Plant Sale Prep

Tyler is busy preparing for the Children's Hospital Garden Sale this weekend, so I am not sure if he will have time to post this week. Yesterday was another blood draw and all of his counts look very close to what they were last week. This is GREAT news for both of us! He has had blood draws in normal ranges for several weeks now, which is one of our major goals.

Next week when we meet with Dr. McGee, we will ask him again if Tyler can play soccer. Last time we asked, the good doctor said we needed to wait until we had a month of consistent test results under our belts before we could even think about getting a scan of Tyler's spleen. But... it looks to me like we have finally reached that goal! (no pun intended!) Tyler is feeling good and is anxious to get back on the field. On top of that, we have some soccer scheduled during our trip to Walla Walla next weekend and it would be great if Tyler could play a little while we are there.
We had a lovely dinner with Tyler's cousins Nate and Heidi on Tuesday evening. It was a real treat to get a tour of their new home and share an evening with them. They were so gracious about having us over and providing us with incredibly tasty food. Their three kids entertained us with stories of they accomplishments and we enjoyed talking about the stories Nate and Tyler had heard about their dads when Scott and Jim were younger.

Another week closer to Tyler playing soccer is another week closer to our short term goal. I think I'm almost as excited as he is for that day!

Much love to all of you,

Mandy

Entry for April 19

Today it has been exactly two months since I was diagnosed with CML. It seems much longer than that, because life seems so normal right now. I had expected it would have taken much longer to feel as well as I do now. The Gleevec is an amazing drug, and it brings me much hope that I will fully recover.

I have been extremely blessed to have Mandy by my side, as she has provided me with her energy and spirit! The only times I feel sad right now is when she goes off to play soccer. I really miss playing soccer, and being with our friends on the field.

My blood counts have been in the normal ranges mostly the last three times. I need to show normal ranges for a couple more weeks before Dr. McGee can scan my spleen and maybe give me the okay to play soccer again.

In the meantime, I really need to get some inspiration to hit the track, stationary bike, and swimming pool as we will be entering a mini-triathlon in June. (3mile run, 1/4 mile swim, and 12 mile bike ride)

Thank you all so much for your caring and prayers. I can feel them with me!

Tyler

Entry for April 12

T's tests yesterday showed that he is back in normal ranges for almost all of his blood counts. His platelets had climbed another 100 to 287, even though he started taking the Gleevec again over the weekend. Dr. McGee upped T's Gleevec dosage from 400mg per day to 600mg per day. Hopefully the blood counts will stay in normal ranges over the next several tests.

T has blood draws only for the next 2 weeks and then an appointment in the 3rd week. We're hoping for good news in all of the appointments! Overall, he seems to be feeling good. His job is tough now, but he seems to have the energy to keep up, so that is a good thing. We'll see how his energy level is after a full month of hard work and expected overtime.

Thanks to all for the prayers and well wishes. We sincerely appreciate every ounce of support from each of you!

On the newlywed front, things are GREAT! We are enjoying each other's company as much as ever. I'm so thankful that I waited for this wonderful man! We are still trying to finish up thank you notes, so if you haven't gotten one yet it is only because I ran out of cards with appropriate themes. I really wanted to share a wedding photo on the cards because I had liked that so much with my sisters' weddings. But it took us a long time to get pictures due to some challenges in our photographers' lives. We have gotten the pictures now and hope to finish up on making the next batch of cards. If you have known me long, you know that I'm a procrastinator so you probably aren't too surprised.

I guess that is all for today's note; I just wanted to share the latest results with you.

April 9th Post

Ty's latest test results showed that his platelet counts were back up into normal range. The doctor has authorized him to resume taking Gleevec, although he is only supposed to take a 400mg dose and not the 600mg dose he was taking before his sinus infection kicked in. He wasn't experiencing any side effects, other than the anemia and low platelet count, so I am hoping they will be able to up his dosage again soon. The 600mg dose is supposed to provide better results for those who are able to manage it.