2 possible routes...

Hello everyone

I hope that you all had a nice weekend. I know I haven’t written in a little while. Mostly I am waiting for tests results and word from the doctors before I send out another post. But I have realized that it’s important that I keep everyone up to date.

Last time we all met out here in Cyber space, it was looking like I was going into the hospital on July 5th. The docs had thought that because for the most part my Bone Marrow Biopsy was clear I would get an auto transplant and would go into the hospital on July 5th. However the final part of the bone marrow test, the cytogenetics test showed some leukemia.

Currently there are 2 routes that this could go.

1. My brother is a match and can be my donor then, I will go into the hospital on July 12 and they will start the treatment needed to begin the bone marrow transplant. This includes a round of chemotherapy strong enough to knock out my own immune system so that I can accept David’s marrow. For this treatment I could in the hospital for 4 to 6 weeks. The recovery time is long and involved so I will explain that at another time.

If he is not a match....

2. I will go in the hospital as early as July 7th to start a very very strong dose of Chemo to hold me over while they look for a donor, in this round I could be in the hospital for 3 to 4 weeks. My doctor feels he could find a donor within a month or so. I would rest after this round and then go back in for another round to prepare me for my transplant.

We finally got to meet Dr. Martin; we had a meeting with him this past Thursday. He gave us the full rundown on procedures and recovery. We left full of information. I left feeling totally overwhelmed, such that I started to feel really sad and depressed.

I realized what a challenge it is for me to meet with Doctors and that these visits usually have me feeling full of more questions. Generally in these family meetings that the doctors have with the patients there is a Nurse Coordinator is present. I think she must be there to interpret for the doctor. For this meeting my Nurse coordinator must have taken the day off. UGH. I know now to request this so that I can feel at ease.

Dr. Martin is the best and I can tell he knows what he is doing and is good at it. But at times when dealing with the doctors, I feel like I am being treated like a medical protocol instead of a person who is going thru all of this. It is very challenging. And I am trying to see my way thru these feelings.

I realize how much my healing is my own choice and that there is a relationship of teamwork that develops between me and my doctors and nurses. I feel a bit like a child who is beginning a new year in school and isn’t sure they like their new teacher and misses their former teacher, in my case I am missing my former doctor, Dr. Baron.

But in all of this, I have been realizing that the closer I get to my next round of treatment, the more scared I get. The more I realize that there is a lot ahead of me. The more I begin to worry about my own ability to be strong.

So if I can make a request, please continue to pray and send good vibes my way. Please send prayers and good vibes to all the doctors and caregivers who I will be interacting with. May all of us be in our hearts and practice at our highest levels.

Please send prayers and good vibes to my husband who has also been very overwhelmed by all of this.
Send prayers and good vibes to whoever the donor will be, whether it will be my brother or someone else. Send good prayers and vibes for a match that will be FULLY accepted by my body.

Thank you so much for your willingness to pray and carry good thoughts for all of this.
This is a very long process, just like a ceremony, that has many phases. Thank you for sticking with us through all of these phases. Your participation in this has been what has held us and carried us this far.

We will have the results of my brother’s test by Thursday this week. I will keep you all posted as soon as I know more news.

Big Big love and prayers for all of you, may what you put out in love and prayers and good vibes come back to you and your family and your communities X 10…

purrrs and peace

Namaste
Victoria