In December Ray seemed to be fighting a cold or virus, and a few trips to the doctor and some medications did not seem to solve the problem. We started to get that sinking feeling that maybe it was
more serious than the flu. Of course we wanted to be healthy before Charles, Kari, Travis and Wren arrived for the Holidays. Our local doctor scheduled complete blood tests as Ray's oncologist suggested. The doctor warned us the lab might call us at home if there was a serious problem. We picked up Charles, Kari, Travis and Wren later in the day and enjoyed having them at our house but Ray was feeling pretty tired.
We did not expect the 10 PM call suggesting we go immediately to the emergency room but followed the advice, informing the family where we were headed. We were surprised when Kari and Brett met us at the emergency room but were happy for their support. More tests and Ray was on his way to the Oregon Health and Science University Hospital while the others went home to rest. The emergency room said OHSU was the best place for him. More tests confirmed that darn Leukemia had returned and he was started on Chemotherapy on
Dec. 24 to try and bring it into remission. Ray remained in the hospital for over a month. The beginning of the stay is mostly a blur as Ray was taking a very strong chemotherapy treatment. Family visited regularly but the grandchildren could not come to his room so had to use a cell phone and views from common areas into his room. Ray had a wonderful view of Portland’s skyline, with Mount Hood in the background, to entertain guests who came to visit. We called it the million $ view and hoped the bill would not be similar! After a couple of weeks Ray recovered enough to appreciate the view and Brett supplied binoculars and spotting scope. Christmas and New Years was spent in the hospital and
Nancy did double duty visiting the hospital as well as keeping up with the family Holiday activities. During this time Ray's mother was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer which at first they thought could be slowed by mild chemotherapy to give her more time than the “weeks” originally estimated. Unfortunately the chemotherapy seemed to bring on complications which put her in the hospital where she rapidly declined and we knew the end was near. The new goal was to get out of the hospital so Ray could travel to Eugene to see his Mom.
This has involved a lot of doctor appointments as well as dental appointments to be sure my body was in the best shape possible for the transplant. We sure were thankful for the transplant team who kept pointing us in the right directions at the right time. They located a donor (43 year old male, probably from Europe, but won't know for sure until records are released in a couple of years. It is a legal requirement of donor system.) I have been meaning to get this update posted but the chemo and radiation treatments seemed to take all my strength away just as predicted. The hospital suggested using my blog to keep people informed and now with some strength returning I will see if I can get the update posted. Zero day (April 15) found us headed to radiation for a full body treatment in preparation for the stem cell transplant scheduled for later in the day. Interesting process. Nancy was able to snap a picture of me prepared for the full body radiation, but the monstrous equipment is not shown. I stood in the frame twice for about 8 minutes as they do front and then back side of the body (I felt like a piece of toast!). I felt nothing and all went well. Then it was off to OHSU admissions desk where Brett was able to join us until my room was ready. We 
were anxious to get started but learned that the plane with the stem cells was delayed, so process was delayed until evening. We waited patiently for the cells to arrive and be prepared for transplant. The infusion process started about 10:30 PM with the stem cells looking much like blood, but a nice pink color. They kept a close eye on me as the infusion progressed, checking my vitals every 15 minutes the first hour, once an hour the rest of the night. The infusion process was completed about 2:30 AM. Since no complications developed, I was released from the hospital about 11:00 AM Saturday and we enjoyed going home for some lunch, followed by a rest as neither of us got a lot of sleep the night of the process. I am scheduled for daily 8:30 AM appointments at the outpatient clinic for vitals and transplant follow-up for the rest of April. The next couple of weeks I have to be really germ careful as my immune system is very near zero from the week's chemotherapy and radiation which is to give my new stem cells the best chance of getting established. The fear is infection or host vs donor complications where my blood cells could decide to attack the new donor cells which would not be good. We need to be within 30 minutes of the hospital for some time yet... Changes in my system or temp over 100 means we head for the hospital. If all goes well they will reduce daily visits to 2 or three times a week. After I reach the 100 day threshold they will start to loosen up outpatient visits even more. Then maybe we can return to a more normal life style.The stem cell replacement was almost anticlimactic, but everyone
says we should be celebrating, which we did by having ice cream after dinner last night. The nurses wrote “Happy Birthday, Day 0” on the dry-erase board! We are now up to Day plus 3 . It is considered a birthday as I now have new stem cells which could change my blood type and I will have to train my new immune system much as a new born baby. We were doing a countdown to Transplant Day and now begins the count-up as we progress toward me building new cells. I have many new medications and a calendar to help us organize them.
