Aug 30, 2001
Evening Information (5:00pm):
Everyone will be happy to know that my teeth are all fixed up. I have seen the dentist 3 times this week, my teeth have been x-rayed, cleaned, and 3 filling have been put it. I now have super mouth. I can't feel the right side of my mouth right now, but hey, all in the name of dentistry, right? Tomorrow I have my second doctor's visit, and then tomorrow evening, my brother and family are coming in for the weekend. Addision is really excited to see his cousins, it should be fun. This morning I paid bills, and this week I have "dealt" with several billing issues from several companies, so I must be feeling well. You know when I start beating on customer service reps, who can't seem to resolve simple issues, that things must be looking up!

Aug 28, 2001
Morning Information (11:00am):
Not much to report today. I made my first outing on my own to the post office this morning to ship a modem I sold on ebay. This afternoon I have my dentist appointment. I am feeling well, and the rest of my household is starting to feel better as well. On Friday we have Addison's school orientation. He is still in pre-k this year at the LANK school. Later that afternoon I have my second doctor's appointment. On Sept 10th, I have an appointment at Hopkins. My doctor thinks it's a good idea to go there for a second opinion on exactly what we should be doing for the next round of treatment. The treatments for APL are changing all the time, so it's a good idea to see what is happening now. Other than that, its fairly booring stuff around the Viener household. It's really nice that way knowing that you will start over with treatments in a few weeks.

Aug 27, 2001
Evening Information (6:00pm):
Again I have been lax in my update duties, I guess this must mean I am busy and feeling good. We had a good weekend, our friends from York, Tony & Lisa, came to visit and we fun. Everyone in the Viener house (except me) has been coming down with colds, so I have been carefull not to share drinks, etc... We are hoping that we can all start feeling better soon. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. It has been a while since I have been to the dentist. Before all this APL started, I had some pain in my tooth, the doctor suggested I have it checked out before my next round. We had a good family outing to the Giant today, we had a full cart of food, I think the amount of food you buy is proportinial the number of family members you bring on the trip. :-)

Aug 25, 2001
Morning Information (10:00am):
Sorry about the lack of update yesterday, it was a good lazy day, we had a to go out to a pharmacy last night to get some pills for me, so mom, dad, sara, the kids and I went out to dinner. It was a rather late evening but it was fun. Addison meet some new friends throwing peanuts at the geese at the restaurant. Fun evening. :-)

Aug 23, 2001
Evening Information (7:00pm):
Today was a better day. We got up early and went to the Hospital to have my pick line looked at. At 9am they put in some special liquid called TPA, and then at 1pm we went back and everything was working ok. Sara and I went out to lunch, and then we came back and I took a nap. It's been a good day. With the lack of hair, I am starting to notice how many mirrors we have in this house. :-)

Aug 22, 2001
Evening Information (5:30pm):
Sorry for the late update today. Had a somewhat depressing day today. First we went to get my hair shaved. I now have a very short crew cut. After that Sara and I had a very nice lunch outting at the Reston town center where we ate outside at Clydes. Finally we went to the doctor's office where we discussed next steps and learned that the next two rounds of consolidation chemo are going to include hospital stays between 4-5 weeks, just like the initial induction round of chemo. We are not sure exactly when the next round will begin, he wants to send me to Hopkins to get a second opinion on exactly which form of chemo to use in the next round. I will probably have my bone marrow biopsy at Hopkins. Tomorrow I will go back to the hospital so they can have a look at my Pick line because today at the Doctor's it wasn't allowing them to draw blood through it. Fun, Fun, Fun...

On the home front, poor Addison hasn't been feeling so well. He has been running a fever. My mother and father came in yesterday to give us a hand with the kids. I am being carefull not to catch whatever Addison has, the Doctor said as long as we are careful, it shouldn't be a problem. Sounds rather bad, but on a whole, it is SO much better than being in the Hospital.

Aug 21, 2001
Morning Information (10:30am):
Had a visit from a visting nurse this morning to change the dressing on my Pick line. Tomorrow I have an appointment to see the doctor to get an update and figure out what the next steps are. I am not sure if they do the bone marrow biopsy tomorrow or not.

Aug 20, 2001
Morning Information (10:30pm):
A lot of the same today. My hair is going quick, so I will probably get a crew cut with Addison sometime in the next few days.

Aug 19, 2001
Morning Information (12:00pm):
Sorry, nothing new to report today. Just hanging out at home.

Aug 18, 2001
Morning Information (10:00am):
Not much new to report. Taking walks and building up my energy.

Aug 17, 2001
Morning Information (9:00am):
My first full day at home was great. We had a visit from a visiting nurse who showed Sara how to flush my "pick line" that is an IV type thing in my right arm that will be used for drawing blood and giving me chemo in the future. They are also going to come twice a week to change the dressing on the line. My energy level is getting better each day, but it is still so amazing how quickly I get tired. I am still losing my hair, I should be bald soon. I see the doctor next wednesday, and then should have a better idea of exactly what the schedule is for next steps.

Aug 16, 2001
Morning Information (9:00am):
I came home from the hospital yesterday morning. It is great being home with the family. It is amazing how quickly your energy goes when your trying to play with a 4 year old. (or 4 and 3/4 as Addision likes to say). Today is my second day at home, and it's just good to be here and not in the hospital.

Aug 15, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 3.1
HCT - 29.6
PLT - 386
Morning Information (9:00am):
Good news, we are out of here. Will be going home sometime this morning. I am looking forward to waking up to the pounce of two little boys instead of the knock on the door from the nurse wanting to draw blood at 5:30am. The next step is approx. 2 weeks at home, then I will go back for consolodation chemo.

Aug 14, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 2.3
HCT - 29.2
PLT - 333
Morning Information (8:30am):
Looks like check out time is almost here. Dr. Cuevo says he thinks we will be able to go home tomorrow. His only concern at this point is a figure that has gone up in the kidney test. We are going to do an ultrasound on my kidneys today to make sure that there are no problems. Assuming that comes out ok, we should be all set to go. Having been here for over a month, we have accumulated a lot of stuff, so we are going to be working on packing up today.

Aug 13, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1.5
HCT - 28.7
PLT - 323
Afternoon Information (1:00pm):
Good day so far, I have been unhooked from the IV for most of the day, and was actually allowed to leave the floor. I got my first breath of fresh air (through my mask) today and Sara took me on a mini tour of the hospital. I am looking forward to going home!

Morning Information (8:15am):
Everything looks good, counts are coming up well, and the doctor things I should be able to go home any day now. We are going to start removing some of the anti-biotics and IV fluids to see what happens. Next step is to keep active and hope the counts keep coming up so I can go home. :-)

Aug 12, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .9
HCT - 28.4
PLT - 264
Afternoon Information (12:00pm):
Whoops, had a typo in the Platletts number, should read 264 instead of 64, sorry. :-)

Morning Information (10:00am):
Sorry for the late report this morning, the doctor came in late today, guess he likes to sleep in on Sunday. Everything looks good, the counts are starting to come up and the doctor is very pleased. Last night I had a reaction to one of the anti-biotics, and the doctor has decided to discontinue that one today as long as the fevers don't come back.

I feel good today, had a lot of visitors yesterday, the weekends are always really busy. I had a great visit with the kids, it is amazing how much Riley has changed in the month that I have been in the hospital.

Aug 11, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .7
HCT - 28
PLT - 270
Morning Information (9:15am):
The white counts have started to creep up, the doctor thinks that the cells that are being created are going to fight whatever infection might be there and that we should start seeing larger jumps shortly. The drop in red cells (HCT) is strange, the doctor doesn't believe the number and thinks that there might have been some dilution with the IV solution they are giving me. Obviously everyone is happy with the platlets jump.

I feel good, fevers have been gone, and my headache comes and goes, but is not too bad. I did 14 laps yesterday and am looking forward to a good day with a bunch of visitors. I am especially looking forward to seeing the kids today. :-)

Aug 10, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .5
HCT - 35.2
PLT - 127
Evening Information (9:15pm):
Had a great day today, I walked 14 laps, ate a lot of protein, didn't have headaches or fevers. Yeah! :-) Now all we need are some white blood cells.

Morning Information (8:45am):
The Doctor is pleased with the continued climb in the platlets, he is happy that the HCT score went up with the yesterday's transfusion. He feels the jump is higher than it has been in the past which may be a sign that the possible infection is getting under control. He thinks that the white blood count is probably going to be the last to come up, but still is not concerned by the numbers. I don't think that coming home by the end of the weekend if very realistic. We pushed the doctor on the 'what if the white count doesn't come up question" and he said that if they didn't come up by the end of next week, we would need to do another bone marrow biopsy.

I got a good night sleep, and other than my continued headaches I am feeling stronger and have more energy. I am going to try to be active today and get my body working so I can get out of here.

Aug 9, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .5
HCT - 23
PLT - 92
Morning Information (9:30am):
The Doctor is pleased with the continued climb in the platlets, he was hoping the red blood cells would come up was well. He has decided to give me two units or red blood today. The he not sure about the continued fevers, he says it could be any one of the following: White cells are starting to come back, normal reaction to the anti-boitics, or possible infection. I am on a broad range of anti-biotics to protect againts the infections.

As far as how I am feeling, today my body feels weak and I am tired. The last few days have been fairly slow and I am trying to push myself to stay up more today than the past few.

Aug 8, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .5
HCT - 27
PLT - 62
Evening Information (5:45pm):
Slow day today with continued fevers and headaches. Spent most of the day in bed resting, and around 5pm, got some energy and break in the hadaches and fevers, got up took a walk, and updated the website. I am hoping for a calm and relaxing evening. Morning Information (9:30am):
The Red Blood Cells and Platlets have started coming up on there own, this is very good news. The Doctor thinks that the white blood cells may be fighting an infection and that they should start coming up as well any time now. He thinks I may be able to come home from the hospital by the end of the weekend.

The headscan came out negative, I have a brain but there is no bleeding or other noticable problems. I feel pretty good this morning, I still am getting the headaches, and the doctor feels it is part of the effects of chemo and the anti-biotics. He thinks that my afternoon and evening fevers should start going away as well.

Aug 7, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .6
HCT - 25
PLT - 41
Morning Information (9:45am):
Headaches continue this morning, Dr. Cuevo had not had the chance to review last night's MRI but will do so this morning and let us know if there is anything there. Dr. Cuevo said that the fevers are often a sign of the blood counts about to start coming up. My fevers continued off and on through out the night and are gone this morning. They are going to switch around some of the anti-biotics and start a broader based anti-biotic which may have some side effects, we will have to wait and see. The Doctor was encouraged that the platelets levels held their own yesterday. Overall I feel fairly well this morning other than for the headache. I am expecting a fairly booring day. No news on when I will be able to go home yet, it really depends on when the counts start coming up.

Aug 6, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .7
HCT - 25.7
PLT - 42
Evening Information (8pm):
My afternoon fevers continue to return. This afternoon my temp was 102.9, I think that is the highest it has been. I have also been having continued headaches, and tonight I had another MRI to make sure there isn't a problem. The last MRI they did a few weeks ago was negative. The fevers break, and the dugs heal the headache and then I feel ok again. I am hanging in there and the doctors have always said that the fevers are to be expected. I guess it's all part of the Chemo process.

On a good note, I walked 9 laps today! :-)

Morning Information (8am):
I meet with Dr. Cuevo this morning and told him I am feeling good. He was happy with my progress and has decided to lower the amout of liquids they are giving me via the IV. My platlets took a big jump from the infusion yesterday. Platlets help to make sure that your blood clots. I am feeling good this morning, and expect a slow day at the hospital.

Aug 5, 2001, 8pm
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .6
HCT - 27.7
PLT - 18
Information:
I had a good day today, I completed 8 laps and am feeling strong. Dr. Felice said that everything is looking well and doing better than most benchmarks. He expects that the blood counts should be coming up by later next week. Typically the blood counts start coming up at 18-28 days after the Chemo started. I received a unit of platelets today which they typically give when the platelets number drops below 20.

Aug 4, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .6
HCT - 28.8
PLT - 27


Aug 3, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .6
HCT - 26
PLT - 26


Aug 2, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .7
HCT - 26.1
PLT - 14


Aug 1, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .7
HCT - 23.8
PLT - 20


July 31, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .6
HCT - 27
PLT - 30


July 30, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .6
HCT - 28.8
PLT - 27


July 29, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - .7
HCT - 23.4
PLT - 17


July 28, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1.3
HCT - 31.6
PLT - 34


July 27, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1.3
HCT - 33
PLT - 41


July 26, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1.4
HCT - 36
PLT - 21


July 25, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 0.9
HCT - 37
PLT - 34


July 24, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 0.8
HCT - 36.3
PLT - 41


July 23, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1.2
HCT - 35
PLT - 42


July 22, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 2.3
HCT - 36
PLT - 52


July 21, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 3.4
HCT - 36
PLT - 58


July 20, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 4
HCT - 35
PLT - 55


July 19, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 22
HCT - 31
PLT - 44


July 18, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1.4
HCT - 26
PLT - 59


July 14, 2001
Today's Blood Counts:
WBC - 1.2
HCT - 25.4
PLT - 17


July 13, 2001
Diagnosis