Great News!

Ralph's bone biopsy was PERFECT...not a thing wrong with it!!!!!

Getting closer

Ralph really has not felt well since Thursday. We are not sure if it is the effects of chemo or the withdraw from pain medication, which he no longer takes for the first time in 3 months! It's probably both. At any rate, his appetite and energy level have decreased. He struggled to sit with us at the table when Megan and Nathan came on Thursday then again on Friday with Michael and Erin. On Saturday, he went to Denny's with me for breakfast but could not get out of the car at a few errand stops. He went with Jim Blue for a bit and was pretty quiet when Danny visited, later. Today started out very emotional. His appetite and energy level was poor.

Soon, Hillman will tell us when his transplant will start. They have sent us all the information. Stem-cell replacement appears to be very brutal. From what we understand, Ralph will come home with no immunities. Slowly, his body will begin to rebuild. He will need to be immunized, again. We will need to be very careful. Once we meet at Hillman, we'll have a clearer picture.

All bacteria will need to be removed from our house. Megan and my friend, Geri, are project engineers. We started buying what we need, this weekend, and scrubbed the front porch and deck with Clorox. So many people have offered to help. Please email Megan at meganchicone@yahoo.com Thank you!

As always, your prayers are most important.

POSITIVE NEWS

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/immunoglobulins

Dr. Kane called and said that normal IGG levels are 700-1600. When Ralph was first tested, his count was 5500. The results, this week, are 1200. THIS MEANS THAT HE IS RESPONDING WELL TO CHEMO! His skeleton survey is stable; they expect to still see lesions. The important thing is IGG levels. Dr. Kane suspects that Dr. Raptos will transplant Ralph without another round of chemo.

This site is very similar to what UPMC sent us for preparing for Ralph's recovery after the stem-cell transplant...no set date.

http://pfrc.med.nyu.edu/handouts/pdf/all/pfrc07-000004.pdf

Round Four...

Round # 4 starts tomorrow. Ralph will receive IV chemo for the next 2 weeks on Mondays and Thursdays, as well as his every day dose of Thalomid and steroids on the day of and the day after IV. Ralph is very fortunate that the UPMC Cancer Center opened at Meadowlands where he receives treatment. He has decreased his pain medicines from 9/day to 4/day with hopes of eliminating them all together very soon. This past weekend he was able to accompany me to Sam's to purchase a new grill and to Angelo's for take-out. He stayed outside for a while and did a few small jobs of getting out the lawn furniture and cleaning off the deck. Our friends, Cheryl and Tom, from Pittsburgh, visited on Saturday evening. On Sunday, Megan came for the afternoon and thought that Ralph was more alert and seemed more like himself. He has started on the Neutropenic Diet which basically is well cooked foods and no fresh vegetables or fruits, because his immune system will not fight bacteria as well.
http://www.upmc.com/HealthAtoZ/patienteducation/Documents/NeutropenicDiet.pdf

It wears on a person...

Ralph has been rather cranky, so far, this week. His emotions are, again, like a roller coaster. He does not like the fact that he is tired or sleeping most of the time. He still has a pain in his side. Nothing about life seems normal when one is disabled. His patience is short, and he can take out the frustrations of his health issues on others. It is understandable, but the really tough part is still ahead. Please pray that he will find more strength to endure what is needed to beat his disease.

Easter Blessings!

It has been 3 months since Ralph was diagnosed. We had a great Easter weekend with family and friends! Ralph finished his third round of chemo on Thursday which made him pretty tired by Saturday and Sunday, but he was able to go out for an afternoon with Jim, help hide Easter eggs, and fill his belly with good food and jelly beans (his new habit). Mallory called from Italy, and Michael came on Sunday! Having Megan home all weekend brings such joy!

Ralph has this week off from IV chemo. After Round #4, we will meet with the doctors at Hillman to discuss the stem-cell transplant. He has started physical therapy for his shoulder.

Same old, same old...

The weekend was pretty much “as usual”. By 2pm, Ralph was ready to relax and sleep, each day. He did anything he needed to do, away from the house, before then. He sat on the deck, while I raked, holding his golf club. He said he wasn’t ready to swing it, yet. My friend, Donna, provided us with lasagna, so he enjoyed that for dinner, today, and treated himself with the Easter candy that I made! Megan visited yesterday and my parents, today.

Family and friends, enjoy your Easter week and Easter Sunday. God...no brighter promise...no greater love!

Bless each of you!