, I am spending a lot of time with the family. As you can imagine, we missed each other a lot, so we tend to do many more things together at home. Yesterday, we celebrated Ellie's birthday again with a round of miniature golf and ice cream. This was to make up for missing the roller skating celebration. We're finally done celebrating Ellie's birthday. It was fun for all of us. Considering how simple the celebrations are, it actually made her feel extra-special because it ran for many weeks. Maybe we should do this more often - celebrate life more often in simple ways rather than waiting for big celebrations.

As you know, my sister is here from Manila to help us out, so I also spend time catching up with her and just enjoying her company. I try to get more rest during the day and go to bed earlier. In the meantime, I also try to make heads and tails out of all the insurance statements and match them against invoices from healthcare providers. This took much time during the first few days at home. I also try to help with things around the house to give my sister and my husband a hand so they don't get worn out. Don't worry, I try not to overdo it, and has been successful most days. I know I can no longer be Superwoman. Now I am content being Wonder Woman - wondering what I will do next and wondering how much I can handle.

I hope you understand why I will not be posting to my blog everyday anymore. There's not much news these days anyway. However, I will continue to keep you posted on developments on my end.

This week will be a bit busy for me. I will get a Neupogen shot on Monday and Tuesday, then a blood test and biopsy on Thursday or Friday.

Please continue to pray for the recovery of my bone marrow, and that it will continue to produce only good cells. Also please continue to pray for me and my family, that we will persevere and remain happy as we go through this journey.

Thank you for your continued prayers and may God bless you all!

9/18/2009 - Blood Test Results

I had another blood test at my doctor's office today. The white blood cell count has gone down to 1.9 and ANC down to 0.9 (neutropenic again). To increase my ANC, I was given another shot of Neupogen to boost the blood count. Another shot will be given on Monday, and another one on Tuesday. Boy, am I glad I didn't go on a diet before getting sick. Right now, I'm loving the fat in my tummy. No tummy tuck for me!

I am scheduled to have another blood test and biopsy next Thursday or Friday. Based on the result, the next chemo may start in a few days or in a week. The next chemo will be administered at home by a nurse.

We are still waiting for the appointment with the bone marrow transplant doctor to discuss the pros and cons of the procedure and hear his/her recommendation. We received the result of the cell match done with my sister. There is a 60-67% cell match. She cannot be a donor, because the City of Hope only allows 100% match for a bone marrow tranplant. This means that my brother and 4 other sisters may have to be tested for cell match. Each of them has 25% chance of being a cell match.

Please pray that my body and bone marrow will get stronger in preparation for the next chemo. Please also pray for my bone marrow's recovery, and that it will only produce good cells. My self-imposed curfew is coming up, so I'll have to end here.

Thank you all for your prayers and God bless you all!

9/17/09 - Early to Rise

I had a very nice day. My best friend came to visit with lots of goodies for us. She is a very busy person, but she still took the time to do errands and cook or bring food for us. I am so lucky to have such a good friend. I also enjoyed much family time today. It was fun to be able to goof around with the kids again.

I have an 8:45am appointment to have my blood drawn at my oncologist's office, followed by a consultation with the doctor. It is getting late so I have to get my beauty sleep now. With so little hair, I could use all the help I can get to stay beautiful. :-) Besides, it may make the blood test results better tomorrow.

Please continue to pray for me and my family. Thank you for your prayers and may God bless you all!

9/16/2009 - Early to Bed

One of my sisters informed me just now that I should sleep early because by 11pm, detoxification of the organs starts happening, and by midnight, the bone marrow produces blood. I didn't want people to worry if there is no blog from me today, so I just want to let you know that I am okay, but didn't have time to write anything yet. It is more important for me to get ready for bed now. I will post more updates tomorrow, but at an earlier time.

Thank you all for your prayers and God bless you!

9/15/09 - Day of Rest

After the busy day yesterday, I got a little concerned when I realized that I might have overdone it. I spent most of the day sleeping and relaxing just to recover from the last few days' lack of sleep and activities. I shall keep this short for today and get some more rest.

Thank you for your prayers and God bless you all!

9/14/09 - Getting Enough Rest

Five weeks is a long time to be away from home. It is really great to be home. The hard part is reminding myself that I am still sick and to stop myself from doing too much. I got a call this morning from Tita Seny who warned me about it, but at that time, I still didn't realize how big of a challenge it was going to be. By the end of the day, I knew that my biggest challenge in the coming weeks is to make sure I get enough rest. Time to ask for help. I asked my sister to be my police so I don't forget to rest.

I was able to bring my kids to school and pick them up. We also went to the supermarket to stock up on food, and got a new hat for myself from a store. The school is less than 5 minutes from our house and the stores are also just a short drive from our house. We're blessed to live in a quiet neighborhood that's conveniently located. In times like these, every convenience helps.

Just when I realized that I may be too tired to even prepare a simple dinner, we got a text message from Bessie saying that she'll be bringing us some pasta tonight. What a blessing! We all liked the pasta, too!

My hair is starting to grow back! I got tired of wearing a cap at home when the kids are around and finally convinced my daughters that it is not so bad to see their mommy without a cap. My hair is starting to look more like Rob's buzz cut. My sister, Verna, says that it reminds her of Chia Pets. Maybe if I water my scalp more often, my hair will grow faster? :-) And Bessie says that it makes her think of wheat grass. Anybody for a shot of fresh grown hair? :-)

That's it for today. Time to get some rest. Please continue to pray for me and my family. Thank you all for your prayers and may God bless you all!