The Amazing, Shrinking Mountain

What used to be a mountain of Michael's "100 Days of Gifts" has dwindled to a small pile, but that's great news around here.  He has less than a week left of his isolation.  He'll have to wait for a few days after the actual 100 marker until his next clinic visit on the 7th to officially end this loooong house arrest.  In the meantime, the gifts are still a wonderful treat each day.

For those of you keeping score at home, the recent two weeks have brought:

• Would You Rather?, Hit the Deck, Farkle, Skipbo, I Spy, Monopoly Deal, Mad Gab, and math games
• Andes mints, Twix, 3 Musketeers, candy corn,  Reese's, Tootsie Pops, Oreos, M&M's, Hershey's, and gum
• Melting art kit, paper airplane making book/kit
• Growing nutcracker figure
• Glow sticks
• Rubix cube
• Slime, Flarp, Silly string
• Slinky
• Punch balloons
• Wooden brain teaser
• Water gun (the whole family thanks this anonymous and incredibly thoughtful giver!)
• Miniature basketball
• Cardinal's stuffed baseball character

This list alone is overwhelming and generous.  Michael is so grateful to all of you.  We'll let you know the final tally soon.  When the 100 days are over.  In less than a week.  Oh, have I already mentioned that?  About almost finishing the 100 days of isolation?   Pardon me, please.  As an English teacher, I know better than to be redundant.  It's just hard to focus on good writing on Day 95 (which is really close to Day 100)!

Almost There

Michael is almost at the end of his 100 days of isolation!  He had a clinic visit this past Tuesday that went quite well.  The next time he returns to the clinic, his 100 days will be over.  He will learn what happens during the next phase of his recovery and what new rules he must follow.

The doctor was pleased to see that Michael's ANC was over 2,500; he had gained another three pounds, was strong, and still free of side effects of the transplant.  They did, however, discover a problem related to the radiation he had last fall. 

It is relatively common that total body irradiation may cause some abnormalities in the throat glands.  Michael's thyroid glands are beginning to change.  The doctors immediately ordered some tests that showed that one is swelling and the other is shrinking, but the hormone levels regulated by the thyroid are still just fine.  Since these changes are taking place much faster than "normal," the doctor anticipates that the swelling/shrinking will continue and will begin to affect his hormone levels.  When (or if!) this happens, he will just need to start hormone replacement therapy which consists of a daily pill for the rest of his life. They'll keep checking on this issue every three months.  This news was actually good; a real possibility was that this swelling could have been a cancerous mass caused by the radiation.  We find ourselves again so, so thankful.

We do have a tremendous problem facing us now, though.  What are we going to do to celebrate the end of Michael's 100 days?  Ideas, anyone??

Poof! No Eyebrows!

Years ago, a high school friend performed a humorous reading "Poof!  No Eyebrows!" by Patrick F McManus.  It told the story of two boys who experimented with black powder, a bicycle seat, and a match.  You don't need to hear the whole story to imagine how the author arrived at the title.

That reading crossed my mind many times over the last couple of months as we watched the chemotherapy change Michael's body.  Michael has always been thin, so the weight loss was obvious but not alarming.  He regularly wears his hair short in the summer, so he didn't look much different when he had his dad shave it close after the hair started thinning.  But, oh, those eyebrows!

Shortly after his bone marrow transplant hospital stay, Michael lost his eyebrows and eyelashes.  After all these months, he truly looked like a cancer patient.  It was undeniable and somehow oddly shocking and discouraging.  With all that he had faced, his little blonde eyebrows were the final straw for him.  He started wearing one of his many hats or stocking caps.  He would wear a hat when he went outside, when he was inside, when he ate, when he slept.  He wore a hat all. the. time.

Time has passed now, and the hat-wearing is subsiding.  Michael has new eyebrows, eyelashes, and a full (though short) head of hair.  He's been hoping to trade his straight, light blonde hair for darker blonde, curly locks.  I'm not sure that he'll get his wish, but he looks great.  He looks . . . like Michael.

Eyebrows!   I could never have imagined. 

Day 84

I remember posting back during our stay in the hospital after the bone marrow transplant that our days had become rather boring.  I also remember that we were quite satisfied with that report!  Weeeeell, we are still boring.

Michael's doctor actually called him "boring" at his clinic visit last week.  They were pleased enough with his progress that they did not need to see him for two weeks.  He is having absolutely no problems.  No side effects from the transplant.  No colds, fevers, viruses.  He is gaining a little bit of weight.  He has energy and is keeping up with his physical therapy regimen.  He is staying current with all of his school work.  The days are passing quickly and routinely.

Michael has a little more than two weeks left of his post-100 days of isolation and dietary restrictions.  His days are over on February 4th, but we'll have to wait until an appointment on the 7th to find out what Michael's new restrictions will be.  He'll have another bone marrow biopsy on that day to again evaluate the success of the transplant and look for the presence of any cancer.  The 7th is beginning to loom rather large on the horizon.  It will be wonderful for Michael to have more freedom, but knowing that we'll be waiting for biopsy results again is difficult.

Until then, we'll pray to continue enjoying our uneventful days.

And the Fun Continues . . .

No matter what happens each day in the Vaughn home, there is always one moment of suspense and excitement as Michael opens his daily gift.  We continue to be amazed at the thoughtfulness and generosity of so many wonderful friends.  It's been over two weeks again since we've updated you, so the list seems rather long.  If you recognize your gift, please know how much we appreciate you.  Each of your gifts have been special, fun, delicious--perfect in their own way.

• "Where the Red Fern Grows" and "Black Stallion" movies
• Toss Up! game
• Reeses' bar, 3 Musketeers, York patties, Andes mints, gum, mints, boxes of assorted candies, popcorn, Fruit Roll-ups, Mountain Dew
• Juggling set
• Devotional book
• TN Volunteers pen, pencil, knit ski hat, and flashlight
• Wooden brain teasers
• Jigsaw puzzle
• Cardinals 2011 Yearbook and T-shirt
• Wooden dinosaur, lizard, and race car models
• Motorized race car model
• Flarp, coloring supplies, silly string, basketball, bubbles
• Sizzlers magnets toy

Some Good News

The last time I got a personal call from Michael's doctor, the news was not great.  She was reporting the information about the virus and the possible complications it would present.  She called again today, but the news was much different.  Michael's most recent blood work was negative for the virus!

She explained that they were thrilled to find that Michael's ANC is at 1,800 and that he is fighting this virus off with no problem.  They are content to stop all further additional blood testing.  Michael was thankful to hear that he didn't need any further "pokes."  We were all thankful that this first mini-crisis has passed with a minimum of true danger.  Just so, so thankful.  Thanks for praying with us.