Christmas with the Kranks

Ross & Andrew, 1970

For those of you who've read John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, you'll recognize the Kranks. They decided to opt out of the Christmas frenzy (and some might say spirit). Well, we're not completely skipping Christmas, but our holiday will look very different this year.

Because of Andrew's suppressed immune system, we won't be attending any crowded Christmas parties. We also won't be hosting our annual Carol Singing party, breaking an 8-year streak. Since it's been a different kind of year, we've decided to have a different kind of Christmas. While it is the year to send out our bi-annual Christmas cards, this year they will go out via email. (Make sure we have your up to date email if you want one!) And the biggest change of all? We will be driving south instead of north - to Florida for a family vacation over the Christmas holiday. No stockings over the fireplace. No candlelight Christmas Eve service at our home church. No fabulous meal in Greenwich with the Joneses. Just a lot of time in the car with each other and a chance to relax and play together for a week in warm weather - refueling the family batteries that have been run down so much over the past year.

Maybe we will view these changes as a chance to slow down and appreciate all we are missing this Christmas. Maybe we'll learn what we are fine to miss. As we will not be seeing many of you out and about, please invite yourselves to see us. We are thankful for those who are already doing this to keep us company while protecting us from holiday germs. And, above all, we hope the change of pace - and distance from all the frenzy - will help draw us closer to the true reason for the season.  As we look to Christmas and beyond, we have great reason to hope - for a 2013 full of good health and a new lease on life.  What a gift!   

Full of Thanksgiving

As you can imagine, we are especially thankful this year!  It was almost exactly a year ago that we first discovered the tumor in Andrew's chest that quickly led to the lymphoma diagnosis.  What a crazy year it has been!  The journey hasn't been "fun," nor is it "over,"  but we are grateful that - as my sis in law Kelly said yesterday -  Andrew has been a poster child for how to live an active lifestyle with cancer.  We don't recommend this journey, but it has led us to treasure all of our many blessings even more than before. We count each of you among our blessings!  And hope that you enjoy counting your own this holiday season.

Clean Scan & Clean House

Almost as an afterthought, we received the CT scan report showing that Andrew has no signs of cancer in his body. This is exactly what they were expecting, hence the nurse practitioner's casual, "Oh yes, I need to print out your scan results. I'm sure they're fine...."  Now Andrew has graduated from Hopkins care and won't need to be back until December 13th for a check up with the head doc! The real next big event will be the 6 month more in-depth scan in late March.
Andrew will still be receiving Rituxan on Wednesdays through early December. (He just can do this in Virginia, not Baltimore!) And we learned from last week's dismissal class that he is still quite vulnerable to infection and needs to avoid, among other things, crowds in enclosed spaces, sick people, construction zones, exposure to the sun, and sushi.  So we are working hard to keep a germ free house and are keeping a list of movies & restaurants we'll enjoy once we're allowed out.

The happy END of the XC State Championships Meet

Thanks for trekking with us.  We feel the tide turning and are ever grateful.  Of course, there will be many more scans to come.  The journey isn't over.  But we feel incredibly blessed right now, all the same, like the page is turning from one (long, grueling) chapter to the next.  It seems, as Winston Churchill famously said: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." 

Surprise!

Andrew had his scan today!  And it was just a CT Scan, not a more in depth PET/CT scan.  We should have the results by Wednesday when Andrew gets his central line (Hickman Catheter)  removed.  We had been told the scan would be on Wednesday but, with a 4 hr infusion of Rituxan AND the operation to remove the central line, adding one more thing would have made for an extra long day.

The doctors are expecting today's scan, so soon on the heals of the chemo and radiation AJ received as part of the transplant process, to show no trace of cancer.  While to them it isn't a big deal, we will rejoice mightily at an all-clear scan.  The next big test will be in another 4 months, when the 6 month post-transplant scan will reveal whether or not the cancer is growing back.  But that seems like light years away. 

For now life is full - full of joy, good conversation and laughter, kids and their school work and sports, and our own work picking up speed again.  Not surprisingly, this Thanksgiving we feel especially grateful!

Back to Normal...almost

We've been home for nearly two weeks and it has been wonderful. We have enjoyed every minute with the kids, watching field hockey, having family dinners, helping with homework and SAT prep - all of it. The honeymoon has not worn off yet. Meanwhile, both of us are increasingly back to work and loving it.
Next week will be - hopefully - the last week at Hopkins. Tomorrow we have our "Discharge Class." We've been warned about this class and how all their dire warnings and prohibitions for the future will scare us into submission. Tomorrow we should also receive our schedule for next week. This is huge as Andrew will have both a pet-scan to confirm the cancer is nowhere to be found AND a procedure to remove the central line in his chest. Soon thereafter he should be free to play tennis again!!
Stay tuned for specifics around these things. We continue to ask for your prayers. Thanks!

Home Sweet Home!

Thanks to everyone who wished us well after our last post and to all who have welcomed us home!  It has been great to be back with the kids! My parents are now enjoying a well deserved retirement back in Delaware. The weekend weather has been (ironically) beautiful so we spent a lot of time outside. And we are getting extra time with the children - school has been canceled for tomorrow (Monday) due to Sandy.  It's like the good old days in Africa, preparing for extended power outages!
Because of the storm, Andrew decided to head north and spend tonight in Baltimore before his Monday 9:30am appointment, the first of only three this week.  We are counting on his being able to return to Virginia midday before the teeth of the storm hits us. Thanks again for the sweet homecoming.  We hope the storm has a minimum impact on all of you.

Brotherly Takeover Complete!

Last week, we wrote that they were running a test to determine what % of the blood cells in my body are from Ross, my brother, and what % from me.  The doctors wanted to see at least 50% of Ross's cells in this test.  Well, the results are in and I have officially 100% Ross's cells.  They weren't necessarily expecting a total takeover until the 60-day post transplant mark but my brother's clearly a pro, getting it done in a mere 30 days!  Part of me (the prideful part) expected my own cells to put up more of a fight…but I'll get over it. After all, it's a brotherly takeover, not a hostile one, and it's a great sign that Ross's stem cells are already building a new and improved immune system inside of me.  I'm incredibly thankful for his gift.   

 

Of course, the success of the transplant is only the next ridge on our way to the mountaintop (a hugely taxing one, for sure).  We now turn to knocking out the cancer through 8 weekly rounds of Rituxan, a drug that will work in tandem with my new immune system to kill off any remaining cancer cells.  I received the 2nd installment yesterday and the body is taking it well.  Seeing lots of light at the end of the tunnel!

As you know from our last blog, we had a chance to go home to be with our kids Saturday afternoon and Sunday.  It's hard to express just how sweet the time was after 40 days confined to the hospital grounds here in Baltimore.  Christine and I soaked up the beautiful weather and fall foliage, and, most of all, the time with Nate, Darcy and Evan, catching up on their latest doings and at least some of what's been on their hearts and minds.  And the best news is that it's all systems go for us to check out of our Hopkins apartment tomorrow!  (We'll commute to Baltimore going forward until Day #60.)  While we recognize that re-entry will be challenging, we cannot wait to be together again!  For our praying friends, please lift up our return to Falls Church and that the transitions back home and (gradually) to work go smoothly for us, filled with grace for each other.  We are so thankful for how God is restoring my health and providing for us as a family, including through the gifts and support of so many of you.