Adventure Day One – The Glass is Half Full
November 24, 2008 – In November 2002 twenty-nine days seemed like an eternity and all we wanted was some good news. Our first round of treatment was not a success and this round’s tests result were not what we had prayed for either, but we made the decision to look at these failures with a positive attitude, you know, the glass is half full and all. Funny thing though, that is not a good comparison when you are trying to kill cancer cells. Even if you kill 50% you still have 50% left – not good odds with an aggressive cancer like AML Leukemia.
November 14, 2002 11:26 PM PJ writes
Adventure Update - Round Two, Day 15
Hello Dear Friends and Family,
Today is a good day!
After 29 days in the hospital Rickey has started to make some yardage in this fight against Leukemia. After yesterday’s bone marrow test, the doctors have determined that this second round of chemo had a 50% kill rate on the cancer cells and that his blood count has about 20% blasts leukemia cells. Now with this result, we can also think that as each day goes by, we may get even more cell kills as his own blood cells start to rejuvenate and help defend his system.
Rickey is resting more during the day, than he is at night, due to the antibiotics and blood products that he needs, which seem to all run during the night. The highlights of his day are mail call and ice cream. During these next two weeks would be the best opportunity for visitors to stop by and say Hi. Although he is weak, he is not enduring the chemo treatment and can visit for about 20-30 minutes.
As with each stage in this adventure, we are not sure what comes next until a group of knowledgeable people get together and discuss the options. A few things have been discussed;
No new chemo before Thanksgiving (so maybe the turkey will stay down) Another bone marrow at day 42 of round two, which is December 11th, which would actually be total day 56 (this test may give us an even better kill rate)
Questions that still have no answer;
When will we get a three day pass?
When will the next chemo start?
And when will the bone marrow transplant take place…to these questions we still have no answers, but we will keep you posted.
When we started this adventure I naively thought we would get an early win and be done before Christmas, now I am just thankful for each new day, no fevers and a 50% kill rate. Reality is a cold shower at sea and you just pray that you get the chance to enjoy the warmth of your own shower at home before too long.
Thank you to all for the continued support and prayers that you are sending. We could not make it through this with out you!
Much love and big bear hugs to you all…THIS IS A GOOD DAY!
This email transmission to family and friends put a positive spin on our adventure – our glass was still half full, but unless we were able to figure out how to get the rest of those cancer cells out of Rickey’s body the only step left would be a bone marrow transplant.
Until our next blog – remember life is an adventure, embrace the journey. You can make a difference one day at a time.
Share your adventure with us!
The concept is very realistic and whatever option you choose, the rest of your life will follow that stigma, until your life takes a sharp turn. This time for me was very difficult. I was focusing just on me and my “other” relationships, not the one that really matters the most = family. I can remember my frame of mind as clearly as I can see the back of my hand. The glass was always half empty, I mean even if the glass was filling up my immediate thoughts were, “oh, it’ll go down…AGAIN”. I want more of this…I don’t have this…whine, whine, WHINO!
I can apologize for the ways I have mistreated you, but it is what it is and I can never take it back. I can wish a lot of things that I could have done better, or more things I could have helped out with, or most importantly spend the QUALITY time needed with my Mom and Dad.
I only visited when it was most convenient for me, unless it was an emergency and I was the only one that could be there. If things were falling apart in my life outside of Bethesda Naval Medical Center, I would come visit because I could run away from everything that was slowing me down in life according to ELLIE. I would go visit my Dad and thinking about that now, I was running away from my problems and “realistically” facing another but on a much higher level. Not even comparable! (I know this NOW, not back THEN).
I have adapted and overcame my selfishness, for which I could not be more thankful! If I had only learned earlier on, but I KNOW now and I continue to grow. I have come to see my Dad as a miracle, as an angel for as long as I have known him. He was sent to me and my Mother to be the strength that kept us all stable. He was the stability factor in my life and I never treated him with the unconditional love and respect that I always show him now. I remember my Dad talking to me about unconditional love and how it was by far the concept he holds highest in regards to the ones he loves and cares for. It has always been important to him to show those around him unconditional love. The people that he shows it too is at no surprise and can be very easily overlooked. He does it anyway. No one gets that sense to make it a mission in their lives to show unless they really do look at life as the glass 1/2 full.
The glass is full. My Dad overcame death, that in itself deserves another half full. Because of the strength “PJ and Rickey” provided for everyone, even though they were at the heart of the issue at hand, I see and foresee life as nothing but fortunate and FULL of possibilities. I will never be thirsty again or lacking in the appreciation of life because of what my parents stand for.
I hope you have enjoyed my novel :0) I will never stop writing. And, with my Dad as my Editor in Chief, I will always succeed at writing. To my Commanding Officer and Executive Officer, I commend you both and can only hope to live up to your standards you have set for your lives.
With all my love and MEUWs,
I love you both MOST!
OPS