Always Room for Three!

Walking to the golf course club is still a dream as the weather is filled with rain every day... I could drive there. Instead of a cracked dry nose in Las Vegas we have a wet dog nose most of the time.

Hey, I've updated the transplant information in the left column for those of you still interested in the process of stem cell transplant. We came across Michelle who is directing our donors and she said that 3-donors have arrived! Their whole blood is being broken down to the white cell and then the DNA is pulled out to compare to mine... the closer the match the better match. Results should be known on Tuesday, September 11th when we meet with Dr. de Lima

Platelets today and not blood. It will be nice to stay away from the hospital center for 3-days. Hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend. I know we will... Tiger Woods is playing. JW

Simple Pleasures

The Chemo from a couple weeks ago must be working because it has knocked down my blood counts and sent me to the Transfusion room both last Friday and yesterday for 2-units of blood and platelets each visit. I always feel spunky after a fill up and might just walk to that golf club house this morning. I certainly like to stay away from the hospital center after these 10-hour days. Kathy is rescheduling her certification for my PICC line to tomorrow.

Thanks bingo team for talking to me on the phone, keeping everything rolling along and making good decisions while I'm out of the office.

Last evenings weather storm, while I was in the hospital bed, caused the power to fail at the apartment. Kathy and I like to watch these weather events from the patio so she called several times for me to hear all the thunder and rain. We have reduced our simple pleasures to watching rain together! Thanks everyone. JW

These Freeways are the PITS!

Kathy successfully completed her second day of training on how to care for my PICC line. We have been at the hospital most of the day. She has been driving everywhere (within a 5 mile radius of the apartment) so she can get to know the streets if I'm not available or unable to drive. If you know us well, you know that Kathy has an aversion for my driving (any driving really) and I can't stomach hers. On our trip out here we joked about how we would both fail miserably at The Amazing Race...just in the first country...maybe just backing out of the driveway! Today, even though the weather was tough... we hedged our bet and went beyond our 5-mile comfort zone to find a Target Store. This required taking a couple more freeways than she could finesse... which brought her to tears by the time I had guided her back to our apartment. She's asleep on the sofa. I may be taking over the driving.
Thanks for all your prayers and good thoughts! JW

Feeling Full

My lab results showed I needed red cells and platelets. So, I spent the rest of Friday at the hospital getting a fill up. Kathy had some time away from me at our apartment and spent it cleaning and rearranging. It's always nice to come home to a clean house.
Feeling good! We may venture out and walk down the street. Hermann Park Golf Course is so close and has been looking at me for the past 30-days. We drive around it every time we visit the hospital... it is right down MacGregor Way - seems appropriate for a golf course road...doesn't it?
My lab tests are done on Tuesdays and Fridays every week now. The next major milestone is the 29th...that is when the blood from my donors should arrive. Thanks for all your support! JW

One person makes a difference...

She isn't my donor...but luckily I have found two people like her.

Wednesday follows Tuesday

We received some great news after visiting with about a dozen people (specialists) on Tuesday... but unfortunately,
I felt too poorly to post the news until now.

So, here's the important stuff.

The stem cell search of 1,000 hits was reduced to 6... and then reduced to 2. Both donors have never donated before
(that's good news) and have said YES!
Now, their blood samples will be taken and sent here to
MD Anderson to see which of the two is the best match for me.
I'm told it is very uncommon to have so many donors to choose from.

Someone is working mighty hard out there.

Plans are to push the matching down from 14-days to 7-days; then I could start preparing for transplant rather than another round of chemo.

I must say that coming here, finding a home, having Kathy as my care provider
and being accepted here at MD Anderson by Dr. Kantarjian and Dr. deLima have been more than I deserve.

Thank you all for your support and well wishes - so far... it's all working!

Monday Morning

This is the 5th and final day of chemo-tablets taken at home the last 4-days. It's taking its toll on me with many side effects that added up are causing me some restless days and nights. I’ll be doing labs and visiting with doctors all day Tuesday. These tests will show how my body is reacting to the drugs. Well, I can tell them my body is not happy but that's probably not the answer their expensive research facilities will tell them.

It's very difficult to have a schedule longer than 2-days. All our appointments are on the computer, so we logon in the evenings and see where we're to be the next day. I'm not used to not having a routine and it upsets delicate parts of my body! Some of you know what I mean. That often is complicated with 2-people with the same problem and working with 1-bathroom. How did our large families ever manage?

We're in hopes of learning tomorrow how many matches have been found from the bone marrow pool while were visiting the stem cell doctors... more happy news on that later.

Laura- my personal Blog Master!

I like my vacation blog. And I love the pictures of the golf courses. And I enjoy the music. You continue to amaze me!
We did labs this morning and had the numbers reviewed and will be fine until Tuesday when we do it all over again.
Good news is the chemo is not having much effect on me at this time and my blood numbers are holding nicely.
I love you so much. Thanks, thanks, thanks for making me look good. Jerry

Embedded and on assignment

The last 24 hours or so I have spent in the hospital running some tests, getting a PICC line put in, and beginning some chemo. My doctors are concerned with maintaining my current condition so that I may be physically prepared for the transplant…which could take up to two months to confirm. So, I will be taking a series of pills, running a lot of tests, and continuing my weekly visits (2-3) to be monitored. Not sure how my body will react to this experimental chemo... I will keep you informed.

Rain Rain Go Away!

Maybe this blog should be named...
"The Wetty Whitlows"
This is what it's like here. Yuck!

Good news –
my brothers are a match for each other!
Bad news –
they’re not a match for me. (They were like this even at age 6)
Good news –
the pool of matching marrow donors number over 1,000 for me!
Bad news –
we may be here an extra month. (It may be cooler by then!)

So, it’s not all bad news since we have a huge number of matches … it will just take a bit longer. We’re seeing the stem cell director about my allogeneic transplant on Thursday and may have more information. Meanwhile, the unrelated donors are being searched like crazy! And maybe we’ll have another bit of good news during our next visit.

We’ve been waiting 7-days for news that only took 7-seconds. However, we felt encouraged that with so many matching donors to process, we should have a hand full of perfect people in about 30-days+. Meanwhile, we’ll keep our spirits high, our health good and our blog up to date. I thank you for your good vibrations.

(Stem cells are immature blood cells that grow into red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, or plasma cells. Stem cells are an essential part of a person’s immune system.)

Boris and Natasha!

The heat is sweltering here. Steps away from our door is the most appealing tropical pool… but it’s just too hot to enjoy; morning, noon and night...(7/24) as Kath would say.
All errands must be done by 10am or 2-showers a day are a must. Kathy likes to hang out on our patio, with her two new friends Boris and Natasha (she named a couple of geckos that hang around quite a bit). She is also convinced that every bug known to man lives inches from our balcony and that excessive amounts of repellent is required for the doors, feet and arms. I haven’t seen anything large enough for a saddle yet.

A dozen roses arrived at our apartment today. I thought they were for Kathy, since her Birthday is Monday. But, they were for me… from Leslie and Susan in the UK wishing success this next week. I’m quite sure I’ve never received roses from anyone before.

I was planning on treating Kathy to some beauty time and a cozy meal at Olive Garden for her birthday-which would have been a big day out for us in Houston. Unfortunately, the weather of the day has overpowered us yet again. Kathy has made the executive decision for us to remain cool and comfy...inside.

I had made different plans for her 60^th birthday… she might have preferred being with friends and family in Las Vegas. But, she’s got me, and her two new green buddies on the patio.

We our comfortable in our temporary one-bedroom…thanks to Kathy. I do not know how, but she manages to make everywhere we are...home.

We have battled a few living condition issues (from mold in the ceiling to doors not closing) since moving in but, we haven’t seen our maintenance man Miguel in a couple of days…which is a good sign…but we are feeling a bit lonely.

Our biggest problem right now seems to be our coffee table from hell. The corners of this beast stick out way too far, and have been conspiring with the couch cushions to cause me great physical harm. I am loaded with various bumps and bruises...ouch.

Kathy has even become a
victim herself with a few nice nicks in the leg. No need to call Miguel though...we will just move the damn thing out of the way.

Well outside of the apartment...we have found our favorite places to shop like Walmart, Kroger's, Big Lots. We not only use the Shell Station and the Car Wash for our car, but also as a landmark to find our way home.

We enjoyed many hours of golf this weekend on television and are anxiously awaiting Tuesday’s appointment. Feelin' good, feelin' positive, and looking forward to enjoying some Italian food.

Brotherly Love

This is a time when you TRULY love your brothers/sisters because they might be saving your life! Actually, I've always felt close to Don and Tony-especially at times like this.

So, their blood arrived on Tuesday this week. Our stem cell doctor said we would know next Tuesday if they are a match. And if they are, they will be flown to Houston (lucky them) to be here for 7-10 days while their stem cells are harvested (unlike vampires) and placed into my bone marrow. I wonder if I'll start to look like one of my brothers if only their stem cells are growing in me?

I'm ahead of my self. If my brothers are not match, the clinic has already done a scan of the 3-million in the bone marrow pool and have found about a 100-possible matches. So, that says I'm not returning home without someones stem cells in my system. Then we hope my body does not reject those foreign bodies. Keeping our fingers crossed and prayers aloft we might be home for Thanksgiving! Anyway, yesterday was a big day for us and the next visit on Tuesday will be even bigger.... keep your fingers crossed!!

Frogs in the Foyer

Well this place is wet, but having a frog hopping around the living room was a bit over the top. Kathy thought it was a flying bug! Laura picked up the baby frog and placed it back outside were it belongs... this place is wet.

We continue to 'nest' in our new apartment and acquire things to help us live less out of suit cases and more like a home. Kathy and Laura are skilled at finding bargains and making life a little easier every day. We already have the Sunday paper and are looking forward to our final day of rest before starting some treatments tomorrow. Things won't really get rolling, I expect, for a couple weeks. Meanwhile, if I feel up to it, we'll make a run down to Galveston for the day. Gotta find the love in this city!

Settling In

Two hard spots about Houston is humidity and the driving. Every trip requires a MapQuest! We're setting on the patio this morning, Kathy sets on her patio with her laptop and me looking up into a blue sky. She's planning to use the exercise room here and both of us in the pool in the evening. Kathy has made a nice home for us.

For those who don't know, Kathy and I have two girls, both married; one living in Broomfield, CO and the other in San Diego. We don’t get to see them but a couple times a year and of course having Laura with us for a couple of weeks while her son visits with his dad in Las Vegas has really been a great help and a great joy.

Both brothers, Don and Tony, are being matched for Stem Cells and have now received their kits. Both packages should be received by MD Anderson next week and we should know their status in about 14-days.

Made It

Arrived Houston Sunday evening and moved into the apartment, yesterday. I just got our laptops on-line with our printer. Service here is good for a couple hours and poor the rest.
Laura, our daughter from San Diego, traveled with us and thinks it has something to do with all the college students and the demand on the system... but then she's the one who told me I didn't need a filter in the coffee pot which proceeded to put coffee all over the counters and floor when turned on this morning.
She is helping me set up this Blog.

The girls are off on a venture this morning to find Wal-Mart and Target. They've taken plenty of water for surely they'll get lost even with a printed MapQuest held in their muggy hands. Four hours later, Kathy and Laura have bought out Wal-Mart and Target to finish out the apartment.

We've had no rain for a couple days but expect rain for the rest of the week. This place does weather forecast about as well Las Vegas.