Donkey Kick to the Chest

Jo got her CVC put in today and afterward I asked her how she felt. She said, "I feel like one of Uncle Eddie's donkeys just kicked me in the chest." By the time we talked, Jo had taken some good pain medication, so we actually had a pretty good laugh. The doctor had told her that every now and then the CVC goes up into the neck instead of down into the heart where it belongs. If that happens, it has to be taken out and put back in. Of course, after he said that Jo was absolutely sure she could feel it going up into her neck. An x-ray later confirmed it was where it needed to be.

Tomorrow Jo gets a very small mini-dose of chemo and then she has her blood drawn every hour for the next 10 hours. They do this to make sure she doesn't have any reactions like swollen hands or numb-tongue (as was experienced by Capt. Kirk in the new Star Trek movie that I watched 8 times last weekend).

Jo and Eddie got a tour of the Stem-Cell Transplant floor today. Jo said everybody looked like they were doing pretty good. It appears the anticipation of a transplant may be quite a bit worse than the transplant itself. Let's hope so.

The Gift of Life

Eddie spent most of today hooked up to an apheresis machine. As is typical for members of the Thompson family, Eddie went well above and beyond the call of duty. When the final tally was complete, Eddie had donated over 16 MILLION stem cells. I hope he has a few left for himself!

Tomorrow is a big day for Jo. She'll have a Central Venous Catheter (CVC) inserted into her chest. Similar to the PICC line she had almost 5 years ago, this device will be used to administer medication and draw blood over the next several months.

This Sunday, we'll move into an apartment just down the street from MD Anderson. As soon as we are settled in, I will post a local address where notes and cards can be sent.

Kirk to Enterprise...Beam Me Up

For all you husbands out there, if your wife has not yet determined her Halloween costume, I highly recommend the Lt. Uhura outfit from Star Trek. Does this look like a woman 10 days away from being admitted to the hospital for a Stem Cell Transplant?

Where Have all the Merry-Go-Rounds Gone

Eddie starts taking Neupogen shots tomorrow, twice per day. He'll take shots for 4 days that cause his stem cells to jump out of his bone marrow and into his blood stream. On Tuesday, he'll go through a 4 to 6 hour process where blood comes out of one arm, goes through a swirly machine and then back into his other arm. The stem cells are separated from his blood via cetrifugal force, much like the merry-go-round Anna and I rode in Salina, KS, just before she crashed on her bike and looked like a baseball player that had slid head first into home plate. Those stem cells are then thrown in a big freezer, possibly next to a few pints of Ben and Jerry's with my name on them, until Jo is ready for them in a couple of weeks.

Jo doesn't have to go back to MD Anderson until next week. For now, the focus shifts to tomorrow's big pumpkin carving party and a visit from Eddie's family who have all driven down from Lufkin to spend the weekend with us.

So, Anna and I really did play on the Merry-Go-Round in Salina and that is the first time I can remember seeing a Merry-Go-Round in many years. Does your local park have one? I'll bet not. Have they been deemed unsafe? Have they been banished to protect us from hurting ourselves? No more Merry-Go-Rounds. No more riding in the back of the pick-up truck. No more drinking out of the waterhose. No more sticking our tongues to the flagpole in the middle of a Minnesota winter. Today's kids might be safer, but we did have a lot of fun back then.

Uncle Eddie to the Rescue!

I imagine few (if any) experiences in life can compare with the opportunity to save the life of another. Without Eddie's bone marrow, we would have had to rely on the worldwide repository where finding a match is not guaranteed and even then, an unrelated match is never as good as a sibling match.

Jo and Eddie spent most of today at MD Anderson doing tests and paperwork. Tomorrow Jo has her favorite procedure - the dreaded bone marrow biopsy - and yes it is with sedation. I'll see Jo tomorrow at the hospital so I'll get more details.

Stress & Anxiety Start to Build

Jo was in Chicago last weekend for the Windy City Line Dance event and she had a fabulous time. She is all settled in here in Houston with Anna and she has started getting 7-day reminder emails from MD Anderson. Eddie will join us on Monday and Tuesday we hit the ground running.

How is Jo? As calm and peaceful as ever.

How am I? Well, I'm a nervous wreck and I'm starting to buckle under the stress... Several people have commented on how much they like my writing and I'm terrified that I won't be able to perform this time around. It's been over 18 months since Jo's last major surgery. What if I'm not funny this time around? What if I've lost my mo-jo? Yeah...I hit the ball out of the park the last couple of years. So what? The Minnesota TWINS won the 87 and 91 World Series. That's history! Currently, they've lost TWELVE postseason baseball games in a row and their fans (me included) have all but given up on them. What if I disappoint my fans just like the TWINS have disappointed all of us Minnesotans?

With the TWINS early exit from postseason baseball, you're probably wondering what Jo will now be doing on November 3rd? I really don't know. All I do know is we won't be watching the Yankees.

Anna's New Routine

Last night, Anna and I galloped into Texas and life changed in a major way. One can only imagine going from being an only child to being one of FOUR!

To keep tabs on Anna, visit www.DavidAndBeLynda.com

A Few Key Dates

October 11th - Anna Starts Kindergarten with the Triplets in Houston

October 12th - Jo Arrives in Houston

October 19th - Jo and Eddie Start Testing at MD Anderson

November 2nd - Jo Checks in to the Hospital at MD Anderson

November 3rd - Jo rests peacefully as she watches the Minnesota Twins win the 2010 World Series with a grand-slam home run in Game 6 which goes down in history as the greatest World Series game ever played!