|
Update on
Bill...
Posted Jul 26
Just a quick
update on Bill. He is back to work still at 3 days
a week. The heat has been tough on him, but he has been a
trooper. I know that he has enjoyed seeing some of his customers.
On
Tuesday, July 22nd Bill had another bone marrow biopsy done.
He then started his 4th round of maintenance chemo. He completed
the 4th round on Friday. No complications, just a little
nausea and feeling tired. His hip is quite sore from the bone
marrow
biopsy. He was able to take off work for the rest of the
week while receiving the chemo. We did find out that he has
8 rounds
of chemo total, so 4 left. He will not be done until the
middle of January 2009. His next round will be in 6 weeks.
Bill was
given some special dressings to allow him to go swimming.
He was not allowed due to his central line he has in his chest
for the chemo and blood draws. Of course he had gotten in
twice
very briefly before he received the dressings. It is nice
to know he can get in for a longer period now, especially with
the heat. We have been keeping busy. Rachel makes sure of
that.
She has been very good for the most part. We did go to the
Kenny Chesney concert in Philly the other weekend. Bill's
parents kept Rachel overnight. We had a good time. Tailgaiting
for
us started at about 12pm and the concert didn't get over
until about 11pm. A very long day, but we made it...and with
only
a few text messages to the babysitters! I've added a few
new pictures. Please enjoy!
~ Heather
Jackson
Back to work...
Posted
Jul 5
Bill is finally
back to work. He went back last Monday. I know it was rough
for him. He didn't get home
until 7:30pm. His
boss had to ride with him. He was able to do the same route
he was doing prior to him getting sick. He surprised many
of his customers. Many were happy to see him back. He was
off Tues and Wed and went back on Thursday. Next week he should
be working MWF. He is just trying to ease his way back
into
it. He still goes to therapy on days he doesn't work. Not
sure
when he will go full time. I definitely miss it when he
is not here. It has been nice having him home. We went to Dr.
Slease's office the other day to have Bill's blood counts
checked. All are still at normal levels right now. We took
Rachel in
so that they could finally meet her. Everyone just gushed
over her. She slept the whole time. She does well when we
take
her
out. Not sure how long that will last though! Not much
else new right now. Just trying to adjust to our new lifestyle
with Rachel. It has had its ups and downs, but exciting.
I
have
put together a little webpage for Rachel so that people
can see her pictures and read stories when I get the chance
to
write them. If you would like to take a look you can access
it by going to www.babyhomepages.net/rachelhope Hopefully
this address will show when I update this page. I don't know
if
they will consider it advertisement and asterisk it out.
If so, then I will try to get the info to you all some other
way.
Please take care and thanks for all the well wishes and
gifts sent to us for Rachel. I will continue to update you
on Bill
as much as possible.
~ Heather
Jackson
There's
a new kid in town!
Posted Jun 14
Many of you have been inquiring about the baby. Rachel Hope
arrived on Monday night at 9:07pm. She weighed a whopping
10 lbs and
measured 23 inches long. Big Baby, but oh so cute. We have
been busy caring for her at home. Bill has been a wonderful
father. We came home on Thursday due to me needing a unplanned
C-section. She was too big to come out the natural way. It
has been a crazy couple of days, but we do feel blessed.
I've included some pics. Bill just finished a round of
chemo this
past week. What a trooper he has been. He managed to get
his chemo around the birth of his first child. He is
starting to
feel the effects now, mainly nausea and being tired. Actually
I think the tired feeling is due to the baby's schedule!
He should be half way done with the chemo now. I know
he will
be glad when it is all over. On a sad note, Bill's Nana passed
away on Sunday, June 8th. She had fallen ill again and was
receiving hospice care at home. Bill visited her every week
and we both tried to see her every Sunday. She always asked
for the baby and was trying to hold on until the baby was
born. On Sunday, she was surrounded by family as she
passed. My water
broke in the middle of that night. I think Nana may have
had something to do with that. Her funeral was yesterday
and was
a very emotional day to say the least. Bill was able to complete
a reading at her service. Rachel was also able to attend
and was an angel. She slept throughout the service and
never made
a peep. I think she knew we needed to be there, or Nana helped
us out. It was a beautiful service, but definitely very emotional.
Thanks again for all of your prayers throughout our rollercoaster
of life this past year. We are, once again, very grateful
to all of you.
~ Heather
Jackson
Looking
forward...
Posted June 7th
Wow...it
has been about 6 weeks since I last posted. I kept thinking
about it, but that's as far as I get these days. I just
have no energy or motivation. I'm getting bigger and bigger
and have less energy. It takes so much effort to do things.
Bill
laughs at me when I groan when I move. I am officially late
with my pregnancy. I was due yesterday, but no baby yet. Bill
and
I are very anxious now and ready for the next challenge in
our lives. If I do not go naturally by the 10th, I will be
induced.
Scary to think that in just a few days we will have our first
child. We are excited though.
Bill is doing well. He doesn't join me anymore in taking those
afternoon naps. He has more energy now, but still has a few days
where he is run down. He had become neutropenic a few weeks ago
due to his blood levels dropping. His levels are normal now.
He actually starts his third round of maintenance chemo next
week. He will have an eventful week...chemo and a baby! Hoping
we can time everything so that he isn't receiving his chemo as
I'm having our baby. Luckily his dr's office is on the campus
of the hospital. He continues to go bike riding with his brother
Shawn and is enjoying it quite a bit. They both come home banged
up though. They have graduated to a more advanced course than
Lums Pond. He continues his therapy-work hardening program to
prepare him to return to work. He says there is this really big
guy in therapy that Bill has caught up to in weights. Always
competitive! He plans on going back to work the week after the
chemo. Initially he will just work 3 days per week. Luckily UPS
is allowing him to return gradually. I think that will help him
get back into the swing of things. I still worry about him returning
though. That is a tough job, especially in the summer.
Rowdy has been behaving for the most part. My sister and family
were visiting the last two weeks, so I didn't see much of him.
He deserted me for my sister. He was definitely sad when she
left. You could see it in his eyes. He is now sucking up to me.
You just wonder what they think. When he moves he groans just
as much as me now. We are a pair.
I know I was supposed to post the 3D baby pics the last time,
but never did. I will post them now along with some pics of Bill
and I.
Thanks again for asking about Bill and keeping us in your prayers.
Next post should hopefully include the announcement of our new
baby.
~ Heather
Jackson
Update
on Bill
Posted April 28th
It has been
on my 'to do list', which is grower longer and longer by the
minute, to update the carepage. Many people have been
asking me how Bill is doing? Thank you so much for still keeping
him in your thoughts.
Bill is doing well. Many people have remarked on how good he
looks. He does look good. His hair is all grown in. Possibly
it is a little darker, but I'm sure that will change over the
summer. It is also a little softer. He has been eating well and
gaining weight. He actually said his pants didn't fit the other
day and said he was getting a little belly. I laughed and said
no way. He'll probably not appreciate me saying that. At least
the both of us will be able to work together to get rid of our
bellies after the baby is born!
Bill did start his second round of maintenance chemo this week.
It was supposed to start on Monday but the chemo drug was not
there for some reason, so he had to start on Tuesday. That means
he has to go to the hospital on Saturday to get his last dose.
Kind of wrecks his Saturday. He was supposed to walk with me
in Dover for support of our friend Stacy for the Arthritis Foundation.
Now I'll have to walk without him. Hopefully the 3 laps (a total
of 3 miles) around the track will not put me in labor! He seems
to be feeling okay afterwards, but still tired. His blood counts
were not normal before he started. Basically every night, I come
home from working and the both of us take naps on the couch for
about 1-2 hours. He has been pushing himself during the day trying
to get the outside ready for summer, so exhausts himself. Just
moving for me is exhausting. This is the worse I've been. I just
can't believe how tired I am.
Bill continues with his work hardening program in Physical therapy.
He is hoping to return to work soon. It'll be nice to get back
to 'normal' again, but I do worry about him going back, especially
since he will still need treatments. Hopefully all will go well.
I know it is going to be super tough for him. He continues to
go bike riding. He took Rowdy the other day. He said Rowdy really
kept up with him. Of course at the end Rowdy had to roll in something
dead and smelly. Bill said he almost got sick on the way home
because of the smell. I really don't understand why dogs do that.
It is gross.
Speaking of Rowdy...he has gotten into our pantry twice in the
last week. The first time he got a whole bag and 1/2 of treats.
The second time he got the other 1/2 bag of treats, a tea bag,
and a whole container of chocolate chip cookies ( yes Beth, they
were your delicious cookies). Obviously Rowdy thought they were
very delicious. There wasn't a crumb in sight, just the empty
container. He is a mess.
On the baby front...I am 34 weeks along now. I had a 3D Ultrasound
done two weeks ago. It was really amazing and cool to see. Based
on the babies weight from the US, it said I was due May 20th
vs June 6th. Scary. Not always accurate on the date though, but
I tell you what this baby is going to be huge if I make it all
the way to June. The pictures are really cool. I will try to
post them in the next couple of days. The baby seems to have
my nose and very chubby cheeks. It loves its hands and constantly
kept moving them in front of its face. It moves quite a bit and
gives me some real swift kicks. My shower was two weeks ago and
I feel very fortunate. I received so many gifts and should be
set. I go in the nursery and just look at everything and don't
even know what to do with it all. Bill has a lot of work to do
in regards to putting things together. It is scary to think Bill
and I are almost parents. What a crazy year it has been!
Thanks again for keeping us both in your thoughts and prayers.
Hopefully I've touched on everything that has happened recently.
I will continue to update as things change.
~ Heather
Jackson
Continuing
the work hardening program
Posted March 24th
It has been a while, but no news in good news. Bill is doing
well. He had one week of his maintenance chemo already. The same
week he started his chemo, he also started a work hardening program
to get him back in shape for his eventual return to work. Needless
to say, he was pretty wiped out at the end of the week. He does
not receive another round of chemo for about 6 weeks. He is hoping
to return to work after his second round. His Physical therapy
is going well. He is working on building up his strength and
cardio fitness. He spends 2-3 hours there 3 times a week. He
also is going to a gym now to complement his therapy program.
His brother Shawn and him have taken up mountain biking at Lums
Pond recently. They went yesterday and Bill got a flat and Shawn
had to ride back to pick up the truck and then pick up Bill.
Bill's bike is quite old. He has plans to modify my bike...gosh
only knows what it'll look like when he's done. I'd love to go
with them, but unfortunately I can't. My track record for falling
is pretty good. Can't take the chance.
Bill was telling me that he met a gentleman receiving chemo
during his infusion at the doctor's office. The guy said he had
lymphoma and that his brother had it and that his sister was
getting a bone marrow biopsy to test if she had it. He was actually
amazed at Bill and told him he was a hero because Bill is doing
this maintenance chemo study. The chemo Bill is getting is part
of a study/clinical trial. He is not required to do it. He had
asked Dr. Slease how many people had made it this far in the
study and he told Bill is was the first. Many of the other patients
required bone marrow or stem cell transplants. Kind of shocking
to hear. Bill said he wasn't a hero. He needed to do it. If others
had not participated in some clinical trials in the past, he
might not be where he is today. I am proud of him. He has been
dealing with this so much better than I think I ever could.
Some Rowdy news...he has still been very onery. He has eaten
quite a few things. One night he got into our pantry and ate
a whole bag of treats and most of a box of treats. Another night,
he decided to eat a whole bag of sour gummies. The next night
he decided to eat some pistachio nuts. He is so smart that he
figured out how to shell the nuts and not eat the shells. Only
shells were found on his bed.
What a crazy dog! He is really wanting some attention.
All is good on the baby front. We take our last parenting class
this week. I only have about 10 more weeks to go. Crazy to think
that we will be parents soon. Boy is our life going to be different.
Hope everyone had a great Easter. Thanks for staying posted.
~ Heather
Jackson
Bigger,
Stronger, Faster
Posted March 11th
Bill started his work hardening program. It is designed to get
him back in shape to return to work. He really felt sore the
first day, but it seems as though he feels it will really work.
He also started his maintenance chemo on Monday. He has it M-F
this week at the doctor's office. He feels it a little today
or at least feels tired. I think it is just having to now do
chemo and physical therapy in the same time. He is a busy man
now. He said that Dr. Slease said all preliminary tests came
back positive from the bone marrow biopsy. Everything is looking
good, so hopefully the prior rounds of chemo knocked out all
of the leukemia cells and will not return. Good news!
Bill seems better every day. He really seems like he is getting
back to himself. His hair is pretty much all grown in... and
it's not red or curly. He is eating well and getting stronger
every day. It is very nice to see him getting back to his former
self. It was so tough seeing him as sick as he was and not being
able to do anything to help him.
Bill's grandmother is also doing much better. She is home, out
of the hospital. We've been able to visit her and spend some
quality time with her. We look forward to spending this summer
with her at the shore. She is already talking about it and already
has her wardrobe! Thanks to all that prayed for her recovery.
It worked.
I am getting bigger and bigger by the day. Some people though
say I am small for how far along I am. I am 7 months now. I barely
recognize my stomach and it is getting harder and harder to see
my feel. It is crazy the changes the body goes through when you
are pregnant. The baby has really started to kick...and hard
at times. Bill has now been able to feel as well. We still don't
have names picked yet. I really don't think we will until the
baby is born.
Rowdy is still acting up. He ate 1 1/2 containers of cookie
dough the other day. That did a job on his system. It is very
hard to be mad at him though.
I think that is all for now. Please take care.
Update
on Bill
Posted March 6th
I know it has been a while since I last posted. Just wanted
to wait to get some more info. Bill is doing well. He is gaining
weight everyday and feeling better since getting out of the hospital.
He had his bone marrow biopsy on Monday. Very painful. He is
still feeling a little hip pain now. Hopefully we will be getting
the results soon. We did get the results of all of his other
tests as well. All came up okay. The nodules on his lungs have
basically resolved thankfully. His MUGA scan came back as normal,
so his heart is working okay. He starts his maintenance chemo
next week. He will receive for five days straight every six weeks
for the next 8 months. He will also start a work hardening program
to prepare him to return to work.
That is all for now. I will keep you all posted when anything
new comes up. Thanks again for all of your wishes and prayers
for the both of us.
Update
on Bill
Posted February 7th
 In case you haven't noticed...please take a look at the picture
on the front of the care page. That is compliments of Bill. In
case you didn't recognize the guy in the pic' it is the Burger
King mascot in honor of Bill and his BK virus. I forgot to mention
before that Bill said as Dr. Slease was telling him that he had
the BK virus, all he could think about was this character. He
said it took everythihng for him not to laugh. At least he can
get some humor out of it. He now has the official Burger King
crown as well, compliments of hsi dad.
Bill is still in the hospital. He is basically feeling the same...not
great, run down. He still has fevers, which come and go. Tonight
it was 102.8. They take blood cultures daily, but luckily no
signs of anything bad. He is frustrated because one minute he
is sweating and then he is cold. He hasn't been sleeping as well
as he'd like because he wakes up so hot at times. He received
platelets today. His white blood cells are still low and have
been for the last several days. Not sure when he will be discharged,
but figure he will be in over the weekend unfortunately.
When I called
Bill today as I was leaving work, I asked him what I could
bring
him for dinner. He wanted a PB & J sandwich,
with Strawberry jelly. Thanks to his cousin Beth in New York
we had homemade strawberry jelly. He also wanted me to pick him
up these special fruit snacks. So he is eating a little more
now, which is good.
I think that is it for now. Have a good night...day, depending
on whenever you are reading this. Thanks for staying updated
and for all of your warm thoughts and wishes.
~ Heather
Jackson
Update
on Bill
Posted February 6th
Well I can't sleep and it is 3am. I have so much on my mind
right now. I figured I'd get up and work on a few things, including
updating the care page. I'm eating a bowl of cereal because if
I'm up, the baby and me are hungry! I even woke Rowdy up. He
even ate all of his food, but he's decided to not wait up for
me and sauntered his way back up to bed.
Anyway...Bill is still in the hospital, unfortunately. I know
he is so tired of being there, but knows it will be a couple
more days before he gets out. His blood counts are way low, so
I doubt he will get to go home until they come back up. On Sunday,
we watched the Superbowl with his brother Shawn. I left just
after the 3rd quarter started. I hear I really missed a good
one. I just can't stay up late anymore. Bill seemed to enjoy
it. He wanted the Giants to win. Monday was a bad day for Bill.
The nurse told me he really didn't do anything all day...just
stayed quiet in his room with the lights off. He did seem down
a little when I talked to him. He started urinating blood again,
so I know that has got him down. Dr. Slease just said he was
going to keep his platelets up.
On Tuesday, he was in a better mood. He even got on the teadmill
for a little while during the day. He hadn't been doing that,
so I was glad to hear. Dr. Slease had come in and told him that
they had cultured his urine and he had a virus...it's called
the BK virus (or as Bill kept saying the Burger King virus).
It is a form of viral cystitis(bladder). He said that it is just
somthing that occurs after chemo. There is nothing they can do
to treat it. Eventually it will resolve. That is the reason why
he is urinating the blood.
He is starting to eat a little more, but not getting a lot of
fluids in so he has to stay hooked up to his IV all the time.
He doesn't like that. We had a good visit last night. His mom
and brother Shawn were in. Bill was acting his normal self and
laughing again, which was nice to see. I definitely miss that.
That is all for now. I think I will try to get a few more things
done and then join Rowdy to try to get a few more hours of sleep.
Have a good day!
~ Heather
Jackson
Home
Again!
Posted January 28th
Sorry...I know it has been a while since I updated. Let's just
say it's been a long week. Bill is out of the hospital. Yeah!!!!
We left last night about 11:30pm, right after they unhooked him
from his last dose of chemo. He is feeling okay. He did say that
it was a very long week for him. Now we just wait for his blood
counts to drop and then to come back up. Hopefully he will not
end up back in the hospital this time. Once his blood counts
are up, he starts his maintenance chemo. Different chemo drug
and done as an outpatient.
On the baby front: I went to register at babiesrus the other
night with my friend Maribel. Thank goodness I had her there
with me. I don't even know what half the stuff is, but she told
me I needed it. Bill and I would have been walking aimlessly
around the store. My next ultrasound is on Tuesday. I'm excited
about it. I can't wait to see how big the baby has gotten since
my belly has gotten bigger. There is no mistaking I'm pregnant
now. Bill will be able to go with me, so I am very happy about
that. I will have to post a picture on here once I get them.
I had given Bill a book on the expecting dad. He actually read
the whole thing (well he said he read more than he skimmed...).
He was reading his brother Mike and I some of the chores he is
supposed to do around the house while I'm pregnant. Basically,
it includes everything. Don't think he liked reading that. There
were some other funny things in it as well that we got a kick
out of.
Final
Round of
Consolidation Chemo
Posted January 22nd
Bill is now
back in the hospital. He arrived on Monday via his sister Sue.
He started his first dose of chemo at noon. He got
his second at midnight. He is only hooked up to the IV when he
is getting the chemo. They say as long as he is taking in enough
fluids he doesn't need to get it through IV, so he won't be attached
to a machine. He was not feeling well when I got in last night.
He feels on the verge of getting sick constantly. They are giving
him meds for the nausea. Not eating a whole lot. He hasn't wanted
me to really bring him in anything. He is sleeping a lot. He
just feels very run down. Things are going as scheduled. No chemo
today...next dose will be tomorrow. Hopefully his spirits will
stay up. He has plenty to keep him busy in the hospital. He was
lucky to get into the bone marrow transplant unit, so he has
a private room. Makes it a lot better of a stay. The nurses love
him. On the sign in his room, they leave messages for him. Yesterday
it said 'welcome back'. Today it says 'we missed you!' Good thing
I'm not jealous.
The one nurse
came in last night and did a double take at me. She said, "you're not...are you pregnant?" Hard
to not notice now. Bill asked me to say no to someone next
time
they asked, just to embarass them. I don't think I can do that...it's
mean.
I'll keep you posted. Have a good night/day!
Round
2 of Consolidation Chemo
Posted December 18th
Bill
was admitted to the hospital yesterday for his 2nd round
of consolidation chemo. He went in about 9am and they started
the first dose of chemo at 12pm. His next dose was for midnight,
so at least he should be sleeping for that dose. He is in
the bone marrow transplant unit so he has a room by himself
and has his favorite nurses working with him.
After work I headed over with some dinner he asked me to get.
Of course when I got there he wasn't feeling well. He felt like
he was going to get sick so couldn't eat initially. They gave
him some medicine to help with the nausea and then he was able
to eat a little. The nurses brought him in a small cake for his
birthday. Our friend Maribel stopped in to visit. His brother
Shawn stopped in as well.
Bill will be done his chemo early Sat morning so will be home
some time on Saturday...home for Christmas.
~ Heather
Jackson
Salad,
Snow, and 360's
Posted December 10th
Bill's
first day home went well. We were able to sleep in
the same room.
It has been
a while since both of us weren't feeling
totally sick. I'm glad to have my husband back home and be able
to be in the same room as him and not get him sick. He is having
a tough time sleeping and it is frustrating to him. The hip bone
pain is improving. It seems that the Neupagen shots helped his
white blood cell count a lot. He is no longer on Neutrapenic
precautions, so he can now eat fresh fruits and vegetables. I
don't remember his exact counts but they are good enough to take
him off precautions and for him not to have to have blood drawn
any more. When the dr's office called, all I could here him saying
was, "so am I off neutrapenic precautions now? Good. I'm
going out to get a good salad tonight." Of course we went
out and he got a nice big salad and enjoyed every bit of it.
At least he was home for the first snow fall in our new home.
He had a good time when we went out in the SUV. I was asking
which way to steer if I started sliding. While he proceeded to
show me we did a complete 360. It was on a private road with
no traffic, so all okay. He had it under control...he's a race
car driver. I will not be doing 360's so do not worry.
~ Heather
Jackson
Update
on Bill
Posted December 4th
Bill was doing better yesterday when I got to the hospital.
He did not have a fever in the morning. He was in extreme pain
though. They had given him a shot called Neupagen, which helps
to increase his white blood cell count. Unfortunately, it causes
a lot of bone pain. His hips on down were very painful. The pain
seemed to subside later on in the PM. But then his fever came
back and he had another headache. The Tylenol wasn't helping.
They were too afraid of giving him Percocet because of the risk
that that was what caused his allergic reaction on Sunday. They
said if that was the agent and they gave it to him again, the
next allergic reaction would be much worse.
His blood counts are still low. His WBC's are at 500, hemoglobin
is at 8.6, and his platelets are at 37. They are hoping to get
him home today, but I guess it depends on his fever subsiding.
The cultures were not back yet from his blood to figure out the
cause of the infection. The hope is that they will be back today
and then he can be sent home with oral antibiotics.
Bill said Dr. Slease is still expecting that he will return
for his second round of chemo in two weeks. Bill is not very
happy about that. He feels he wants to get much stronger before
going back in so that he doesn't get as sick.
Bill's mom, brother Shawn, and cousin Beth from Long Island
came to visit him last night. Beth brought Bill many goodies.
She is spoiling him. It was nice seeing her.
I had my
monthly check up with the OB yesterday. I got to hear the heart
beat of the baby. My doctor had me
call Bill on my
cell so that he could hear it as well. Everything is going well
on that front. Bill and I are still perplexed on names. Some
people have heard this story already, but I don't think that
I posted it on here yet. I bought a baby name book a while ago.
I had it sitting on the kitchen table and Bill's brother Shawn
looked through it a little. I went out and came back later and
picked it up. There was a name highlighted in it. I said to Bill, "can
you believe this name Shawn highlighted?" He told me Shawn
didn't highlight it, he had done that. The name was for a boy
and it was Hammer. I was just like you have got to be kidding
me. He thought it would make a very good racing name...'The Hammer" Jackson.
Not happening! We really have no names picked out for a boy or
girl yet. I guess we still have plenty of time.
~ Heather
Jackson
Update
on Bill
Posted December 2nd
I have some bad news. Bill had to go back into the hospital
early Sunday morning. He had a headache all day and night Sat
and developed a high fever early Sunday morning. About 1am, he
had a temp of 101.9. He called the doctor and the doctor called
and got him a room and we went into the hospital. They started
him on fluids and IV antibiotics right away. He had cut his hand
on Thursday morning and had a tough time getting the bleeding
to stop, due to his platelets being low. He did finally get it
to stop, but more than likely developed an infection. By Sunday
morning his hand was very red, slightly swollen, and painful
when he made a fist. It is possible that this is the source of
infection and the cause for the fever, etc. Blood cultures were
taken, but results will not be in right away. They did do a CAT
scan of his head to make sure there was no bleeding, again due
to low platelets. Everything turned out fine with it...no bleeding.
He was placed on a heart monitor. His heart rate was quite high
when he came in. He still has that in place and is already frustrated
with it. They aren't the easiest things to get around with, along
with the IV pole.
I left the hospital about 4:30am while he had his CAT scan.
I figured I'd try to go home and get some sleep so that I could
come back later. He was in good hands. When I got into the hospital
he said he was very tired and just wanted to sleep. We did talk
a little later and he said that at one point he was give pain
meds, along with platelets, etc and he started feeling a tingling
in his body. He said his nose started running profusely, to the
point he couldn't breathe out of it. At the same time his throat
started to swell up and he was having a difficult time breathing.
One of his nurses from his previous stays, Jen, was at his bedside
and got him help. They brought in oxygen and gave him a high
dose of Benedryl. He said that helped and he is doing better
now with his breathing. He is snoring a little though. He never
did that before.
He hasn't
eaten a lot today...more tired than hungry I imagine.
He did have a fever when I got here, but it has since gone down.
He is receiving blood due to his blood counts being low.
Not sure what is next. He is on a multitude of antibiotics.
The nurse said they are just trying to knock out any bug that
might be present. His regular hemetologist will be in tomorrow,
so hopefully we will get some good news. He was scheduled for
an office visit with him tomorrow anyway.
I will keep you all updated as soon as I hear anything else.
Please keep Bill in your prayers. Please pray for a speedy recovery
and quick return home. I know he will feel better being at home.
~ Heather
Jackson
Update
on Bill
Posted November 15th
Bill is hanging
in there. He is feeling so so. His stomach is starting to bother
him a little. I guess the ulcer is acting
up. He says his taste buds are changing. He received his 3rd
dose of chemo last night and should be getting his 4th dose
this AM. Only two more to go and he should be going home on
Saturday
after the last dose of chemo is done. He has still been eating
pretty good. Weight is going up. I brought him dinner last
night and we just hung out. He still has been getting on the
treadmill
every night.
~ Heather
Jackson
Christiana
Care
Posted November 13th
Bill is in
the hospital in room 6C20. He is just a couple of doors down
from the bone marrow transplant unit. He sat around
for most of the day. The chemo started around 8pm last night.
It was to run for 3 hours and then he will get another dose at
8am today. Then they wait for another 24 hours before giving
him his next dose. He should be out some time on Saturday. He
was in good spirits. He said he actually woke up yesterday morning
feeling his old self. Dr. Slease gave him some good news. He
said that the lst bone marrow biopsy showed no leukemia cells.
Good news, but not out of the woods just yet. The chemo is going
to help to prevent a recurrence.
I went in
after work last night and we were joined by Bill's mom who
brought us dinner from Cafe Tavoli. Bill was able to
eat all of his food. Hopefully his appetite will not change while
he is in the hospital. He is in a double room. No roommate as
of last night, but more than likely will get one. He did go to
the treadmill last night and walked for about 30 minutes. I'm
sure he was missing that.
~ Heather
Jackson
Round
II Chemo Therapy
Posted November 12th Bill will
be going back in to the hospital today some time. He has to
wait for them to call him. His father will be taking him in. He
should be getting out on Saturday. He'll be receiving chemo
every other day. He's been eating well and has gained about
11 pounds since he last got out of the hospital. He had a few
of his favorite meals yesterday since he is not so sure how
he'll be able to eat in the hospital. I'll continue to keep
everyone posted on that end.
~ Heather
Jackson
Beef
and Beer
Posted November 11th
The beef
and beer benefit was on Saturday night. It was a huge success.
Thanks to all who attended and donated. I can't even express
the gratitude we have for all of you. There were so many people
at the benefit...people we have not seen for many years. It
was like we were back at our wedding reception. We had a really
good time and it seems like everyone else did as well. I hope
to post some pictures soon.
Some news
for those who have not heard yet...I'm pregnant. I found out
a week after Bill was diagnosed. A little hard to take at first,
but we are slowly getting used to the idea that we are going
to be parents. It is just so crazy how our lives have changed
so much in just a few months. I am due June 6th.
~ Heather
Jackson
|
