I think I'm going to throw-up.

Well, that pretty much covers today's theme. The only problem - she's supposed to measure it. Is that just the craziest thing you've ever heard? YES, I know when I feel like puking - I am gung-ho and ready to measure it up in a cup when I'm through. That alone would make me want to puke all over again. What are they thinking?

Martha says, no photos today please.....

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4 Days Down & 4-2 GO

There is not much to post.....Inpatient is BORING. Daily activities include chemo every 6 hours. Tomorrow is the last day of Busulfan, Saturday the Cytoxin starts for 3 days. Too many other drugs to mention. Very minimal nausea so far. Counts are going down. Martha's activities include watching her I's & O's as opposed to watching her P's & Q's. Mouth care, riding a stationary bike, watching movies, talking on the phone, sleeping when possible, talking to nurses, doctors, fellows, nutritionists, physical therapists, statisticians, teachers, child life specialists. Lots of people in and out of her room all day & night (considering it's night) long.

P.S. Martha's line nurse is dating Kid Rock!

YES, it's really Kid-no she's really not.

Nurses = American Badasses

WE LOVE 'EM

CANCER SUCKS

Hey everybody, check-out the new & improved Cancer Sucks Website! Upcoming events include Handlebars & Hot Rods and the American Cancer Society's RELAY FOR LIFE. Be there or be square!

www.cancersucks.com

Chip Dancin'

Okay, blame it on the drugs, blame it on Memphis, blame it on Martha being named MARCH Senior of the Month at Nathan Hale - blame it on whatever, but today her chips were dancing to her mouth. She is enjoying them now, just in case she gets the dreaded MOUTH SORES associated with high-dose chemo. How do you skip school for five months and still be qualified for senior of the month? That's just crazy! Leave it to Weezer.

Very uneventful day at the hospital. Martha went to the ophthalmologist today and the Doc dilated her eyes (martha hates that). When Martha returned to the room she read her homework lessons w/the dilation. ONLY Martha would NOT use that as an excellent excuse to skip school assignments! What a nerd - I think she needs pocket protectors for her birthday.

Well as always, we hope the best for YOU and that includes dancing chips for EVERYONE!

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How Low Can you Go?

Martha checked into a suite-size room on the transplant unit Sunday night about 9PM. The room gives her a sneak-peak of the bright and shining I-40 Mississippi River Bridge. And the food is provided on-demand like room-service , she just dials-up her order and they deliver it when she's ready.

Her chemo drip began at 6AM on Monday and runs for two hours with four hours off, then starts again - this continues for the next five days and then she changes to a different drug for four days. So far so good, she's only complained of lightheadedness, probably due to taking megadoses of Dilantin, which is supposed to prevent having seizures caused by chemo. She's taking several other drugs to prevent side-effects, infections and similar complications. Nurses have warned her that she will probably not start feeling REALLY bad until after her transplant, that's when her blood counts drop to their lowest. Bring on the LOW, because that's what she has to have to make the transplant a success.

So here's to being at our lowest.....who says that's a bad thing?

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Movin' on up to Target House

Front Entrance
Backyard
Elephant Fountains

Guess what we did last night!? We moved from Grizzlies House to Target House in less than one hour! After Martha spent two hours working on an Art Project for the upcoming show, we walked back to Grizzlies. Upon getting back, we hear from Michael that someone left a message telling us to contact Patient Services because we were to move NO later than 5PM, well that was at 4 o'clock! So we ran back to the hosptial, got the info; then packed our room and loaded the van in marathon time. Target House is about three miles from the hospital, in what's called "Midtown Memphis" which reminds us of the Cherry Street/Brookside area of Tulsa.

It actually took longer for the night manager to give our orientation and tour than it did for us to pack & move. (For those of you at work: Let me tell ya, the orientation and this apartment totally remind me of upscale SHP - they have weekly apartment inspections!) There is not enough space to tell you about the amenities, but they are amazing, and for those of you visiting I look forward to giving you the grand tour! I sure am glad Martha had a chance to see what she's coming home to when she recovers from the transplant. Everybody do something wild & crazy on Sunday in honor of Martha's last day of freedom for awhile. She goes into the hospital at 8PM Sunday to get this party REALLY started.

Thanks to everyone for keeping Martha in your thoughts and prayers.

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Enough is Enough

They harvested just enough stem cells!

Martha's harvest equaled 200.5 and they needed 200, she did it in two sessions! She will be checking-into the hospital Sunday night. Her chemo actually starts on Monday and that bumps her transplant to Wednesday, April 5th. You know what that means don't you? Martha will now be celebrating THREE birthdays! April 4-5-6, every year. Aint that just grand? We can't wait for the first year those days fall on Fri-Sat-Sun. Would someone check that out please and let us know what year that is, don't forget leap years. Lord forbid it coincides with her 21st birthday. Darn the the tequila, I mean luck. Also, on the subject of birthdays - Dr. Kasow, her transplant physician, also celebrates an April 6th birthday. Why so many great minds born on this day, I wonder?

Martha became an "official" Memphis Public School student today. The paperwork (red-tape)makes it "official" and that is how the school program here at Saint Jude's works. It also ensures that she is enrolled in an accredited school and everything they do with her will be official. As soon as we leave here, they transfer all the work she does and time she spends with the instructors to Tulsa. So far this has been a significant amount of activities in addition to NovaNet. These sessions will also continue when she is on the transplant floor. These folks do not fool around. I am very impressed with the organization and precision that is in operation here at Saint Jude's. Y'all know me, that's what makes me tick.

THE PIC IS MARTHA & AMBER (line nurse)

Amber makes it a habit to find Martha wherever she is, no matter what she's doing, and to completely interrupt whatever is going on just to say "hello, how ya doin'?" We love her and we're going to adopt her, 'cause she fits right in.

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Harvest's Over

Martha could only make it five hours on the machine today, but they're almost sure that enough stem cells were collected today. If not she'll be back on it tomorrow. She had several visitors today too - Dr. Kasow, transplant doc - Stacey, transplant nurse - Michael, brother - Mom, mom - Amber, new friend/patient (in the pic).

The results from the randomizer were returned today to tell us what study protocol we will be on for the HOBIT. Guess what! No Massage, No Relaxation, No Laughter. Martha landed on the control group. How can that happen twice! She landed on the control group for the video game trial she participated in at Saint Francis. What darned luck!

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Harvest Time

After a marathon session of 8 straight hours on the apherisis machine ---- Martha is almost there, but she has to go back tomorrow for more stem cell collection. They didn't get enough today, because her Hickman Line won't return her cells fast enough; the machine was going only 2/3 as fast as it normally flows. Martha probably could have stayed on the machine longer and completed the collection, but once you're on you're on. The ONLY way to go to the bathroom is a bedpan, YUK! Needless to say, guess where Martha headed as soon as they took the needle out:)

She had a few visitors come to see her while she was harvesting - Amber, line nurse - Charlotte, child life (in the pic) - Jonathan, child life - Michael, brother - Mom, mom. The Donor Room staff were all real fun (her nurse's name was Sam and he was lots of fun except when he forgot to clamp her Hickman Line and blood squirted EVERYWHERE). There were lots of new movies, so she watched Flight Plan, The Cave, and Bad News Bears today. She also watched a video of KJRH News that was mailed to her and hopefully you have no clue why she did that.

This evening Martha is pretty tired, but she had no adverse reactions during the process, she didn't even get cold like most everybody else does, she got hot. In the pic you can see the harvested stem cells in the bag on the far right. We need some more of those and we plan on getting them tomorrow. Hope you get what you want tomorrow, too!

"G Day - 4

Today was a FABULOUS day, as fabulous days go around here anyway. And YES, Martha knew she hurt my feelings yesterday, probably tried to. But she is back to nice and precious, lovely Martha today, not that she wasn't yesterday, but she was camouflaging it very well. We toured the transplant floor today and although it's very quiet up there compared to the rest of the hospital, it seems quite tolerable. We have a few weeks of hospital stays under our belt already, so I'm sure we'll manage just fine there. The BEST part about it, is that the parent has a separate room connected to the patient's that enables you to separate from each other, but still be there for them. Good idea!

Thanks for all your support! Sorry about the posting problem, that was due to me checking the wrong button and messing the whole thing up. But anyway as you can see, that's been corrected. Now for those of you who can't log-on to the site, I don't know what to say, obviously you won't be reading this anyway, but hopefully everyone will keep trying and things will work out. Maybe their parental controls are set too low, and with all my cussing yesterday it blocked the site. Sam is a potty mouth too, but who didn't know that!

love y'all lots

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"G" Day - 3

Still rolling w/the "G" - no complaints today, about the "G" anyway. However, they seem to have made-up for seeing us early practically every appointment last week by starting the day off running 30 minutes late for the first appointment and winding-up our last appointment running 1 & 1/2 hours late just for it. GEEZ, that was a pain! We were there all day until 4PM. Martha met early with her line nurse Amber (who apparently is only Irish in March) but gorgeous all year long. She was not running late, in fact she saw Martha on demand. Some people are just too nice. That's Amber in the pic.

Some of you may not know that Martha has two birthdays, the REAL DAY - April 6th and the typo day that appears on her birth certificate - April 4th. We never got this fixed because two days difference is really no big deal. Usually patients consider their transplant day as their new birthday and some continue to celebrate that day as the years go by. It appears that Martha's TRANSPLANT DAY is scheduled for her birth certificate Birthday, April 4th. Is that BIZARRE or what? No one planned for this, it's just how the days flowed based on when she started taking the "G" drug; when she gets her stem-cells harvested; and when they finish the eight days of chemo on the transplant floor. Here's her schedule, and so far everything is right on track.
March 21: "G" Day 4
March 22 - 24: Harvesting Stem Cells
March 26: First Day Inpatient on the Transplant Floor
March 26 - April 2: CHEMO Daily
April 4: Stem Cell Transplant (birthday)
April to May: Inpatient Care & Recovery
Sometime in May: Outpatient Recovery in Memphis
Sometime before May 22: Hopefully going home for graduation!

We're hangin' in there, barely..... Martha informed me that I need to back-off and give her some space, so hell I don't know what to do. (I guess she wasn't wanting me to kiss her butt at the moment.) She also explained this to the clinical nurse who was briefing us on the expectations of being on the transplant floor. Which apparently is like being in some type of 2001 Space Odyssey existence. And of course that bitch totally agreed with Martha. So shit, I might as well just stock up on Calgon and Bonbons. Eat your hearts out, you working stiffs! Cause if Martha has it her way, I aint doing nothin' for two months except staying out of her way. Or could it be that spending all waking hours with the same person for eight solid days may make both people completely NUTS? Hmmmmm -Last night we both agreed that room 4023 here at the Grizzlies house may be the home of its first murder/suicide. Just kidding, don't call the Social Worker!

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FreakyFlops

Yes - we sat there, we sat there we two, and made them, we made them, these shoes!

Cute, huh?

"G" Day - 2

Here's a pic of our morning walk to the hospital. That was yesterday, 'cause it's real cloudy here today.

All's going fine w/the "G" - but Martha is complaining of leg pain, hasn't slowed her down much. We have stayed here at the Grizzlies all day. Not much to do out, it's cold & raining. Martha has worked on her NovaNet school work a lot today, what else is there to do?

This brings me to the question of, who out there needs some typing and spelling lessons? Definitely mark/dad, Martha and Sarah. W-O-W you guys are freaking me O-U-T! The typos are KILLIN' me, you freaks!

Love y'all lots.

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"G" Day - 1

Well Martha left the Medicine Room with lower back pain immediately after her first infusion of "G". Currently she is complaining of leg pain, but that didn't stop her from racing her brother down the hall here at the Grizzlies House. We made it to the Riverboat Cruise, but couldn't take anymore sightseeing for one day. It was cold out on the water, and the tour lasted almost two hours. Here's a view of the riverboat and Memphis skyline. If you look real hard you can see the pyramid and know we're staying about 2 blocks from there. Hope y'all had a great Saturday. Tomorrow's the medicine room again!

Arletta did you have a raucous PARTY last night or what? I expect to hear about it! Happy, twenty, we need you there for at least 20 more! I sure hope you were surprised. Our best to everybody. Love Sam & Weezer

Graceland to Hollywood in only 1 Day!

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY TO EVERYONE, KISS MARTHA SHE'S IRISH!

Today Martha started in the Line Clinic to change the bandage on her Hickman, the hospital wants to supervise the first few dressing changes due to the recent surgery and for training the patient on how to properly care for it. After that it was back to CAT Scan for films of her abdomen, chest and sinuses. The other day it was for her brain. Today, however they ran dye through her line, but she didn't have any complaints about that.

Once all the medical necessities were taken care of - we were off to Graceland and all things ELVIS. I had a BLAST - we were there about two hours, and I must say that 70's Elvis is my favorite era, probably because it's the only time I remember him from. Then we left Memphis headed south for Tunica, MS and the casino action. NOoooo, not really! Headed for the Titanic display at the Hollywood Casino along with the FABULOUS Friday Night Lobster Buffet. YuMmY!!!

Tomorrow Martha starts the "G" drug to prepare her stem cells for the harvest. She'll be having this IV in the medicine room at the hospital for 30 minutes a day - the next 4-5 days. Her stem-cell harvest starts on Tuesday (03/22/06). We're hoping she has no discomfort associated with this drug but her physician has prescribed medication if pain occurs.

We're planning riverboat and carriage rides tomorrow to keep her mind off things, but still low-key activities. In case any of you are wondering where we have all this money floating around for all this sightseeing, its all FREE for Saint Jude patients and families. Heck of a way to pay for a family vacation though!

Thanks for all the feedback - Love Sam & Weezer

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Memphis Zoo Animals Look Just Like Tulsa Zoo Animals!

After a morning physical with Dr. Kim Kasow, D.O. (the transplant physician) Martha hung-out in the teen room with the "child-life specialist" and got supplies for an upcoming art contest. After that we signed-up for the HOBIT study - this was the one thing on our schedule we could never figure out. HOBIT is a research study they're conducting here regarding the effects of LAUGHTER-RELAXATION & MASSAGE on stem-cell transplant patients. Since this is a research study that means there are 3 groups, patient only who participates, patient & parent participating or the control group that doesn't participate at all. We'll let you know which one we're in after we complete the initial survey and the randomizer assigns us to a group.

This afternoon we went to the Memphis Zoo. Very nice, they have PANDAS in a very lovely Asian-styled exhibit. It was a perfect day to be outside, so we had a good walk too! See my Cat Claws coming out? Some of you will hear about those details later, just make sure you get both sides of this story when you do. I continue to be on the prowl, chasing away the advancing alley cat. More tomorrow, Watch this Site!

She's too sexy for her shirt!

For those of you who know what's hot and what's not, what do you think of that new fashion statement?

Martha learned how to care for her Hickman Line today, with her GORGEOUS Irish nurse Amber. They became fast friends and Martha is a quick study, making her nurse very proud.
Caring for the line consists of dressing changes and line cap changes every Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Martha also flushes the line w/ Heparin every day. This is accomplished by drawing 5 units for each line w/ a syringe and flushing the line so that it doesn't get clotted shut. Lots of care to keep everything sanitary is a MUST because this line goes directly into her heart.

From what started out as a real shaky start, Martha is now the proud wearer and carer of her Hickman Line. WHAT a SUCCESS! We're so very proud of her for that! We topped off our day w/ a psych eval and social work assessment. LOADS of fun each, I even think we passed!

Tomorrow and Friday are short days, so hopefully we'll have good news to report about fun stuff we do, instead of medical procedures and facts like that.

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Love Sam & Weezer

Madame Zora has a Potty Mouth

Surgery went FABULOUS!!! They took Martha in early and we were leaving the recovery room the same time as surgery was scheduled. As most of us know Martha has a high tolerance for drugs (is that a good thing? or a family tradition, I don't know) anyway, she had a great anesthesiologist. She had a very thick (middle eastern?) accent and an excellent sense of humor, we have nicknamed her Madame Zora the Trance-Inducing GYPSY. She also cusses like a sailor, even at a children's hospital. That's her w/Martha, Loved Her! Neither Martha or I ever met the surgeon, Dr. Rao, but obviously he did a good job, because Martha is having very little discomfort and the port implant is apparently gone; there is definitely a Hickman Line taped to Martha's chest. Please don't ask her "how it's hangin'?"

Martha is snoozing again; assisted by Percocet and Morphine. When it comes to pain around here, they don't mess around! She's lovin' it! And why not, she needs all the strength she can get, why let pain wear you out? Obviously it's gonna be an early night again. Our Wednesday starts at triage - 8AM sharp.

You're Gonna DO WHAT....?

Today there were many opportunities to lose our Marbles, but it happened only once and they were all quickly gathered back-up and returned to their proper places. This moment came when they actually gave Martha a Hickman line to look at and explained exactly where it will be placed and how it will be taken care of. Hopefully before this is all over Martha will be swingin' it around like Mae West with a string of pearls! Other "moments" were related to lab samples and other testing needs, but no need to go into the gory details here.

All in all it was a smooth first day here at Saint Jude's. We're still staying in the Grizzlies' House and our room is on the 4th floor looking directly out to the Memphis Pyramid whatever that is? Thank God it doesn't light-up like the one in Vegas, 'cause I'm tellin' ya the thing is less than two blocks away and it would be high-noon here 24/7 if it did.

Tomorrow is SURGERY at 1PM, to remove the implanted port and insert the Hickman line. Think of Martha often and pray for her safety and comfort. Thank you family and friends, I imagine you sitting with me and talking this through as I type, so thanks for being here.

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All Tuck'd IN

We made it safely and problem free. The drive was great, the weather perfect. We have only been reserved here at the Grizzlies House one night. So we are hopefully anticipating our permanent housing assignment is made tomorrow. Martha's schedule is non-stop Monday, the itinerary is detailed hourly from 9AM-4:30PM. We're hittin' the sack early tonight. Hope y'all enjoyed your Sunday and that Monday will bring Marvels to us all!

Sunday Mornin' Goin' Down

So, here's what happened this weekend. Non-stop, non-stop. Three tubbies packed with supplies. One for kitchen and bath. One for bill paying, schooling and Martha's medical records. One for books, games and crafts. Everybody has 2 suitcases. Except me I have 3, but don't tell anyone. Martha has an extra too, for her "electronics" -CD's, DVD's and laptop. Michael's the real transient on this crew- he only has two bags and can carry everything at once, probably planning to hitchhike home if the mood suits him. Let's just pray it doesn't:)

Well, I won't tell you about the sad goodbyes because we didn't say that. We said SEE YOU THERE, instead! I know the pic looks like a big goodbye hug, but really it's Mark leaning on the van for support after loading-up all the crap I just mentioned.

We are leaving Tulsa, knowing we are blessed to have friends, family, and even strangers wishing us the best, and praying for Martha's complete recovery and cure.

Our best to everyone ~ Sam, Weezer, Michael and Mark

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No - really just one more test.....

Here we are waiting for one last bone marrow biopsy here in Tulsa. Saint Jude's requested this on Monday, so the results will be ready by next week....one less thing to wait on. We'll let you know how this goes later. Martha is trying out the skills of the new Doc at the clinic, Wendy Boureland, D.O. Martha's schedule was faxed to us from Saint Jude's and it's OFFICIAL! We are going to Memphis this weekend. You should see her itinerary, it is loaded. Surgery for the Port removal and adding the Hickman Line is on Tuesday (3/14). There are tests and x-rays on this list that we have never heard of. There's also a psych evaluation and consultation. Dr. Hum wonders if the psychologist will ever look at the profession the same again after meeting Martha. I think NOT:)

Blog Back-Love Sam & Martha
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WEEKENDS R-2 short

Well this weekend has seemed more like goodbye weekend than prepare weekend. All the planning reminds us that we are leaving very soon, for a very long time. CLINGY, is how we feel. Poor Mark must be smothered by now, but I hear him snoring from the bedroom, so at least he's still alive. It was SO hard to accomplish anything, we know we have to pack and organize, but the motivation is just not there. We enjoyed lots of family time, visits with friends and even relaxed a little.

Sooner or later we'll "getterdun."

As Mom in charge, I dutifully bought supplies for our new home away from home. Got it packed in plastic tubs (boxes aren't allowed at the hospital because cardboard harbors bacteria) that's okay, plastic tubs look prettier! None of us packed a single stitch of clothing! And rumor has it that Martha and Grammy are going shopping tomorrow. I hope they have a good time while I'm at work:~/ maybe when they're back they'll pack! watch this site

~Riding~the~Waiting~Wave~

With a recent look at the calendar, we all just realized that there is only one whole weekend left together before we leave for Memphis! This much anticipated trip is coming on way too fast, but Martha's ready to get this party started.....

On another party note! Make A Wish volunteers recently granted Martha's wish, which many of you know, was to redecorate her bedroom. Martha provided the volunteers with a design idea-sheet from Hancock Fabrics where she works and hoped they would give her something similar. Well as Wishes would have it, they completly re-created the design right down to having a seamstress sew custom linens and window coverings using the exact designer fabrics from Hancock's. It is absolutly marvelous and Martha is living large in her bedroom, at least. Posted here are pictures of the Make A Wish volunteers and Martha. They cleaned, painted, decorated and partied with the family during the long President's Day weekend recently in order to get the job done. Hope your wishes come true today!

P.S. the spinal went fine and Martha got plenty of her favorite narcotics!

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love sam & weezer