It's a Date!!!

Dear friends and family,

Once again I must start w/ an apology for the long delay in posting. This site has changed over to Google and I was unable to log on to create a post. I finally sat down today and after many e-mails from blogger support, here I am. I think I have about 3 different passwords now! Lets' hope I can get on in the future. But on to our news. Bobs last bone marrow biopsy still had a blast count of 16%, but Dr. Luger is satisfied with that and Bob will be admitted to HUP on 5/16, with the stem-cell transplant(sct) to take place on the 21st or 22nd. Before the sct can take place he will have 5-6 days of the "big-guns" chemo to wipe out his immune system and all the "bad stuff". The new stem cells are than expected to come back 10-14 days after that. So we're looking at a 4-6 week stay. In the meantime he's being "fine tuned" and will have a heart scan and lung function tests this week. He'll also need some more labs done before admission. On 5/10 we have to go to HUP for a class to learn all about the restrictions regarding diet, isolation etc., and we still have to have a final appt w/ Dr. Luger which has yet to be scheduled. So after many months of waiting we are only about 2 weeks away. Now that it's actually near we are both a little anxious. Bob is having some sleepless nights and I have been a cleaning fool....which keeps me busy during the day and tires me out so I can sleep at night. But overall we're doing okay and I feel sure in my heart he's going to do fine.

Bob lost 5 more pounds with his last round of chemo, and needed platelets frequently, getting the last transfusion on Friday. So right now I'm trying to fatten him up, so he has something to fall back on if he loses his appetite w/ the sct which is very likely. We'll probably be busy tying up loose ends these next 2 weeks also, like taking Bobs' truck for inspection, and going over bills etc.

So, that's life right now. My Dad is doing better. I was actually able to get to Scranton on Easter weekend when he was discharged. I was going to come home Easter morning, but got the GI crud that was going around at the time and had to stay until Wednesday, since I couldn't take a chance of passing it on to Bob. My brother Tom, his wife Anna and nieces Meg and Kate came to the rescue and stayed w/ Bob, taking him for his chemo, platelets, and making sure he was fed and watered! Thank God for them and our friends who also offered their assistance.

Which leads me to thank everyone again who donated to the blood drive. I was hoping to have all the statistics for you from the Red Cross, but am waiting for an e-mail from Bonnie. I will post that when I get it. Did you all see the very nice article in The Reporter? If not you can see it on their website at www.thereporteronline.com. It was in April 3rds edition. Although being my picayune self, I have to correct the reporters' statement that most of the donors were 17 yrs. old. Most of the donors were peers of ours....so, middle-aged? There was also a lovely letter to the editor a few days later which brough tears to my eyes, and I wanted to thank the anonymous author(although I have my suspicions about who that is...SJS?...maybe?)for the wonderful words about Bob and Deb. I also wanted to publicly acknowledge Bonnie for all her hard work w/ the drive and her husband John for opening their home to the hordes that day. It was a day I will never forget, and I can't explain how wonderful it was for Bob and Debbie to experience that outpouring of love and support, and Bonnie and John made that happen. Thanks also to Kathi M. for the multitude of sandwiches from The Sandwich Mill; to Bev Z for enough paella and sausage and peppers to feed an army;to Mrs.K. for the halupki which Bob loves; to Anita S. for her home-baked goodies;to Emily T for all the candy;to Holly S for the veggies and cookies; to Ann M. for the balloons(sorry I never e-mailed you back)and to everyone who contributed libations...Lee-Lee and Joe T. that I know of and I'm sure there were more that I don't know of, and last but never least, to Debbie, for the 5 doz. donuts and chocolate cake, b/c it's never a party til you have a piece of that. And to anyone else whom I've forgotten, thank you and please forgive my rotten memory.Like I said it was a day for the books!

And finally, I just want to send out our love, Congratulations and Best Wishes to Matthew and his fiancee, Mandi. We just got the wonderful news today and are so happy for them, and want to officially welcome Mandi to the family. So a wedding in our future, and a pleasant goal to set our sights on.

Well, I think I've gotten you all up to speed, so I'll put out my usual request to remember Bob and I in your prayers. And thank you all again for your support and this time, for your patience w/ my non-blogging. Which reminds me of one more thing. HUP now has internet access in the patients rooms, so Bob will be able to blog from his laptop when he's feeling up to it, and actually read all your blogs in the room. I won't have to print them out this time around. Which will be especially nice since he is going to be in strict isolation after the transplant takes place.

All our love,
Bob and Mo

P.S. I just went to the Reporters' website and couldn't access back editions. If someone figures out or knows how to do this (maybe it's not possible, although it is on other papers' sites), could you please tell me how? Thanks, Mo

We're a Big Success

Well, the blood drive was a huge success, thanks to all our wonderful donors. And the biggest thank yous to Bonnie for organizing it, and her husband John for letting us invade their home. It was non-stop from before 9am when the ARC arrived, (in a huge bus, plus a delivery truck that kept ferrying all the blood to Philly) until 6:30p or so when the bus pulled out. We had 72 donors and actually had to turn 10 people away b/c they ran out of supplies and time. I think we only had about 4 or 5 people not qualify b/c of low hgb/iron, so less than 10%, which was fabulous. And many of the people who couldn't give on Saturday are going to donate at the drive at CMMC on April 12th, so i think it's safe to say that we really had over 80 donors.......what a testament to Debbie and Bob.

You'll never believe this, but I actually finished this blog 2 minutes ago. It was the longest one I ever wrote(and that's saying something).I started at 9:30p and finished at 1050p and despite hitting the save button, when I tried to publish it, the whole thing went up in smoke........or down in flames....take your pick. Actually the site was having a problem.

And as it is now time for bed, I'll just say, a million thank yous to anyone and everyone who made the blood drive a success. I will be back with details later this week and also the results of last weeks' BMB. Oh and keep your eyes peeled for an article about the drive in The Reporter. Deb did a phone interview today, so it should be in soon.

All our love,
Bob and Mo