Martha's Slowly Regaining Her Strength

I think this speaks for itself. Hope you enjoy!

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Short Note for Saturday

Martha's day started by sleeping late. What a way to start your day, huh? This is actually the first time she has slept past 8AM since she got out of the hospital, so I think that's pretty good. I'm looking forward to meeting up with my friend Sherri who is driving here today all the way from Sapulpa, Oklahoma just to say HI! Is that GREAT, or what? So I'm going to hold this post until I get a great photo and some details of what we do today.

Super Slow Day

We'll with all Martha's progress, it's made for a very slow day at the hospital. I am NOT complaining though. We are barely one week out from discharge and it could be a LOT worse. After going to school, Martha had an appointment with the nutritionist who confirmed that she can discontinue the nightly TPN. In fact I have one more thing left to do today and that just reminded me that I need to go to the pharmacy and pick-up three more prescriptions for Martha. But that's certainly better than the infusions the new meds are replacing!

So gotta go for now! Blog ya later! Watch this Site!

Good News May Lead to Good Times

Martha had a test ran today that determines how she is progressing with engraftment. Basically this means they're looking to see if her immune system is growing back. We will get the results of the blood test next week some time. The other test was a CT scan to look at the fungal infection in her chest. There is NO sign of the fungus anymore! Also, the CRV virus in her blood is gone. This good news eliminated two daily infusions that she has to take in medicine room. It leaves only one infusion, but that one was reduced by half and she does it herself here at Target House. She did however receive one more pill to add to her repertoire.

After the blood results are analyzed many questions may be answered. Such as how soon will we come home to Tulsa, when can Martha eat-out, and if she will be able to shed the blue mask. There are a few downsides to today's meeting with Dr. Kasow. A bone marrow biopsy will need to be done next week, which will also lead to more answers to the above questions. And when Martha returns to Tulsa she will continue to have chemotherapy injections into her spinal fluid. This was explained as a precautionary treatment, and they will also give her the first injection here the day she has the biopsy. I really don't like the necessity of this and I am very concerned, since this is the first I've heard of this plan.

Otherwise the GOOD news is, Martha without question will walk the stage at her graduation ceremony and an additional rumor has surfaced that she will also be dancing at the Prom & Military Ball the weekend before! She definitely has a prom date and it's not the dreaded Shaun either, it's sweet Jeremy what more can a mother ask for? That's her getting the word out to all her friends this morning using Email & cell phone at the same time! Four hours later, she had that date in the bag.

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How's the Weather?

The weather here has been very typical of Tulsa at this time of year. For those of you who don't live in Tulsa that means daily highs around 80+, with cooler nights. But last night we had a tornado warning come through that caused a whole lot of lightning. Now let me tell ya, I don't know if it's the BIG river that causes this or what, but this town has some serious lightning. I don't think it's just chance either, because each time there has been thunderstorms the lightning has been terriffic. It was cloudy/overcast all day due to the storm that blew through. The morning was misty and cold as we left for the hospital. We are looking forward to returning to Tulsa weather, cause we know the sun shines brighter on our true "stompin' grounds."

Martha had a good day today. Her schoolteacher, Mr. Medford has got her LOVING algebra, isn't that amazing. She talked to Mrs. Blackwelder at Nathan Hale and somehow this got her even more excited about graduation, if that was possible. Only problem left, she has nowhere to wear her Prom dress. Her next plan of attack is to persuade Dr. Kasow to let her go home in time for the Prom & Military Ball on May 12th & 13th. Good Luck with that Martha.....

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Going Up?

The schedule was improved today, and they only ran one hour behind, we actually got home at a decent time. Martha's food intake did not improve today, but her nutritionist says it's coming along well enough to end Friday. That's about all the news for today.

Except for my issue of the day, which is: Could we please initiate national elevator etiquette training. It's really very simple, just the basics such as - the people getting OFF the elevator should be allowed to depart prior to people getting ON the elevator, thus there is plenty of ROOM for the new passengers. This is so simple, it may just catch on.

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Ups-Downs and All-Arounds

Martha once again was all over the hospital again today, from 9AM-6PM. Before we could get back to Target House and fix dinner, the home health nurse arrived to deliver and assist with her nightly transfusions. Some of this could be aleviated if they were not running two hours behind with her afternoon appointments.

We started the morning off on schedule but everything went downhill shortly after she got out of school. She ended up waiting so long that she finished her algebra homework, now that's saying something! We also had time to make a few calls and check-in with child-life.

Anyway, maybe Martha will go off TPN by the end of the week.

Keep pushing her to EAT and DRINK and Y'all - WATCH THIS SITE.

The Elephant Fountains are ON

I know several of you were wishing the fountain would have been on when you were here. Good thing about the elephants is that they're lovely with or without the water.

The TPN worked last night, the labwork came back with much improvement and Martha will get all of her transfusions this evening - even though that means we have to go back to the medicine room again today. We've already been there for six hours today.

She's still eating and the mood is very much improved. But we love her any way we can get her.

Jeat Yet?

Martha did! 2 donuts*chocolate milk*pears*cottage chesse*pork chop*rice-a-roni. Way to go Martha! She slept a lot too - which is something she really wanted to catch up on.

There was a problem with her TPN pump last night and when she woke up this morning the whole bag was still there. You can't tell it's not draining because it comes with a backpack that you cant see thorough for the purpose of hanging it and/or taking it with you. Anyway, this probably caused a problem with her blood work that indicates kidney malfunction. So her daily anti-biotics and anti-fungal transfusions were cancelled and replaced with a plain-old saline transfusion. She's waiting until Sunday morning to see if her bloodwork reflects that her kidney function has returned to normal. I do wonder though, if not having the TPN is what increased Martha's appetite. I guess we'll wait to Sunday for that too, because she still sets-up her TPN infusion to run tonight.

Thanks to everyone for keeping in touch, calling, mailing letters and blogging back!

~WE LOVE THAT~

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DR. K - TODAY!

Martha celebrated her first day as an outpatient by having a visit with one of her Saint Francis oncologists, Greg Kirkpatrick, M.D. from Tulsa. He is here for a conference, but Martha is sure that it was only a convenient excuse for him to come see her. I tend to agree! Thank you Dr. K for the visit, it was uplifting for both of us.
Her shirt says, "MY ONCOLOGIST IS BETTER THAN YOUR ONCOLOGIST"

And NO he didn't give it to her. However, she did choose this shirt with him in mind.

Now on to this outpatient "ruse." We will be returning to the hospital daily for a minimum of four hours in the medicine room where Martha receives two IV infusions to treat her fungal and bacterial infections. Weekdays, she must also visit Assessment & Triage for blood counts, visit her transplant clinic and meet with her teacher. Today we are here 10 AM - 5 PM. Still - it's much better than being IN the hospital - even though we're still AT the hospital.

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I've Kidnapped Myself - Give Me $100...... or You'll Never See Me Again

That's what Martha's shirt said today as she left the hospital. GUESS WHAT! No One Gave Her the Money! So I guess that means she won't be back! Let's hope not! Miss Martha has been playing possum while in the hospital too! She explained to me that this is her method of making the nurses & techs leave her alone as much as possible. I wish she would have explained that to me sooner! Oh yeah, and now the pointing finger is back - pointing to "Mom do this & mom do that." Martha's BACK!

This girl walked out of her room and kept on going right out to the van carrying her overstuffed backpack that was so full it wouldn't even zip shut all the way. Then once back here at our home away from home she unpacked, went downstairs to pick-up her home health deliveries and carried the box upstairs herself! I AM NOT EXAGGERATING!

NOW, if I could only get her to eat. She is still using TPN, that's why she had home health supplies delivered. This includes an all-night long IV infusion of some ghastly yellow fluid that she actually mixes herself. She looked like a mad scientist setting it all up this evening. We've got one heck of a drugstore, I think the pharmacist must have went down the aisles grabbing one of everything! We're not even sure what to do with all of it. Her red-eye must be from the Marinol she's still using.

WATCH THIS SITE - as we figure out where all the drugs go:)

Some Days Start Out Bad & Just Get Worse.....

So you just keep going because you know there's going to be another day tomorrow that will get better. Except I think there's some truth to tomorrow never comes, because nothing ever seems to get better.

Martha is fine - still going outpatient this week. And I don't like ANYTHING anymore.

And that's all I have to say about today!

What I Like......

Since some of you have been hearing lots about what I don't like, let me tell you about what I do like, today was a pretty dull day.

I like the packages that have been sent to Martha. I like watching her open them, I like going to get them and delivering them to her room.

I like some of the scenery here in Memphis, I like how the city is more urban than Tulsa.

I like the weather here now, I think it's going to skip spring - go straight to summer.

I like going to the tanning salon in the morning.

I like the guy in the cafeteria that is smiling and always nice even though he's cleaning up everybody's messes.

I like Martha's nurse Jennifer - she says whatever she feels like saying.

I like eating whatever I want whenever I want - I had bean burritos and a bologna sandwich today.

I like not worrying about what everybody else is going to eat.

I like Memphis dry bar-B-que.

I like getting lots of e-mails from my friends and family.

I like listening to whatever I want to listen to on the radio in the van, NO hiphop now kids!

I recently found out I like Elvis - who knew, but Graceland was pretty cool.

I like knowing I'm going home to a new good neighbor and flowers in the front yard.

Heck, I just like knowing I'm going home, to a good job - home - city, state - the place I love.

Take me back to Tulsa.........

Just Us Girlz

Martha will go outpatient this week. She'll be bringing a bag of TPN with her, but at least she won't be in the hospital. Home health will train her how to change her bags and work her pump before she leaves. Things were moving along very well here, until.....

We almost lost the van today, because Mark's flight was cancelled. At the very last minute I dropped him off at the airport with only ten minutes to spare before catching a flight departing two hours PRIOR to the cancelled flight. He has to go to Chicago - then fly from there to Tulsa, arriving LATER than the flight that was cancelled! I now understand why people get SO mad on that cable television show! His only alternative was flying home tomorrow and missing another day of work. Driving the van home would NOT have been an alternative - there is NO way I'm gonna ride the short bus back and forth to the hospital.

Somebody call Mark and ask him if he made it home alright. He always said he loved going to Chicago!

Eggheads on Easter

Martha and Mark are stylin' with the same haircuts! How do you like that? I'll tell you something else you're going to like! Martha's "ANC" is 600 today.

ANC=Absolute Neutrophil Count and that relates to her blood counts; white cells - red cells - platelets, all combined. This number is the one that has to be at least 500 or above in order for her to be released. Now the next step on the road to getting out of here is no fevers and no infections. Currently she has 2 infections and a low-grade fever. Both of which are on their way O-U-T of her system since her blood counts (immune system) are on their way back.

WoooWHOOOO!!! --- Watch this Site

Saint Jude's Teen Art Show

Prior to going inpatient Martha was busy working with the Child Life Specialist and other teenagers on projects for the annual Teen Art Show. Here are pictures of Martha's entries. Click on the photos to enlarge them. It was a fabulous display of art from some very talented kids and we enjoyed it very much. They are video taping the show so that Martha can see it since she is not allowed off the transplant unit floor.

keep your eyes on this site;)

Rollin' w/the Flow

Good Day Everyone! Martha is feeling rather blahhh, experiencing fevers and low blood counts this week. She has received some transfusions, both red blood and platelets. Her eating has slowed back down again, but she still tries everyday. Her mood is generally good when she's awake and she occasionally walks down to the Ms. PacMan game in the hallway.

I know the posts have slowed down, and many of you are wanting to see photos, but there's just not much to say when our patient has bottomed-out on her blood counts and she is waiting to be on the upswing again. We are very patient, Martha more than me, so we will keep rollin' with the flow, just like that big old Mississippi River right down the street.

Mark is flying-in this morning for another long weekend. So hopefully this will give Martha some happiness. Her head's not all bald yet and she requested that Dad bring his electric trimmer. Obviously we have plans for today!

Oklahoma Spaghetti

Martha's bad mood this weekend and general discomfort severely reduced her calorie intake for the past several days. Meanwhile the dreaded mouth and throat sores started hurting yesterday. So with all of these factors working against her, the nutritionist decided it was time to start TPN (total parenteral nutrition) also know as vitamins, protein & carbs in a bag. This is yellow fluid that actually looks like Margarita Mix, hey she said she wanted to get the party started, right?

This decision does not mean Martha is doing bad, or that she is having problems, in fact her Dr. thinks she ate well beyond what was expected. However, Martha looks at this like under-excelling and immediately started eating again! She is determined that they will remove the TPN before the end of the week!

With all that said, she requested her Grandma's Oklahoma Spaghetti recipe and demanded that I (your friendly blogger) go home and bake it for her. Well I'm sure you all can guess what I did - and yes, she did enjoy it even though my cooking was appropriately labeled as the BIOHAZARD that it is. Still not sure how the chili powder is going to agree with her delicate stomach..... but we're feeling lucky today!

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Ever Feel Like Pulling Your Hair Out?

Martha does! She is pulling clumps out today and laughing. Everyone that stops by her room gets the same....."Look what I can do." --- and then Martha pulls out her hair and laughs. This only sounds crazy if you AREN'T having cancer treatment.

Laugh any way you can as long as it's not at the expense of others! And think of Martha when you feel like pulling your hair out.

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"Good Eggs" Visit Memphis

Last week was filled with visitors for Martha. Her Dad, of course was here. Grandma and Ed were here for the "big" event. And then on Friday Arletta and Mary. Martha enjoyed the most out of everybody's visit that she could. Her transplant days were pretty rough, she was doing pretty good by Friday and Saturday. However here on Sunday I walked into her room to find her throwing-up (bucket in hand) and having a fever. The nurse explained that there is nothing to be concerned about, fever is expected and the antibiotics probably caused the nausea. But onward we go, that's what adults do, right?

Thank you all so much for the kindness, good wishes and all the attention. Not just those of you who were actually present here in Memphis, but thanks to those of you present in thought and many other helpful deeds. There's a lot of you out there, and we are thankful for that. So keep on watching this site!

They Say It's Your Birthday!

Maybe next year we'll be ready for some REAL excitement during MarthaFest, but thank goodness this year's event was........uneventful. Martha is feeling much better now that chemo is over, but all in all she really doesn't feel that great, just compared to how bad it was, it's a heck of a lot better now. She is still not in the mood for photos, but I think she looks marvelous, considering some folks may now label her a pothead. YEP, she's getting medical Marijuana! Marinol-pill form, it reduces nausea/increases appetite. (Aint that a hoot, or should I say hooter?) I guess MarthaFest did have a bit of an edge to it.

watch this site ~ it's bound to get better now!

Transplant Day

Martha's transplant began at 11:15 this morning and ended at 1PM. They returned ten stored vials of stem cells to her system. This was done by bringing up the cryogenicly frozen cells and thawing them in her room one by one. Each syringe was manually infused over a six minute period each. There is a chemical used to keep the stem cells fresh that smells/tastes pretty bad, so Martha had a lot of nausea during the process. It's over now though and all we have to do is wait. We're waiting on the stem cells to begin growing again and for Martha's blood to start forming along with her immune systems return. This will take about two weeks for signs of this to begin appearing. Unitl then, Martha will need transfusions to keep her going.

These are the two nurses and technician who completed the transplant process. All nurses no doctors? GO NURSES!!!

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Welcome to MarthaFest 2006!

It's official, the first annual MarthaFest has been scheduled here in Memphis, TN. It will be an annual event celebrating the three birthdays of Martha - April 4th, 5th & 6th annually. You're all invited, but there is a daily cover charge of one gift per person per day. Martha's Rule - Not Mine.

NO MORE CHEMO!!!

Tomorrow is Martha's day of rest, prior to her transplant. This week she can expect her blood counts to totally bottom-out, along with all the annoying side-effects. The good news is that chemo-related nausea should be almost over. Major lack of energy is also becoming a huge problem. But as the saying goes.....Keep On Truckin'.....and she is. No photos today, though - please keep her pretty smile in your thoughts.
A special note to all the Saint Francis nurses: There is not one nurse here that can compare to any of you. And I know Janna would go bananas if she heard some of the stuff they are telling Martha about turning 18. We MISS you all, so much!

Thanks for the love & prayers.

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Who's Your Daddy?

WE KNOW WHO MARTHA'S IS & HE'S HERE, finally.