Relocating

Mom and Dad stayed in Seattle until Wednesday, Nov. 2nd. for the first round of rituxan infusion prior to starting the conditioning regimen. The infusion went fine, although it took quite a while as has often been the case in the past since Moms blood pressure tends to drop with this particular drug. They addressed this by slowing the rate of infusion and providing additional hydration which seemed to work well enough. After infusion that evening, they then headed back over to the Tri-Cities for a week or so.

Moms' sister Debbie drove down from Moscow, ID to pick Mom up in the Tri-Cities and bring her over to Seattle on Tuesday night for the second round of rituxan infusion on Wednesday, Nov. 9th. This time around they were able to proceed with a faster rate of infusion since they started off by providing additional hydration during the entire process. The plan was to head back to the Tri-Cities after infusion that day, but one of her blood test results was a bit high so they wanted her to discontinue use of one drug and have a blood test the next morning to confirm that the particular blood level was returning to normal. After the blood test early the next morning, they confirmed that the blood level was returning back to normal, but another one was a bit on the low side this time. They gave her a nutritional supplement to restore these blood levels back to normal and gave her the go ahead to head back home.

That same day, we also received a call from the Pete Gross house. The Pete Gross house is similar to the SCCA house that they were previously staying at, but is intended for more long-term housing specifically for transplant patients. Mom and Dad have been on the waiting list for an opening at Pete Gross house since before they arrived in Seattle. Since there was a unit available, Mom and Debbie went to take a look and decided that they would move in that day. So most of Thursday was spent moving all belongings from their old SCCA house apartment to their new Pete Gross house apartment.

Please note that the previous address and phone number that you may have for the SCCA house are no longer current. Contact us by e-mail for their current address.

Mom is fairly pleased with the new apartment, as it has a loft for sleeping at the top with a full bath and down below has another half bath, living room, kitchen with full-sized refrigerator and freezer (big upgrade from the previous location), dishwasher and full-size washing machine and dryer in the unit. It is more like living with the amenities that you are used to at home instead of living out of a hotel room. Debbie headed north that night to stay with her daughters' family, Mom and I spent the evening cleaning and unpacking everything, and then they headed back to Kennewick Friday morning.

The conditioning regimen schedule was bumped up to start this Monday (Nov. 14th). Mom and Dad are heading over to Seattle today. We are still not entirely sure what to expect during the hospital stay, we are supposed to receive a phone call today that will help clarify what the schedule will entail. Based on the information that we have been told so far, Mom will be in the hospital for at least a week and a half to receive the conditioning regimen and then the transplant infusion. Depending on how things go, she may be released back home on an outpatient basis after that time. However, it is quite common with transplant patients that she will potentially need to be hospitalized again on future occasions as various issues may arise, so we'll have to play it by ear. After she is out of the hospital it will still take months to begin the recovery process from the conditioning regimen.

Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated at this time.

Chris