May 23-28

What a beautiful week it has been in Michigan! Ron's blood counts have returned to a level that does not require transfusions, and the summer weather has been glorious. Cale and Jack visited Monday evening and Tuesday, and we finished trimming on the considerable hill that goes down to the lake from our house. We are looking forward to a summery Memorial Day weekend and catching up on a few more things around the yard, gardens, and house before we pack up and leave for University Hospital on Tuesday, June 1. Ron will have his second round of consolidation chemotherapy June 1-6 in Ann Arbor as planned.

May 15 - 22

The phase of treatment for this week involved transfusion support and low counts for white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Infection risk had been high, so Ron could not have visitors until today, Saturday May 22. Now he enters a 10 day period of further (anticipating uneventful) recovery before returning to the U of M on June 1 to cycle through another month with a similar pattern. The last round of chemotherapy will be in July. We are now comfortable with the routine at the Hospital and the Cancer Center in Coldwater, Michigan, where he receives his local treatment when we are home. He had transfusions of platelets on 2 days.
We did go out on the pontoon on Thursday which was such a beautiful warm day...and no doctor visits. Ron finished out the week with 2 units of packed red blood cells at the hospital Friday afternoon; a severe thunderstorm passed through, and the power went out at the hospital, so the last hour he was plugged into a red outlet which is the generator power. We continue to learn!
Have a great weekend! We will enjoy the lake more than ever.
Ron & Jan

May 11-14

Ron and I enjoyed having Niccole here for 4 days over the Mothers Day weekend through Tuesday. On Mothers Day Nic and I had brunch with Ron's brother, wife, and GG (Great Grandma-Ron's mom who is 89). We returned to the hospital, and Ron was discharged that afternoon. Cale and Jack came for the night and day on Tuesday-Wednesday. We were so glad to have Cale's help when the pontoon was delivered from winter storage. 3 year old Jack is just the best "cheerer upper" for Ron.

Both Wednesday's and Friday's early morning blood draws indicated that Ron need blood transfusions, so we are in the learning curve for having that done at the Cancer Center in Coldwater during its hours or the hospital after hours. He had 2 units of blood at the Cancer Center on Thursday and 2 units at the hospital on Friday. We returned home about 10:00 last night. The transfusions are expected; as one nurse put it "He had a double whammy with the leukemia making his bone marrow sick, and then the chemo also makes it sick, so he will not produce his own blood adequately for awhile."

The effects of the first round of consolidation chemotherapy are at the strongest now, so his blood counts are low. We will not be able to have visitors at least over the weekend. On Monday we will see his local oncology doctor at the Coldwater Cancer Center. An uneventful weekend will be wonderful!

Thanks for your continued expressions of support. We are so appreciative.
Ron & Jan

May 10

My Mom and Dad are back at Gilead Lake as of last night. I know that they are glad to be home again. They'll be travelling to the hospital in Coldwater periodically for bloodwork and monitoring. I'm planning a visit this week, probably Wednesday.

-Cale

May 4 - 5 - 6

We have returned to University of Michigan Hospital for Ron's first round of consolidation chemotherapy. This is the first of 3 rounds of follow-up chemo. His bone marrow biopsy last Thursday again showed no leukemia cells, but this additional chemo will greatly improve the odds for a permanent remission. Of course, we are going for the cure! We are back in the same unit and have the same medical staff which we cannot say enough good things about. Ron will get to go home on Sunday afternoon; the 2nd round of chemo will be in June and the 3rd round in July. We are looking forward to Niccole coming for a 4 day weekend with us. Jan had a great evening and morning in Bowling Green with Lisa, Abby, and Cale's family.

-Jan

May 4 Update

My mom and dad are back at U of M as of today to start the first round of consolidation chemotherapy. The most recent bone marrow test (from Thursday) again showed no evidence of leukemia cells.

Treatment starts tonight; my dad will likely be released on Sunday. This will be followed by two more rounds of consolidation chemotherapy over the next couple of months.