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The Bombshell
In late December 2021, my husband George finally decided to go and see his doctor. For a couple of weeks at least, he had been finding himself short of breath after performing simple tasks and he had trouble walking around the track on base without getting seriously winded. He thought maybe he had a respiratory…
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The Last Chapter
I have avoided writing this post for over a month. The trauma of watching George decline and make the transition from hope to resignation was almost too much to bear. It still is sometimes during my day. It’s not just the absolute devastation of losing the love of my life, it is also the cumulative…
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So draining…
George’s gallbladder continues to be an issue for him, poor thing. After viewing CT scans and ultrasounds, the doctors came to the conclusion that George is suffering from cholecystitis (redness and inflammation) of the gallbladder). It happens when bile becomes trapped and builds up in the gallbladder. In most cases this happens when solid lumps…
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A Rapid Response Christmas
Christmas Day, the kids and I all piled into the car to drive into Philadelphia to visit George. I made a Christmas brunch so we could open gifts and eat early, then spend the rest of the day with George. We left the house at around 1:00. As I was getting ready to turn into…
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Fighting the Fight
Today is December 18. George has been in the hospital since October 18, with the exception of 5 days after Thanksgiving weekend. It has been a hard stay this time. One, because it is so long. But also, because of the extremely discouraging news we received, George’s weakness and all the other challenges he is…
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Hard Conversation
Wednesday evening Dec 6, Dr. Loren came and had a difficult discussion with us. The first thing she said was that the most recent MRI showed that George has leukemia in the bones of his spine. That’s what was causing the back pain – the leukemia was expanding/swelling and push against the bone which caused…
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9 Hours in the ER Waiting Room
George was scheduled for a regular infusion appointment on the morning of Friday, December 1st. But at about 3:00 a.m. he awoke with some pretty wicked back pain. We had no idea what was causing it but we have been here before. He had awful back pain while in the hospital, but mercifully it went…
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HOME!
Sunday, November 26, I went and picked up George from the hospital and brought him home. He was so happy to be back in his recliner! He was sent home with instruction on how to take his blood sugar four times a day and administer his insulin before each meal and at bedtime. This will…
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Clinical Trial – Week 5
Wednesday: George texted me this morning at 9:34 saying he was being transported down to IR (interventional radiology) and so I started getting myself ready to head up to the hospital to visit him. Normally, the biopsy takes around an hour and a half. It is now 1:20 and he’s still not back in the…
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Clinical Trial – Week 4
This week has been a tough one. It started pretty well…on Thursday, the 9th, the doctor said George’s inflammation markers were going down and he thought that perhaps the CRS has peaked. That was good news! Friday, George started having gastrointestinal issues – bloating, gas and occasional diarrhea. Saturday is when things started to really…
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Clinical Trial – Week 3
All my days are starting to run together and I am finding it hard to remember what happened during which week. One new thing is that after George’s fever spike last Thursday night, X-rays showed he had fluid on his lungs. He was given Lasix ( a strong diuretic) and was put on oxygen when…
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Diagnosis: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). A Journey 