Mon, Apr 30 ... hi all!

I managed to pry the keyboard from Chris :)
I wanted to thank you all for your amazing support. I have been overwhelmed by the wonderful messages and positive thoughts. I hope you all know how much it means to me. I feel soooo lucky to have you all in my life.
My new {unpaid} job - a daily trip to Stanford's infusion treatment center - is going well so far. I've been feeling really well, and we've been watching my white blood cells growing like the little champions they are. (go guys!)
We're meeting with my doctor this week to figure out chemo phase 2. Perhaps they'll figure out how to cram 4 months of treatment into, say, a weekend. :)
fun: one of my drugs wipes out my potassium, so Chris has been making me banana milkshake concoctions!
love to you all...
hill

Sat Apr 28th - guess who's home....

Yes - Hillary was discharged today - about 4:30 pm to be exact. I asked her what she wanted me to make for her first homemade meal in over 3 weeks and she said Thai - so we got take out....she wouldn't have wanted me to try to learn cooking Thai at this point. Stevie and Carey and the two boys drove back to So. Cal today as well, and Margie flew home also which was good timing by all. Starting tomorrow (and every day for next 3 weeks or so) Hillary will be back at the Hospital for six hours a day to get a drug infusion. Hopefully by the end of the next week we'll have a better idea about the next round of chemo treatment - the good news is this will also be as an outpatient. Enjoy some belated photos...


Margie, Hillary and Brett


Hillary, Stevie and the boys


party time with Carey, Stevie, and the boys

Fri Apr 27

Another good day today here at Stanford - the Dr's still think Hillary should be able to go home this weekend, I guess after they see her white blood count tomorrow they'll decide ( I think her white blood count was 1.8 today. Hillary had fun with her nephews today - she even dragged her IV stand out to a grassy area to enjoy the nice warm weather - the nurses probably thought she was going to make a break for it......but no, she returned to her room. I think they enticed here with tater tots and Ensure. Margie brought in some pizza so we all had pizza and ice cream for dinner - not a bad Friday night. I'm staying here tonight, so we'll probably either watch a movie or see what's on the tube.

Thur Apr 26th

It will be a short post tonight as there isn't too much new to report. Hillary felt good again today, ate all of her meals and even two Cliff bars as snacks, which is great to see. She had another good day with her two nephews (and sister and mom of course), and had her longest walk outside (with her pink mask and pink robe of course). The Dr's think there's a good chance that she might be able to go home this weekend. Her white blood cell count was 1.2, so as soon as it's closer to the 6-10 range, she should be able to go home. I'm not sure what the exact number they are looking for is, but hopefully she'll be home this weekend.

Wed, April 25th

Three weeks ago tonight was when Hillary and I went to the hospital due to her abnormally high white blood cell count. As I'm trying to balance a little work with the hospital time, I have to admit, I know a little less of the day to day happenings here at the hospital. I'm staying here tonight, and from what I heard from Stevie, Margie and Hillary, it was another good day as Hillary is eating more and getting in plenty of walks, she even got outside again today.
It sounds like Hillary should be able to go home in the next week, maybe even by this weekend - it all depends on when her white blood count gets back to a normal level. I think a normal level is when the white blood count reaches between 6-10, which really means 6,000 to 10,000. The days after the chemo when they wiped out her white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets, her white blood count was around 0.1, and stayed there for quite a few days. Just in the past few days it has gone from 0.1 to 0.2 to 0.6 to 0.8 today. I guess they expect it will continue to increase until it gets closer to the normal 6-10.
Overall Hillary had a great time with her two nephews today and hopefully tomorrow her white blood cell count will get over 1.0. I think the over/under is 1.1....

Tue, Apr 24

Today Hillary was back to her 4 walks again, and even managed to make it outside on two of them for a bit with Margie to enjoy the beautiful weather - her first time getting fresh air in almost 3 weeks. She also continues to eat a little more each day - I think she ate most of her breakfast of cream of wheat and a pancake, all of her lunch and all of her dinner (I think it was another make-it-yourself egg salad sandwich). She felt good all day, which always helps. The day ended with a surprise visit by her sister Stevie and family - Carey and the two boys, Charlie and Tommy. Hillary was expecting Stevie to fly up Wed am by herself, but the four of them drove up from So. Cal today and surprised her this evening - she was completely surprised and is excited to spend some time with them the next few days.

Mon, Apr 23

Hillary wanted to send out birthday wishes to a bunch of people (she's sitting next to me dictating to me :) Happy "our" birthday to Jess Lewis, Happy birthday to Jess Powers, Happy almost birthdays to Paige Wagner, Amy LaRue, Shannon McHugh, and Kendal Reis! She had another good day - she even walked up and down the stairs.....not attached to her IV stand of course. Dr's say she is right on schedule. We're off to hit the sack