Hi Everyone! We're still enjoying Spring and feeling good here in Carolina. The antibiotics can make me feel yucky and a little nauseous but I think I'm getting that under control by taking an Ativan 20-30 minutes before I take the antibiotic. Other than having low energy and a few stomach aches all is good. Another piece of good news is that they did get FDA approval for giving me treatment twice a week. A research oversight group at Duke still has to give approval but if the FDA approved it there's no reason to think they will not approve it. So twice a week treatments will start next week. I will have a Bone Marrow Biopsy Tuesday before the treatment. My usual PA who has done my last 8 or 9 BMBs will be out of town so I'm a little nervous about it this time but they will give me lots of good drugs to relax me beforehand. The drugs they have today amaze me, I don't know how people had surgery or other small procedures without sedation or conscious sedation drugs in the past. Yea for Anesthesiologists! (Although the drugs I will get aren't strong enough to require one.)

Also in good news, Michael and Matthew are leaving for Indiana tomorrow to go to the final four! When we lived in Indiana we figured we would enter the lottery for tickets (there is a 10% chance you actually get them) since it would only be an hour away. Well we got tickets! So they will be viewing the final four on the big screens while sitting in the nose bleed section of Lucas Oil Stadium watching the little ants bounce around a barely visible ball. They're still excited though! Wish them safe travels. I will be perfectly content watching it from my comfy chair.

Thanks for reading my ramblings! :)
Amy

It's been a semi-good week. Like I said Tuesday I got to go off of my IV antibiotics but that meant I had to go on oral antibiotics. (They keep me on antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal medications constantly.) The first oral antibiotic we tried really upset my stomach so Wednesday and Thursday were kind of "yucky". They changed the antibiotic on Friday and so far it is better. I'm still very tired. My arm pain caused me to be more immobile than normal and I need to start walking again and build myself up. However, I really don't have many complaints right now. I feel good for the most part and the blast count in my blood is still slowly decreasing. I will have another bone marrow biopsy before starting two treatments a week. The PAs laugh and say I'm going for a record number of BMBs. They're really not that bad you just have to relax. (Hopefully none of you will ever have to have one though.)

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weekend,
Amy

Things are still going well here in Durham. Monday was my last day of IV antibiotics so I no longer have the blue IV bag to carry around and I no longer have to go to clinic everyday. I did go to clinic today to get my 11th dose of STA-9090. My white count made a jump today which scares me but supposedly the percentages of blasts in my blood are staying the same so they are not worried. I have two days OFF!!! Friday will be my next clinic visit. It will be very enjoyable to sleep in since we've been going to clinic for about a month without any days off.

Hope this update finds you all well,
Amy

Hi everyone! I'm still feeling great and I feel completely blessed this morning. The bowling tournament held for me yesterday was a huge success. I think everyone had a wonderful time and the fact that so many people gathered to support me is so uplifting. Thanks to Mike and Betty Layton, Lisa Maynard, Tina Payne, Gene Peters, area businesses, and many more. I am so greatful to all of you. Also Thanks to everyone who made baked goods and of course everyone who bowled. The only thing that disappoints me is that I could not be there.

Again many, many thanks!
Amy

It's been a good couple of days. No more problems on the "chain of problems" and I'm hoping to keep it that way. My white count jumped a little at the beginning of the week which is always a worry with Leukemia but it's going back down. It was probably just a result of the infections. However, the blast count in my blood smears is staying the same.

Enjoy the weekend!
Amy

I must be Irish!!! I woke up this morning with no pain (I didn't take any pain medicine in the middle of the night either). The central line site is barely red at all. I can't believe how something can change so much in 48 hours and I am so glad that this line will work for me for a while (knock on wood). I'm still having to go to the clinic everyday to get antibiotics but those should finish up sometime soon.

I'm loving this weather, hope you all have a lucky day,
Amy

Hi everyone! It has been a pretty good week. I've had lots of pain with the central line but the pain medication is helping a lot. This is my third central line and each one has been very painful for the first few weeks. Yesterday the site started getting red and today it was much worse and swollen. They think I have some cellulitis around it and switched my antibiotics around a bit. I get one antibiotic daily at the clinic and the other is given through a portable pump. It's really neat! It's this blue bag (the nurses call it a fanny pack) that I have to carry around with me and it gives me an hour dose of the antibiotic three times a day. I'm glad they have come up with stuff like this so you don't have to go in the hospital to get IV medication. Hopefully these new antibiotics will take care of this infection so they can save this central line. I'm starting to run out of options as far as vein access. I think my veins are protesting to being poked and prodded so much.

I get a treatment tomorrow and hopefully once this infection clears up we will get some days off from the clinic and get back to just having treatments. Have a good week, Amy


PS to David Richardson - We have to clear something up here... in this household we are Boston fans, so George Steinbrenner will have to find someone else!