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Adam's Leukemia Survivor Journal / Daily Health Report
Diagnosis: Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (Subtype of AML)
July 13th, 2001


Welcome to my Journal. I created this journal in 2001 when I was going through Chemotherapy for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL). It was a way for me to keep my friends and family up to date on how I was doing at the time. In retrospect, it probably would have been easier to use a web template tool, like HomeStead. If you are going through treatments, I wish you the best of luck and good health. I hope my journal helps.

Dec 3, 2001
Evening (5:00pm):
I am very happy! My Bone Marrow results came back clear, confirming full remission of the disease. It has been a long road, but thanks to all of your support and best wishes, it was a lot easier than it otherwise could have been. Thank you!

Dec 3, 2001
Afternoon (2:00pm):
Things are going well at the Viener compound. We had a great thanksgiving trip up to Rhode Island. Riley's sleep pattern got a little disrupted, but he is getting back on track. Last Wednesday I had my bone marrow test, and have not heard the results yet. I should get them today or tomorrow. Our home sale and townhouse purchase are on track and we are scheduled to close on the 14th and move on the 17th & 18th. Sara's foot is doing much better and she thinks she will be able to walk without her "boot" by Christmas. I am feeling great and have 95% of my energy back. I am starting the process of looking for a new job opportunity. If you have any ideas or want a copy of my resume to pass along, please let me know. :-)

November 16, 2001
Evening (5:30pm):
Everyone is doing well, I am having a lot of fun playing with the kids. Also, we finalized a contract on a townhouse in Reston today. We plan to close on Dec 14th on both the sale of our house and the purchase of the townhouse. Not much else is new around here.

November 15, 2001
Morning (11:30am):
Yesterday was a said day for our family. Rufus passed away. He was almost 11 years old, and had been with us since college. :-(


Rufus Viener
Dec 1990 - Nov 2001


November 14, 2001
Morning (11:30am):
Continuing Viener Saga... My IV came out yesterday, Rufus get's one today! Rufus was fine early in the morning when he went out, later in the morning he just didn't want to get up at all. I even asked him if he wanted a biscuit and he didn't move. This is very odd behavior for Rufus. His stomach looked like it was hurting him. Sara and I took him to the Vet and they took some X-Rays of his stomach. It looks like there may be some kind of growth or something that is pushing his intestins over to the side. They are going to keep him for a bit and do an ultrasound to see exactly what is going on. In the meantime his gums looked pale, and they are going to give him some IV fluids and steriods. We should know more about his status early this afternoon. The rest of the family is doing well. Sara is moving around great in her boot and I had my first shower without having my arm wrapped up this morning. The kids are well, and we are looking forward to a trip up north for Thanksgiving.

November 13, 2001
Afternoon (2:00am):
Good day today. First we took Sara to see the orthopedist and he put her in a walking boot. She is excited because now she doesn't need the crutches all the time. The doctor told her she could drive but the that she would probably be taking on some extra liabilities if she were to get in an accident. She has already been out for a test drive. It's hard to keep a good woman down. :-) Additionally, I got my PICC line removed today (the IV in my arm). Now all I have on my arm are two bandaids. We are all very excited about this. Addision doesn't know yet because he hasn't gotten back from school. But he said last night that he couldn't wait until the wires were removed from my arm, so I am excited to show him.

November 12, 2001
Evening (5:30am):
We went back to Hopkins today for my Cat Scan & Consultation. The doctor called back this afternoon to let me know that my lungs are looking very improved and that I will not need the Abelset medication anymore. I am free to get the IV out of my Arm! This is a big day, getting these wires out of my arms will be great! Sara is limping around on crutches, her body is hurting from the extra stress of using them. She has an appointment tomorrow with the orthopedist. She still thinks she will be driving by Wednesday, her foot is looking more black and blue today than it was yesterday, I still have my doubts. I think the first second possible she is going to ditch the crutches though. Addison is having fun giving Sara instruction on how to go up and down the stairs. :-)

November 11, 2001
Evening (7:00am):
Well the Viener saga continues. Yesterday Sara fell and fractured a bone on the side of her foot. My father has come into town to give us a hand and take the kids to school in the morning. Sara and I are going to head up to Hopkins in the morning for my consultation and cat scan. Hopefully everything is ok with my lungs and I wont need any more medication. I am trying to get my energy level up as there is a lot to do and now that Sara is on crutches, I need to pick up some more of the slack. Sara is doing ok with the crutches, and thinks she will be driving by Wednesday. The rest of us are not so sure. I think Sara was hoping she could pretend it didn't happen and see if it would go away. No luck. :-)

November 7, 2001
Morning (8:30am):
The last few days have been interesting, I still am getting nauseous in the evenings after dinner, but overall I think I am feeling fairly well. My blood counts look good, and I am not taking any major medications. The doctor says that the longer I am off the medications the better I will feel. I have an appointment on monday to have a consultation and a cat scan of my chest to determine if I still have the infiltrates. I think that since my white blood counts are high, that my body should be able to heal itself at this point and that I should keep feeling stronger each day. We have been spending our time looking at houses and playing with the kids, all is well on the homefront. :-)

November 4, 2001
Evening (8:00pm):
The last few nights I have thrown up about 1 hour after the IV Abelset treatments, so today I had blood drawn in reston and my toxicity levels were high, so we stopped the ableset, also I have been on Potassium supplements, and my levels were too high, so we went back into the emergency room tonight to get the levels tested. I guess if the levels get to high, you can have heart problems. I have stopped the pills and the levels are on the high side of normal tonight and the EKG was normal. We will talk to the doctors in the morning, but we don't think there will be any further complications.

October 31, 2001
Morning Information (11:00pm):
We went to Addison's sing-a-long at school today, that was a lot of fun. The visiting nurse is coming today to show us how to administer the IV ableset medication. I should be on that for about 9 days. I have been trying to go through all my medical bills and insurance paperwork, what a mess. I still feel good, and it's great to be home. I think we are going to look at some houses this afternoon, and then I am not sure what our plans are for trick-or-treat tonight.

October 30, 2001
Morning Information (10:00pm):
I was released last night and am now home! It is exciting to think that hopefully I won't have to spend another night in the hospital. I still need about 10 days of the Abelset medication, I had a catscan yesterday morning that showed that the infiltrates in my lungs were still there but looked better than before. So 10 more days of medication. They were going to have this done via home care, but we found out the medication would be billed as a prescriptions. With our insurance plan, that leaves us paying a lot for it, so we are working on getting it via a local clinic in Reston or Fairfax. Doctor Smith said it would be ok if I missed one day while they figured this out, so I am off the medication today and will start back somewhere tomorrow. We are still working on figuring that out, right now I think it's mostly an insurance issue. It is great to be home with the kids and I fell great. Sara and I took Addison to school today and went inside and played with him for a bit. It has been a great morning and I am very excited to be home and not worring about having to go back into the hospital for another round!

October 29, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 4000
HCT/PCV - 33.6
PLT - 21
Morning Information (8:00pm):
So far the plan is still to go home this evening after my daily dose of Abelset. My nurse is checking on my appointment for another catscan today, we wanted to check on the infiltrates in my lungs to see how they look. I think either way I will still need Abelset, but it might effect the amount of each dose. Sara and I will be talking to the doctor and social worker this morning to figure out what the next few weeks will look like. I am sure I will need regular blood tests and since my platelets do not seem to be holding their own, I may get an infusion today and potentially need future infusions. I am not sure how the clinic works, so hopefully we will have more information this afternoon.

October 28, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 4660
HCT/PCV - 30.3
PLT - 34
Morning Information (9:30pm):
Yesterday they stopped all of the anti-biotics other than the anti-fungal medication. I started feeling much better by the afternoon and today I am feeling very well. I have some weird pains that pop up under my arms every once in a while and I am going to talk to the doctors about them this morning. I am currently scheduled to go home tomorrow evening after my afternoon dose of Ableset. Apparently tuesday was the earliest they could arrange home care for the infusion of the Abelset at home. I am still unclear how long I will need to be on this medication at home. I am looking forward to being home with my family again, and I finally feel like I am on the home stretch of this process. :-)

October 27, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 4120
HCT/PCV - 31
PLT - 13
Morning Information (10:00pm):
Another fairly long night, I received two units of red blood cells and another two units of platelets early this morning, the platelets haven't shown up in today's counts yet. I haven't had any fevers for a few days, and this means that they will probably send me home soon. I have started hearing some rumors that I am going home tomorrow, but nothing definitive yet. When I do go home I will still need to be on this anti-fungal drug, abelset, so we will need to learn how to administer that at home. We haven't gotten all the details on that or the schedule of how long I will still need to be receiving IV medication at home. It's all a little scary. Other than a fairly bad headache, I think I am feeling ok. I think that all the medications and pre-medications they have been giving me have really been taking a toll on my body, I am looking forward to getting to a point when I am feeling "normal" again.

October 26, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 3020
HCT/PCV - 24.7
PLT - 19
Afternoon Information (2:00pm):
Had a fairly good night without fevers. Received 2 units of red cells and 1 unit of platelets we are not sure why the transfusions didn't give a better bump in the numbers. The growth factor drug has gotten my white blood counts up and I am no not nutrapenic. This morning I woke up with a bad headache, pain in my hip joints and neaseua. They determined that my potassium levels were low and they are giving me potassium. They also hooked me up to the heart monitor all morning. I was surprised to wake up not feeling well, because typically the mornings have been the best for me. I should be getting some more red cells today, but they are planning on holding out on the platelets. I think If I can stay without fevers for the next day or so, they should let me out of here. :-)

October 25, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1220
HCT/PCV - 24.5
PLT - 23
Morning Information (8:30am):
Yesterday the doctor said that having an infection at this point happens to about 80% of the patients, and that we are doing the right things. They added a drug that they call Growth Factor, I have also heard it called neupogen. This drug is used to kick start the growth of your whith blood cells. That explains the big jump to 1200 today. Hopefully between all the drugs and the larger white blood cell counts, my body will now be able to knock out whatever is causing these fevers. Yesterday afternoon I had my worst fever yet, it go up to 104 and we had to use ice packs to bring down my temp. That was a bit scarry, so I would be very happy if I didn't have to go through that anymore. I am keeping my fingers crossed. On another note, I forgot to mention that we did accept a full price offer on our home the other night. :-)

October 24, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 550
HCT/PCV - 26.8
PLT - 10
Morning Information (10:00am):
My body continues to fight some kind of infection and I continue to get a fever once or twice a day. My white counts went up a bit, but my nutrafill levels went down to zero, indicating that my immune system is gone again. We haven't seen the doctor yet this morning to find out what the next step is, they alredy have me on a lot of anti-biotics and anti-fungal medication. It is really tough when you know you are almost finished, and then the thought of going home keeps getting delayed. I am really ready be to done.

October 23, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 500
HCT/PCV - 27.7
PLT - 24
Morning Information (9:00am):
I think my body is fighting an infection, I had a fever in the afternoon and again in the middle of the night. These fevers will eat up my white blood cells that I need to be able to get well and get out of here. They have added an additional anti-biotic and I now have a lot of stuff being pumped into my body on a daily basis. I hope they do their job soon.

October 22, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 500
HCT/PCV - 29.1
PLT - 14
Morning Information (10:00am):
I had a good day yesterday, Tony & Lisa came to visit and we had a good time. In the afternoon, we started the now normal ritual of pre-medication and abelset drugs, after they had finished in the evening they gave me two units of red blood cells and in the early morning they gave me two units of plateletts (the number above doesn't represent the additional platletts). We got an offer on our home last night and sent back a counter offer. It appears that my white blood cells are on there way up, and the "nutrafill" levels are starting to rise. So if they keep heading in that direction I should be finished shortly. There is still come concern about the infultrate on my lungs, so we will probably have another catscan when my counts come back to see if it is still there. Looks like the last final stretch is here, yeah!

October 21, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 410
HCT/PCV - 24.4
PLT - 24
Morning Information (9:00am):
The doctor explanied that they found and infultrate on my lung, I don't think they are really sure what that means, but it typically looks like a little bit of phnemonia. They have increased the dosage level of my amphoterism drug and I didn't have a bad reaction again yesterday. Hopefully the drug will do it's job and I will be able to go home soon. Sara brought Addison up for a visit yesterday, that made me feel really good. It was so good to see him, I was really feeling depressed about missing his birthday. Beth and Howard stopped by later on and had a nice visit before they started the afternoon ritual of giving me the drugs. With all the premeds, I end up going to sleep around 4pm waking up off and on and then going down for the night at 10pm. It makes for a long night sleep, but I feel well and rested in the morning. The nurse said that my lungs sounded clear this morning, where the other day when they had found the infultrates she had said she her a crinkling noise there. So hopefully the lung scare is behind me. :-)

October 20, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 350
HCT/PCV - 26.2
PLT - 41
Morning Information (9:00am):
I received two units of platlettes yesterday, thus the bump in those numbers. I didn't have a bad reaction to the anti-fungel drug last night, I think they pre-medicated me with Hydro-Cordozon. I am feeling fairly well and hoping that my white blood cell numbers continue to rise from here without any dips. I looked back through my induction round numbers and how long it took my white counts to come fully back to the point when they released me, and we are hovering right about the same time frame. If my body reacts as it did last time, it should be less than a week before I will be free to go. I hope that is the case. Yesterday they showed up and said it was time for me to go down for a catscan. I was surprised, because nobody mentioned anything to me about having a catscan taken. After it was done, I asked to see the fellow who ordered the catscan, and he came in and said they found some kind of spot on my lung. He really wasn't any good at explaning what that meant so I will talk to the doctors about it today. I told the doctor that I was upset that nobody told me I was going to have a catscan and why, and he said that they had discussed it in front of me during rounds. Now my mother and I were both here during rounds, and they never said anything to us about it, I think it's another case of them deciding something in the hall and never infoming the patient. This is one of the things about my Hopkins experiences that really gets me mad, I want to know what their plans are, and why each step of the way, no surprises!!! I feel like at Hopkins the process and procedures are more important to all the doctors, fellows, and rest of their teams than their patients. It's kind of sad, but I wouldn't recommend that anyone come to Hopkins unless this was the only place they could get the kind of procedure that they needed to survive.

October 19, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 270
HCT/PCV - 29.2
PLT - 12
Morning Information (10:30am):
I started to have some low grade fevers during the day, we decided to go an an anti-fungel medication called Abelcet, a form of amphoterism. This was the drug that on my 3rd dose in Fairfax gave me the shakes. Last night I had the shakes as well from the drug. The doctor said I would need to be on this medication until my counts came back up, I hope that comes quickly. This medication takes a lot out of you. I am sad about not being home for Addison's big day. :-(

October 18, 2001
Morning Information (8:30am):
I was allowed to stay home and come to the IPOP as long as I didn't get a fever above 100.4. Sometimes when I get blood products I run a fever as a reaction. Typically they will pre- medicate me with Tylonol and Benydryl before giving me blood products, but this time they just did Tylonol. Last night I ran a fever of 101.2, called the doctor and they said I had to come in. They didn't want to take the chance that it might be an infection. So I am now back in the hospital and a bit upset about it. I really wanted to be home for Addison's birthday, and now my chances of that are very slim. I have not seen the doctors yet this morning, so I should have more information once I speak with them.

October 17, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 390
HCT/PCV - 26.7
PLT - 35
Evening (7:00pm):
I received two units of red cells today, so I was in the IPOP from 11am until 4pm. Everything is going well, we are just waiting for my white blood cells to come up so my immune system comes back. Addision is very excited about his birthday, and is feeling a little better. He still has a caugh, but his fever is gone and he is running around like is normal self. Sara is starting to feel run down, we are hoping she is not catching what the kids had.

October 16, 2001
Evening (5:30pm):
Today was a short day in the IPOP. I think I will need some red blood cells tomorrow which will make my visit a little longer. My brother took me in the morning and then my parents came to take me home. The visit was so quick, I forgot to get the printout of my blood report. My white cells were down in the 200's, Red's were around 26, and my Platletts were in the 30's.

Morning Information (9:00am):
Yesterday was a long day in the IPOP. I arrived at 11am, and after receiving my anti-biotics I had to wait a while for my plateletts to come up. They gave me one unit of plateletts yesterday. We left around 4:30pm. I am hoping today will be shorter because I shouldn't need any more blood products. Riley is feeling better, and Addison had a fever last night but appears to be feeling much better this morning. I am working hard not to catch any of their germs since I still don't have an immune system. Addison is really excited about his upcoming birthday on the 19th.

October 15, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 600
HCT/PCV - 31.6
PLT - 12
Morning Information (9:00am):
I went to the IPOP early yesterday morning, Jon & Kathie visited me there. They gave me some anti-biotics and tested my blood. I don't have today's counts yet because I have an 11am appointment in the IPOP today. I think they will probably need to give me platletts today, so it may be a longer vist this morning. Being home is great!

October 14, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 310
HCT/PCV - 33.6
PLT - 21


October 13, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 420
HCT/PCV - 28.5
PLT - 27
Evening Information (6:30pm):
Good news, I have been released from the Hospital again and will beging going to their "IPOP" daily, I think they got tired of our asking about it. So as long as I can avoid getting a fever, I should be ok to be home in the evenings. It was great to see the kids, and I am looking forward to spending more time with my family.

Morning Information (11:00am):
Yesterday was rather booring, I am feeling fairly well now and they would let me leave if there was a spot in the "IPOP", their outpatient center. This is the same program I went into that one night. I am hoping to find a spot in the IPOP so that I can go home sometime next week and just come back daily as an outpatient daily until my blood counts come back up. I am really missing the kids. Sara broght in some new pictures of Addison and Riley, that helps a lot. Riley has been sick, so they haven't been up to visit. I am hoping they are both feeling well tomorrow for a potential visit. Jon and Kathie Wachs are planning on visiting today, and my brother is come in to town for a few days. I am looking forward to seeing everyone.

October 12, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 460
HCT/PCV - 24
PLT - 18
Morning Information (10:30am):
This morning I am receiving two units of platelettes and two units of red blood cells. I am feeling fairly well and am hoping to convince the doctors that I should be able to go home and come back as an outpatient until my white blood cells come up. Either way, I have about 7-10 days left of medical care before I am free to go live my life again. I really miss seeing the kids. It gets very booring sitting in the hospital day in and day out.

October 11, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 350
HCT/PCV - 26.8
PLT - 22
Morning Information (10:00am):
I have been nauseous on and off for the past few weeks. We had finally figured out that if they give me zofran via my IV before meals, I would be ok to eat. Yesterday morning, they decided that they didn't want to give that to me anymore and would be giving me a zofran pill that disolves on my toung. This pill didn't work nearly was well, and I spent the day yesterday being nauseous. Sara went to battle, and by the evening I was able to get the IV form of Zofran again. Also yesterday they switched my anti-biotics around and said that if I didn't run a fever for 24 hours, I might be able to go home again. This morning they changed their mind and said I could probably go home when my "nutrafill" levels start coming up. I think nutrafill levels have to do with my white blood count. So probably sometime next week is what they are expecting.

October 10, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 430
HCT/PCV - 27.8
PLT - 33
Morning Information (10:30am):
I had an interesting night last night. My PICC line kept getting slower and slower until it stopped working all together. We have been trying for a while to get the doctors and nurses to declot the line to make sure it would keep working. Since they were not currently able to flush the line, they did a chest x-ray first to insure the line was in the right place, then they wanted to put in a rist IV to get my anti-biotics in, I refused the IV and told them they needed to work on the PICC line before the clotting got worse. After several hours of waiting we were finally able to convince them that we needed to put TPA in the line. Around 3am we pulled the TPA out and the lines are now working again. It was a tough night. I am looking forward to a better day. The doctor this morning said that since my fevers have been gone, they are going to try to get me on oral anti-biotics so that hopefully I will be able to go home early again.

October 9, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 350
HCT/PCV - 26.3
PLT - 33
Afternoon Information (1:00pm):
Early this morning the nurse came in and said my platletts were at 13, and they gave me two units. Typically they premedicate me before an infusion with tylonol and bynadryl. The Bynadryl makes me sleepy so I slept a little later this morning. Otherwise it has been a fairly booring day. As the doctor says, "we like booring days". I can't wait to get out of here!

October 8, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 390
HCT/PCV - 27.9
PLT - 20
Morning Information (10:30am):
Yesterday was a fairly booring day. I did receive two units of red blood cells. The sore in my mouth is starting to get a little worse and they are going to start me on a new medicated mouth wash. We still don't know if I will be in for the whole time or if I will be able to come home again and come in daily as an outpatient. It's just day by day at this point. My fever has been down, and the doctors are pleased about that. The Guben's stoped in last night after the Raven's game and broght me a great raven's cap. We are spending a lot of time watching the war news on TV, praying for our troops.

October 7, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 310
HCT/PCV - 24.8
PLT - 30
Morning Information (9:00am):
The doctors gave me a sheet of information containing my blood counts dating back to Sept 29, so I have updated the report with the numbers. Apparently a lot of people have been asking my family what "the numbers" were. Somedays I get them, some days I don't, I will do my best to post them when they are available. My numbers look pretty good today, the 300 white blood cells level is close to the bottom, so we are waiting to see that number go up on it's own. I feel pretty good today, and didn't have any significant fever which would cause the doctor to put me on anti-fungal medication. My toung is starting to hurt a bit, I keep doing rinces, but I think I am starting to get some mouth sores, those are the worst. I am going to keep rinsing a lot to see if I can keep them away. :-)

October 6, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 320
HCT/PCV - 24.6
PLT - 36
Afternoon Information (2:00pm):
Bad News! After coming home for one wonderful night with my family, I came it as an outpatient the following day and ran a fever which caused them to re-admit me to the hospital and start me on anti-biotics. I had a rough 24 hours with fevers and direah and feeling downright crappy. I am feeling a bit better this morning, still have the diareah, but am finally one some medication for it. The doctors are watching to see how I do these next few days. In once case I could run a fever again, and then they will start me on some anti-fungal medication, this is the one I had the bad reaction to last time, or if I don't get fevers they may send me home again. The doctor is convinced that being at home and away from the germs that are more resistant to the medications living in the hospital is always a better idea. Sorry for the lack of update, but when I came back in on thursday morning, I wasn't planning on staying. Sara just brought me my laptop this morning.

October 5, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 210
HCT/PCV - 24.4
PLT - 13
October 4, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 130
HCT/PCV - 24.8
PLT - 12
October 3, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 310
HCT/PCV - 28.7
PLT - 34
Morning Information (11:00am):
Good News! Since I have been doing so well in the hospital, the doctors have decided that I can go home early and just come in daily as an outpaitent to follow up and get blood transfusions as needed. They often do this for patients that are doing well, because the chance of catching an infection are better outside the hospital, and any infection you might catch in the hospital have a better chance of being more resistant to anti-biotics. So they are getting the necessary paperwork and perscriptions ready and then I will be able to go home tonight. Origionally we thought we would have to stay in the Baltimore area, but they said that we can go home. If I were to get a fever at home, then I will be re-admitted to the hospital. So it may just be a temporary relief from the hospital, we will have to see. :-)

October 2, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 460
HCT/PCV - 29.3
PLT - 53r> Morning Information (10:00am):
We had a good talk with our doctor about the platletts, our research had shown that patients with APL should have a higher target number, and he explained that my bone marrow biopsy indicated that I was in remission and didn't have APL anymore. He also explained how patients can become sensitive to platletts and they can start becoming less effective. So we decided to stick with the 10 target. Later that day, 2 units of platletts arrived so I got an infusion. It was a very good talk and hopefully things will go a little smoother now. I am still feeling strong, early this morning I had a bad headache, and the doctor says my hardest days are still a head. I am hoping I can continue to stay strong.

Sara tells me that is was Marcella Walsh was responsible for pulling together the Leukemia walk on Saturday night, and I just wanted to say a special thank you to her and everyone who walked and or contributed to the walkers. Thank you, it means a lot. I have the "Viener's Volunteers" banner in my room and it makes me smile. :-)

October 1, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 720
HCT/PCV - 25.9
PLT - 16
Morning Information (9:00am):
Yesterday morning I spoke with the doctor about the platletts, and he said that current studies indicate that 10 is a better target than 20 becaue you won't need as many infusions. I guess there are risks anytime you get an infusion and that there may be some resistance build up and the overall platlett increase may be diminsihed the more you get. When I said I wasn't comfortable with the 10 number and that my doctors in Virginia had always used 20, he said they were using 5 year old research and it was out of date. Not having any of the research, we let it go for the day, especially because I had received an infusion and my levels were over 20. Sara printed out a bunch of research on the 10 vs 20 levels, and the current research specifically excludes APL patients who have a higher risk of bleeding. My levels are under 20 this morning, so we will be talking with the doctors about our findings this morning. Should be interesting! :-) You really need to be vigilant about your care and be your own advocate. Sara has been great with this stuff, I don't know what I would do with out her. Thanks Sara!

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