Weekend Update 5/20

Request for local friends:  Until I get my stamina back, I will need help getting to clinic visits.  If you can help with an occasional ride please email me at maureen.staudt@gmail.com.  Thanks to those who've already volunteered.  I am going into the clinic 2 to 3 days a week and will email the group when I know day(s) I will need rides (will try to give plenty of notice).  Thank you!!

Fun Update:  Emma has her first rowing regatta of the Spring this Saturday.  The day promises to be beautiful and she is very excited.  Joseph is done with finals and will be home on Monday.

Medical Update:  Overall a good week as I continue to build both strength and stamina.  I am very grateful my strength (measured by how much easier it is to get up the stairs) is gradually returning after the long stay in the hospital.  Physical therapy has been extremely helpful with this.  My high heart rate and low blood pressure continue.  This does make it hard to walk any distance without getting light headed but after a short rest my heart slows down.  It gets a little frustrating and a little scary.  Fortunately I am seeing an amazing cardiologist and have my second appointment and an echocardiogram next week.  Still heading to the clinic every 3 days or so for platelets / blood infusions both of which are depleted from the bone marrow suppression from the last round of chemo and an antibiotic I am currently taking.  As always, glad to managing it all from home!

Thanks for checking in!

Love, Maureen

Monday May 16

Request for local friends:  Until I get my stamina back I will need help getting to clinic visits.  For those of you who are local could you let me know if you would be free to take me into Beth Israel?  I've been reaching out to a small group of friends who have been wonderful about getting me in and out of the clinic.  If you can help with the occasional ride, please email me at maureen.staudt@gmail.com.  I'll email the group on the weekend to see what day(s) people might be available to drive me.  Hopefully this will only be for the next couple weeks.  Thanks so much.

Fun Update:  Another lovely weekend.  Emma had her last middle school dance on Friday and they seemed to have a great time - sadly no details for Mom however.  Will have to catch up with some of the other Moms whose daughters are more chatty.  Sunday she spent a good part of the day with her long time and close friend Caitlin.  Sadly Emma cut the day short to study for finals.  Well I guess that is a good thing. Thanks Caitlin and Marie for thinking of Emma.   Joseph comes home a week from Monday.  Woo Hoo!  Jim spent the weekend doing lots of yard work (complementing all Kate had done during her visit).  He replanted several some overgrowing ivy and some hosta that were getting choked by our daylillies.

Medical Update:  Back to getting platelets every couple days - the antibiotic I am taking has a side effect of suppressing marrow production.  Thus I have been heading into the hospital every couple days for infusions of platelets.  Not sure if this will last for the duration of the antibiotic - hopefully not.  This has been an interesting time at home after over two months in the hospital.(with a week home breaking up the hospital time).  I have been home just over a week and still tire very easily.  My heart rate is consistently very high and my blood pressure consistently low.  I'll be seeing the cardiologist again but we are hoping this is all tied to fatigue from such a long hospital stay (combined with Spring Allergies!).  Okay enough whining...I am home and thrilled to be here.  In other good news...I started Home Personal Training last week and am getting much stronger.  Also I don't always feel exhausted so am able to enjoy much of the day with Emma and Jim - have even been able to get together with friends for lunch here as Casa de Staudt.   As time passes I am sure I'll  get my stamina back.

Thanks so much for checking in.

Weekend Update Sunday May 8

Happy Mother's Day!!  Pleased to tell you all I am celebrating Mother's  Day at home!  We started out the day with Mass and enjoyed a visit from my Aunt Debbie, cousin Joe, his wife Jane and their daughter Carolyn.  Great conversation and nice to be in my living room vs. a hospital room.  I was discharged from the hospital Thursday.  Emma just returned from a Girl Scout weekend at the Rocking Horse Ranch in New York.  She had an absolute blast and many thanks to the GS leaders for taking on the girls for the weekend.  Joseph finishes class next week followed by finals.  He finished his track season this past weekend and will be glad for the extra time to focus on his upcoming tests.  Kate was here in North Andover this past week.  We hung out in the clinic everyday until coming home Thursday.  It was great to spend time with her and soooo  helpful to have her here.

Medical Update:  This past hospitalization was due to a blood infection.  After almost two weeks in the hospital on IV antibiotics, I came home on a pill antibiotic.  During my hospitalization I also worked with physical therapy on getting up and down stairs as well as general strength exercises.  This transition home has been a bit easier as a result (also helps to be that much further away from the last week-long chemo).  Guinness continues to be accepting of my disappearing acts over the last couple months.  Jim and Emma are pretty sick of it (as am I).  Thanks for your continued prayers, meals and good wishes.  I draw great strength from all of you.

Weekend Update Sunday May 1

Emma's week ended with the school play on both Saturday and Sunday.  A valiant effort was made by the staff here to get me a day pass to attend.  In the end it would have compromised my care (missing doses of antibiotics) and been a bit too exhausting so we went to plan B where my dear friend Zolton hooked me up via skype and I watched from the comfort of my room.  The kids were adorable and there are some amazing singers among our 8th graders.  So glad I could see the play and thanks Zolton and Debbie!!  The weekend was busy with friends Glen and Kirsten here on Saturday.  Jim was here Sunday and we went to church with my nurse Julie followed by bertuccis pizza.  Pretty close to a date.  Joseph is set for housing for next year - for those  of you with College kids you know this can be a nightmare starting sophomore year so I am glad he's nailed down housing (not to mention selected his classes for next year!!)

Medical Update:  Well Friday marked a full week in the hospital - they've identified the bacteria as Enterococcus.  Most likely source is the pic we were using for blood draws and antibiotic infusions. Every day they draw cultures to see if the bacteria is growing.  As long as the bacteria is growing/present I need to stay in the hospital.  Some good news...the cultures have shown no bacteria growth for the last 4 days.  To make sure the bacteria is totally eradicated the antibiotic needs to run for a total of 6 weeks.  Luckily I can do the remaining course of the antibiotics at home and I am hoping to head home early this week.  Kate comes in tomorrow and it would be so wonderful if our first night together is at my home!  One other big event...this week I had another donor lymphocyte infusion. This is an infusion of the donor's healthy T cells designed to fight any remaining leukemia.  I had an infusion back in November and half the cells were frozen for a future infusion which I had this week.  There are no side effects from this treatment and it will hopefully help get me to a durable remission.

Thanks for checking in

Love Maureen