Results are in...

This is Bev. We are taking it well, but results are in. Ken has to have the bone marrow transplant. He luckily gets to give himself the bone marrow, so that is the safest way. Here is what happened today. I hope you have read the previous blog. That will explain what happened this morning. Then we went for lunch to the Spaghetti Factory, Ken's favorite place to eat in Denver. They sat us in the white iron bed with purple cushions. Our favorite booth. We remember eating in that booth with all the kids a few times when they were little. We sure wouldn't all fit in that booth now. It was a nice lunch. Then it was back to the hospital.

As we checked in at the desk for his doctor's appointment this afternoon, they handed us both a psychological questionnaire. They were for the bone marrow transplant patient and the transplant care giver. Here was another sign even before we got the news. Then when we went back to the room to wait for the doc, Jana came in to interview us. She talked for about 30-45 minutes. She was a psychologist. She needed to check us out for our sanity to see if we can get thru all this. They need to give a psychological report to the insurance company. She gave us more information about what to expect. Then the doc finally came in.

Dr. Myint came in and said that the scan showed that Ken still had the one spot that he had 6 weeks ago. It is stubborn and just won't go away. So the transplant is the ticket. It will take care of it. Doc says we need to keep going while we are winning. So, we will keep going. We don't know everything yet, but we will be meeting with our coordinator soon and will get the rest of our questions answered. This is what we do know for now.
Oct. 15th, Ken will go down for x-rays to see if his pneumonia is cured. He has to be careful in the next few weeks that he is able to heal and get over it.
Oct. 19th, he will go into the hospital for 3 days. They will give him a different kind of chemo and shots every day that will boost his immune system and make the right kind of white blood cells.
The week of Nov. 2nd, he will go to Denver for a 1 day outpatient procedure to harvest his white blood cells. They will then check them and keep them.
On Nov. 9th, he will go into the hospital for his transplant. He will be in for about 3 or 4 weeks.
Then when he is released, he will need to stay in Denver for 2-3 weeks. They say they tell people they may have to stay close up to 3 months, but since we live sort of close anyway, we will probably only need to stay for 2-3 weeks. He has to have someone with him 24/7, so I will have to stay there with him. He will have to be within a 30 minute drive of the hospital. They say that if his fever spikes at all, he needs to be close. And his platelets are compromised during this procedure, so they worry about bleeding. That is the main reason he has to stay close.
So that is what we know for now. There are lots of things to figure out before Ken goes in the hospital. I know we will need help with Ken's mom. I'll need to figure out the paper route. Who's going to watch the dogs. Should I get away for a few days to see my brother and family before all this starts. Yes, psychologist says to go now. When will I get my flu shot, H1N1 shot, my yearly physical. I'm calling the doctor tomorrow to start all that. So, we will be figuring all this out within the next few weeks. We don't have to decide it all today. I am so looking forward to the weekend. We need to relax and let this all soak in. Thanks for being there for us. We love every soul that is reading this and caring about us. Bless You all. Bev