Day 100 Is Here!

It is with great thankfulness that we are happy to report Mom has reached day 100 since her bone marrow transplant. This is a huge milestone and we are so thankful to the Lord for His guidance and care through this journey.

Day 100 is the beginning of her medications being reduced. Daily she is on a whole variety of pills, so the less pills she needs to take the better! Reaching day 100 also means her diet can return slowly to normal.  Mom continues on average to go to the hospital once a week to check her levels and to receive magnesium. Her team is very impressed with the progress she has made so far. Her white blood cell count has actually reached a level it hasn't been at for 10 years! If things continue as well as they are going she will only go to the hospital once every 2 weeks.She will continue on anti rejection medication, since like any transplant her body can still reject the transplant. So far we have seen no signs of rejection. 

We are so thankful for all the love and support Mom and Dad have received. The visits and meals have been very much appreciated! We are so thankful to the Lord for His care over Mom, and it is amazing to see His guiding hand over this journey for Mom.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"

Hebrews 11: 1

Welcome Home

Good morning! I am happy to write Mom has returned home! Her counts continued to rise to a level where the doctors were comfortable discharging her. After a busy day she arrived home late yesterday afternoon. She was very happy to be home and was excited to sleep in her own bed in the comfort of her own home.
 This comes with mixed emotions for her and us as a family. Her being discharged by no means indicates that she is "better". She is just at the point where her counts are high enough to go home. She will still be very closely monitored, as they look for signs of graft versus host. Mom now has a minimum of three appointments per week, which can range from 1hr to full day visits. The same rules apply for her as they did in the hospital, restricted diet, no new live plants/flowers in the house, and no sick visitors.
Mom is still very tired and will have to adjust to living back at home. Dad has taken some time off of work to help her around the house, which is great. It will be an adjustment for us all as we hope to help out as much as we can.
We are so thankful to the Lord for his continued care over Mom. All things considered she is doing well, and we pray she continues to stay strong and continues to recover. Please keep her and Dad in your prayers as they adjust to life at home, and the busyness of her many appointments.  

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of all those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Praise The Lord! Engraftment Has Taken Place!

With pure joy and nothing but thankfulness in our hearts to the Lord we are happy to report that Mom's bone marrow transplant has engrafted as of this morning! She was awoken by a team of very happy nurses at 5:30 this morning who were elated to tell Mom her white blood cell counts have reached .7 which is the point of engraftment! It is clear to us the Lord has His guidance and providential hand working in all of this as it has only been 19 days since the transplant took place! 
She was able to leave her room this morning for the first time since the transplant. She was very excited to make the journey down to the cafeteria. Later today she hopes to venture outside for some fresh air as well!
If things continue as they are, she hopes to return home this coming Wednesday already. We are so happy that she is able to go home and recover in the comfort of her own home. She will even be able to spend Mother's day at home, something we didn't think would be possible.
We know her going home will have a whole set of new challenges and life will be busy with many appointments. She is still awaiting the 100 day period to be over. During this period her nutrition is carefully watched, and she is not able to eat certain foods as her immune system will still be very weak. For the foreseeable future they will also be closely monitoring her for signs of graft versus host disease. We will continue to pray that she will not suffer too much from the side effects of this.
Thanks again for your continued prayers and support. Please continue to hold her up in prayer as she begins this new part of her journey.

"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion". Psalm 103:2-4

Indeed Not A Hair Can Fall From My Head

I am happy to report that Mom is doing so well! The nurses keep commenting how proud they are of her and her progress. Her counts continue to sit at 0 and we are still waiting for the day they begin to rise. We are also happy she has had no fevers recently. She is dealing with a couple of painful mouth sores, which are a side effect of the chemo. Thankfully she is still eating well, and the nausea has stopped. She received her last dose of chemo today! Mom is so thankful that part is over.
This past weekend her hair began to fall out as a result of the chemo. Since all her hair would fall out on its own over time and become very uncomfortable she decided to shave it off. Krista cut her hair for her during her last chemo treatments 12 Years ago, so Mom requested she help shave it again. Sunday was the big hair cut day! They buzzed it right down to the scalp. Mom's head is really soft and fuzzy, and she looks super cute with no hair! I went to see her today and she allowed me to take a couple of pictures of her.

Please continue to hold her and Dad up in prayer. We are so thankful for the progress she has made so far, and we pray the Lord continues to bless her healing, and Lord willing she may return home soon. 

"He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation." Lord's Day 1

Taking Each Day As It Comes

We are learning to take each day as it comes. This week started off with Mom battling a major headache and really bad nausea. Tanya spent the day with her on Monday and it was a rough day for Mom. By Monday night she asked for no visitors so she could get some much needed rest. Thankfully her doctor was able to switch around her medicine and she is finally feeling some relief. Her headache and her nausea have subsided for the time being. Thankfully as this week went on she has been feeling better and better! Her counts are continuing to drop, but her appetite has returned a little. She was being fed through an IV for one day, but since she started eating again and keeping it in they stopped feeding her this way. She has started having cravings again for certain foods which is great! Anytime she asks for something we try and get it for her. We usually end up sharing her food with her, but let me tell you it is not easy eating with a mask on!
Today marks two weeks already since she was admitted to the hospital. Her spirits are still up and she is eagerly awaiting to return home! We know the road will still be long and we may hit a few bumps, but Mom has been taking everything in stride and is doing so well! We thank the Lord for His amazing faithfulness and providential care. We truly see Him working in her life and granting her all the strength she needs to battle through each day.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you not forsake you." Deuteronomy 31: 6

Patience As a Patient

Alex and I just returned home from a very nice visit with Mom. The past few days have been especially hard on her. She has been battling a very bad head ache and has been dealing with nausea. She has been very restless and also not able to sleep well. Yesterday she was taken out of her room to do a CT scan of her head to rule out anything serious causing the headache. We were nervous about her leaving her room, but it needed to be done. Thankfully the scan came back clear. The nurses now believe the headache is a result of the drugs and that her counts continue to drop. Each day her blood counts are dropping, which is expected.  They will continue to drop until the point when engraftment happens. The nurses stressed again the need for her visitors to be healthy and have no cold or flu symptoms. At this time mom has requested that only her immediate family visit with her. We are thankful that as a family we have a range of different schedules so we are each able to visit with her separately as well as together. Today Tanya was able to spend the morning with her. Dad was able to spend most of the afternoon with her, and Krista could have dinner with her. Tomorrow Shawn hopes to spend the morning with her listening to a sermon.
Visiting with Mom this evening she reminded us that when you are in the hospital you are called a "patient" for a reason. You need to be patient as a patient. She wants us all to remember that the transplant will take time and that it has only been a few days since the transplant. Yes we all want to see immediate results, but we know this is in the Lord's hands and when the time is right we will begin to see the healing take place.
This evening Mom was not restless, but she was tired. She had been suffering from nausea most of the day, but thankfully it had subdued by the time we visited. It was very nice to just sit quietly with her.
As the days continue I will do my best to keep you all updated. Mom, Dad and the whole family thank you very much for all the continued prayers and well wishes. It is wonderful to be surrounded by such a loving community.

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope." Psalm 130: 5

The Beginning Of A Long Journey

Today marks the beginning of a very long journey for Mom. The transplant took place at 11:30 this morning and it took 1.5hrs to complete. Mom was surrounded by her brother John and his wife Amanda, her sister Jackie as well as Tanya, Krista and Melissa. This evening Dad, Shawn and myself had a nice visit with her. She is still dealing with a fairly bad headache and is fairly nauseous.
The transplant day itself is fairly anticlimactic. The next few days, weeks and months are when we will begin to see the results. From here on out the doctors check her counts daily to see when they begin to go up, this marks the beginning of the engraftment process. Starting today Mom is also on a strict transplant diet for the next 100 days.
We thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for today! It was another long day but the Lord continues to hold each of us in His loving care.

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:22

Here are a few pictures from the past couple days.

Mom's brother John going through the process of harvesting the stem cells. Thankfully he was able to donate all the cells needed in one day.  

 Always smiling!

 The amazing machine which makes this possible:

Here is Mom receiving the stem cells today:

Harvesting Day

Good morning. Today is the long awaited day for John's (my mom's youngest brother) stem cell harvesting to occur. This past week he has been having daily injections to boast his stem cell counts. These injections have caused him to be fairly uncomfortable and have caused some bone pain. Today he will be donating his bone marrow which will be a long day for him. He will be sitting in a chair for 8 hours and is not allowed to leave the chair. Thankfully Amanda is able to sit with him and keep him company! Mom is hoping to spend some time with him as well if she is feeling up to it. If they are able to harvest enough cells today he may not need to come back tomorrow for more harvesting.
Please keep John and Amanda in your prayers today. I am sure it will be a long and tiring day for them.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Continued Treatments

This past Sunday was Mom's birthday and Krista was able to spend the whole day with her. The rest of us were stuck in our homes because of the ice storm. Dad was able to spend the day with Alex, the boys and me. We had a nice day playing games, watched a sermon and relaxed. Thankfully the weather let up enough for all of us to make it to the hospital to spend the evening with Mom. On Monday she was still feeling well enough to go for a walk through the hospital with Tanya and myself. We grabbed a delicious lunch and we ate together in her room. Last night she had a great visit with John and Amanda, Jackie and Dad.
This morning she started a new drug, which caused a fair amount of nausea, and she is still battling a bad headache. This is the first day where she is really feeling the effects of the chemo and the other drugs. According to the nurse all the side effects she is feeling are expected.
Mom wants to thank everyone for all the lovely messages, phone calls, Facebook posts and Facebook messages. She feels bad for not replying to all your messages, but we told her everyone fully understands!
From here on out we ask that you contact either myself (Megan) or Tanya if you wish to visit with her. Starting tomorrow she will be in full isolation so anyone visiting must not be sick! Each day she is feeling different so we are taking it day by day.  
It is hard to see the treatment beginning to take its toll, but we take much comfort in knowing she is in the Lord's care. Thank you again for your continued prayers.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God." Isaiah 41:10

Treatment Has Begun

After an eventful end of the week we are happy to report that mom's treatment is going smoothly as planned. Thursday night she didn't sleep too well, mostly because of a drug she was given made her feel a little loopy as well as it was her first sleep in the hospital. The Hickman port was successfully put in on Friday and her first round of chemo was administered that same day. All of the IV's have caused a lot of bruising on her arms, which is a bit painful for her but this is healing nicely as well. The Hickman will thankfully prevent this from happening again in the future. Most of us were able to visit with her throughout the evening. She has also been able to visit with a few of the grandchildren, which she loved!
This morning John (her brother and stem cell donor) came to the hospital to receive his first of 5 injections that he will receive daily. Thankfully the next 3 shots can be administered at a clinic closer to his home in London. The last shot will given again at Juravinksi on the donation day. Mom was able to visit with him for a few hours, which she really enjoyed. He will not need to return to Juravinski until next week Wednesday when they will begin harvesting the stem cells.
Mom was also able to visit with my boys Jackson and Austin this morning. Since they are both not fully immunized, once she goes into full isolation (next Wednesday) she will not be able to visit with them. We had a lovely visit and Jackson loved seeing Oma again (he is the only Grandchild allowed calling her Oma!). Each of us children and Dad got to visit with her today, which was great!
This afternoon she received her second round of chemotherapy. She generally feels well after receiving it, she mainly just gets tired and has bad taste in her mouth.
Tomorrow Mom celebrates her 61st birthday! We thank the Lord for all the many, many rich blessings He has shown her through the years! She hopes to have a quiet day and in the evening we plan to celebrate as a family together at the hospital.  
Please continue to uphold her in your prayers. We pray that things may continue to go smoothly. Each day she will be feeling the effects of the chemo and will become more and more tired. Please continue to pray for Dad as he continues working and adjusting to life at home. All of your prayers, calls, emails and messages are very much appreciated.

This Bible text reminds me of mom very much. She has been joyful and full of laughter, which is wonderful to see! 
"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25

Admitted Today

The day has finally arrived for mom to be admitted into the hospital. After a long day waiting for her Hickman port to be surgically put in, it was rescheduled for tomorrow. Thankfully she was still admitted and the procedure will now take place tomorrow. This does not change the schedule for her upcoming treatment and transplant. Thankfully she was placed in her own private room, where she will be staying over the next month. The room is spacious and has a great view! Tanya and Melissa were able to spend the whole day with her and she was very thankful for the company.
We (Louise's children) all had a nice visit with her this evening. She is very much at peace with everything, which is wonderful to see. We were discussing how we don't really like hospitals, but she said this is where I am going to get better! We all take comfort that she is in good spirits and seems to be taking everything in stride.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Easter Update

The past two weeks have been busy for mom with lots of tests and meetings. Thankfully Tanya has been able to go with her, as it is a lot of information to take in and keep straight!
On Monday mom received another blood transfusion, which made her feel a bit better. Monday she also had the bone marrow biopsy done. It is a painful procedure where the doctor extracts bone marrow out of her bone in order to test it. Since it is taken from within the bone itself, only the area around the bone can be frozen. Thankfully this test is done and hopefully it won't need to be done again for a while.
On Wednesday the results from this biopsy came back and we were thankful to hear that the leukemia has not returned, which is what they were looking for. Her levels are slowly dropping to the point where it would return, but Lord willing the transplant will be done before this happens.
Mom also met with an infectious disease specialist this week. He went over the things to look out for as well as explained the vaccinations she will be receiving. She will need to start all over with her vaccinations once the transplant is finished. She will receive all the vaccinations an infant would receive.
As of now we are still on track for her to be admitted to Juravinski hospital on April 12th to begin the procedure.
This weekend mom has no scheduled appointments and we hope to spend some family time together celebrating Easter and a few birthdays! Mom is excited to have some time off and a bit of a break.
We again thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts. Have a blessed Easter!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chris! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Chris from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -kept in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1:3-4

Mom's Upcoming Bone Marrow Transplant

With Mom's upcoming bone marrow transplant quickly approaching we thought it would be best to start this blog to keep everyone updated and informed with how things are progressing. This will hopefully clear up any questions as well as allow us to communicate any prayer requests we as a family may have.

Mom has a condition called MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome) which was discovered when she had leukemia (ALL) 12 years ago. MDS is a rare disorder in which the bone marrow fails to make enough healthy red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. She may have gotten the disease from the chemotherapy she received to fight the leukemia, but we are unsure. Her blood counts (which have been checked monthly) have gotten to a point where they are too low, so now the only treatment is a bone marrow transplant.

We are incredibly thankful that her youngest brother John is a match to be her bone marrow donor. In order for him to donate his marrow he will need injections for 5 days leading up to the donation day. He will then spend 5-7 hours donating his blood. If they receive enough stem cells on the first day he will not need to repeat the process the following day. They need at least two bags worth of "blood".  

Beginning tomorrow, Louise will undergo a number of tests and has many appointments over the course of the next two weeks.

Yesterday we had a family meeting with her head doctor, nurse and a social worker. It was a long and very informative meeting, where most of our questions could be answered. Although there are still many unknowns.

On April 12th she will be admitted into Juravinski hospital here in Hamilton. She will have a Hickman catheter put in that day which will be used to administer all her medications. During the next 7 days she will undergo heavy chemotherapy. The chemo is needed in order to kill off any good and bad blood cells before the transplant will take place. The chemo will cause her to possibly be nauseous (although they have good drugs to prevent this) and she will get sores in her mouth, which makes it difficult to eat or swallow. She will also loose her hair.

On April 19th the transplant will take place. It is just like a blood transfusion and it will take a number of hours. From this day on she will be in isolation. We will be able to visit with her, but we need to be certain we are not sick. Her immune system will basically be wiped out so she is very, very likely to catch any sickness.

From this date on she will continue on many medications. She will then need to watch for Graft Versus Host Disease. Every patient has some form of the disease. She can either develop an acute form (which will show up early on) or a chronic form (which can show up months later). The systems are swelling of the skin, inflammation of the lungs etc. The symptoms can be treated but they can also very easily be life threatening. Aside from Graft Versus Host Disease many other issues can arise like organ failure and fevers.

The hope is to have mom home after a month. In order for her to be discharged she has to have no fever, and infection must be cleared up and she has to be eating. We learned that nutrition is a huge part of this treatment. When she is in the hospital as well as at home she must eat even when she may not be up to it. The hospital has a team of nutritionists, which will be working with her to make sure she is getting the calories she needs.

The coming year will be a long hard battle watching for and fighting the symptoms of the Graft Versus Host Disease. Any fever or infection will need to be reported and monitored. She is also not allowed in the sun at all since sunburn can be fatal for her.
During her stay in the hospital we are able to visit with her. We will need to be 100 percent healthy, and have absolutely no cold or flu like symptoms. A common cold or flu could be fatal for her. If you want to visit with her we ask that you please contact either Tanya or Eric to arrange a visit. Also only two visitors are allowed at a time.   

At this time we ask that you keep the following matters in your prayers:

Please pray for Mom, as this will be incredibly difficult on her. Pray that her body and mind sustains the very difficult treatment ahead.

Please pray for John as he prepares to be her donor. Please pray that he remains healthy and strong before the transplant happens.

Please pray for Dad, as this will also be very difficult for him as well. He will be at the hospital most days as well as working. Life will be hard without Mom at home with him. Also the next few months and years will be very trying.

Please pray for us her children, as we will need to be a huge support for Mom as well as Dad. We also all need to be healthy in order to visit with her.

Also please pray for her team of doctors and nurses. We are so thankful for the incredible technology that is allowing this to happen. The Lord has truly given Mom a second chance at life.

If you wish to know more information on the procedure here are some links:  http://www.hamiltonhealthsciences.ca/documents/Patient%20Education/AllogeneicBoneMarrowTransplant-th.pdf

This is an American site, but it still has some great information:
https://www.bmtinfonet.org/

I will leave you with one of my Mom's favorite Bible versus which gives us all much comfort. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46: 10-11.