Tues, 7.15

From what I understand today started a little low and trended up. We like trending up! Last night was a tough one with lots of hacking. Fortunately it's had great results.

WBC: 1600...yes - that's 75,400 down from just 4+ days ago. That's what we want while we also know that 0 will be a low point physically and mentally for Mom (not to mention making her even more suceptible to any kind of infection, illness).
RBC: 6800

So once Mom awoke for good today, they took her down to X-Ray to finally get this damn pick line resolved. They did have positive results so the day was already getting better.

Ganguly was extremely excited about the white blood cell count going down and the way Mom's lungs sounded through the stethoscope. What didn't make him happy were the purple K-State powercat knickers Mom had on. He put his hand on her leg and said, 'hmmm - these are not good to wear here.' That got almost as big of a laugh as when they went to weigh her. Her bed is set-up to weigh her, and it read 93 pounds... While we don't know what her weight will be as she goes though all this, I can assure you she's not 93 pounds! All in all, a short visit from Ganguly equals a positive one. We like those.

A scout friend, Brant Tidwell, came in today and remarked that he wasn't sure if there'd be room in 4102 for him. Apparently the entire book was filled with 4102 entries in the room column! Such a great problem to have. However the nurses did raise a flag on us. I guess that was bound to happen at some point. So the plan is this:

Contact Peggy Morgan via her home #: (913) 383-2335 before visiting. Peggy has graciously offered to help schedule the flow of visitors. I think we all recognize the need for her to rest up and conserve energy for the internal fight.

She received another phone call from a scout friend and Bone Marrow Transplant survivor who had one several years ago and has remianed very active. That was a great lift for her as we often joked that even with the anemia Mom at less than 100% was better than most of us at 100%. So to see someone who's survived the transplant and remained active was awesome.

Something I've been asked to communicate more of is how she looks and feels. Overall she looks pretty darn good and Robin (thus far she's been the weekday nurse and we REALLY like her - although all of them are great) has commented on her tremendous attitude. She looks just like the Mom / Cathi you'd see with a t-shirt and knickers around the house. Carla will be at the hospital soon to cut her hair shorter before shaving it later, making it more manageable when it begins to fall out. We're all very proud of her for the attitude she's maintained. Make no mistake, there are tough times. But that's what this blog and your comments are for!

One particular highlight today was Mom exercised on the stationary bike for a full mile. She told me about this, and I have to say it made me think of the Tour de France or something where she was the lead rider for her team and had coaching all around. Mom initially was going to ride for 5 minutes. Then Robin stopped by and said, 'why don't you just do 10 minutes.' Well once then 10 minutes was nearing, Peggy said, 'just finish the mile.' SHE DID. How great is that??? It reminded me of the following story that to me epitomizes Mom and I think you'll all get a kick out of it.

So a few weeks ago Mom went to scout camp and realized she was getting out of breathe walking from the car to the tent. In hindsight, that was likely a hint of the leukemia. However, what did Mom do??? She decided she was out of shape and needed to walk it more. That's the Mom / Cathi we all know and love!

There are also some pictures online for those interested of her trip to Colorado in early June. She did a zip line across the Arkansas River among other outdoor activities. Pictures can be viewed via the following link and data entry information:

http://whitewaterphotography.com/photos,listeventphotos.html&p=7
Date: 6/21/08, Time: 10 AM, Photos: 202854, 202857, 202933, 20310