Prison Break!!!!!

Dawn escaped the hospital today. She is at home and doing well. We have appointments everyday through the weekend. Her neutrophils where up the 580 today and they wanted her to be above 500 to be safe to leave. Normal range for most people is 1800 and up, so she has aways to go before she is out of the woods. If all goes well we could be able to move home by Christmas.

My Thanksgiving dinner. Alone..... :(

Happy Thanksgiving??

Is it really a "Happy" thanksgiving? I'm having a hard time feeling that way when you can't enjoy it with the ones you love. I miss yoo so much dear and hope you can get out tomorrow. If not I am still coming down there to visit. Hang in there a know we would be there if we could. Have a wonderful day and call whenever you are up to it. Hailey says hi and she loves you as much as a big box of chocolates. I love you too and will see you tomorrow.

Love

Ron and Hailey

Become a follower??

If you haven't already become a follower!! The more the merrier!!!! Love all of you guys!! Come join me in my adventure. Thank you everyone who has donated so far, it is a HUGE help. Living in Seattle is tough. Can't wait to come home!

ISOLATION.

It's official. I'm stuck. alone. I can leave my room and walk the hall if I wear a gown and gloves. woo. friggin'. whoo. anyone who comes in my room has to wear special gowns and gloves. CDIFF is what they are calling it. Apparently everyone has it in them and it only shows up in immunosuppressed people. Of course, I gotta get it. One nurse said 5 days stuck. Doc says 10. I'll ask the "team" tomorrow. Ron left. Went home tonight. Gonna miss him. Hard having someone so close to your side all the time just be gone. crying now. this is shitty. He's going to go get Hailey tomorrow and spend some time with her. Hopefully get the web cam up at grandma's house so I can talk to them and see them both.

Can't type anymore. Hands really hurt still.


Love you Ron. Miss you already. Miss you Hailey. Thank you Lizzy for coming and staying the other night. Thank you mom and Breanna for coming to see my that meant a lot.

Love you guys. Can't wait to feel better.


Love,


Dawn

Day 12

So today the doctors reported Dawns neutrophils have increased to 40 from 2 days ago which they were 10. She still needs them to be 500 to be safe. Also her white blood cells increased to 950 from 470 the day before. Her rash seemed to clear up on her upper body but has spread to her lower body. They also said it would probably be at least 5 more days until she is discharged. She has aquired a cough and has had alot of nausea. They think she might have acquired a cold but still waiting for blood cultures to see. Hopefully none of her visitors came down here with symptoms of a cold and didn't say anything cause that would not be good for her to get a cold right now with no immune system. We most likely will know more tommorow as to the results of the blood cultures.

Day 10

Well Dawn is still having chills and a fever off and on. Today the doctors reported that her numbers are starting to rise. Her neutrophils are at 10. They have been at 0 for 11 days . She needs her neutrophils to be above 500 so she is safe enough to leave the hospital. They are expecting, if all goes as planned, for this to happen in the next 5 to 7 days, so she could be released as soon as friday. She also has been getting a rash which the doctors are looking into. They aren't sure if it is from the medications or chemo drugs or possibly GVHD (graft versus host disease). The GVHD is not common in autologous transplants but apperently can happen.

Day 9

Well today is day 9 after the stemcell transplant. So far none of Dawn's numbers have come up. She woke up with a fever of 102.4 and a really bad bloody nose. Her platelet counts are really low again and she is getting a bag of platelets right now. Once the platlets are in she should be able to stop the bleeding nose. For now it is just pressure. She can't sniffle or blow her nose or anything cause of the potential for more bleeding.

Day 8 of "rebirth"

Hey everyone.... still in hospital. Doctors say my mouth is looking great. Had a fever last night. It finally went down. I am feeling much better today. Woke up around 7 and I am getting very tired. Judy is here, she stayed the night. Thanks Judy. I hope Ron and Hailey have fun going to see the Bolt movie today!

Love You Mommy

Hailey says she loves you and so do I.

Thanks JA!

Judy, my boss is coming to stay the night with me so Ron can go spend the evening with Hailey again. I think they are going to see Bolt the new movie coming out 2mrw about a dog. Hailey is very excited. I can't wait to take her to movies again.

Google has been warned!

IT WORKS!!

Thanks so much Nana for figuring out the problems!!!!!!!! U saved us!!! Glad someone can understand all that mumbo jumbo!!!!

Love, Dawn & Ron & Greg

A little update....

Hey everyone..... It's Dawn. I'm doing alright.... got some really bad mucositis.... sore throat, some sores in mouth. Got a push button for meds, gave me a great nap. Feeling alright otherwise. Miss being in the outside world. Ron is superman. He's folding my laundry for me right now. Hailey is going to Jenny's house for Jaden's birthday today. Got a pic from dad that she picked out a big construction truck. She looked proud. Hope she has fun at the party. Can't wait to see the pics Jenny..... :) Hope everyone has a good weekend. Thanks again for everyone being there for me. Love you guys.


Dawn

Love you Ron

Thank you honey for everything. You have been by my side through all of this and it means so much to me. I know I can be tough to be around sometimes and I am sorry for that. I love you with all my heart. You have no idea how much you mean to me. Thank you again.

Love,

Dawn

STEMCELLS ARE IN

Dawn has just recieved her stemcells over the last 45 minutes and seems to be doing fine right now. She had some nausea during the infusion but the oranges helped with that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAWN

Well today is the big day. Dawn will recieve her stemcells at 11:30 A.M. This process should take an hour for just the cells but about 6 hours overall for hydration and premedications. DMSO is a chemical used to freeze her stemcells and is the main cause of side effects such as nausea and wierd tickling feeling in the throat. They say if she smells orange slices and sucks on peppermint candies during the infusion will help the discomfort from the DMSO. I will try to put some pictures up later showing all the stuff they are doing..

Everything Is Finally On Track

So Dawn is doing fairly well giving the circumstances. She is really tired and fatigued. Also she is really depressed she is stuck here and can't go anywhere off this floor. Her blood counts are really low which is what is expected. She is set to have her stemcell transplant tommorow. That will be what is considered her new birthday. If anyone wants to post a comment please do so, because she does read those and really enjoys hearing from you guys since she can't go visit everyone like she used to.

Madagascar 2

Thanks again Michelle for coming down and being with Dawn for the day. It helped me get some time out of here and go see my kid. I took Hailey to see the new movie Madagascar 2 and she really enjoyed it, as did I. It means alot to me to get to go she her every chance I can. I just wish Dawn didn't have to miss out on those moments too, but under the circumstances it is what is best for her health. We most likely will be here through Thanksgiving and that kinda sucks but at least she is safer here and hopefully this will all be over soon.

Thanks Jenny and Lizzy

Today Jenny and Lizzy came down to the hospital to visit Dawn. I want to thank both of you cause it means alot to Dawn and I to have good friends like you in our lives. Even though Dawn was out of it and slept while Jenny was here, it still helped make her day seem somewhat normal. Tommorow is a day of rest then another day of chemo on veterans day. Then another day of rest before the stem cell transplant. Also want to thank Charles, my best friend, for all he has done and all the times he has come down to hang out(even though he will never see this on a computer). Dawn has done fairly well today and is sleeping well now. She was drunk earlier cause the chemo she got earlier wasnt diluted and was alcohol based. They said about the equivilent to 4 shots of 50 proof liquor. Good for her she had been wanting a drink for some time now.

So Chemotherapy Will Begin Today

So Dawn has been giving the all clear to start her etoposide today and everything should begin in around an hour or so. She is feeling ok right now but that I,m sure is going to change

PREGNANT WHAT?????????

Well once again Dawn is delayed on her chemo and stem cell transplant because of all things she is PREGNANT.... The bleeding from Thursday night was because in fact she is pregnant and her body was trying to abort the pregnancy. We found out last night at 5:30 pm. We are now currently in the hospital and will be here for the longhaul. Nobody can believe this has happened because we were told in June that there would be 100% no chance of her ever conceiving again due to the chemo she has already had. On top of that she is still on the same birth control she has been on for years. The doctors and everyone are shocked and because of the radiation she recieved over the last week the pregnancy was not viable. So today they had to terminate the pregnancy and everything SHOULD continue in a few days or so as long as the healing is good and there is no signs of infection. What the helll is next..... This is literally a 1st time ever the cancer docs have come across this...TO BE CONTINUED.

Its Going To Be A Rough Day

Dawn is on her last two TBI treatments today. She is not feeling well at all right now,I think it has all finally caught up to her. She has had severe stomach aching and nausea and last night experienced blood in her urine. It only happened once so that is good it hasn't continued. We will be in the clinic all day tommorow for her chemo which will take at least 8 hours, so if anyone wants to come see her that isn't sick, it would be a good "pick me up" for her.

Thank you!

To Nicholette and Judy, thanks for offering to come down and be with Dawn. Judy will be coming down that day. Nicholette, Dawn says hi and thanks for being available anytime.

If Anyone Is Interested

I would like to now if anyone is interested to come to Seattle on November 21st and spend the day with Dawn and take her to the appointments. I would like to take Hailey to the new movie Bolt that she really wants to see. But no one say anything to her so It will be a surprise and also not a let down if something falls through. Anyone interested call me and you can't be sick or have been sick recently.

So Treatment Has Finally Began

Well TBI was started yesterday and will continue through friday twice a day. Dawn is pretty exhausted and fatiqued from the radiation and she has had some significant nausea, but the nausea pills seem to be holding it all back. I have been giving her IV fluids at home between treatments for 5 hours everyday. Doing this and drinking lots of fluids will help "clean the deck of all the debris" which is all the dead cells being flushed from her body. If she doesn't do this on top of getting lots of protein everyday it could plug up her liver and kidneys and cause severe infection and other major problems. After fridays last TBI treatment we have to spend about 8 to 10 hours at the clinic on saturday getting her Etopiside(VP-16). This chemo and the other one to be recieved on Monday,cyclophosmamide, are said to be about 40 times greater than any chemo she has recieved previously. On Noverber 12 Dawn will recieve her own stem cells back in an infusion process taking about 6 hours or more. This is what is considered to be her NEW BIRTHDAY. From there it's hope I can keep her outpatient so she doesnt end up in the hospital. Everyday testing will follow and if all goes as planned with no more complications, we should be able to move back home around Dec. 22nd. She will still have to come to Seattle every week for a while, but it is better home than here everyday.

Thank you Ron for taking care of my daughter You are so strong she needs you so much we all love you momma Dianna, Billy and Breanna

I miss my Baby Girl (sad) Breanna And Billy got there blood work on sunday just in case Sissy needs them went ok We all love you more than we can say

HALLOWEEN!!

Got Hailey for the weekend of Halloween! Lots of fun. Took the kids out around Jenny's house, Jaden, Blake and Hailey had a great time. If only their parents would let them eat all the candy they got... gosh its great being a parent. Don't have to dress up and get TONS of candy! Dawn loves this holiday!