Greetings from afar!
Well, here we are. In the hospital. Could you have guessed? :)
We got some good news yesterday - Kurtis' white blood cell count went from 900 (or .9) to 3,000! This has really helped him feel better and he is acting more like his "normal" self. Yesterday was the first day in awhile that he didn't crash and take a nap for several hours in the afternoon. This doesn't mean he isn't tired, but it means that things are a little bit easier for now. Due to the rapid increase of white cells, Kurtis has been taken off of his IV antibiotics and has been reduced to one bag of fluid at the clinic today! Even better...he doesn't have to come tomorrow which means that we get a day off! Woohoo!
Kurtis' hair has started to fall out again which is a bummer. Yesterday he decided it would be good if we cut it so I went to Target and got a clipper and a shower curtain and shaved his head down to 1/4''. It feels better for him and there won't be quite so much hair everywhere as it falls out. Thankfully, he wanted it all cut the same length ... because I have no business cutting hair - haha.
The IU Medical Center goes basically comatose over the weekend, and it seems quite bizarre. There are no people wandering around, all the food places in the hospital besides the limited cafeteria are closed, there is no one being picked up or dropped off, I magically can park in a really close to the door spot in the garage and the infusion clinic is exceedingly empty. This morning we discussed how strange it is that a big hospital in a big city shuts down so much over the weekend.
Chuancey is doing well at Camp Bow Wow and the people who work there are very nice. They keep a blog about the dogs who go there (mostly just uploaded pictures). This week, Chauncey is featured in several pictures that really bring out the hilarity of who he is. Check out Chaunce here! If you go back a few pages you can find more pictures of him as well as an adorable foster dog named Penny who they sponsor (she gets to live there until she finds a home!).
So, our life out here is moving along. We're adjusting to living in a box, but missing Fort Collins. I'm learning to use our toaster oven so well that I'll probably never use a normal oven again! We've got one pot and one pan which makes creating food a bit challenging at times. However, it is no different than home as I've made lasagna and a breaded chicken in the past few days (by the way, if you like making bread crumbs/cracker crumbs and then putting it on chicken - "munchables" which are made by Ritz are great! They are half cracker and half pretzel and work really well - there you go - your food advice today).
And now [drumroll] the positive thing about Indianapolis for today....
4. Drivers out here make it so I'll be much less likely to have road rage at home. If I can put up with what is going on here, I can put up with anything! I've almost been hit by a bus, two semis, as well as an old lady with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. All in the past week...yay. Yesterday, I also watched a woman go halfway through a red light, stop, put her hazards on, wait, put her car in reverse as the light was turning yellow on the other side, reverse, put the car in drive, and zoom off...
wow.
Anyway - that's all I have to report for now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend :)
Liz
PS - The nurse just came in and his white cell count is now at 9,000 (9)! Hooray!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
thoughts from room six
Hello and good morning!
Today, Kurtis and I are back at the hospital (yes, still as outpatient) and we're hanging out watching Sportscenter and Throwdown while Kurtis gets his fluids for the day.
Yesterday, Kurtis' mom headed home and is now safely back in Colorado. It was difficult for her to leave, I think, but I'm sure it feels good to be home with the rest of Kurtis' family. In the morning, Kurtis and I came to the hospital and did what we're doing right now...spending endless hours in a small room at the hospital watching mindless TV that either makes us want to go to the ball game, fix up our house, or cook food - none of which we can do at the moment...haha. We found out yesterday that his white cell count has gone up which is great! They've told us that when the white cell count starts to go up that it tends to go up quickly. As his cells normalize, he'll start to feel better. Hooray!
Some of you, I'm sure, have been wondering what happens now, so here is an outline of the basic schedule:
-Finish up fluids tomorrow (hopefully)
-Take a "break" so that Kurtis and his body can recover a bit from what's been happening
-Begin chemo round II (currently looking toward the 17 or 22)
-Get stem cells
-Do what we've been doing
-GO HOME!! :)
So, Kurtis is about halfway through this whole process which is fantastical. We're both starting to really get homesick at times and it is hard to know that we've got another chunk of time out here before we can go home. However, last night we were able to hang out at "home" with the pup and finally felt a little bit normal and at home which was very, very nice. Not that we did anything interesting, but it was quite enjoyable for all three of us. We were also able to watch part of Mavs/Heat game. Neither of us like Dallas, but we're really not interested in having captain "the decision" and his silly little friends win the championship which left us rooting for the Mavs. A week ago, neither of us could stand Dirk Nowitzki, but now we find ourselves not only cheering for the Mavs, but actually unable to hate Dirk. This morning I realized that in the past year of championships we've cheered for the Rangers in the World Series and now the Mavs - - - I feel like we're cheering for Texas teams a little too often here...
So, now to your favorite part of the blog...the "what the hell did Liz find to be positive about in Indiana?" section. Here are the most recent uplifter!
3. The lightning bug count is at one. I am officially a lot happier and content with life after spotting the neon-green blinking behind of a lighting bug. Apparently, you have to be talking to a friend back home while sitting at an awkward table at around 12:15 and one will go buzzing by! At least now we know that there is, indeed, at least one lighting bug in the Hoosier state.
Well, I think that's it for now - not a whole lot of interesting news to report! Thank you to those of you who have sent cards/packages! They really brighten up our day :)
Sending love!
Liz
Today, Kurtis and I are back at the hospital (yes, still as outpatient) and we're hanging out watching Sportscenter and Throwdown while Kurtis gets his fluids for the day.
Yesterday, Kurtis' mom headed home and is now safely back in Colorado. It was difficult for her to leave, I think, but I'm sure it feels good to be home with the rest of Kurtis' family. In the morning, Kurtis and I came to the hospital and did what we're doing right now...spending endless hours in a small room at the hospital watching mindless TV that either makes us want to go to the ball game, fix up our house, or cook food - none of which we can do at the moment...haha. We found out yesterday that his white cell count has gone up which is great! They've told us that when the white cell count starts to go up that it tends to go up quickly. As his cells normalize, he'll start to feel better. Hooray!
Some of you, I'm sure, have been wondering what happens now, so here is an outline of the basic schedule:
-Finish up fluids tomorrow (hopefully)
-Take a "break" so that Kurtis and his body can recover a bit from what's been happening
-Begin chemo round II (currently looking toward the 17 or 22)
-Get stem cells
-Do what we've been doing
-GO HOME!! :)
So, Kurtis is about halfway through this whole process which is fantastical. We're both starting to really get homesick at times and it is hard to know that we've got another chunk of time out here before we can go home. However, last night we were able to hang out at "home" with the pup and finally felt a little bit normal and at home which was very, very nice. Not that we did anything interesting, but it was quite enjoyable for all three of us. We were also able to watch part of Mavs/Heat game. Neither of us like Dallas, but we're really not interested in having captain "the decision" and his silly little friends win the championship which left us rooting for the Mavs. A week ago, neither of us could stand Dirk Nowitzki, but now we find ourselves not only cheering for the Mavs, but actually unable to hate Dirk. This morning I realized that in the past year of championships we've cheered for the Rangers in the World Series and now the Mavs - - - I feel like we're cheering for Texas teams a little too often here...
So, now to your favorite part of the blog...the "what the hell did Liz find to be positive about in Indiana?" section. Here are the most recent uplifter!
3. The lightning bug count is at one. I am officially a lot happier and content with life after spotting the neon-green blinking behind of a lighting bug. Apparently, you have to be talking to a friend back home while sitting at an awkward table at around 12:15 and one will go buzzing by! At least now we know that there is, indeed, at least one lighting bug in the Hoosier state.
Well, I think that's it for now - not a whole lot of interesting news to report! Thank you to those of you who have sent cards/packages! They really brighten up our day :)
Sending love!
Liz
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
We live inside "people of walmart"...
Hello and warm (or hot and steaming) greetings from your favorite place to read about and not to visit!
I realized today while talking to one of my friends back home that I feel like I am living inside the website called people of walmart. Never seen it? Love it? Well...hope your schedule is clear for the remainder of the day as I know the website is strangely addicting. Visit the Indiana page of people of walmart...and get a serious look into our current daily life.
Well, it's still hot and humid...and there are still questionable things happening all the time. Today, on my way to the hospital, I was almost run into by the bus that runs around the IUPUI campus. Amusing and ironic part? IUPUI's "slogan" is IMPACT. Ha.
Kurtis has been sprung from the confines of his really nice hospital room. Fortunately, he is doing well enough that he doesn't need to remain in the hospital which is great. Even though he was able to escape, throughout the day, he had to get his fluids and other things before he could leave. I know that is makes a big difference for him when he finally gets disconnected from the "tree" that holds all of his IV bags.
While Kurtis was finishing up all of his treatments, I went to Target and gathered up some good food for us as our "apartment" (that's what we've been calling it...makes it seem like we're not living in a mini hotel box that happened to have a sink and some kind of stove) was pretty barren. I also changed Kurtis' sheets and cleaned the half inch of counter space that we currently have. We finally have staples like flour, sugar, etc. and I almost feel like a real person again. Tonight I made "white" lasagna and that was fun for me.
Kurtis is now resting. Although he is getting farther out from his treatments, he is still completely worn out almost constantly. On the way home today, we stopped to pick up Chauncey and the dog pretty much lost his mind when he saw Kurtis. Chaunce didn't seem to mind (or notice) that Kurtis was wearing his mask so he doesn't get sick which was good.
Tomorrow, Kurtis and I will head back to the hospital, but this time as an outpatient! He'll get his stuff tomorrow, and then we'll be able to come back home which will be great. Kurtis' mom will be leaving in about twelve hours from when I'm writing this. Unfortunately, she has a really early flight so she's going to have to get up really early in order to catch the shuttle to get over to the airport on time. It's not overly terrible though as she'll face no security lines and be back in Colorado (with the dry air!!) really early which will be nice I'm sure.
Chauncey wants to tell everyone that he loves camp bow wow. Thanks to some of your donations, we're able to take him every day and it really makes a difference in his life. As I was telling my mom today, it completely wears him out and I'm so glad he is here with us instead of with someone else all summer. Today he tried to pretend that he was going to play, and he was practically falling asleep on his toys, which was funny. :)
In attempt to make Indiana a little bit more bearable, I am going to find at least one positive thing about Indy per day. I figure:
A) It may actually make me a little (even if microscopically) less cynical about Hoosier land. Wow, Hoosier land sounds like a theme park that went terribly, terribly, TERRIBLY wrong.
B) Seeing as there are so few positives, it will give me something to do.
So, here are the current "positives"
1. One of the newscasters on channel 6 is named "Myrt". This amuses me daily and makes me laugh no matter what I am doing. Want to see Myrt? Simply click HERE! Yay Myrt.
2. There are lots of trees here that we do not have at home and that is interesting for a little bit. Unfortunately, it can't be really interesting because any time I venture outside to visit the trees and use the new handy app on the ipad to identify and catalog them...I am reminded within fifteen seconds that the hot humid air is practically murderous and that I should return inside as quickly as possible in order to avoid further peril.
Well,
I guess that's the episode for the day folks! Thanks for stopping by... :)
Love,
Liz
I realized today while talking to one of my friends back home that I feel like I am living inside the website called people of walmart. Never seen it? Love it? Well...hope your schedule is clear for the remainder of the day as I know the website is strangely addicting. Visit the Indiana page of people of walmart...and get a serious look into our current daily life.
Well, it's still hot and humid...and there are still questionable things happening all the time. Today, on my way to the hospital, I was almost run into by the bus that runs around the IUPUI campus. Amusing and ironic part? IUPUI's "slogan" is IMPACT. Ha.
Kurtis has been sprung from the confines of his really nice hospital room. Fortunately, he is doing well enough that he doesn't need to remain in the hospital which is great. Even though he was able to escape, throughout the day, he had to get his fluids and other things before he could leave. I know that is makes a big difference for him when he finally gets disconnected from the "tree" that holds all of his IV bags.
While Kurtis was finishing up all of his treatments, I went to Target and gathered up some good food for us as our "apartment" (that's what we've been calling it...makes it seem like we're not living in a mini hotel box that happened to have a sink and some kind of stove) was pretty barren. I also changed Kurtis' sheets and cleaned the half inch of counter space that we currently have. We finally have staples like flour, sugar, etc. and I almost feel like a real person again. Tonight I made "white" lasagna and that was fun for me.
Kurtis is now resting. Although he is getting farther out from his treatments, he is still completely worn out almost constantly. On the way home today, we stopped to pick up Chauncey and the dog pretty much lost his mind when he saw Kurtis. Chaunce didn't seem to mind (or notice) that Kurtis was wearing his mask so he doesn't get sick which was good.
Tomorrow, Kurtis and I will head back to the hospital, but this time as an outpatient! He'll get his stuff tomorrow, and then we'll be able to come back home which will be great. Kurtis' mom will be leaving in about twelve hours from when I'm writing this. Unfortunately, she has a really early flight so she's going to have to get up really early in order to catch the shuttle to get over to the airport on time. It's not overly terrible though as she'll face no security lines and be back in Colorado (with the dry air!!) really early which will be nice I'm sure.
Chauncey wants to tell everyone that he loves camp bow wow. Thanks to some of your donations, we're able to take him every day and it really makes a difference in his life. As I was telling my mom today, it completely wears him out and I'm so glad he is here with us instead of with someone else all summer. Today he tried to pretend that he was going to play, and he was practically falling asleep on his toys, which was funny. :)
In attempt to make Indiana a little bit more bearable, I am going to find at least one positive thing about Indy per day. I figure:
A) It may actually make me a little (even if microscopically) less cynical about Hoosier land. Wow, Hoosier land sounds like a theme park that went terribly, terribly, TERRIBLY wrong.
B) Seeing as there are so few positives, it will give me something to do.
So, here are the current "positives"
1. One of the newscasters on channel 6 is named "Myrt". This amuses me daily and makes me laugh no matter what I am doing. Want to see Myrt? Simply click HERE! Yay Myrt.
2. There are lots of trees here that we do not have at home and that is interesting for a little bit. Unfortunately, it can't be really interesting because any time I venture outside to visit the trees and use the new handy app on the ipad to identify and catalog them...I am reminded within fifteen seconds that the hot humid air is practically murderous and that I should return inside as quickly as possible in order to avoid further peril.
Well,
I guess that's the episode for the day folks! Thanks for stopping by... :)
Love,
Liz
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
update from white-skied pasty land
Good Evening -
It is hot here.
I don't think I've ever fully had an appreciation of what "hot" meant until this week. I'm not sure that everyone reading this has had this opportunity either, so I feel it necessary to describe the experience of "hot". I've been struggling to come up with the right handful of syllables to accurately portray what it feels like, and today while walking up Michigan, I had an epiphany! Living in Indiana in the summer is like baking something that has a fair amount of liquid in it and being so excited to see if it turned out that you get your face too close to the steam. Your initial reaction should be to rip your head backwards and cough while thinking (in your mind) something along the lines of "wow, that was dumb." However, when you go outside here there is no ripping your head backwards because it is completely and utterly surrounding. AND, if you spend more than half a microsecond outside you have sweat dripping from places that you didn't know sweat could even come out of.
The lightning bug count is still at zero.
So, Kurtis is still in the hospital.
He's doing well though, so it isn't a negative thing. He is mostly fighting low blood counts and fluid loss/retention, so he isn't stuck in there for anything major. I keep thinking that he's going to get sprung the "next day" so I'm not going to say anything about it now, and I've pretty much decided that I have no idea when he'll be able to escape. Not that he wants to escape into the death heat...
His spirits are high and his blood counts continue to rise which is all positive. Tonight his mom is staying with him again as she's running out of time here with us before she goes home to Colorado. Tomorrow I'll head back to the hospital and hang out for the day while good old Chauncey goes to get his little self worn out at camp bow wow.
That's all for now :)
Liz
It is hot here.
I don't think I've ever fully had an appreciation of what "hot" meant until this week. I'm not sure that everyone reading this has had this opportunity either, so I feel it necessary to describe the experience of "hot". I've been struggling to come up with the right handful of syllables to accurately portray what it feels like, and today while walking up Michigan, I had an epiphany! Living in Indiana in the summer is like baking something that has a fair amount of liquid in it and being so excited to see if it turned out that you get your face too close to the steam. Your initial reaction should be to rip your head backwards and cough while thinking (in your mind) something along the lines of "wow, that was dumb." However, when you go outside here there is no ripping your head backwards because it is completely and utterly surrounding. AND, if you spend more than half a microsecond outside you have sweat dripping from places that you didn't know sweat could even come out of.
The lightning bug count is still at zero.
So, Kurtis is still in the hospital.
He's doing well though, so it isn't a negative thing. He is mostly fighting low blood counts and fluid loss/retention, so he isn't stuck in there for anything major. I keep thinking that he's going to get sprung the "next day" so I'm not going to say anything about it now, and I've pretty much decided that I have no idea when he'll be able to escape. Not that he wants to escape into the death heat...
His spirits are high and his blood counts continue to rise which is all positive. Tonight his mom is staying with him again as she's running out of time here with us before she goes home to Colorado. Tomorrow I'll head back to the hospital and hang out for the day while good old Chauncey goes to get his little self worn out at camp bow wow.
That's all for now :)
Liz
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monday Morning Update
Good Morning and Hello!
Weekdays are far busier in Indianapolis than weekends which is quite odd. Yesterday, I went wandering around downtown for a few hours attempting to discover something worthy of being excited about only to come up completely empty handed. What's more, no one was really out in the city on a weekend which seemed really odd. I really love cities - all the people, the busy hum of cars, chatter flowing out from outside lunch spots, cracked sidewalk, construction, and the sun reflecting off of a skyline. That being said, I am endlessly completely underwhelmed by Indianapolis. It seems to be lacking the city "vibe" that I love so much. I'm sure there is a pocket of it somewhere, even if it is half a coffee shop. There's got to be a little bit of Lodo or Old Town here somewhere...right? ...maybe not...
Anyway...I guess I'll spend some time talking about what Kurtis is up to because I'm sure that is why you're actually reading my word strings right now...not to find out about my failed attempt at finding the "Lodo" in Indy (and, for those who want to know, I still have yet to see a lightning bug...lame).
Kurtis is doing really well today. His mouth pain has greatly diminished and he actually ate breakfast today at breakfast time which is a first in the last few days. He's had a few helpings of Lucky Charms the past few days, but today he had pancakes and sausage. Although his mouth and throat don't hurt as much, he is still dealing with some severe stuff called "mucositis". This means that he's got thick stuff in his mouth all the time, and that makes it difficult to eat.
Yesterday was a good day for the most part - Kurtis rested and got his fluids and we found out that his counts are doing what is expected which is always nice to hear. After spending the day at the hospital, I went "home" to hang out with Chauncey who had spent the day at his new favorite place...camp bow wow. A few days ago I posted a link to see him on camera, but I found out that it didn't work, so I'm trying again. Check out Chauncey! He generally seems to be on camera 3 and camera 6, although he's shown up on some of the others as well. You can easily find him by his tail :)
This morning the nurse practitioner who we've seen up in the transplant unit came in to check on Kurtis. His numbers are good and she is pleased with how he is doing right now. His platelets are low so he just got a bag of platelets. It's always weird to me when they give him platelets because they're yellow, not red. I took a picture of them that should show up on our Flickr photostream for those of you who have never seen platelets! They go in pretty quickly and seem to help him, so that's good. We also found out that his cells have started to turn into what he needs and his white blood cell count has gone from 0.3 (Saturday and Sunday) to 0.4 (today). As his stem cells figure out what they're doing, this number should only go up and up!
Even though all of that is great news, the best news of the day is that Kurtis' HCG has dropped again! Before this round of chemo, his HGC had risen to 9,000 and last week, we were celebrating a drop to 6,000. So, today when his results came in, Kurtis and I were hoping for another 3,000 point drop which would put us at 3,000 - a dramatic improvement. Kurtis' body didn't feel like making a 3,000 point drop though...it thought at 5,000 point drop would be better! So, his overall HCG is now at 1,000 and we are very excited. When we get news like this, that the chemo is working and killing his tumor it is a burst of wind in kinda droopy sails. So, wherever you are today - raise a glass of milk, a lacrosse stick, a garden shovel, a chipotle burrito, a cupcake, a Sunshine Wheat, or whatever else you might have handy and celebrate!
Hope everyone is doing well... today's forecast is 89* and about 65% humidity ...woo. Oh how we miss the Colorado dry air and sunshine!
Sending love -
Liz
Weekdays are far busier in Indianapolis than weekends which is quite odd. Yesterday, I went wandering around downtown for a few hours attempting to discover something worthy of being excited about only to come up completely empty handed. What's more, no one was really out in the city on a weekend which seemed really odd. I really love cities - all the people, the busy hum of cars, chatter flowing out from outside lunch spots, cracked sidewalk, construction, and the sun reflecting off of a skyline. That being said, I am endlessly completely underwhelmed by Indianapolis. It seems to be lacking the city "vibe" that I love so much. I'm sure there is a pocket of it somewhere, even if it is half a coffee shop. There's got to be a little bit of Lodo or Old Town here somewhere...right? ...maybe not...
Anyway...I guess I'll spend some time talking about what Kurtis is up to because I'm sure that is why you're actually reading my word strings right now...not to find out about my failed attempt at finding the "Lodo" in Indy (and, for those who want to know, I still have yet to see a lightning bug...lame).
Kurtis is doing really well today. His mouth pain has greatly diminished and he actually ate breakfast today at breakfast time which is a first in the last few days. He's had a few helpings of Lucky Charms the past few days, but today he had pancakes and sausage. Although his mouth and throat don't hurt as much, he is still dealing with some severe stuff called "mucositis". This means that he's got thick stuff in his mouth all the time, and that makes it difficult to eat.
Yesterday was a good day for the most part - Kurtis rested and got his fluids and we found out that his counts are doing what is expected which is always nice to hear. After spending the day at the hospital, I went "home" to hang out with Chauncey who had spent the day at his new favorite place...camp bow wow. A few days ago I posted a link to see him on camera, but I found out that it didn't work, so I'm trying again. Check out Chauncey! He generally seems to be on camera 3 and camera 6, although he's shown up on some of the others as well. You can easily find him by his tail :)
This morning the nurse practitioner who we've seen up in the transplant unit came in to check on Kurtis. His numbers are good and she is pleased with how he is doing right now. His platelets are low so he just got a bag of platelets. It's always weird to me when they give him platelets because they're yellow, not red. I took a picture of them that should show up on our Flickr photostream for those of you who have never seen platelets! They go in pretty quickly and seem to help him, so that's good. We also found out that his cells have started to turn into what he needs and his white blood cell count has gone from 0.3 (Saturday and Sunday) to 0.4 (today). As his stem cells figure out what they're doing, this number should only go up and up!
Even though all of that is great news, the best news of the day is that Kurtis' HCG has dropped again! Before this round of chemo, his HGC had risen to 9,000 and last week, we were celebrating a drop to 6,000. So, today when his results came in, Kurtis and I were hoping for another 3,000 point drop which would put us at 3,000 - a dramatic improvement. Kurtis' body didn't feel like making a 3,000 point drop though...it thought at 5,000 point drop would be better! So, his overall HCG is now at 1,000 and we are very excited. When we get news like this, that the chemo is working and killing his tumor it is a burst of wind in kinda droopy sails. So, wherever you are today - raise a glass of milk, a lacrosse stick, a garden shovel, a chipotle burrito, a cupcake, a Sunshine Wheat, or whatever else you might have handy and celebrate!
Hope everyone is doing well... today's forecast is 89* and about 65% humidity ...woo. Oh how we miss the Colorado dry air and sunshine!
Sending love -
Liz
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Thunderbooms in the background
Hello :)
Today's update is coming a little bit later as I've gotten in the habit of writing them in the morning, but It might have a little bit more information than it would have before!
As I'm writing tonight, a dark grey storm is rolling in from the (hold on while I check the compass feature on the iphone...) north. Before I was here, there was a nasty storm that Kurtis and his mom had to go through and it included the additional bonus of tornado sirens. I'm watching the clouds roll in like they're racing to first place, and hoping that we are not "lucky" enough to have a bonus this time around.
That aside, today was a good day for Kurtis. He is still in the hospital, but his blood counts are "good" meaning that they are at or above what the doctors want/expect based on his treatment. He got platelets yesterday, and as I expected, it seems like it has made him feel a little bit better. Since his mouth and throat are the biggest reasons for his discomfort and pain, he has a button he can push about every fifteen minutes and it keeps his pain level low. Over the course of the day, he has spent a lot more time talking and moving around the room (sitting on the couch even!) and has shown a few more of his ornery colors throughout the day. I imagine that he'll be getting out of here in the next day or two which is great!
we interrupt this regularly scheduled program to bring you...
THE FOOD SAGA!
Today, Kurtis was feeling good enough that he wanted to eat. So, he looked at his lovely menu and had me call down and order a bowl of cereal (Lucky Charms, to be exact) and then, we waited.
and waited.
AND WAITED.
and then,
we continued...
TO WAIT.
and wait and wait and wait.
and wait.
and wait.
and wait and wait.
At this point, Kurtis said that he wasn't feeling hungry really anymore and was concerned that once his bowl of cereal actually got there that he wouldn't feel good enough to eat it. I then went and talked to the nurse who said that this isn't uncommon and is the biggest complaint from people who stay at IU. We then continued to wait and wait - and at the one hour and twenty minute mark the nurse got mad and got the cereal up here.
WOW.
Other than that, our day has been pretty simple. I've been working on a puzzle in the room, Kurtis has been watching TV and playing with the ipad and his mom has been reading. Chauncey spent the day at camp bow wow (which he loves) and is now back at the hotel hanging out with Kurtis' mom. As I said before, the rooms here are really nice and comfortable and we're happy to be able to spend "hospital" time in such a nice place.
I went to Noodles for lunch today. It is not even half a mile from the hospital, so I decided that I'd walk. This was a mistake. It was about 94* and the humidity was around 45% - which surprised me since I felt like I was basically taking a bath. So, after "finally" making it to Noodles, I headed in and ordered all three mac and cheeses and then waited for them to be packaged up so I could trek back to the hospital. On my way out, a man was sitting at a table eating and drinking a Fat Tire. This intelligent person noticed my Broncos shirt and decided that he needed to tell me that..."the Broncos suck, " which, if we're honest is pretty true right now. However, he was not content to end his insult package there instead continuing with "nothing good comes from Colorado, name one good thing that comes from Colorado." So, I did. I told him that "the food you're eating and the beer you're drinking come from Colorado." He didn't like that and told me that Noodles isn't from Colorado - so I just pointed out the sign that said that Noodles was founded in Boulder...smiled...and headed out on my way.
Haha.
The lightning and thunder are starting to arrive and have brought their friend pouring rain. They're a little bit late to the party - and not exactly welcome...but they're here none the less.
Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and positive energy. It really means a lot :) If you are interested in sending us any mail, shoot me an email (rockieslizard@gmail.com) and I can send you the address!
Lots of Love!
Liz (Kurtis and Chauncey)
Today's update is coming a little bit later as I've gotten in the habit of writing them in the morning, but It might have a little bit more information than it would have before!
As I'm writing tonight, a dark grey storm is rolling in from the (hold on while I check the compass feature on the iphone...) north. Before I was here, there was a nasty storm that Kurtis and his mom had to go through and it included the additional bonus of tornado sirens. I'm watching the clouds roll in like they're racing to first place, and hoping that we are not "lucky" enough to have a bonus this time around.
That aside, today was a good day for Kurtis. He is still in the hospital, but his blood counts are "good" meaning that they are at or above what the doctors want/expect based on his treatment. He got platelets yesterday, and as I expected, it seems like it has made him feel a little bit better. Since his mouth and throat are the biggest reasons for his discomfort and pain, he has a button he can push about every fifteen minutes and it keeps his pain level low. Over the course of the day, he has spent a lot more time talking and moving around the room (sitting on the couch even!) and has shown a few more of his ornery colors throughout the day. I imagine that he'll be getting out of here in the next day or two which is great!
we interrupt this regularly scheduled program to bring you...
THE FOOD SAGA!
Today, Kurtis was feeling good enough that he wanted to eat. So, he looked at his lovely menu and had me call down and order a bowl of cereal (Lucky Charms, to be exact) and then, we waited.
and waited.
AND WAITED.
and then,
we continued...
TO WAIT.
and wait and wait and wait.
and wait.
and wait.
and wait and wait.
At this point, Kurtis said that he wasn't feeling hungry really anymore and was concerned that once his bowl of cereal actually got there that he wouldn't feel good enough to eat it. I then went and talked to the nurse who said that this isn't uncommon and is the biggest complaint from people who stay at IU. We then continued to wait and wait - and at the one hour and twenty minute mark the nurse got mad and got the cereal up here.
WOW.
Other than that, our day has been pretty simple. I've been working on a puzzle in the room, Kurtis has been watching TV and playing with the ipad and his mom has been reading. Chauncey spent the day at camp bow wow (which he loves) and is now back at the hotel hanging out with Kurtis' mom. As I said before, the rooms here are really nice and comfortable and we're happy to be able to spend "hospital" time in such a nice place.
I went to Noodles for lunch today. It is not even half a mile from the hospital, so I decided that I'd walk. This was a mistake. It was about 94* and the humidity was around 45% - which surprised me since I felt like I was basically taking a bath. So, after "finally" making it to Noodles, I headed in and ordered all three mac and cheeses and then waited for them to be packaged up so I could trek back to the hospital. On my way out, a man was sitting at a table eating and drinking a Fat Tire. This intelligent person noticed my Broncos shirt and decided that he needed to tell me that..."the Broncos suck, " which, if we're honest is pretty true right now. However, he was not content to end his insult package there instead continuing with "nothing good comes from Colorado, name one good thing that comes from Colorado." So, I did. I told him that "the food you're eating and the beer you're drinking come from Colorado." He didn't like that and told me that Noodles isn't from Colorado - so I just pointed out the sign that said that Noodles was founded in Boulder...smiled...and headed out on my way.
Haha.
The lightning and thunder are starting to arrive and have brought their friend pouring rain. They're a little bit late to the party - and not exactly welcome...but they're here none the less.
Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and positive energy. It really means a lot :) If you are interested in sending us any mail, shoot me an email (rockieslizard@gmail.com) and I can send you the address!
Lots of Love!
Liz (Kurtis and Chauncey)
Friday, June 3, 2011
hello from the Simon Cancer Center :)
Good Morning -
Today I'm writing you from a beautiful room in the Simon Cancer Center.
As I wrote (and tried to post yesterday) Kurtis is currently checked into the hospital. He just wasn't doing well yesterday and it was important for him to get some rest, have some pain medicine, and be in a place where he could be monitored. After he was done with his fluids, we waited for several hours while another patient was discharged and his room was cleaned. He was then taken from the unit where he goes to get his fluids/stem cells to the Simon Cancer Center.
The SCC is beautiful. It is new and the different floors are all beautiful. There are small things that make the place comforting including amazing pictures of nature (trees, flowers, other plants), a nice "family" center with puzzles and places for people to relax a little, and absolutely outstanding rooms. I've posted some pictures on our flickr feed so that you can see. There are small things here that make a big difference for cancer patients. They have the right kind of shampoo (baby - it is gentle) and a fridge in the room. There is also a tv and dvd player, a couch that turns into a bed, a chair, and electric shades (one is "light filtering" and the other is "blackout") that move up and down and are quite nifty.
Kurtis' mom spent the night with him last night while I went home to take care of the creature. We weren't expecting Kurtis to be checking into the hospital, so I brought Chauncey into the city yesterday and we hung out around town while Kurtis was getting his fluids. When we found out that he was going to be admitted, I took Chauncey home and put him in his crate. Due to the fact that last time he was left in his crate at the hotel he hurt his nose, I was a little worried about him. However, when I got home last night, he was okay. He isn't eating much right now which is both logical and not a problem. Due to the chemo, his mouth and throat are hurting a LOT and, as you can imagine, eating stuff isn't really very high up on his "to-do" list. It isn't something to worry about though, as he is getting what he needs from his fluids. He was feeling good enough to have some toast yesterday after I left, so that's good.
I got up this morning and took Chauncey to Camp Bow Wow. The first day I took him, I was a little nervous about it - I'm not sure why...since that seems so much nicer than leaving him in his crate all day. When we drove over today, he knew right where we were going and as I turned onto Raymond, he started bouncing around the car like he was about to win the Milk Bone lottery. Once I let him out of the car, he pulled as hard as his little fifty-five pound self could pull and jumped up on the counter as soon as we got inside. If you want to see him, you can go to here. Click on "camper cams"...he generally is on Camera 3 or Camera 6.
After dropping the dog off, I headed to the hospital, picked up Kurtis' mom and took her back to the hotel so that she could eat breakfast, get cleaned up, and have some quiet relaxation time. I'm hanging out with Kurtis in his room now - watching sportscenter and updating you! Later today, he will get some platelets since his count is too low, and that should make him feel at least some better since it is an immediate boost in something.
From this room, you can see out of the window toward the city and the IUPUI campus. It's nice to be able to watch the cars go by and watch the people who are walking around.
Hope all is well -
Love,
Liz
Today I'm writing you from a beautiful room in the Simon Cancer Center.
As I wrote (and tried to post yesterday) Kurtis is currently checked into the hospital. He just wasn't doing well yesterday and it was important for him to get some rest, have some pain medicine, and be in a place where he could be monitored. After he was done with his fluids, we waited for several hours while another patient was discharged and his room was cleaned. He was then taken from the unit where he goes to get his fluids/stem cells to the Simon Cancer Center.
The SCC is beautiful. It is new and the different floors are all beautiful. There are small things that make the place comforting including amazing pictures of nature (trees, flowers, other plants), a nice "family" center with puzzles and places for people to relax a little, and absolutely outstanding rooms. I've posted some pictures on our flickr feed so that you can see. There are small things here that make a big difference for cancer patients. They have the right kind of shampoo (baby - it is gentle) and a fridge in the room. There is also a tv and dvd player, a couch that turns into a bed, a chair, and electric shades (one is "light filtering" and the other is "blackout") that move up and down and are quite nifty.
Kurtis' mom spent the night with him last night while I went home to take care of the creature. We weren't expecting Kurtis to be checking into the hospital, so I brought Chauncey into the city yesterday and we hung out around town while Kurtis was getting his fluids. When we found out that he was going to be admitted, I took Chauncey home and put him in his crate. Due to the fact that last time he was left in his crate at the hotel he hurt his nose, I was a little worried about him. However, when I got home last night, he was okay. He isn't eating much right now which is both logical and not a problem. Due to the chemo, his mouth and throat are hurting a LOT and, as you can imagine, eating stuff isn't really very high up on his "to-do" list. It isn't something to worry about though, as he is getting what he needs from his fluids. He was feeling good enough to have some toast yesterday after I left, so that's good.
I got up this morning and took Chauncey to Camp Bow Wow. The first day I took him, I was a little nervous about it - I'm not sure why...since that seems so much nicer than leaving him in his crate all day. When we drove over today, he knew right where we were going and as I turned onto Raymond, he started bouncing around the car like he was about to win the Milk Bone lottery. Once I let him out of the car, he pulled as hard as his little fifty-five pound self could pull and jumped up on the counter as soon as we got inside. If you want to see him, you can go to here. Click on "camper cams"...he generally is on Camera 3 or Camera 6.
After dropping the dog off, I headed to the hospital, picked up Kurtis' mom and took her back to the hotel so that she could eat breakfast, get cleaned up, and have some quiet relaxation time. I'm hanging out with Kurtis in his room now - watching sportscenter and updating you! Later today, he will get some platelets since his count is too low, and that should make him feel at least some better since it is an immediate boost in something.
From this room, you can see out of the window toward the city and the IUPUI campus. It's nice to be able to watch the cars go by and watch the people who are walking around.
Hope all is well -
Love,
Liz
...checking in...
This is from yesterday...apparently, it didn't post...sorry about that :)
Hello from Indy (I don't known why I say that -where else would we be?)
Today has been a tough day for Kurtis. His counts are way down and he is feeling particularly crappy.
I talked to the nurse who is sort of in charge yesterday and asked her a lot of questions about the therapy and what is exactly happening in Kurtis' body. Here is what I learned...
When chemo is given, it rushes throughout the body and kills fast growing cells. This is why people lose their hair...hair is a fast growing cell. Once the chemo is in, if it is working, the tumor markers are going to fall. Thus, Kurtis' initial HCG decline is due to the "burst" of chemo. Although the chemo is out of his body now, he is still fighting the tumors and the HCG. Think of the HCG like it is floating around his body, and it, just like other things that our body doesn't use...it has to be sent out. Good news is that even though the chemo is out of his body, the tumor is still melting and should continue to go down.
Got that? Great...here is the next part...
While his chemo raged through his body, it also killed some (or a lot really) of his good cells. So, even though he is several days out from getting his chemo AND he has already gotten his stem cells back, his other counts are going to continue to fall and hit rock bottom. At this point, Kurtis is going to feel the worst. His energy will be (and is) completely depleted and he is just going to generally feel like crap...and he does. He is also the most vulnerable to infection during this time, so he is required to wear a mask in and out of the hospital and is also not allowed to eat certain foods.
Today he is feeling quite terrible, which sucks. I spent most of the day outside wandering around Indy with the creature while Kurtis' mom stayed in the hospital with him. I think I wore my dog out ... hopefully. When he was finishing up his fluids for the day, he spiked a little bit of a fever. It is back down from last time they checked, so that is good. However, he Is currently waiting to be checked into the hospital. He is feeling really bad, and feels like it is time to be in the hospital for a few days. Although I hate to see him in the hospital, I feel like it may0
It's actually a good thing at this point. He will be able to be monitored as well have access to some hefty pain mess that should make his life a little easier.
He'll be in a room in the Simon Cancer Center which is nice because we've always found that oncology floors are amazing places filled with caring people who understand what we are enduring.
Love,
Liz
Hello from Indy (I don't known why I say that -where else would we be?)
Today has been a tough day for Kurtis. His counts are way down and he is feeling particularly crappy.
I talked to the nurse who is sort of in charge yesterday and asked her a lot of questions about the therapy and what is exactly happening in Kurtis' body. Here is what I learned...
When chemo is given, it rushes throughout the body and kills fast growing cells. This is why people lose their hair...hair is a fast growing cell. Once the chemo is in, if it is working, the tumor markers are going to fall. Thus, Kurtis' initial HCG decline is due to the "burst" of chemo. Although the chemo is out of his body now, he is still fighting the tumors and the HCG. Think of the HCG like it is floating around his body, and it, just like other things that our body doesn't use...it has to be sent out. Good news is that even though the chemo is out of his body, the tumor is still melting and should continue to go down.
Got that? Great...here is the next part...
While his chemo raged through his body, it also killed some (or a lot really) of his good cells. So, even though he is several days out from getting his chemo AND he has already gotten his stem cells back, his other counts are going to continue to fall and hit rock bottom. At this point, Kurtis is going to feel the worst. His energy will be (and is) completely depleted and he is just going to generally feel like crap...and he does. He is also the most vulnerable to infection during this time, so he is required to wear a mask in and out of the hospital and is also not allowed to eat certain foods.
Today he is feeling quite terrible, which sucks. I spent most of the day outside wandering around Indy with the creature while Kurtis' mom stayed in the hospital with him. I think I wore my dog out ... hopefully. When he was finishing up his fluids for the day, he spiked a little bit of a fever. It is back down from last time they checked, so that is good. However, he Is currently waiting to be checked into the hospital. He is feeling really bad, and feels like it is time to be in the hospital for a few days. Although I hate to see him in the hospital, I feel like it may0
It's actually a good thing at this point. He will be able to be monitored as well have access to some hefty pain mess that should make his life a little easier.
He'll be in a room in the Simon Cancer Center which is nice because we've always found that oncology floors are amazing places filled with caring people who understand what we are enduring.
Love,
Liz
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
...adventures continue
Good Morning from Indy!
I know I didn't post a lot last night, but I thought it would be nice to at least make sure you knew about the photos and that Kurtis' stem cells have been put back in :)
Yesterday was really interesting. In order to fully understand what was going on yesterday, here is a quick rundown of the process:
-Kurtis gets shots of a drug that causes his bone marrow to create cells
-He gets the shots for five days in a row
-Next, it is "harvest" day where they hook up a machine to his catheter (it is placed near his port and allows them to take blood out/put chemo in/put cells in, etc...he didn't have this until this trip to Indy)
-During the "harvest" they remove stem cells in blood - take them out - and then put the blood back in
-Next, Kurtis gets "blasted" with chemo. The chemo is high-dose so it causes his bone marrow to quite functioning well or at all
-After they let the chemo "sink in" a little bit (two days or so), Kurtis gets some of his cells back.
-The cells run around in his body creating the cells that he needs. He won't feel better right away, but will be feeling better soon when the cells grow into what his body needs.
So, yesterday, stem cell infusion time was 11 am. They team of two arrived at about 10:50 with a large cart and a cylinder on a dolly. They did some prep - cleaned the cart - hooked up some stuff to Kurtis, etc. At 11, the woman (let's call her Maroon since I don't know her name and that is what color scrubs she was wearing) opened up the cylinder and pulled out a small rectangular silver box from the dry ice storage on the inside. While doing this, she was wearing blue gloves that were basically as big as my legs. If you check out our photos, you can see the stem cells in the bag that they were stored in. There was a bath contraption to warm them up and we waited somewhat patiently not really knowing how long it would take. Once the cells were warmed up, they were connected using clear "hospital tube" to a big plunger (if you were getting an injection with that thing, I imagine that the needle would be bigger than anything you'd ever want in your arm). Once the cells were all hooked up, the plunger sucked them out of the bag, Green (the man) then flipped the blue switch and began to push the cells into Kurtis. This process takes about 25 minutes overall and there are two bags. Once the cells are in the plunger, it isn't immediately pushed really fast, but rather slowly moved from the plunger into Kurtis. He did an excellent job - some people get really sick it sounds like and he didn't seem to have anything. Oddly enough, when the cells go back in, they often taste weird - like garlic. In order to combat that, Kurits ate Jolly Ranchers. I've posted pictures so you can see some of the steps of this process if you'd like :) It is a pretty neat therapy and even though Kurtis isn't feeling great right now at all, it is making him better, and we're thankful for that!
When we came "home" yesterday, Chauncey had hurt his nose. Normally, he does a great job in his crate, but I think he got completely freaked out. His nose had a big scrape from trying to get out of his crate. I'm not sure what caused him to have a freak out, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the people who are next door to us. There is a fair amount of yelling, and they've got some dogs that bark all the time (Chauncey doesn't bark much at all). Fortunately, there is a dog daycare called "Camp BowWow" that is super close to our hotel. I went over there yesterday and filled out an application. Today is his "test run" for Camp BowWow and for us. He'll go and they will make sure that he gets along with other dogs and stuff before they take him on as a "camper". I think he was really excited when we got there... he was sniffing around like the little maniac that he is, jumping up and "dancing" for no reason, among other things. When the worker (camp counselor?) took him back, he was a little confused as to why I wasn't going, but I hope that doesn't inhibit him from having a good time.
We were in a thunderstorm warning last night - and from what I can tell (I do tend to sleep through things...) we didn't get anything from it. The humidity is down today to a much more survivable 43%...we'll see if that lasts all day or not...and the sky is actually out. Out here, the buildings are air conditioned so heavily that I am wearing a sweatshirt inside and practically die before I can get it off when I step outside. Every minute longer that we're here makes me grateful for Colorado and the dry weather.
Kurtis is doing well today. He said this morning that he feels like he's been "hit by a truck" which he basically has...but it seems like his nausea is under control and he doesn't have a fever, nor is he in massive amounts of pain. Over the course of the next few hours, he'll get "fluids" that include an antibiotic, etc. Currently he is sleeping and seems like he's actually getting some rest, so that's positive :)
I'm not sure that I have much else more to report as of now. Hope everyone is well and I'll write more later :)
Love,
Liz
I know I didn't post a lot last night, but I thought it would be nice to at least make sure you knew about the photos and that Kurtis' stem cells have been put back in :)
Yesterday was really interesting. In order to fully understand what was going on yesterday, here is a quick rundown of the process:
-Kurtis gets shots of a drug that causes his bone marrow to create cells
-He gets the shots for five days in a row
-Next, it is "harvest" day where they hook up a machine to his catheter (it is placed near his port and allows them to take blood out/put chemo in/put cells in, etc...he didn't have this until this trip to Indy)
-During the "harvest" they remove stem cells in blood - take them out - and then put the blood back in
-Next, Kurtis gets "blasted" with chemo. The chemo is high-dose so it causes his bone marrow to quite functioning well or at all
-After they let the chemo "sink in" a little bit (two days or so), Kurtis gets some of his cells back.
-The cells run around in his body creating the cells that he needs. He won't feel better right away, but will be feeling better soon when the cells grow into what his body needs.
So, yesterday, stem cell infusion time was 11 am. They team of two arrived at about 10:50 with a large cart and a cylinder on a dolly. They did some prep - cleaned the cart - hooked up some stuff to Kurtis, etc. At 11, the woman (let's call her Maroon since I don't know her name and that is what color scrubs she was wearing) opened up the cylinder and pulled out a small rectangular silver box from the dry ice storage on the inside. While doing this, she was wearing blue gloves that were basically as big as my legs. If you check out our photos, you can see the stem cells in the bag that they were stored in. There was a bath contraption to warm them up and we waited somewhat patiently not really knowing how long it would take. Once the cells were warmed up, they were connected using clear "hospital tube" to a big plunger (if you were getting an injection with that thing, I imagine that the needle would be bigger than anything you'd ever want in your arm). Once the cells were all hooked up, the plunger sucked them out of the bag, Green (the man) then flipped the blue switch and began to push the cells into Kurtis. This process takes about 25 minutes overall and there are two bags. Once the cells are in the plunger, it isn't immediately pushed really fast, but rather slowly moved from the plunger into Kurtis. He did an excellent job - some people get really sick it sounds like and he didn't seem to have anything. Oddly enough, when the cells go back in, they often taste weird - like garlic. In order to combat that, Kurits ate Jolly Ranchers. I've posted pictures so you can see some of the steps of this process if you'd like :) It is a pretty neat therapy and even though Kurtis isn't feeling great right now at all, it is making him better, and we're thankful for that!
When we came "home" yesterday, Chauncey had hurt his nose. Normally, he does a great job in his crate, but I think he got completely freaked out. His nose had a big scrape from trying to get out of his crate. I'm not sure what caused him to have a freak out, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with the people who are next door to us. There is a fair amount of yelling, and they've got some dogs that bark all the time (Chauncey doesn't bark much at all). Fortunately, there is a dog daycare called "Camp BowWow" that is super close to our hotel. I went over there yesterday and filled out an application. Today is his "test run" for Camp BowWow and for us. He'll go and they will make sure that he gets along with other dogs and stuff before they take him on as a "camper". I think he was really excited when we got there... he was sniffing around like the little maniac that he is, jumping up and "dancing" for no reason, among other things. When the worker (camp counselor?) took him back, he was a little confused as to why I wasn't going, but I hope that doesn't inhibit him from having a good time.
We were in a thunderstorm warning last night - and from what I can tell (I do tend to sleep through things...) we didn't get anything from it. The humidity is down today to a much more survivable 43%...we'll see if that lasts all day or not...and the sky is actually out. Out here, the buildings are air conditioned so heavily that I am wearing a sweatshirt inside and practically die before I can get it off when I step outside. Every minute longer that we're here makes me grateful for Colorado and the dry weather.
Kurtis is doing well today. He said this morning that he feels like he's been "hit by a truck" which he basically has...but it seems like his nausea is under control and he doesn't have a fever, nor is he in massive amounts of pain. Over the course of the next few hours, he'll get "fluids" that include an antibiotic, etc. Currently he is sleeping and seems like he's actually getting some rest, so that's positive :)
I'm not sure that I have much else more to report as of now. Hope everyone is well and I'll write more later :)
Love,
Liz
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Mission: Stem Cell Infusion - MISSION COMPLETE!
Hello!
It is 65% humidity here right now.
I'm going to die a slow death of too much wet air...
BUT - that isn't what I'm writing about. Today I started writing before Kurtis had his stem cells back - and he does now! He did a great job and didn't get sick like some people do. He is now resting comfortably at home. This afternoon, he even ate a little pizza which is a great thing :) He's not feeling "good" yet - as this doesn't work like a blood transfusion but as the cells grow and mature, he should get there.
Just a few things to point out and then I'll write more later:
NUMERO UNO: You can now see our photos at the top right side of the page! Yay! I'm incredibly intelligent when it comes to being awesome and made it do that with only my mind powers (or, I found a widget and plugged in the user name...)
NUMERO DOS: You can now sign up to get our blog via email (I think). Someone who wants to, please sign up and let me know if it works!
Love to all,
Liz (Kurtis and Chauncey
It is 65% humidity here right now.
I'm going to die a slow death of too much wet air...
BUT - that isn't what I'm writing about. Today I started writing before Kurtis had his stem cells back - and he does now! He did a great job and didn't get sick like some people do. He is now resting comfortably at home. This afternoon, he even ate a little pizza which is a great thing :) He's not feeling "good" yet - as this doesn't work like a blood transfusion but as the cells grow and mature, he should get there.
Just a few things to point out and then I'll write more later:
NUMERO UNO: You can now see our photos at the top right side of the page! Yay! I'm incredibly intelligent when it comes to being awesome and made it do that with only my mind powers (or, I found a widget and plugged in the user name...)
NUMERO DOS: You can now sign up to get our blog via email (I think). Someone who wants to, please sign up and let me know if it works!
Love to all,
Liz (Kurtis and Chauncey
Stem Cell Infusion Day! (with the stem cell part coming later...)
Hello and Good Morning!
I haven't changed the time on my computer yet, so as I start this post, it is 6:45 am back home. Feels kinda weird to completely adjust to the time, and I am definitely not there yet. This morning my semi-paragraphed ramblings come from Room #5 in the transplant center at IU. Kurtis is already getting infused with his 'fluids' today and will get his cells back around 11 which is just a few hours from now.
The hospital and the transplant clinic are much busier today than yesterday. When driving in to the parking garage, there were a bunch more cars and I had to go up several levels in order to find a place to park. There are little to no license plates from other states, but it seems that my subraru gets along with all of the other cars just fine.
It's another hot day here (were you expecting anything else?? ha.) and the humidity is only at 69%. I can adjust to there being "new" things here - but I'm having problems adjusting to the humidity...as is Kurtis. Every time I go outside, it is like I get hit in the face with sticky air and it is quite possibly one of my least favorite things, ever.
Yesterday Chauncey and I went "exploring" to try and find a dog park. We found one - but I decided that it would be best to keep the creature away from other dogs who might have some kind of strange sickness that Chaunce could then bring/give to Kurtis. So, we looked at the dog park and then drove around to find another park. The other park had a nice path through some trees and bushes and other green stuff, so we walked for a few miles on that. He doesn't really like the humidity either - he was hot and panting so much that his tongue was hanging out of his mouth to the side which looks really funny since he has black spots on his tongue. Chaunce made friends with a little boy who asked me why he was breathing so hard. I told him that it was because we're from Colorado and not used to how hot it was - and I told him that it was also humid and then I asked him if he knew what humid meant. He said "Yea, it's humid here. We celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, AND Christmas." Um...yea. I don't know what he thought I was asking so I just went with that one...yet another reason why I don't teach third grade.
I also drove around Indy some yesterday trying to get a little more familiar with it since this will be our home for awhile. There is a ton of road construction everywhere because of the pending (or should I say...possibly pending...) Super Bowl. Indianapolis has gotten a few things for that, including an really flashy blue Marriott hotel that has thirty-three floors and over a thousand rooms. Click here to see it! Regardless, cities usually have massive amounts of construction and traffic anyway, but I have located the Chipotle - so I think perhaps I'll be able to survive the humidity :)
I haven't been able to upload pictures using my computer yet, just the ipad (thank you very much lax families!! - we love it and have used it endlessly already) so I'll put some up later. However, I did start a flickr photo page - our name is kurtislizandchauncey. You should be able to find our "photostream" by following these instructions:
-->Go to flickr.com
-->Type in kurtislizandchauncey into the search box
-->It will tell you that it is sorry and couldn't find anything. DON'T FREAK OUT. Please, put the lamp that you are about to smash back down - it is only one easy step!!! Instead of smashing things, simply change the search mode from "photo" to "people"
-->Click our name!
ORClick this link... http://www.flickr.com/photos/63475898@N02/
I'm still learning my way around flickr, but right now it seems fun and like I'm able to put stuff up and get some information there :) Hopefully it will give you a view into our "midwestern" life a little bit.
I think that is all for now - I'm sure I'll get more updated today :)
Love,
Liz
I haven't changed the time on my computer yet, so as I start this post, it is 6:45 am back home. Feels kinda weird to completely adjust to the time, and I am definitely not there yet. This morning my semi-paragraphed ramblings come from Room #5 in the transplant center at IU. Kurtis is already getting infused with his 'fluids' today and will get his cells back around 11 which is just a few hours from now.
The hospital and the transplant clinic are much busier today than yesterday. When driving in to the parking garage, there were a bunch more cars and I had to go up several levels in order to find a place to park. There are little to no license plates from other states, but it seems that my subraru gets along with all of the other cars just fine.
It's another hot day here (were you expecting anything else?? ha.) and the humidity is only at 69%. I can adjust to there being "new" things here - but I'm having problems adjusting to the humidity...as is Kurtis. Every time I go outside, it is like I get hit in the face with sticky air and it is quite possibly one of my least favorite things, ever.
Yesterday Chauncey and I went "exploring" to try and find a dog park. We found one - but I decided that it would be best to keep the creature away from other dogs who might have some kind of strange sickness that Chaunce could then bring/give to Kurtis. So, we looked at the dog park and then drove around to find another park. The other park had a nice path through some trees and bushes and other green stuff, so we walked for a few miles on that. He doesn't really like the humidity either - he was hot and panting so much that his tongue was hanging out of his mouth to the side which looks really funny since he has black spots on his tongue. Chaunce made friends with a little boy who asked me why he was breathing so hard. I told him that it was because we're from Colorado and not used to how hot it was - and I told him that it was also humid and then I asked him if he knew what humid meant. He said "Yea, it's humid here. We celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, AND Christmas." Um...yea. I don't know what he thought I was asking so I just went with that one...yet another reason why I don't teach third grade.
I also drove around Indy some yesterday trying to get a little more familiar with it since this will be our home for awhile. There is a ton of road construction everywhere because of the pending (or should I say...possibly pending...) Super Bowl. Indianapolis has gotten a few things for that, including an really flashy blue Marriott hotel that has thirty-three floors and over a thousand rooms. Click here to see it! Regardless, cities usually have massive amounts of construction and traffic anyway, but I have located the Chipotle - so I think perhaps I'll be able to survive the humidity :)
I haven't been able to upload pictures using my computer yet, just the ipad (thank you very much lax families!! - we love it and have used it endlessly already) so I'll put some up later. However, I did start a flickr photo page - our name is kurtislizandchauncey. You should be able to find our "photostream" by following these instructions:
-->Go to flickr.com
-->Type in kurtislizandchauncey into the search box
-->It will tell you that it is sorry and couldn't find anything. DON'T FREAK OUT. Please, put the lamp that you are about to smash back down - it is only one easy step!!! Instead of smashing things, simply change the search mode from "photo" to "people"
-->Click our name!
ORClick this link... http://www.flickr.com/photos/63475898@N02/
I'm still learning my way around flickr, but right now it seems fun and like I'm able to put stuff up and get some information there :) Hopefully it will give you a view into our "midwestern" life a little bit.
I think that is all for now - I'm sure I'll get more updated today :)
Love,
Liz
Monday, May 30, 2011
Picture update #1
This is the sign by the entrance to the cancer center.
These mosaics are created By people who have been touched by cancer.
This is the main sitting area by the entrance and information desk in the Simon Cancer Center
This is a siting area complete with bamboo :)
My choice of footwear...smart wool shoes. Haha. It is only 85 degrees...
The outside of IU :)
Greetings from iu medical center
Hello and good morning from Indianapolis!
While we are In the hospital, I thought I would take some time to write a quick update. Today, Kurtis is resting while he gets "fluids". Fluids include things to flush his system as well as medicines to keep him from getting sick while his blood counts are low. Today is the last day he will have before the return of half of his stem cells. I like to think of them as mini super heroes that are coming to help Kurtis :)
The room we are in is small, but nice. It has a door that we can keep open or close, and several chairs as well as a bed for Kurtis. There is also a tv, and K enjoys that for background noise. It is really quiet here today...although it isn't surprising. I think that the people next to us must be going through the same thing - dr. Eu horn just came by and talked with them. I would like to go talk to them, but their door is closed and I don't feel like it is okay for me to knock. It would be nice to speak with them and talk to someone who is around our age and in the same situation.
The sun is out and shining in Indy today and I will make use of that later when we get "home" since Chaunce will need to go play some. I brought my long board and there is a parking lot with a lot of open space so we will probably do some of that.
Kurtis isn't feeling too great, but he spends a lot of time sleeping...so that isn't a huge deal.
More soon...
Liz
Sunday, May 29, 2011
And we're "home"
Hello from muggy Indianapolis!
Chauncey and I arrived earlier today after we dropped "aunt" Chelsea off at the Louisville airport.
Over the last few days, I have gotten to see a lot of the country which was neat. Chauncey liked to get out and stop and see things. We were able to see a lot from in the car as well which was neat. I wasn't expecting Missouri to be as pretty as it was driving through. Today, I went to Louisville and I'd really like to go back. The city was really neat and there are some things I'd definitely like to see.
When we arrived, Chauncey "helped" me to unload the car a bit before we drove back across town to get Kurtis and his mom. Our room is nice, it has a couch, chair, little kitchen and tv. The fridge is full sized as is the freezer. In addition, the couch folds into a bed, so everyone has their own place to sleep which is good. I've blocked Chauncey and myself onto the couch and kitchen side so that he doesn't go try to snuggle with Kurtis. He just had a small barking episode, so hopefully that is done for the night.
Tomorrow Kurtis will go back to the hospital and will get more fluids,etc. He is feeling really bad, and from watching him today it is clear that this chemo is a lot tougher than VIP or BEP. Mostly he seems tired and semi sick to his stomach which is a bummer. However, I know that because he feels so rotten, the chemo is working. it is quite odd to be happy he feels bad, but I'm happy that the stuff is doing what it is supposed to be. I haven't been with him yet to the hospital, but i am looking forward to it. I didn't like being away from him during his chemo, but it was important for me to finish school and pack up what we needed.
I'll update more as we go :)
Love,
Liz
Saturday, May 28, 2011
hello from Illinois!
Greetings and hello from Mt. Vernon, Ill.
Chels and I have been traveling since yesterday, and I'm only a few hours away from Louisville and a few more hours from Indy. Tomorrow, we'll go to Louisville where I'll drop Chels off and then I'll drive two hours with the dog "solo" up to Indianapolis.
Chauncey has been good so far for the most part - and that really helps the traveling. He doesn't like to go to the bathroom other places besides home, so our current bathroom count is -->
Pee: 2 total. #1 = Salina KS @ 3 am; #2 St. Louis, MO @5 pm (ish)
Poop: Still refusing...
He spends most of the time in the back of the car sleeping, but freaks out if you drive over the "warning" bars and has to come up and sit in the passenger seat. Today we had lots of breaks for him including a visit to KU, Mizzu, and the St. Louis arch. He really liked the Mizzu campus (as did we!) and seemed to enjoy St. Louis until I made him go down by the river...hehe.
Kurtis is doing well. I texted with him most of the day, and talked to him on the phone for a bit and he is exhausted. This chemo is really taking a toll on him, but the good news is that he is done with this set of chemo! Only one more round of it (and that will be several weeks from now. I can't wait to see him as I feel like it has been forever. Chauncey and I really miss him and are both thankful that this treatment will blast the crap out of it.
I'm sorry to be sending Chels home tomorrow as it really means we are "on our own" out in Indy. Kurtis and I love hanging out together, but we'll really miss our friends this summer. I know that some of them have talked about coming out and we're really hopeful that they can. We've been looking forward to seeing more of our friends in the summer all year - and would love to now, even if it is in Indy.
Anyway, that is all for now.
There are some pictures of the doggy on facebook if you want to take a look -
Love to all,
Liz and Chauncey
Chels and I have been traveling since yesterday, and I'm only a few hours away from Louisville and a few more hours from Indy. Tomorrow, we'll go to Louisville where I'll drop Chels off and then I'll drive two hours with the dog "solo" up to Indianapolis.
Chauncey has been good so far for the most part - and that really helps the traveling. He doesn't like to go to the bathroom other places besides home, so our current bathroom count is -->
Pee: 2 total. #1 = Salina KS @ 3 am; #2 St. Louis, MO @5 pm (ish)
Poop: Still refusing...
He spends most of the time in the back of the car sleeping, but freaks out if you drive over the "warning" bars and has to come up and sit in the passenger seat. Today we had lots of breaks for him including a visit to KU, Mizzu, and the St. Louis arch. He really liked the Mizzu campus (as did we!) and seemed to enjoy St. Louis until I made him go down by the river...hehe.
Kurtis is doing well. I texted with him most of the day, and talked to him on the phone for a bit and he is exhausted. This chemo is really taking a toll on him, but the good news is that he is done with this set of chemo! Only one more round of it (and that will be several weeks from now. I can't wait to see him as I feel like it has been forever. Chauncey and I really miss him and are both thankful that this treatment will blast the crap out of it.
I'm sorry to be sending Chels home tomorrow as it really means we are "on our own" out in Indy. Kurtis and I love hanging out together, but we'll really miss our friends this summer. I know that some of them have talked about coming out and we're really hopeful that they can. We've been looking forward to seeing more of our friends in the summer all year - and would love to now, even if it is in Indy.
Anyway, that is all for now.
There are some pictures of the doggy on facebook if you want to take a look -
Love to all,
Liz and Chauncey
Friday, May 27, 2011
Chemo Days
Greetings from Post-Chemo Day 2,
As you can all tell by now I began chemo yesterday. That meant that Mom and I were stuck up at the hospital for about 9 hours while blood was drawn, returned, chemo's given, and some magnesium. It stormed most of the day that we were in the hospital so that made me feel a little bit better for not being able to go outside.
Today was a much shorter time at the hospital (only 5 hours). Things went very smooth today, but now I am super duper exhausted. This is easily the hardest of all of the chemo that I have done so far. I had to wear a mask out of the hospital because I am not immuno-compromised. So that is obviously embarrassing.
We are back at Rachel's House and are still the only people here. We are getting quite tired of having to rely on taxis every day, but that will be over on Sunday evening when Liz and Chauncey get here. On the topic of Chauncey, we are apparently testing the limits of the bone marrow transplant people because of how many diseases and whatnot dogs can carry, but for now I am still allowed to stay with him and will do that until they tell me that I can't anymore.
I am very exhausted after my two days of chemo, but the nice thing is that after tomorrow I am done with the chemo for a few weeks. However, I will start to feel very crummy because my blood numbers are going to be very very low.
We will get you all an address when we have one because both Liz and I have been getting asked if there is somewhere in which people can send us stuff while we are in Indy so you all will know that as soon as we have one.
All of my love,
Kurtis
As you can all tell by now I began chemo yesterday. That meant that Mom and I were stuck up at the hospital for about 9 hours while blood was drawn, returned, chemo's given, and some magnesium. It stormed most of the day that we were in the hospital so that made me feel a little bit better for not being able to go outside.
Today was a much shorter time at the hospital (only 5 hours). Things went very smooth today, but now I am super duper exhausted. This is easily the hardest of all of the chemo that I have done so far. I had to wear a mask out of the hospital because I am not immuno-compromised. So that is obviously embarrassing.
We are back at Rachel's House and are still the only people here. We are getting quite tired of having to rely on taxis every day, but that will be over on Sunday evening when Liz and Chauncey get here. On the topic of Chauncey, we are apparently testing the limits of the bone marrow transplant people because of how many diseases and whatnot dogs can carry, but for now I am still allowed to stay with him and will do that until they tell me that I can't anymore.
I am very exhausted after my two days of chemo, but the nice thing is that after tomorrow I am done with the chemo for a few weeks. However, I will start to feel very crummy because my blood numbers are going to be very very low.
We will get you all an address when we have one because both Liz and I have been getting asked if there is somewhere in which people can send us stuff while we are in Indy so you all will know that as soon as we have one.
All of my love,
Kurtis
Thursday, May 26, 2011
...late night update from Colorado...
Greetings!
I know Kurtis wasn't feeling quite up to updating tonight, so I thought I'd take some time to fill you in on what is going on where he is as well as what I'm up to as I prepare to leave Colorado and head out to hang out with some hoosiers.
Kurtis started his chemo today, which is a great thing. They were able to harvest enough stem cells (I think he said that in yesterday's post...but I can't remember) and tomorrow, he'll get dose number two. Sounds like it is a lot like the other out patient chemo he had - takes a long time and they give him a lot of fluids. I know he wasn't feeling too great, and I didn't get to hear a lot from him today due to it being my last day of school and his first chemo treatment.
Getting ready to go has been a pretty big chore. I find myself wandering around the house trying to find what I need and struggling to think about what we might be needing. For the most part, the Subaru is packed up, either actually, or almost actually. I've got some things that have to wait for tomorrow to be packed up - and some things that I just have yet to put in the car... haha.
I'm really glad for a break from school (although, it will only take approximately four days until I'm ready to be working on next year's stuff...or you know...on the drive home from Denver tonight.) Really, I'm just happy that I have time "off" so that when I'm out in Indiana with Kurtis is doesn't mess up things. I've set it up with some people I work with so I'll be able to Skype with them and do some of my work while I'm gone which is great. I'm finding that technology is the greatest things for us during this time as it not only keeps us connected with our friends and family, but it provides information and endless entertainment.
I think that is all for now - thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and positive energy!
Love,
Liz
I know Kurtis wasn't feeling quite up to updating tonight, so I thought I'd take some time to fill you in on what is going on where he is as well as what I'm up to as I prepare to leave Colorado and head out to hang out with some hoosiers.
Kurtis started his chemo today, which is a great thing. They were able to harvest enough stem cells (I think he said that in yesterday's post...but I can't remember) and tomorrow, he'll get dose number two. Sounds like it is a lot like the other out patient chemo he had - takes a long time and they give him a lot of fluids. I know he wasn't feeling too great, and I didn't get to hear a lot from him today due to it being my last day of school and his first chemo treatment.
Getting ready to go has been a pretty big chore. I find myself wandering around the house trying to find what I need and struggling to think about what we might be needing. For the most part, the Subaru is packed up, either actually, or almost actually. I've got some things that have to wait for tomorrow to be packed up - and some things that I just have yet to put in the car... haha.
I'm really glad for a break from school (although, it will only take approximately four days until I'm ready to be working on next year's stuff...or you know...on the drive home from Denver tonight.) Really, I'm just happy that I have time "off" so that when I'm out in Indiana with Kurtis is doesn't mess up things. I've set it up with some people I work with so I'll be able to Skype with them and do some of my work while I'm gone which is great. I'm finding that technology is the greatest things for us during this time as it not only keeps us connected with our friends and family, but it provides information and endless entertainment.
I think that is all for now - thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and positive energy!
Love,
Liz
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Stem Cell Harvest Day with a Side of Tornadic Activity
Good Evening from the Land of Nasty Storms,
Once again the majority of Indiana is in a tornado watch as well as thunder-storm warning for most of the evening tonight. In talking with many of the nurses and people that live here full time this type of weather is a common occurrence for May in this area.
Although we are always fighting the weather, we made our way to the hospital this morning to begin the harvest of stem cells that will be used to "rescue" me after I am given the high dose chemo. So Mom and I sat in a hospital room today for about six hours while all of my blood was removed and replaced roughly six times. I had to be hooked to the large machine all day so I didn't even get bathroom breaks; all I got was a portable urinal. Needless to say by the time the day was over I was very stiff, sore, and had a hard time walking at first when we left.
We made our way back to Rachel's House and waited on the phone call from the stem cell lab to find out if they collected enough cells today or I needed to do the process all over again tomorrow. That call came not too long ago, and I am very pleased to report that I will begin my high-dose chemotherapy tomorrow morning at 8:30!!!!!
Mom and I were very happy to hear that the chemo would get started, but I am a little bummed that Liz will not really get to see me while I am still healthy and in good shape. By the time she gets here on Sunday my first cycle of chemo will be completed and the side effects will be in full force.
Also, for the past two days some of the volunteers here at Rachel's house have brought dinners for Mom and I (who are still the only people here). They have treated us so very well here, and we look forward to being able to give back in some way when I have finally beaten my cancer.
That is really all the news that I have for today. Mom is doing well with everything, but I can tell that she is getting tired of sitting around hospitals much like I am, but soon this will all be behind us and hopefully none of us will have to be in a hospital for a very long time.
Love to all,
Kurtis
Once again the majority of Indiana is in a tornado watch as well as thunder-storm warning for most of the evening tonight. In talking with many of the nurses and people that live here full time this type of weather is a common occurrence for May in this area.
Although we are always fighting the weather, we made our way to the hospital this morning to begin the harvest of stem cells that will be used to "rescue" me after I am given the high dose chemo. So Mom and I sat in a hospital room today for about six hours while all of my blood was removed and replaced roughly six times. I had to be hooked to the large machine all day so I didn't even get bathroom breaks; all I got was a portable urinal. Needless to say by the time the day was over I was very stiff, sore, and had a hard time walking at first when we left.
We made our way back to Rachel's House and waited on the phone call from the stem cell lab to find out if they collected enough cells today or I needed to do the process all over again tomorrow. That call came not too long ago, and I am very pleased to report that I will begin my high-dose chemotherapy tomorrow morning at 8:30!!!!!
Mom and I were very happy to hear that the chemo would get started, but I am a little bummed that Liz will not really get to see me while I am still healthy and in good shape. By the time she gets here on Sunday my first cycle of chemo will be completed and the side effects will be in full force.
Also, for the past two days some of the volunteers here at Rachel's house have brought dinners for Mom and I (who are still the only people here). They have treated us so very well here, and we look forward to being able to give back in some way when I have finally beaten my cancer.
That is really all the news that I have for today. Mom is doing well with everything, but I can tell that she is getting tired of sitting around hospitals much like I am, but soon this will all be behind us and hopefully none of us will have to be in a hospital for a very long time.
Love to all,
Kurtis
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday Update
Howdy,
I wanted to start this update today with some nice Midwestern "folksiness" as I unwillingly for the next two months a Midwesterner; but don't tell Liz because she will not approve.
The day started extremely early today. We had to check into the hospital at 7:00 today and since we are totally dependent on taxis, and taxis can be unpredictable we were awake at about 5:00 and made it to the hospital at 6:00. The hardest part about all of this is that Mom and I are still very much on Colorado time which felt like we were getting up at 3am.
After getting to the hospital so very early we finally were taken back to the area where I was prepped to have my special new catheter placed. This new catheter will be used to remove the stem cells, give me chemo, and then put the stem cells back in as well as give me any meds and such that I need. The procedure was done under conscious sedation which meant that I was awake, but I have no recollection at all about the procedure.
We will head back to the hospital tomorrow morning at have my stem cells harvested, and hopefully they will be able to collect enough so that we can start the chemo on Thursday. They told me today that most times it takes anywhere from 1-3 days to get enough cells so I am not getting my hopes up to high about starting Thursday.
This afternoon, I was in dire need of some sleep so I took a much needed nap while Mom took a tour around the neighborhood and found out that there were some restaurants north of where we are staying which is much closer than having to head west. So that was wonderful news, and we made our way there tonight and had dinner in a very cool pub.
There is some very good news on the Indianapolis front. The air conditioner at Rachel's House is once again working and that has been making the stay so much better.
There were also two very generous donations made in the Kurtis Huss Cancer Fund at the Wells Fargo Bank. We cannot express how grateful we are to the people that have been, and were, so very generous to us throughout this entire ordeal.
After we find out about how the stem cell collection goes tomorrow we will let all of you know. Thanks again for all of your support and love.
Kurtis
I wanted to start this update today with some nice Midwestern "folksiness" as I unwillingly for the next two months a Midwesterner; but don't tell Liz because she will not approve.
The day started extremely early today. We had to check into the hospital at 7:00 today and since we are totally dependent on taxis, and taxis can be unpredictable we were awake at about 5:00 and made it to the hospital at 6:00. The hardest part about all of this is that Mom and I are still very much on Colorado time which felt like we were getting up at 3am.
After getting to the hospital so very early we finally were taken back to the area where I was prepped to have my special new catheter placed. This new catheter will be used to remove the stem cells, give me chemo, and then put the stem cells back in as well as give me any meds and such that I need. The procedure was done under conscious sedation which meant that I was awake, but I have no recollection at all about the procedure.
We will head back to the hospital tomorrow morning at have my stem cells harvested, and hopefully they will be able to collect enough so that we can start the chemo on Thursday. They told me today that most times it takes anywhere from 1-3 days to get enough cells so I am not getting my hopes up to high about starting Thursday.
This afternoon, I was in dire need of some sleep so I took a much needed nap while Mom took a tour around the neighborhood and found out that there were some restaurants north of where we are staying which is much closer than having to head west. So that was wonderful news, and we made our way there tonight and had dinner in a very cool pub.
There is some very good news on the Indianapolis front. The air conditioner at Rachel's House is once again working and that has been making the stay so much better.
There were also two very generous donations made in the Kurtis Huss Cancer Fund at the Wells Fargo Bank. We cannot express how grateful we are to the people that have been, and were, so very generous to us throughout this entire ordeal.
After we find out about how the stem cell collection goes tomorrow we will let all of you know. Thanks again for all of your support and love.
Kurtis
Monday, May 23, 2011
Greetings from the high humidity, low "suninity" city of Indianapolis
It has been a very interesting 24 hours, but my mom and I are getting settled into the place that will be our home for the next week or so. Our plane landed at about 4:00 local (eastern) time, and was partially diverted around Missouri while those huge tornadoes were hitting. But we made it safely and made our way out of the airport and into the city. We took what is known as the "green line" that takes people from the airport to the downtown hotels. The place we are staying is called Rachel's House and is dedicated to a young girl in second grade that died of cancer. It is a beautiful house that was built in 1910 and has original hardwood floors and each of the three rooms has a private bath. It has been very nice so far because mom and I are the only one's that are here. It is kind of in a sketchy part of Indy, but it seems like the neighborhood is starting to be rejuvenated in some places.
It is so very humid here and Mom and I are having a difficult time adjusting. To us high humidity in Colorado is around 20%, and today the humidity was 89%!! Luckily it was breezy so the air didn't seem quite as heavy. Luckily the temperature is supposed to drop some in the next few days. However, the air conditioner is not working to great in our room so that makes it tough, but we have a ceiling fan and another fan that keeps it plenty cool.
Today we made our way to IU Medical Center to meet with many of the people who will be taking care of me over the next two months. The places were running late (of course) and because of that there were doctors waiting on me for a change.
The city of very busy this week since the Indianapolis 500 is going on, but luckily we are staying where we are because it would be impossible to find hotel accommodations anywhere else.
Tomorrow I will have my catheter placed which is used to take the stem cells out, draw blood, and give me IV medications. I will be sedated while they do this so I won't really remember any of it.
I think that is really all I have for now. We appreciate everything that everybody has done for us and all of the continued positive thoughts and well wishes.
Kurtis,
It is so very humid here and Mom and I are having a difficult time adjusting. To us high humidity in Colorado is around 20%, and today the humidity was 89%!! Luckily it was breezy so the air didn't seem quite as heavy. Luckily the temperature is supposed to drop some in the next few days. However, the air conditioner is not working to great in our room so that makes it tough, but we have a ceiling fan and another fan that keeps it plenty cool.
Today we made our way to IU Medical Center to meet with many of the people who will be taking care of me over the next two months. The places were running late (of course) and because of that there were doctors waiting on me for a change.
The city of very busy this week since the Indianapolis 500 is going on, but luckily we are staying where we are because it would be impossible to find hotel accommodations anywhere else.
Tomorrow I will have my catheter placed which is used to take the stem cells out, draw blood, and give me IV medications. I will be sedated while they do this so I won't really remember any of it.
I think that is really all I have for now. We appreciate everything that everybody has done for us and all of the continued positive thoughts and well wishes.
Kurtis,
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