The Lodge

Our vacation at the Lodge is fabulous.  Wish you were here!
No kidding, that's a bit how it feels at the Hope Lodge.  This  morning I went down to the community lunchroom expecting to have my usual bowl of cereal, but instead discovered that a Relay for Life team was serving breakfast.  Lots of fruit, baked egg dishes, bagels, oj, and coffee.  On two nights this past week, church groups served us supper.  A shuttle bus takes to and from all of our appointments.  There are lounges with TVs, an exercise room (which I've used), free laundry facilities.  All of this is at no charge to the guest (me) and caregiver.  It blows me away!

The rooms are small, but adequate.  It's quiet on the floor, so sleep comes easy, usually.  

The past week, I've had every test one might imagine: blood panel, urine analysis (sidebar:  I needed to provide a 24 hour catch and the nurse gave John the job of carrying my jug around, denoting him my Pee Sherpa--he did  it well); heart scan, EKG, CT scan, chest X-ray, bone marrow biopsy.

My donor, brother Rob, had his work up on Thursday, which took a lot longer than anticipated because he ran into what we are at this point classifying as a minor glitch.  His platelet count was a tiny bit below the normal range.  After reaching a couple of his doctors in Anchorage to find out what previous blood tests revealed, the doc at the U thought he should have a bone marrow biopsy just to rule out any potential whatevers.  It doesn't seem to be too problematic--his other tests showed a lower count, but within the normal range.

My EKG showed an abnormality, so I consulted with a cardiologist yesterday who didn't seem too concerned, but scheduled a stress test for me on Monday just to be on the safe side.  It will be a recumbent bike stress test.

Tuesday is the day I find out from my team leader, Dr. Vercillotti, whether or not the transplant is a go.  If not, then I'm sure we'll discuss options.  If it is, then I'll be admitted to the hospital on Wednesday or Thursday where I'll be fitted for another "line" which will be inserted into my carotid artery.  My port won't be used as much.  Chemo, as well as a myriad of other meds, will begin shortly thereafter.  Whole body radiation will be administered next.  In the meantime, Rob will receive injections of neupogen to stimulate cell growth.  When that's done, we're ready to roll.  They extract blood from Rob, spin it in an apheresis machine to extract the stem cells, and then return the blood, minus the stem cells, back to Rob.  They collect about a "half can of Coke" of the cells which is infused into me. The infusion takes about an hour.  We're not exactly sure when that will happen, if it does, but that day would be another birthday for me to celebrate.  I'm kind of hoping for the 26th because that's my dad's birthday, but any day would be welcome!

Rob and his wife, Judy, arrived on Wednesday.  They are also staying at the Lodge.  My sister, Betsy, and her husband, Pete, flew in from Arlington, VA, on Wednesday as well.  We all went to a Mediterranean restaurant that evening.  The next day we all met up with my brother, Tom, and my other brother, John, and his wife, Marilyn, as well as my son, Chris, my daughter, Rebekah and her family.  We had lunch at The Tea House, close to the Lodge.  It was great fun.  Of course, we missed other family members.  My sister, Ann, would have enjoyed the gathering immensely.  And my daughter, Megan, and her family would also have liked to be with us.  I hope to post some photos soon of others trying on my wig and a few of my big bro Tom, bald like me, looking very much like my twin.

Today, Bekah's going to pick me up for a photo shoot at the Walker.  I had told her I needed a decent one for the paper, if you get my drift.  I think she knows how to make it look like me, but better.  Like, maybe she can cut down on the neck size for crying out loud?

John D. went to Mankato to retrieve a few things and to check on the house.  He'll come back tomorrow.  Rob and Judy went to the Twins game with John R. and Marilyn.  I'm home alone!  Who wants to party?


I started a Caringbridge site, but won't do anything with it until we get the go-ahead.  I'll continue to use this blog for updates.


I love you.


Kathy