I get by with a little help from my friends

Previously on  I get by with a little help from my friends We made it to Calgary after a brief detour in Canmore We checked into our apartment on Monday Jackie was admitted on Tuesday morning, had a central line inserted before lunch and was given a very low trial dose of Busulfan (one of her Chemotherapy meds) Everything went well with the Busulfan and Jackie had no side effects or issues.  They do a trial dose to see how it effects her blood cell counts so they can give her an appropriate full dose specific to her.  Yesterday was her rest day and we were able to go outside for some fresh air and enjoy the lovely sun that Calgary had (I understand the Edmonton area wasn't so lucky). Today marked the start of Jackie's full chemotherapy treatments (officially referred to as day "Minus six" or (-6).  She was given a full dose of Fludarabine over an hour or so just before noon.  This afternoon was good for the most part as she experienced only mild abdominal discom...

Lemons, mountains and another slight detour. Like the old saying goes, "when life gives you lemons, cash in your airmiles and head to the mountains".   On Friday, we left Jackie's parents house (our temporary refuge as Covid was coursing through our house) to go to the Cross Cancer Institute for a few appointments then off to Calgary to check into our apartment.  Just after we left, Jackie's team contacted us to advise that we could not check in until the results of her Covid PCR test came back negative.  So the earliest would be Monday. After weighing our options, although slightly hesitant, we decided the best option would be to check into a hotel for the weekend.  Jackie and I were asymptomatic for 8 days and continually tested negative with the rapid tests.  Long story short, 8 - 10 years of collecting Airmiles got us a pretty nice suite in Canmore.  If you are going to be stuck somewhere it might as well be in the mountains. We were able to avoid ...

Well, as of today we are at T minus 6 days until Jackie is admitted into the Tom Baker Clinic at the Foothills Medical Centre.  It has definitely been a long few months of waiting with the previously mentioned delays.  All in all, things have still progressed very quickly with the process compared to what we were expecting and we are grateful for that. The one thing we have definitely learned so far is you have to be flexible and adaptable.  We have had to switch gears a few times and even take a couple of detours.  The most recent is Jackie and I needing to relocate out of the house prior to our temporary move to Calgary.  We have managed to keep Covid out of our house so far, but the inevitable happened with two of the kids testing positive earlier this week.  But fortunately, as Jackie's parents have already relocated to our house to help out, we were able to second their house.  It is hard to complain about staying in a house in the country next to...

Great news! Jackie figured out some technology issues and we have added a subscription option to the blog.  And yes, this is Mike, not Jackie typing in the third person.  This function will allow subscribers to automatically get sent an email when we publish new posts. Step 1 Click on the three bars in the top left corner of the main blog page. Step 2 Enter your email address in the space provided and hit subscribe. Step 3 Once you have hit subscribe, follow the directions and you will receive an email to confirm.  Open that email and follow the directions (there will be a button or a link you need to click on). Thank you all for following along.  As things get rolling, we will be posting more regular updates on the procedures, how Jackie is doing as well as how and what the rest of the family is up to. Mike

As you can imagine, it was been quite the learning curve since we first found out my condition had progressed.  Beyond understanding my condition in both general terms and specific to me, we very quickly became immersed in learning treatment options and modalities.    The first step to this journey was being admitted to the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT)  program.  We initially thought it was a given to be accepted into the program but soon realized that I needed to meet certain criteria.  Mike and I met with the transplant team on December 23, 2021 via a video conference for my initial consultation.  We were very anxious prior to this meeting as we did not know what to expect, but our anxieties (at least the ones we had going into the consult) were soon alleviated. We were provided a lot of information regarding options, the process moving forward and found out it short order I was in fact accepted to the transplant program. A Bone Marrow Transplan...