Freedom!

Kathy is out of the hospital! She was discharged today, and Brian and I were lucky enough to be her transport to her temporary home. She must stay in Portland - her doctor wants her to be within quick driving distance to OHSU. On Wednesday, Rodger will be bringing their 5th wheel up and parking it in East Portland in a park that her friend lives in. Until then, she is staying with her friend.

She is so, so happy to be out. And, she got to see her grandbabies today. That always makes for a good day. She had a bone marrow biopsy Friday and the results came back great. Her levels were normal. She has lost a lot of weight and tires easily. Just packing up her room up today wore her out. 

I will work on getting an updated mailing address for her. She still cannot have flowers or plants inside her living space so please keep this in mind if bringing gifts. She will go back into the hospital for a second round of chemotherapy in 2-3 weeks; keep the positive thoughts coming. They are working!

Going For The Cure

What a beautifully sunny and warm Monday for Kathy to get some fabulous news:

"Very good news today. The docs are telling me they are Going For The CURE. No bone morrow transplant needed. Probably more chemo."

She has been in the hospital for two weeks now. It really doesn't seem like it can be two weeks already. Her bone marrow biopsy was today and that should help verify that she is kicking cancer's butt!

Post-chemotherapy recovery

Kathy is on day 1 of post-chemotherapy recovery. She had her last dose of chemotherapy Monday (4/16) night. She will have 7 days of recovery before another bone marrow biopsy to see how her bone marrow is doing and to determine whether or not she will need a bone marrow transplant.

She is tired but doing better than she was the other day. They got her nosebleed stopped; but then, she bit her tongue! :) Rodger has stayed up there with her for the past week, but will be heading back down to Grants Pass soon. He will be moving their 5th wheel up to OHSU so he has a place to stay during her treatment.

Please continue to send her good wishes and thoughts. If you would like to post a comment for her you can use the "Wishes and Words" page to post a comment (this will put all comments in one place allowing her to quickly read them).

Bone Marrow

We are getting lots of questions about bone marrow donation.

Kathy hasn't been told definitively if she will need a bone marrow transplant and if so, when. There is a good chance that she will need one.

The best donors are her siblings. If a sibling isn't compatible or is unable to donate then non-related donor will be sought. Other relatives such as Kathy's children, cousins, nieces/nephews, etc. will not be considered for bone marrow donation.

Although you may not be a match or eligible donor for Kathy, you may be for someone else. The National Marrow Donor Program encourages you to "be the match" for someone in need of bone marrow. Click the image below for more information (lots of great resources, FAQs, etc.)!