6/30/06. We just returned Wednesday night from Scottsdale for moms second round of chemo. We drove up this time, but took dads motorhome so mom traveled pretty comfortably. Mom handled her full dose of chemo on Tuesday and was able to visit her sisters at the same time. Wanda lives in Scottsdale, and Ruth is staying with Wanda while she recovers from her recent heart attack. Ruth just happened to have a check up at Mayo at the same time and on the same day as mom had her chemo scheduled, so they were able to have a nice visit during that time. 24 hours after moms chemo Mayo gave her an injection of neulasta. ( which is a medication that trys to help keep her white blood cell count from falling as to help prevent infection.)
Yesterday mom felt great! She even went to Kellys' spa for a facial and manicure. However, by 10 that evening she started to have bone pain. We were told this is a common side effect of neulasta, so for now we think the pain is related to this injection and not directly related to chemo. When I talked to dad this morning mom was in a lot of pain. Finally the vicodin kicked in and as of an hour ago she was sleeping. It is so hard to see someone you love in pain and feel so helpless. I pray that this pain leaves her quickly. Monday she will have her weekly blood test and we will see if the neulasta was effective on her wbc. Dr.Riewe (moms Dr, next door neighbor and friend) has been so helpful to get these results back to us as quickly as possible.
I plan to visit mom tomorrow so I will update a post then, as well as try to add some recent photos.
Please continue to focus positive energy and thoughts on my mother. She deserves them all!! Bye for now, Michelle

6/24/06. Yesterday mom and dad celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary! They came back a bit early (Wednesday) from Solvang when mom found out her white blood cell count was low. ( she wanted to be closer to home in the event of a fever etc.) The two of them had celebrated their day on the trip, but since yesterday was the actual day, Roldan and the kids & I went over and had dinner and watched a movie at their house. Mom and I looked through old photo albums, including their wedding album. They both looked so young!! ( and beautiful !) Anyway, mom seemed to be feeling pretty good yesterday and it was an enjoyable evening. Also on Friday mom had a blood test taken to measure her ANC count. (absolute neutrophil count ) We will get the results tomorrow. If the count is below 500 Mayo will not do her next chemo treatment as the risk for infection at that level is considered high, so pray for a good ANC count. If all is well, then we will be heading up to Scottsdale for her scheduled Tuesday chemo. Please keep mom and dad in your prayers and thoughts. Bye for now, Michelle

6/21/06. Hello everyone, As you are now aware mom was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma on 5/5/06. This was a complete shock to all of us, as mom was feeling o.k. and only requested the liver scan to keep check on her hemochromatosis. Everyone has been so very kind to call,write and visit mom to let her know how very,very much she is loved. However, her energy has been zapped quite a bit, so I thought we would create a blog for her so everyone can stay up to date and in touch even when she may not be up to talking. I am sooooo not computer savvy, so be patient with me on these postings. Eventually I'll ask Mike to post some pictures of mom & dad and all of us as well. Anyway, we are up against a strong enemy but we will give our all to beat it. With combined research efforts The Mayo Clinic seemed to give us our best odds so we consulted with them and mom agreed to a clinical trail of chemotherapy every 2 weeks. ( gemzar and alimta ). Since the Mayo Clinic has a Scottsdale facility mom can stay comfortable at home as much as possible. Uncle Duane has been so very generous and given mom use of his plane for these past few trips. June 13 was moms first chemo cycle and since she had the plane we were able to fly up that morning and be home by dinner. No 6 hours of traffic!! She has her second cycle on June 27. So far she has done o.k. However recent blood test showed that her white blood cell count was very low so Mayo will be giving her an injection of medicine that helps boost these counts on our next visit. Mom and Dad will be celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary this Friday the 23rd! Congrats!! They were able to spend a couple of days up in Solvang this week to celebrate. We want to thank ALL of you out there that have expressed love and concern for mom. Please keep up the prayers, good thoughts and encouraging words. Bye for now, Michelle