Pics from Saturday (Visitors)

Chris- up close

Christine & Ben

Tommy & Dad Waxmonsky

Christine, Ben, Mike, Chris

Me, Gina's back, Christine, Ben, Mike, Laura

Chris & Danny

Mike

Group in distance, Matt far right

Christine is using her hands.. lol

Chris & his Dad (see where his brothers got the height from)

My mom, Gina, Laura, my bro Chris (me with Finkels in back)

Christine, Ben Mike Chris

Another Chris and Dad shot

Mike and Ben by tree

Body Scans, Danyko Hat, A Baby, Visitors Oh My!

Thanksgiving was great... we ate.. we watched the Cowboys win... Chris and I watched "A Christmas Story" and all was good (it was the first time I ever saw it!)

Friday, we got to the hospital for his scheduled spinal tap and MRI. He went to same day medical and checked in. The MRI was to be with anastesia... and MRI was supposed to start at 1pm.. Ha!

I left when the spinal tap was starting. It was supposed to be back-to-back procedures... I went to JFK to get his barium for the next test. The Robert Wood nurses called to tell me he was in the MRI holding area... of course, I questioned why it wasnt starting... But i went back and Chris was still waiting. Anastesiologist hadnt gotten there. They finally took him after 3pm..

I went to the lobby to wait. It was a 1 hour scan and 1 hour in recovery... ha... After 6pm, I was able to go see him... His blood pressure was low and his heart rate high... but FINALLY we were able to leave a lil after 8pm...

Oh I forgot to mention, remember the doctor who Chris wasnt fond of? Her brain wasnt working... she didnt look comfortable with the spinal? yea... she wound up doing his spinal. Apparently, afterwards, the nurse was bullshitting with Chris and he thought the doctor had left and he was saying some "not so nice" stuff about the doc to the nurse... Then the nurse was like "um, she is still here" and the doc appeared... Chris felt bad but he told her why he was upset... and that was that... oops

We get home.. Chris has been walking better every day ... even the stairs are getting better... strength is getting better... just his knee is bothering him.. but he had a pre-existing knee issue... years ago, he had a pitella (spelling?) issue and had some work done on it... and it acts up when it is raining or cold or whatever..

We got home rested, etc... 4am (Saturday) Chris drank bottle 1 of the barium..

Then we went to bed again.. 7am I gave him necessary meds and no insulin. Pet scan required sugar under 200, and at 7am it was 119 so we did no insulin and no steroids.. we didnt want sugar to get too low, cus he isnt allowed to eat...
So, we go to JFK Imaging for 8am.. and the mammo/bone density receptionist is there.. the MRI girl is there. but the petscan person isnt there...
Dont get me started on how mad I am...
By 845am, the mammo girl gives Chris his barium bottle #2 to drink and a form for us to start..
Then the girl for petscan arrives with a trainee... walked in like she had nowhere to go..
Mind you, Chris has a walker and has gotten up a few times to prep for this test..
So, trainee and worker walk out in the lobby (behind us) and say "is anywhere here for a petscan?" and then when she sees us, she says "wanna come back and get registered?" all non-chalant.. ugh... so, I grab the cup, the barium bottle, the clipboard and my purse and help Chris walk to the registration room.... I wanted to yell.. but i didnt..
When we got back to the waiting room, I said outloud "maybe she should train the new girl to not be late.. we didnt want to be here at 8am for no reason" but i doubt they heard me... i will be writing a letter or calling
So, they took him in.. the petscan guy was sooo nice...
2 hours later he was done and they brought him out...
We went to get bagels and go home to rest
I made chris a dentist appt because they suggested to get a cleaning done before transplant..
So, I drove past a place near home the other day and made him an appt..
We got there and it was pretty simple... nice place... plasma tv above each dentist chair.. and they showed him his x-rays on it immediately after taking them...
he has 2 impacted wisdom teeth but no cavities (which is good for transplant)

We got home, ordered pizza and subs, and then Chris's dad and 3 brothers arrived (Matt, Danny, and Tommy)
Then my cousins Gina and Laura came...
And a little later, Christine Rabbath and Mike came with little Ben..
It was a busy but very good day for Chris

His fam brought Chris a singing fish.. its very funny
And, Gina brought Chris an autographed Danyko Devils hat.. He LOVE LOVES LOVES it.. one of Chris's fave Devils ever... He is so excited.. Gina hit the nail on the head. Her brother (my cousin) Eugene has a show on the MSG network and works with Danyko so he hooked her up...
He signed it "Keep Fighting"

Ben is adorable.. growing so fast... stood up on his own already... so close to walking...

We went upstairs to bed, and hung out for a bit... Sunday is Chris's last day home..
I will post pics of Saturday in a little while...
And, I will post more about Sunday and then Monday...

ttyl xoxox Jenn

Transplant Scheduled- & Thanksgiving WIshes

Ok, so yesterday, Chris got a call from Jackie... The donor called back. They scheduled. And Chris is being admitted on Monday Dec 1st, pending Friday and Saturday scans...

This is good news, and overwhelming all at the same time...
It is an emotional, wonderful, scary time for Chris and for me, and for everyone around us

So, last night, we took a ride,,, got out of the house... Chris has been slowly walking up and down the stairs (with help) better and better... but after having his legs in a car for a few hours, he was beat last night...

Today, we will have a nice Thanksgiving... good cooking.. quiet day... maybe watch a classic Christmas movie.. and spend time together...
Tomorrow late morning and early afternoon will be taken up by spinal tap and MRI with anastesia... and then we rest... see how he feels
Saturday morning we have the petscan bright and early... and then we go home...
Chris' dad and brothers are probably coming at some point Saturday.. and maybe some others...
So, Sunday night, we will get a call from admitting about what time to arrive on Monday...
And, on Monday morning, Jackie and Dr Strair will be scrambling to find petscan results...
I am not sure exactly what they are looking for...
I know they want to make sure there is nothing like a fungus in his spinal fluid.. and check his spine and brain one last time... and petscan will show what current activity looks like compared to the activity (new leukemia activity) from pre-chemo 6-7 weeks ago

I suppose we will sorta celebrate my birthday on Sunday, but my best birthday present is having Chris's transplant scheduled this soon... Thats all I want -- Chris to get through all of this... best present I could ask for...

So, its Thanksgiving... and its time to be thankful.. and I am sooo thankful that I have Chris in my life... and I am thankful for God's blessings thus far... mostly the finding of exact match donors for Chris... and thankful his 23-yr old male donor has obviously been very quick to schedule and respond... We both thank all of you for your concern, thoughts, prayers, cards, help, gifts, gestures, etc... Friendship and family are so important... and we have very special friends and family... and at this time of our lives, we see how lucky and blessed we are... We have seen amazing gestures and kindness... and I want you all to know that we see it and appreciate it...
Thanks everyone. I pray that God is as close as possible to us at this time and the upcoming month. We need strength to get thru this last big hurdle... Bring on the new immune system, the new bone marrow, and "work" please ;)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!! See some of you soon! xoxoxo Jenn

Quick Update

This morning, Chris' quick 8am appointment turned into a 2.5 hour event... first we got a lil delayed in new brunswick traffic.. but that just made us 5-6 minutes late... But Chris started walking with walker to the building, then down hall a bit and was so fatigued from the walk... He hasnt walked much since his discharge from hospital (not to mention barely walking in the hospital because of infection and weakness) Anyways... I got him a wheelchair and we got to the suite.. 10 minutes later they tell us Dr Strair is upstairs... Sooo we go upstairs... we see Jackie and then Strair and Jackie.... His bumps are all gone or shrunk to very small size... Jackie noticed a bump on his lower back, but Jackie and Strair wonder if its a biopsy or spinal tap site... They asked about his leg weakness... and we straightened out his insulin... The doner is still not scheduled... I guess they are working on getting him cleared by his doctors also (otherwise it should be a phone call for a date) Jackie said coordinator said they might not have more info til monday or tuesday cus of the holiday.............................. So.... that was pretty much it.. but they asked us to stop at the front desk to get 4 appointments scheduled... so i thought we were out of there and then guess how long it takes to get 3 tests and an appointment with Strair scheduled.??? a long time.................. Sooo... here is what our schedule looks like..... Friday we go to robert wood univ. hospital for 11:00 for a spinal tap and then he will lay flat for an hour and then get anastesia and have MRI of entire spine and brain (he just had MRI of brain on Friday)... then saturday morning we go to JFK and have petscan of body... he has to fast and drink barium in the morning... Then Tuesday we have a follow up with Strair at 830am and then off to JFK for mugascan (heart test) and pulmonary (lung function test)... the mugascan and pulmonary are required for pre-transplant to make sure heart and lung are at ok function... Strair wants to see spinal fluid to make sure there is no fungus or anything before transplant... anyways... i dropped chris off.. got him settled and went to work... visiting nurse came in the afternoon... turns out to be someone i know... her family went to saint helenas.. and her brother is jeanie's husband brian's best friend... small small world... anyways... we are off for a few days.. enjoy thanksgiving and then tests friday... saturday we might have some visitors... and possibly chris's dad and brother.. maybe christine and mike and ben.. maybe jeanie and mer this week... we will see.. nothing confirmed.. but anyways.. oh we put up the new christmas tree tonight... so pretty!!! gonna watch dancing with the stars final in a bit... keep praying.. thanks everyone
xoxox jenn

Update on the Seizure Activity- & Chris Back Home

Saturday continued to be a pretty normal day... other than chris wesiting a weird thing on his head... My parents came by to visit... Chris's roommate in 7Tower is pretty coool... 62 yr old man who like like he is 50-- had a stroke in his optic nerve...

Dr Harrison and the team came by and said that if the anti-seizure med is working, he can go home Sunday... We saw Dr Naylor again.. love him
They have him on Topomax... no episodes seen yet.. they did detect seizure activity on the recording.. but want to video him and monitor until Sunday morning

Dr Harrison says Chris can go home Sunday as long as there are no more episodes
I go home Saturday night.. I had been there since 430pm Friday.. more than 24 hours

Sunday morning, Chris calls me and tells me they will be disconnected his head and discharging him... I go pick him up after lunch time and they prescribed him the topomax and gave him dilaudid for home... to ween him off the patch..
Remember, Chris took the fentinol patch off cold turkey and after a month of patch, thats not good.. they felt he was going thru withdrawals from it, so they are having him wind down...

We went home... I had some issues with the CVS folks, but thats my own lil frustration with the guy who didnt call me when he didnt have the right dose of his meds.. so i had to spend extra time there when i went back to get some answers and things straightened out

Its now Monday evening... Chris is home resting.. feeling better... and we will watch dancing with the stars tonight ;) yay!

We have an appointment tomorrow morning (Tues 8am) with Dr Strair.... follow up appointment.. not sure if we will find out about donor or transplant schedule.. but if we do, i will post ASAP tomorrow
Feel free to call or text me tomorrow after 10am to get info
Friday mid-day Chris has a spinal tap (one last one before transplant just to make sure there is no fungus or anything) and he has an MRI with anastesia after that on Friday to check the rest of the spine ...
Tomorrow, we will get more info on petscan and whether we need mugascan and or pulmonary tests again

Until tomorrow... Goodnight!!
xoxox Jenn & Chris

Photos of Chris on the Neuroscience Floor- Brief Update

Not too much new to report

Pics for you guys... info below.. one pic is Chris late last night while they were attaching wires to head... other pic is Chris today sitting in chair.. they are videoing him 24/7... He is feeling good.. we are watching football

Chris has been hooked up to lots of electrodes and head is wrapped (so they dont come off) and has wires in a sock like thing...

They gave him a button to push if he has an episode (so they know to pay attention to that part of the recording..) Well, all night, he had no episodes...

only episode was that at 3am or so i was awakened by a very loud noice... a helicopter was landing on the roof about 50-75 feet outside the window... i watched it land..i closed my eyes again... great view of the landing pad area.. lol

Chris heard it too and we both went back to sleep

This morning, the neurologist Konstantin Balashov came in and said they were putting him on anti-seizure meds ... they said he didnt sleep much during the night but they saw some sort of seizure like activity.... the original EEG from earlier yesterday saw stuff but they didnt see the beginning of his episode... Preliminary of the MRI looks fine... no leisions... they will probably re-MRI the head in a few weeks

So far today, Chris has had no episodes...

We will be here in 7 Tower all day so they can continue recording him.. ugh

I am posting pics of him... thanks everyone for the prayers and thoughts...

Back in the Hospital - Ugh

Well... late Wednesday night after hanging out, having good conversation... Chris, my brother, and I.... all of a sudden, Chris sorta spaced out... I asked him if he was gonna eat his jello and he sorta looked at me like he didnt know what i was talking about...
He snapped out of it pretty quickly... and I asked if he was ok... took his sugar, blood pressure, and temp... all was good... we decided he was probably tired...
He also took his fentinol (pain) patch off earlier in the day (he saw a commercial about its side effects) and wasnt having pain anyways...
So, we went to bed.. I talked to him,,, he was a lil weird at first with some odd focus on the tv.. but then just talked to me til he fell asleep...
I watched him for a couple hours... he was ok, except waking up with some gas discomfort (sorry, too much information )
Anyways, Thursday morning, he seemed fine. I went to work. He text me a bit... and then he fell when trying to get up to use the bathroom
My mom left work (thank goodness) to go help him up. She called me after 3 to tell me he was acting disoriented...
I called Dr Strair... I explained his moments of disorientation... Dr Strair said if he snaps out of it within a few seconds it is ok, otherwise go to the emergency room
I got home from work.. Chris was ok.. we had dinner.. started watching tv.. and then out of nowhere, he spaced out... He looked at me with a blank stare and did not respond to me asking his name or anything... so in a panic, i screamed for my parents.. Mom called 911 and I called Strair.. while these phone calls were going on, my dad told us Chris snapped out of it...
He is aware of the fact that he is disoriented.. says his brain feels disconnected...
EMS comes.. Edison Twp and a cop... they talk to him.. vitals are ok..
I grab his cell, charger, my purse and shoes and a drink.. and my mom met me at the hospital (she drove my car there for me) and my dad would pick her up
Chris wasnt able to say much in the ambulance ride... but once we got to the ER, he was whispering to me.. He was aware the entire time of what I was saying.. he would smile, squeeze my hand, sometimes talk, etc.. he was happy to see my mom too..
They only allow one person per bedside so mom couldnt stay too long... It was soooo scary watching Chris like this... Chris snapped out of it 30 minutes after we got there... and was talking to me for the rest of the night ... he told me that he saw me looking at me but couldnt reply... he remembers most of the night...
There was one other episode in the ER while we were waiting for him to go to catscan.. it was brief.. he felt it coming on... he said he was fixated on the tv and couldnt turn head towards me
He didnt blank out this time.. just a lil weird... it was brief.
They took him to catscan and took xray and he was ok.. we moved up to the 5th floor and he was admitted
He seemed better and we went to bed (after 3am)
Friday morning, we saw all sorts of doctors.. I didnt physically go into work.. i went home to change and shower and get my laptop and I worked from home for a bit and from hospital for a bit... i will catch up on the rest over the weekend
Friday (today) while i was still home, they did the MRI of his head and when I came back they did the EEG (record brain waves)... He was pretty ok during the day... but when she came to do EEG, he had an episode where he knew it was coming on... he couldnt turn his head on his own nor could be move limbs... the neurologists came in to see this, but couldnt check him out during the EEG
Of course, once EEG was over, they came to see him and he was able to move

The neurologists and oncologists seem to think these are all symptoms of seizure.. but not the kind where you shake and whatnot.. they are called absence or petit seizures.. common more in kids... now they have to figure out why...
MRI should be read by the morning... its 930pm.. 6 hours since MRI and we havent heard anything... so we will see... they have to read the EEG too
Doctors have suggested that the reasons for the seizures could be: all the stress his body has been through since june... manefestation from when Chris got hit by a car when he was 10... leukemia (in the brain, i guess.. maybe tumor)... possibly combo of medicines or chemo... a bunch of good reasons.. but once they see MRI and EEG.. they should be able to figure out what medication to use...

I came back from my stop at home (when his MRI was over) and I ran into Dr Harrison in the hall.. I called his name and he turned around and said "I am not Dr Harrison.. I am Mammal something or other...." i was dying.. he makes me so much more relaxed.. except he continued to say "thats the brain transplant surgeon in there with Chris now..." I freaked and before i could really think about what serious something they may have discovered, he told me "they dont do brain transplants.. just kidding" i am obviously not thinking but now i get it
haha... anyways, Neurologist is talking to chris and checkin him out... Harrison is happy to see how nicely he has recovered from the infection and all.. said his counts look great and nutrition is great.. he told me to keep feeding him whatever he has been eating :) Harrison comments on just getting this resolved so we can move to transplant
Earlier in the morning, Strair had come by

ok... so while i was typing this blog entry, the EEG lady came back... they want to video monitor him for 24 hours... everything he does and everythng we say will be recorded... wonderful... but when he feels an episode happening he can push a button and either of us can talk.. so they will listen to what is being said around the time of the button being pushed... sooo depending on what happens, i might need to jump up and push the button... and as i type more i am hearing that they might have to move him to the 7th floor.. the neuroscience floor for this 24 hour period..
could this get any more complicated? this tech cannot tell me what they may or may not have seen in the EEG...
Here we go again... Just as I get settled in after an unsettling 24 hours, I have to gather our crap that i just lugged here for him (his clothes and stuff)and my laptop and work so i can function here)... do i sound cranky? sorry...
Chris was so excited.. his dad called a day or so ago and wanted to come see him this weekend (at home) and now here we are...
sooo yea... thats that.. now we wait. not sure how soon we will have to move... or when i will get to bed.. or if chris will have another episode
they started giving him ativan a couple hours ago and he seems to be fine... so this should be interesting
I got Chris food from Paulie's tonight..well for both of us... so he ate good...
The 7 Tower rooms are doubles... so i would get a recliner.. they sorta hinted that i should stay with him so i can help push the button and talk... this is weird...
They say they cannot monitor him here cus its neuro equipment and whatever
They are attaching stuff to his head as we speak... the glue smells....
Ok... well i will write more once i have more info... results of the MRI and EEG and all that good stuff
xoxox Jenn

Bloodwork Appt Today- Counts are good

Chris has been home since Monday night. He is enjoying being home very much

Since Monday night, he has gotten a little bit stronger in his legs...
On Monday night, he walked up the stairs ... took a break half way up and needed help...

Tonight, he got all the way up before needing a break...

This morning, he had a bloodwork appointment... Platelets were good... white blood cells are up to 6 and I cannot remember the red blood number.. but we were sent on our way home... no transfusions needed ;) Jackie was a pleasure as always... The appointment went smoother than we could have imagined...
I was worried about what we would do if he needed a transfusion because I had to get Chris home and then go to a job fair for work.... and if he needed a transfusion, I would have had to go.. and we had no ride scheduled until 3pm :( But... it worked out... whew..... Little things like this cause such craziness because they often schedule Chris on their time.. and it is often at bad times for us to get him there... Friday, we have an appointment with Dr Strair... and more bloodwork... but its super early in the morning.. so thats good
Jackie is working on scheduling the donor.. so the bone marrow transplant will happen whenever the donor is ready... Jackie is pretty sure it will be after thanksgiving.. but it can be very soon after thanksgiving if the donor is ready that soon... so we might have a better idea on Friday
On Friday, we should also get more info on the final biopsy...
Remember, the preliminaries of the bone marrow looked much improved from last time.. but the final will tell us exactly what it looked like...
As much as Chris doesnt want to be back in the hospital soon (cus its nice to be gome after 25 days of hospitalization).. we both know that the sooner the better...
We (me, chris, all of you, etc) have been praying for a miracle.. praying for good news, cure, strength, etc... So, whenever Chris can get in for transplant, is a good thing... its a blessing...
We are going to enjoy this time home ... and look forward to the transplant...
Keep you all posted
xoxox Jenn

Chris is Home!!

Well, I went to see Chris this morning at the hospital and he was determined to get home today... I thought he was out of his mind (docs said MAYBE tues or wed when we saw him yesterday) but Chris was walking around pretty good today and Dr Strair said SEND HIM HOME

So, after work, I went to pick him up.. and he goes to see the doc for a follow up and bloodwork on Wednesday

He is home!! Woohoo! Rex is beside himself and We are all so happy to have him back home...

Thats all I have to say

Let us know if you want to visit... we'll be here :)
xoxox Jenn

Weekend Summary ;-)

Saturday morning, I woke up, finally a little bit relaxed from yesterday's big news

I slept like a champ :)

I hung out with Rex and my parents... I called Chris and he sounds so much better...

I got ready, and my brother went to the hospital to see Chris...

I stopped at the new Walmart on the way to the hospital and got Chris some new boxers (Superman and Marvel heros) and my Keith Urban DVD... its exclusive to Walmart, otherwise i wouldnt rush there (it was a madhouse)

Chris looked a lot better when I got to the hospital... but he was paying for yesterday's dinner choice... Friday was his first day to eat whole food and he got a cheeseburger against my suggestion... his taste buds didnt like anything but his tummy was mad about the quick jump to beef and cheese... Melissa is his nurse on Saturday... we like her... very sweet.. and a good nurse... Nancy was there too, she came in to see Chris a few times...

My parents came to visit.. my brother left... My parents stayed until it was time to go to mass.. they checked out the local parish down the street.. Saint Peters.. old 160 yr old church...

I made Chris do his physical therapy exercises in bed... and he was bummed that he was needing a shower and stuff... so I got a bucket of soapy water and gave him a pedicure and washed him up from knees down.. then i moisturized... it was fun... and chris' feet look softer and prettier now

So, Saturday, he ordered potatos and starches for dinner and in the evening, he walked to the bathroom with assistance from the tech and nurse... for not walking in almost 2 weeks, he was doing pretty good.. Physical therapy had him walk a few days prior.. and he has been doing leg exercises in bed... the PT gave him homework for over the weekend

I stayed at the hospital Saturday night...

Chris got a 2nd wind Saturday night after a brief nap... so it was like 10pm and he was wide awake so we watched some TV

Sunday morning I went home... well, it was late morning... Before I went home, Chris got his daily visit from Dr Harrison... Today, he was a riot, as usual, but a lil more crazy today

He walked in and was belting out German exclamations for a good 3-4 minutes...

Then he said "did you get any of that?" Chris said no.. so the Doc went on to re-enact it in English... he basically went on about nonsense and why he is here and how the goldfish (Peppridge Farm, that Chris was eating) are not really fish.... then he went to check that he still had a tongue and a heart... he said Chris can go home as soon as he is walking on his own and his wound is more healed... so maybe Wednesday?!?!?! woohoo

talk about motivation to get out of bed with PT and without PT

At home, I hung out with Rex and took a shower and a nap

Then, my brother went to the hospital and I got there a little later

Look how good he looks today...

Watched the Giants cream the Ravens... and let me tell you... Chris was all washed up.. the tech washed him up (these women seeing my Chris nude... grrr.. just kidding)

He was in long sweat pants and a button down shirt.. he looked like a new man.. while i was home, he walked to the bathroom and to the window and was now in a chair - bullshitting with my brother

Now, they wanted to order Paulie's for dinner...

So we did...

And then my brother went home...

Chris and I are getting ready for the Dallas Redskins game.. GO DALLAS

Tonight, i will sleep home... back to work tomorrow :(

but Chris will be home soon.. woohoo

Chris took another walk tonight to the bathroom with the nurse.. he is lookin much stronger...

Yay!!

Chris is excited.. I am excited... visitors at home instead of the hospital.. good stuff

Aunt Ro called today and Chris talked to Lew... he isnt feeling well.... Get better Lew

Jeanie got Liv's stomach bug over the weekend... but is finally feeling better today

Thats all for now folks... Until tomorrow...

Jenn

BIG DAY FRIDAY

Well, I woke up at the hospital today and started working from here... Except then my VPN to get onto work computer remotely would not work .. So I hung out at hospital doing the paperwork stuff I had with me... and waited...

Doctors came to see him as usual... Chris was feeling better...
He was allowed to eat real food today. not liquids... FOOD

His taste buds arent back to normal but he ate...
His sugar was really low this morning (probably cus he hadnt eaten yet and they took him off IV food) so they made him eat candy and drink juice
Then his blood pressure was up which is weird for him...

The priest, Fr Joe came with more scriptures... Sharon, the chaplain came too.... She always makes us feel better

THey gave Chris platelets... and we were still waiting for results

Finally, at 4pm, transport comes to get him to take him for his port to be re-done.. I went down with them and then when they were ready to take him in, I went back up to his room to wait...

Who did I run into on my way to Chris's room? Yes, Dr Strair... My heart sank into my belly...
Was I ready for this alone?
He said he was looking for Chris and that he wasnt there (obviously)
Well... he told me that the preliminary bone marrow results look good...
He said we would have final next week but that the marrow is definitely improved since last time... he said we should be moving into transplant next...
Monday, Jackie will be calling to work out scheduling the donor...
and, he also commented on the growths on Chris's legs being shrunk or gone...
So, he seemed pleased
He will be back to see Chris Monday...
He said Chris should be discharged by the end of the week (so, 5-7 days from now) - we just have to keep up with physical therapy and getting Chris walking on his own.. his legs are still so weak
and I asked him when he would be coming back for transplant.. He said aside from making sure that the donor is available, about 2-3 weeks.. Chris needs to recover a bit at home from last chemo and infection
I thanked him... and walked back to Chris's room.. I was majorly relieved...
What a long 2 days
Now, I had to sit and wait for Chris to come back.... I was freaking out with this good news.. I made Chris's bed and cleaned up and then he came back... he was so relieved also

Then, I took a walk to get myself dinner and he ordered
We ate together.... Chris' taste buds are still weird...

I am going to go home tonight to sleep... and will be back in the morning to see Chris..
IT should be a good weekend

Thanks for all the prayers.. and keep praying... we have one more huge hurdle to get past

until tomorrow,
xoxox Jenn

Big Day... Feeling Better... Biopsy Done...

Well, I woke up at the hospital.. Chris is feeling better...
Tanya said goodbye :( Won't see her til Monday or Tuesday...
Tatiana is on again for the day...

I hang out with Chris in the morning til its time for me to go to work
Dr Hart of Infectious Diseases comes in... examines belly... says he feels much improved down there

I leave for work.... Chris calls me and tells me that Dr Strair came with Dr Harrison today...
They are doing the bone marrow biopsy today. Tomorrow, we should have preliminary results...
Ahhhh stress...
They are feeling confident... Chris is feeling much better... belly hurts less... Physical therapy is happening... fever is gone...

He also tells me that his triple lumen port thingy is leaking.. they are going to have to do a new one....

After work, I ran some errands for Chris... and went home to freshen up...
Meanwhile, my brother came to hang out with Chris around 5 or so... he was here for a few hours while i was still running around..
Oh, side note, my brother somehow ate a peanut accidentally this morning... it was an oat bar, but musta been made on a machine that processes nuts... he called me this morning and WAS going to go to the ER.. he was swollen and icky... but, he decided to go home and take benedryl cus he didnt want to wind up with a $100 co pay from ER visit... ugh i coulda smacked him. luckily he is ok.. but anyways...

So, they started an IV in Chris's hand so that they can still give him fluids... Dr Thomas (3rd year resident) came in and checked out the port. She removed the port so he doesnt get an infection.. he will get the new port tomorrow.. we have Isabel again tonight... Chris is feeling good... he didnt need as much dilaudid today and physical therapy is going well...

Tomorrow, I am working from the hospital because Dr Strair will be coming again and because we will be waiting for the bone marrow biopsy results... ahhhh... We are going to learn a lot tomorrow about next steps... all depends on the results...

So, please keep Chris and everyone around here (doctors, donor, etc...) in your prayers... We need them tonight and tomorrow... Chris is very overewhelmed... I am so anxious...
More to follow tomorrow
xoxox Jenn

Veterens Day & Wednesday.. biopsy coming tomorrow!

Tuesday morning... wake up at the hospital...hang out here with Chris...

The doctors come in and out... Dr Harrison feels Chris is 48 hours from a bed sore and tells him he needs Physical Therapy to come get him moving... and should sit in a chair when he can

Chris woke up with a temp... again.. ugh...

My dad comes to visit for a few hours... and Chris is resting.. think he is sleeping and then he chimes into conversation.. His nurse is Nancy again... turns out her friend is friends with my cousin Laura.. small world

After my dad's visit, i go home with him... do my thing at home and then shower... dad brings me back here...

The opium is working... I come back to hospital to see Chris in a recliner... physical therapy had come.. got him moving.. and into recliner.. it wiped him out but he was happy to be out of bed and in chair .. comfy.. and in a hawaiian shirt... getting red blood... he had gotten platelets earlier
Check out pic from today

Nancy leaves... and we have a floater nurse.. chris doesnt know her...
My brother came to visit... so did Christine Rapach...
Chris thought he could just take oxy for the pain.. but when he needs dilaudid, he gets very upset that he isnt interactive for company... We tell Chris its okay... We dont want him to sit there in pain....
We hang out for a while after they left...
I moved chris over to the other side of the bed, closer to the tv before i left.. i was here til 11:30pm or so... he wanted to sleep in the recliner... he had pillows all over...
I talked to Chris when I got home... and then I fell asleep
I missed his text shortly after.. and he called me at 415am... the power surged at the hospital and he wanted to know if we lost power.. i didnt hear my phone ring.. called him back at 445am...
we went back to sleep...

I got to the hospital Wednesday morning to see Chris before work... he was very emotional :( he didnt want me to go to work... well, he wanted me to work from the hospital... It broke my heart... He is getting to that point, just not wanting to be here... he misses bed at home.. misses home... getting frustrated
I am reassured when his nurse Tatiana seems very compassionate when she came in...
I reassured Chris to call me whenever and that i would be coming after work and sleeping here

While I am at work, Chris was told by Dr Harrison that he would not be the doctor for the next week.. Chris is upset
I talked to Chris around noon and he was sleepy..
After work i found out that Chris had freaked out... they came in to do bone marrow biopsy and no one ever told him it would be happening.. he wasnt emotionally ready for this... no one told him... so i guess he freaked, told them he needed to speak with his doctor (Strair) and between that and the physical therapy, he needed meds...
My brother came and helped Chris shave..
Then I got here and was ready to watch the country music awards with chris... but he slept...
Something about his combo of drugs made him really messed up...
He was super disoriented whenever he woke.. but he kept falling back asleep
His night nurse is Tanya.. woohoo... she notices chris is saying weird things in his state and looks lost and/or scared... apparently he got morphine in the afternoon.. for pain when he was in between drugs.. she checks with pharmacy... they feel that
POSSIBLY, the opium is making the effects of his other drugs worse....
eventually he wakes and is back to normal...
His temp is down to 98.6.. his white blood cells are going up (.5)
He says his bowels feel better

Dr Strair had come to see him at the end of the day.. he said he will be back tomorrow to talk to him
I am sleeping here...
It seems he will have the bone marrow biopsy Thursday (tomorrow) ahhhhh
This will tell us if the chemo worked or not... if it reduced the leukemia in his bone marrow.. remember, that was the goal of the chemo so we can go to transplant....

So, please pray... Chris needs some strength to get through these trying times... and pray for good biopsy results

good night Jenn

Monday- back to work

I woke up this morning and stopped at the hospital to see Chris on my way to work

Nancy is his nurse today-- we love Nancy

I am told he spiked a fever... ugh
They do more cultures
Chris is emotional and scared.. he hates dealing with these ups and downs... cant blame him.. its gotta suck

I go to work and then after work I go back to hang out with him.. I am off tomorrow (Tuesday - its Veterens Day)
There is a bacteria they found in his line... Its common from what i am told.. so they added another antibiotic... He is in better spirits...
They also added another anti-diareaha medicine to his meds... His night nurse is Tanya again :)
She gave him his anti-diareaha cocktail.. its opium... go figure... it smells like licorice... but chris says it tastes nasty

I am sleeping here tonight... off tomorrow ;) goodnight

Sunday- Day of Rest.. and football

Photo on the left of Chris and the lemur.

Not too much to report today...

I spoke with Chris in the morning when I woke up.. He was just resting...

Fever from last night hung around a bit around 100- 100.5 but he was doing better

I came to see him late morning with my mom...

He said the doctors were happy with his bloodwork... I guess whatever they see is telling them that the antibiotics are working... all the doctors were here before i got here... I can never figure them out... when I slept here sometimes they didnt get here til noon.. when I sleep home, they come at 7am ... oh well...

Me and mom hang out with him for a few hours.. he is sleeping on and off.. but he needs it... he has to rest... and he had a long weekend with all his family... time to recover ;)

Lew is en route to Floriday already...

He got vitamin K today as well as platelets and some albuim (totally spelling it wrong) it was to help his swelling go down... i think he retained a lot of water... I think he got some potassium too.. and magnesium...

I think the vitamin K was to help prevent bleeding cus his platelets are low...

I might have some of this mixed up.. I got my items correct, i just might have the drugs mixed up with the reasons...

Platelets make him sleepy too...

Chris is getting a little overwhelmed with his frequent need to go to the bathroom especially since it involves a bedpan and calling a nurse or tech...

PT (physical therapy) is coming tomorrow... they are gonna help him get moving

The white blood cell count was .1 yesterday.. and today they are up to .2 Sounds like not much, but in the world of chemo recovery, that is great.. he is on his way up...

Once the White blood count gets higher, along with the antibiotics, he should get rid of this infection and have more energy

The infection, chemo, and diareaha, and meds and whatnot have made the fatigue so bad

Once the bowels get better (he is still getting food through IV, and eating ice chips) he can start eating and that will also make him stronger

I examined his legs myself today and those bumps he had are sooo much smaller.. that is good news... they were leukemic, so the chemo seems to be shrinking those too...

Chris was upset about how sick he got from the chemo saying "oh yea, you are gonna get a lil sick from the chemo.. some diareaha, some nausia... blah blah blah... but this is ridiculous" and all i could do was remind him that its helping him in the long run... and to hang in there.. after a brief bit of frustration/emotions, chris is back in the game.. he is hanging better than most...

We watched the Jets game... Favre is really doing well... 40-0 at halftime...

My dad brought me lunch and picked up my mom ...

We both napped a bit here... and now we have the night game (Giants) on... His night nurse is Tanya again... she is from Connecticut and went to Georgetown... we like her

Chris is loving his lemur (lemar? lemure?) no idea how its spelled...

and he still is thinking of a name...

Aunt Cathy mailed him a hawaiian shirt yesterday so i brought it to him today... he is excited

I am going to go home eventually just not sure if its during the game or after it ends.. and i will stop and see him in the morning before i go to work...

Nick, the CCT was helping out on this side of the floor tonight...

He lovesss Nick... he bonded with him when he crashed in June and came to this floor then...

Unfortunately, when he saw Nick tonight, i was giving chris a hand with the bedpan when he walked in.. but i know Chris feels comfortable around him...

Well, thats about all for now...

love jenn

Friday Nov 7 to Sat Nov 8

I slept pretty decent... I got to the hospital in the morning and he was pretty out of it... His ICU nurse Jen is really nice... Apparently Chris was up all night every hour going to the bathroom... (except, he isnt allowed to go to the bathROOM so he had a very annoying night)
He is apologizing to the nurse and she tells him she is so immune to that... she can eat a sandwich while watching someone go to the bathroom
Anyways, the constant diareaha is apparently from all the antibiotics they have him on...
He will be drinking a contrast later for his bowel catscan...
He had a frustrating night and a nurse had come in and said she was praying for him... awww.. she left a prayer card for him
I told Chris I was going to work and he was a lil confused... he clearly needed rest... So I told him to rest because he would be getting visits from lew and the crew
Lew was texting me during the day telling me he seemed better.. and they were talking about sending Chris back up to the 4th floor
I worked and called Chris after work... He said he was done drinking the contrast and he was going to catscan at the moment... soooo since it was 530... he said he would be an hour... I was in limbo... if i went to the hospital as planned, i wouldnt see him til 630 and then from 7 to 8 you cannot be in ICU... so Christine Rapach met up with me for a drink and a bite...
Of course, the catscan went faster than planned.. but regardless I needed to eat... So I went back to see him at 8pm...
The new nurse, Eva, was sooo sweet... She told us that they were waiting for a room but didnt have it yet
So, I hung out with him, dosed off.. etc...
She got the attending doc to look at the catscan... it appeared there was no puncture in his colon but we still have to wait for final reading
By midnight, they had a room and we transferred him to 4North
The nurses up there are happy to see him...
So, once he was settled I left to go home...

Saturday morning, Chris called me around 7am... I called him back when I realized I missed his call... he was pretty alert, so he told me he was feeling good... and I told him I would see him soon
Lew let me know that he would be heading up around 10am...
I got up there after the Waxmonskys were already there...
They brought him a camo hat and a lil stuffed animal monkey/lemar thing... when you squeeze him he goes "Boooyyying" He loves it
I know Chris is so happy that his dad and brothers spent so much time coming up to see him this week
It came time for them to leave. It was pretty emotional.... Chris was very upset to see Lew go.. all 4 Waxmonskys left at once.. it was overwhelming for Chris...
Lew is flying back to Florida tomorrow ... that stinks for us... but good for his fiance Jen
Tommy is gonna try to get down here more... and Matt will be coming more too (or like he said, i will be showing up at his front door to bring him here myself)

So, now its just me and Chris... My brother just came to bring me some lunch/dinner... and to hang out with us...
Chris is not able to eat anything except ice chips and small sips of water until his bowels recover.
The catscan basically shows that his small intestine got all bound up and are irritated...
So they want him to rest them
He is not hungry because he is getting nutrients through the IV....

Oh, and the priest... Fr. Desmond... came to see him today after the family left.. He is so nice

Christine Rapach comes to visit too...
Chris basically has a Dr Phil session with her.. poor Christine...
We are all crying at one point... Chris is talking about how God dumped him in my life for a reason. and that he was meant to be part of all our lives... and he isnt going anywhere cus my friends need him. blah blah... we are crying.. awww

So, basically, as of now, we are waiting for the infection to clear up, for the bowels to rest... because they want him to start eating again, which will make him stronger, which will help him overall..
I am not sure exactly when they would do bone marrow biopsy, but its happening after he recovers... (1-2 weeks from now i think)
And, then hopefully transplant....

Keep sending your prayers...
Thanks Lew for bringing Dad, Danny, and Tommy this week... I really think that having everyone back in his life is helping Chris fight...
Its too bad Lew is 1200 miles away normally.. but we will see him soon
Matt will be coming weekly ;)

Thanks Dana, Chris, and Sean for sending the hawaiian shirs, starbucks gift cards, and coffee mug... Chris was so excited when I brought them here for him to see.. He said "oooh my own coffee mug!!" made him so happy

signing off for now...
love jenn

Wed into Thursday )November 5-6

Well, I stayed at the hospital during half of Wednesday to stay with Chris...

Lew brought Tommy... Did I already tell you all this? I cannot rememeber, but Chris is happy to see Tommy and Lew even though he is sleeping on and off.. we watched the blood pressure go up and down this whole time...

I went to work for the afternoon... Lew and Tommy were still there... so he wasnt alone... By the time i went home after work, Chris told me they were gonna most likely move him to ICU

I go to the hospital.... They are moving him to ICU because they arent able to get his blood pressure up with fluids... Down in ICU, they can regulate all the meds better.. there is closer watch from nurses... There is indeed an infection in his blood.. so they started antibiotics... on top of other ones they began earlier

I packed up his clothes, the bag of snacks we had there (for when he was eating), his laptop, his blankets, my work bag and they finally get a room in ICU after midnight. by the time paperwork is done it is 1am or later...

When we get down to ICU (with his cart of stuff) its almost 2am.. I stuck around to make sure he was settled.. but had to go home to sleep to get up for a job fair early this morning (Thursday)... The ICU nurses quickly had me leave and wait in the waiting area while they got him situated...

Ugh... I just wanted to go home.. i hadnt slept last night

Here is Jenn (me)getting extra sensitive and cranky -- I was sooo tired

They took over an hour... and finally another nurse from the old floor saw me and went in and came to get me... Chris had been wondering where I was :( then i am told he cant wear clothes in there and i can take all that stuff home (this is my breaking point cus i am not carrying a cart full of stuff home at 230am... so i mentioned that i was not able to carry all that and she was nice (i guess..lol) and told me i could leave stuff too

anyways, chris is super sleepy so i said goodbye and went home...got 3 hours of sleep

Thursday morning I was so sleepy driving to my college job fair... then Lew brought Dad, Tommy, and Danny to the hospital.. Chris was sooo happy to see them

Basically, chemo round 2 is on hold because of this infection (woulda started today, but no way now)

They are gonna do a catscan of bowels...

He got blood and platelets today...

Catscan is to make sure there is no puncture or hole in the colon or organs..

The bacteria that went into blood is very sensitive to antibiotics, so over the next bunch of days it should slowly clear up... with his counts all so low, its harder to fight the infection. but there are tons of antibiotics they can "play" with if these dont work.. and hope the catscan is ok...

he clearly shouldnt have surgery now, so a hole or puncture would be bad

I came to see him by 230pm... his fam had just left

I rested next to his bed.. he is tired

Doctors came in and out... His oncologist (Dr Harrison) of this month stopped by...

He told Chris to rest and told me they arent doing the 2nd round of chemo... he said 10 days of recovery instead of 17 (cus they arent doing the 2nd round)... feels this chemo did the trick... he is hopeful that they gave him a "hell of a lot of chemo" and his bone marrow biopsy should hopefully come back good after what he just went through.. now we just have to get him through the infection... and move forward...

this is not going to be easy, he told me everyone loves chris and put his arm around me.. i asked him if he could run into similar bowel issues with the bone marrow chemo he will get before transplant and he said yes.... but we are doing everything we can to make it happen

he is a great doctor... i asked him if he believes in medical miracles... and he looked at me and said that "i have seen them plenty of times... but its not our doing... we do what we can.. and they happen" he winked... and i felt better... i know its just his opinion and best prognosis for now... but as long as i feel better, its comforting...

They all tell me that this infection from chemo is quite common... but poor chris is soooo icky and tired

anyways... they kick you out of ICU everyday for one hour during nurse change over... (7a-8a and 7p -8p) so since i havent slept in 2 days, we decide he needs rest as do i...

I go home... Jeanie and i just drove around and got coffee.. and now i am in a bed at home by 10pm.... sweet...

Lew will be back tomorrow and i am glad its friday! i will get rest tonight..

I will see chris on my way to work tomorrow morning... and then after work

Praying more... Hoping catscan is ok

love you all

God bless you all ... God Bless Chris... and everyone around him.. and the doctors and nurses...

Love you all

Tues November 4th- Election Day into Wednesday

I leave the hospital in the morning and go to work...
Chris calls me mid-morning to inform me of his continuing diareaha... and that Lew is on his way up to the hospital
Lew is bringing their brother Danny and their dad... Chris hasnt seen his dad in about 10 years...

I take an early lunch to go vote... and I stop home for clothes and run to the hospital to drop them off and meet his dad and Danny
I can tell it has been an emotional few hours

Anyways, they leave.... Lew will be back Wednesday to visit again
I watch Chris and his dad hug and there are tears... then I get leaky

I go back to work and finish out my day. I run home and grab clothes. Chris asked that I stay over at the hospital again ... so I pack
I get to the hospital by 7:20 or so... Christine Rapach and her boyfriend also come to visit
Chris is feeling icky
They leave... Chris's nausia, stomach cramps, etc start up...
I am watching election coverage and Chris is just miserable...
His blood pressure is a little low...
I try to get some sleep.. but I can't really sleep...
He is having pain every hour or so...
He is up to go to the bathroom... poor guy feels lik crap
By 5am or so, he is spiking a fever and blood pressure has dropped and heartrate is up to 150...
I have never seen him so uncomfortable...
He is also vomiting... but not much since he hasnt really eaten in 2 days
He is just very nausious.... they cannot give him pain meds and ativan together when the blood pressure is low...
Its Wednesday morning.. I should get ready for work but I decide to re-group and call work
I am signed into work through my laptop at the hospital... We will see how today goes...
The doctors came in (Dr Harrison is funny and very nice.. its the first time I meet the November doctor) He jokes about aliens and whatnot... (had to be here)
He apologizes for the rough night... but tells us this is completely expected.. its a rough chemo he is getting... he will probably have diareaha and nausia and ab cramps for the next 2 weeks .... so as terrible as it is, so far its quite expected and normal... they agree to give him more delautin... he can sleep through this if he wants.. but they tell him he needs to sit up in a chair whenever possible to avoid bed sores... ugh....
Chris's brother Lew is on his way down with brother Tommy to visit... Chris is really happy that Lew flew up to see him and he wants him here so badly.... but he is quite sleepy...
I told Lew to bring some magazines or movies and just let him know how he is doing

Right now, as of 10:30am Wednesday, his temp has gone down to 99.8 (it was 101.5 earlier)
and his blood pressure is holding steady at around 93/40 give or take a few...
It was 84/36 at one point this morning...
His heartrate is at 136... but was as high as 165 earlier...
So I think the extra fluids they put him on is helping with the blood pressure..
The dilaudid ( i should really find the corrrect spelling of this crazy pain killer med) is making his blood pressure a little lower than it could be, His normal is low (100/70-ish) so this isnt that awful.. but its low
Anyways, his blood counts are in... the white blood cells are very low so he is neurtopenic... and his magnesium and potasium are low.. so they are giving him some... platelets are low so they are giving him a platelet transfusion...
He is getting the neuprogen shots that he always gets after chemo, those help bring the white blood cell counts up...
Speaking of platelets... I think he is going to be needing them often for the next few weeks... It takes 12 days or so after the last day of chemo to recover all the blood counts... sooooo
You figure his chemo starts again tomorrow (thursday) and ends Sunday morning...November 21st is the day he should be feeling better... and I think around November 19th or so, we do the bone marrow biopsy again to see (hope) that the chemo worked so we can move forward quickly into transplant

Back to the platelets... I believe some people have voiced interest in donating ... You do not have to be the same blood type to donate platelets... There is a place right here in the hospital and you can donate specifically to Chris... I keep meaning to look into it, but i forget or get sidetracked... There is only a 5-day shelf life, so I think the blood center helps schedule so he doesnt waste any if he were to get too many donors
From what I understand, its similar to giving blood, except they filter out the platelets and return the rest of your blood to you in your other arm,,, Therefore, unlike regular blood donation, you can give again every 2 weeks.

Here is the info for the Blood Center at Robert Wood in case anyone is interested.. I will post more if I get a chance to call soon
Blood Center 4th Floor, Clinical Academic Building125 Paterson Street New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 (732) 235-8100

Monday November 3rd

I wake up at home early... and I get ready for work
I go see Chris at the hospital first.. he is still sleepy and feeling icky
I go to work...
Around mid-day I get a call from his nurse that he had fallen :(
He hit his head and they did a cat scan... ugh....
Poor Chris.. he wasnt even aware that he had gotten up without calling for help
Throughout the day, they collected another stool sample
Chris had a bad day.. sounded sad, bummed, frustrated, etc
SO, I went home after work, showered, grabbed work clothes just in case.... and I headed to hospital
Chris doesnt look bruised like I feared but he is sooo uncomfortable...
THey moved him to the middle of the floor by the nurses' desk so they can keep a better eye on him...
He just wants the cramping tummy to stop and he wants the diareaha to stop
The night nurse changes his thigh bandage and there is so much damn tape that it rips hair off.. he is freaking
Then I found out that they biopsied his jock itch during the day.. she had to clean it and it burns like hell.. they had scraped some off during the day.. its raw.. and I feel so bad for him...
THen the anti-nausia meds arent helping.. he hasnt eaten
Finally, he eats half of a pb & j sandwich my mom made at home... tried some tea...
Then, he needs the bathroom.. its so painful... the strong tech helps him walk and all that...
He is finally having some relief... then the cramping and discomfort come back...
They give him his dilaudid and he is feeling better
Oh, did I mention his new cell came in the mail today? he is excited about that
Lew has safely landed in NJ and will be visiting tomorrow (Tuesday)
I am sleeping at the hospital to keep an eye on Chris... Not sure how early I will leave tomorrow cus I have to vote but we will see
Prayers again tonight
PS Thanks to Aunt Cathy for the Boosts, to Jeanie, Brian, Liv, Mr and Mrs Cody for the Starbucks gift card.. that will come in so handy for Chris's addiction... to Carol for the healing mass... to Christine for dinner and cookies.. and everyone else who has been sending cards and stuff.... love you all...

Sunday November 2nd

I woke up at home.. very well rested
And, got myself together... showered..
My dad wanted to see Chris, so he brought my mom with him even though she was going to go later with my cousin Gina...
So, I stopped at Starbucks, the usual...
Chris was getting cleaned up by the awesome nurse he had - Sonya.. she is actually from the Cancer Institute.. she works with Dr Strair... she cleaned him... re-bandaged the biopsyed area on his thigh... and his groin irritation (jock itch)...
Mom, dad, and me hung with him for a while..
Then, they left and Chris and I relaxed....
Christine Rabbath came by.. she took me to lunch and we stopped to get Chris lunch on the way home...
However, Chris started with some major diareaha (sorry for the details) Its most likely from chemo... he is now unsettled... But he manages to eat half his lunch/dinner
Christine also baked him cookies... her recipe... he LOVED them
So now he has his own batch yummmy...
They cannot give him Immodium because they have to test the stool to make sure he doesnt have C-Diff... ugh
anyways, christine and my bro eventually lose... my dallas cowboys lose to the giants.. i am depressed...
Chris is sleepy again at a pretty early time...
He feels crappy from the diareaha.. I decide I should go home and rest at home for the night so he can rest too..
The night nurse comes.. she wont give him his Ativan and Dilaudid cus its too early or his bp is too low for both... Chris is annoyed.. she has to wait til 930 or so to come back with his night pills.. its only 730 or 8 pm and he wants to sleep
Eventually, he relaxes and I leave
Jeanie gets me Starbucks and comes over to hang with me...
Chris calls me to tell me he got a text from his brother Lew's girlfriend Jen... he thinks they are engaged...
So, he it too loopy to call and find out... he told me he had gotten up and needed meds so they finally gave them to him...
I texted Jen and Lew finally proposed after having the ring since June!!!
Yay!!! There will be 2 Jennifer Waxmonskys
Lew is flying to NJ to see Chris tomorrow (Monday)
I get a good nights rest.....

Saturday November 1- wow.. its November

Photo on left is the blue chemo Chris got on Oct 30, Oct 31, and Nov 1 (15 minutes each evening, 5pm-ish) You can see how blue it is in the tubes (the green above in the bag is to protect the chemo from light)

Today, I got up and hung out with Chris for a lil while.. he was awake pretty early

I decided to go home pretty early and grab some of his blankets, take a shower, and come back to the hospital around lunch time... Aunt Cathy and Grandma Peters were going to be visiting around then...

When I got home I realized my brother was also going to visit, so when I stopped at Starbucks, I grabbed coffee for me, Chris, and my brother Chris...
Then I hung out with Aunt Cathy and Grandma also when I got there...
They always bring sunshine to the hospital ;) Aunt Cathy brought 2 6-packs of Boost... so thats awesome, because Chris loves them and really help him increase his calorie intake these days...
Grandma brought homemade rice pudding.. yummooo

Chris had been given some drugs to go along with the chemo so he was drowsy and a little funny
THe nurse asked him to let her know when he got his lunch so she could give him insulin..
Well, he lost track of time and had never even ordered it...
So, he picked up the phone and ordered, carefully...
When he hung up, he looked at us and said "6:30"
huh???? turns out they asked if he wanted it for dinner at 6:30... he said "yes"
Guess what? it was only 1:00pm or so!!!
So, I warmed up his leftovers from homemade dinner the night before and he ate that for lunch!! You had to be there, it was pretty cute that he was mixed up with time!

So, Aunt Cathy and Grandma left... my brother and I went downstairs to get Chris (and ourselves) some soft serve ice cream
Chris left shortly after.. Chris and I napped.. and then it was time....Chris wanted me to see the "cool" blue chemo... he got it for days 1, 2, and 3 (today was day 3) Its only a 15 minute chemo, as opposed to the 24-hour chemo thats been running since Day 1.. It was quite blue

The plan was to rest up and then watch a movie or 2.. then around 10 or 11 pm, Chris would get his sleepy time meds, and I would go home to sleep
I have never left Chris at the hospital before... Whenever he is there, I sleep there too.... Tonight is a first... I really need to get on this schedule so that I can get better rest ... We have a long road ahead still.. long enough that I cannot afford to get run down or sick now, and this is the most important time for me to be strong and reliable and around for him..
As much as I hate leaving him, its best for me to get home to sleep sometimes...
Chris isnt kept up by me being there, but the nurses are there for mid-night pees... I will feel better after sleeping home
So, we turn on Iron Man around 7:00pm or so... maybe 7:30... I am not as interested as Chris.. I am not really into comic stories... but Chris got tired 15 minutes in.. and I was all into it.. ooops
So, we shut it off...
I wasnt ready for bed or leaving.. but since Chris was so tired, I (we) decided to call it a night...
The nurse Isabel came in with night meds... and she felt bad waking him
She cleaned his dressing on his leg (where the bump was removed a couple weeks ago) It is still not healed so they are on top of re-dressing it... He was barely awake but asked for his night meds (the pain killers and ativan). He isnt in pain.. lol.. The nurse said she thinks he is ok and winked at me... So, anyways, I left...
I am home without him for the first time since June 6th (overnight, anyways)
Rex is excited.. keeping me company.. purring and meowing up a storm...
SO, with the extra hour tonight, we will both be well rested tomorrow, as far as I can tell
Well, I am going to go enjoy a real bed, read, and say my prayers..... talk to you all tomorrow
love jenn

Halloween...

Well Halloween came and went...
Chris had his bowl of candy out and some decorations...

I worked... and Chris patiently waited for me to get here afterwards.. he told me I took a long time today :( I needed a nap so when I got home, I took one for a couple hours but then Chris was bored at the hospital...

I brought him and Jeanie Starbucks... she was meeting me at the hospital to visit Chris....

I found out that he had some visitors .... Marc Kollar... he is on the Waxmonsky side (but from Grandma Phyllis Kollar's side.. he is actually Grandma Phyllis's brother Ted's son) So he would be Chris's cousin basically... (Aunt Ro's nephew) He is A Knight (Knights of Columbus)... and Chris was happy to see him
Also, the priest came back to see Chris.. I have to find out his name .. ooops
He is going to be bringing some scriptures
He had his blue chemo yesterday and will have another one today (Saturday)
I have to get you all a picture of that... its the 15 min chemo he gets on Days 1 2 and 3...
The other chemo runs for 24 hours for every day through tonight... (3 days)
He was pretty excited that the chemo was blue

Sharon came back to visit him and his occupational therapist for the finger came to see him and it turns out they went to high school together in Clifton

He had Isabel for a few nights as his nurse.. she is very cool... makes things as good as possible around here for him... I dont spend as much time getting to know the day nurses.. well, not yet... because i am often at work
Today we have kathy and she is really nice

I am going to go home and cat nap... see Rex and shower.. and come back here because Grandma Peters and Aunt Cathy are coming to visit around lunch time

Tomorrow, we have more visitors... Chris is excited... he took a walk with a tech yesterday so he is moving around a little more... he is eating a little bit more.. doesnt want to lose any more weight than he has to...

I think thats all I have for now

xoxoxox Jenn