Hi all!!
Yesterday was amazing and we are SO thankful for all the support! There are pictures to follow but I just wanted to let everyone know that going into the blood drive we had 102 spots and we ended up with 119 units and 3 platelets...and we actually had to turn people away!! WOW!! I cannot wait to hear back from MD Anderson on Monday!
As soon as we figure out how much money we raised for the LLS we will let you guys know. It was an amazing day/night and we could not have done it without you all!
Love
Kendall
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
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Saturday, May 23, 2009
Asshat Update
Luke had a rough time with this weeks chemo. This was the first time he received Methotrexate IV and he spent Thursday night/Friday morning purging. Because of the long weekend the docs did not want to run the risk of him getting dehydrated so they had him come down to MDA to get IV fluids and IV meds to help with the nausea.
Nausea looks like it is under control. To soon after chemo to see any change in his blood counts. He'll need to catch up on sleep but expect he will be in reasonable shape by Sunday and at full speed by mid-week.
Have a few more items for the raffle including dinners, pool lounge and a full car brake job to name a few. Will publish the complete list in a couple of days. For those planning to attend the event the evening of May 30th be sure to bring your lawn chairs. Also Rudy's and the Buffalo Wing Station will sell beverages but feel free to bring your coolers w/beverages of your selection.
Hey for fans of the Benevolent Order of the Motley Young Rockers the following is a link to their website and info on the May 30th event: http://home.comcast.net/~bomyr/index_files/Page2058.htm
Nausea looks like it is under control. To soon after chemo to see any change in his blood counts. He'll need to catch up on sleep but expect he will be in reasonable shape by Sunday and at full speed by mid-week.
Have a few more items for the raffle including dinners, pool lounge and a full car brake job to name a few. Will publish the complete list in a couple of days. For those planning to attend the event the evening of May 30th be sure to bring your lawn chairs. Also Rudy's and the Buffalo Wing Station will sell beverages but feel free to bring your coolers w/beverages of your selection.
Hey for fans of the Benevolent Order of the Motley Young Rockers the following is a link to their website and info on the May 30th event: http://home.comcast.net/~bomyr/index_files/Page2058.htm
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Vacation Over - Next Round of Chemo Starts
Luke's blood counts looked great today so he started his next round of chemo. It was a long day (7:30 - 4:00) as it involved several hours of waiting for full labs to come back. Day included getting knocked out for bone marrow and spinal fluid samples, an intrathecal injection of methotrexate followed by IV doses of methotrexate and vincristine. Tomorrow it's Erwinia via the double harpon. The next chemo will be June 1st with a repeat of the IV methotrexate and vincristine followed by Erwinia the next day.
Luke benefited from the additional time off as he feels and looks better than he has in weeks. This past week he spent a lot of time warming up the guitar and voice for the 30th.
Kendall says the blood drive is fully subscribed, that means there are over 100 donors which is fantastic. Kendall will be emailing everyone donating their times and some dos and don'ts from MDA for donors. Everyone donating thank you not only from Luke and his family but also from all those in treatment for cancer at MDA.
Now for the week in pictures. Shot to the left is
Luke and John (Luke's room mate from Miami) who visited on his way back to Seattle last week. To the right and below is a shot of Luke. John and Paul on their tour of the Texas hill country.
The next pic to the right was also taken on the tour of Texas. There was a stop over at the Texas state capital where Luke paid his respects to one of his favorite Texas politicians.
Finally, some time ago Meghan C dropped by a large bin of army solders at the house for Luke. Her note told Luke to enjoy playing with the soldiers and to send some funny pictures. In response to Meghan's request here are some pics on Luke playing with his soldiers.
Luke benefited from the additional time off as he feels and looks better than he has in weeks. This past week he spent a lot of time warming up the guitar and voice for the 30th.
Kendall says the blood drive is fully subscribed, that means there are over 100 donors which is fantastic. Kendall will be emailing everyone donating their times and some dos and don'ts from MDA for donors. Everyone donating thank you not only from Luke and his family but also from all those in treatment for cancer at MDA.
Now for the week in pictures. Shot to the left is
Luke and John (Luke's room mate from Miami) who visited on his way back to Seattle last week. To the right and below is a shot of Luke. John and Paul on their tour of the Texas hill country.
The next pic to the right was also taken on the tour of Texas. There was a stop over at the Texas state capital where Luke paid his respects to one of his favorite Texas politicians.
Finally, some time ago Meghan C dropped by a large bin of army solders at the house for Luke. Her note told Luke to enjoy playing with the soldiers and to send some funny pictures. In response to Meghan's request here are some pics on Luke playing with his soldiers.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Luke Novick Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Benefit
The following are some of the the raffle items included in the May 30th Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Benefit. ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS EVENT WILL BE DONATED TO THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY!!
· 42” flat screen LCD TV
· Five burner gas grill
· Car care package (car exterior/interior detail cleaning. Oil change, $50 parts accessories coupon, car care products)
· 32” flat screen LCD TV
· Kilburn’s Grill & Tavern’s Executive Chef James Harris three course dinner for 4 with beverage pairing
· Wine Assortment (6 bottles)
· Annual dog/cat check up (includes exam and shots)
. Catering tray from Chick-Fil-A
· 42” flat screen LCD TV
· Five burner gas grill
· Car care package (car exterior/interior detail cleaning. Oil change, $50 parts accessories coupon, car care products)
· 32” flat screen LCD TV
· Kilburn’s Grill & Tavern’s Executive Chef James Harris three course dinner for 4 with beverage pairing
· Wine Assortment (6 bottles)
· Annual dog/cat check up (includes exam and shots)
. Catering tray from Chick-Fil-A
Gift Cards
· El Palenque
· Lowe’s
· Cheeburger - Cheeburger
· Napoli’s
· Perry’s Steak House
· Costco
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Blood Drive Information
Sanda thanks for the comment - should of thought about posting the blood drive specifics on the blog. Blood Drive information follows. Kendall still has spots to fill!!
We are also doing a fund raiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that evening - Have also provided more information on that.
Blood Drive Info:
What: Blood drive (platelets and red blood)
When: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, May 30, 2009
Where: Lakewood Forest Residence Club
15006 Lakewood Forest Drive
Houston, Texas 77070
How: Email Kendall Novick at kendallnovick@gmail.com to make an appointment to donate.
Other: There will be swim meet at the Lakewood Residence Club on May 30. For blood donors that are not attending the swim meet parking spaces will be reserved in the front of the Residence Club.
All blood donors will be entered into a drawing for an iPod touch.
Concert Info;
What: Luke Novick, friends and Lakewood’s own Benevolent Order of the Motley Young Rockers. Admission will be $5.00 with all proceeds donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
When: 5 PM until 10:00 PM on Saturday May 30, 2009
Where: Rudy’s Grill & Cantina 11760 Grant Road (the intersection Grant Road and Lakewood Forest Drive).
Other: Weather permitting the concert will be outdoors, so bring your lawn chairs.
Food and beverages (soda, beer, and margaritas) will be available for purchase from Rudy’s Grill & Cantina and the Buffalo Wing Station with a portion of the sales donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“Leukemia: The Original Ass Hat” T-shirts will be available for sale, and raffle tickets will be sold ($10) for a 42” LCD TV (courtesy of the Spring-Cypress Wal-Mart store). The winner will be announced that evening. In addition there will be numerous items, donated by local businesses, auctioned at the concert with all proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
We are also doing a fund raiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that evening - Have also provided more information on that.
Blood Drive Info:
What: Blood drive (platelets and red blood)
When: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, May 30, 2009
Where: Lakewood Forest Residence Club
15006 Lakewood Forest Drive
Houston, Texas 77070
How: Email Kendall Novick at kendallnovick@gmail.com to make an appointment to donate.
Other: There will be swim meet at the Lakewood Residence Club on May 30. For blood donors that are not attending the swim meet parking spaces will be reserved in the front of the Residence Club.
All blood donors will be entered into a drawing for an iPod touch.
Concert Info;
What: Luke Novick, friends and Lakewood’s own Benevolent Order of the Motley Young Rockers. Admission will be $5.00 with all proceeds donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
When: 5 PM until 10:00 PM on Saturday May 30, 2009
Where: Rudy’s Grill & Cantina 11760 Grant Road (the intersection Grant Road and Lakewood Forest Drive).
Other: Weather permitting the concert will be outdoors, so bring your lawn chairs.
Food and beverages (soda, beer, and margaritas) will be available for purchase from Rudy’s Grill & Cantina and the Buffalo Wing Station with a portion of the sales donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“Leukemia: The Original Ass Hat” T-shirts will be available for sale, and raffle tickets will be sold ($10) for a 42” LCD TV (courtesy of the Spring-Cypress Wal-Mart store). The winner will be announced that evening. In addition there will be numerous items, donated by local businesses, auctioned at the concert with all proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Vacation Extended
Luke's counts are still improving but not quite at the point were they can start the next round of chemo,. Gayle was told last week that they did not expect Luke's counts to be back so the news did not come as a surprise. The benefit - no trips to MDA until next Wednesday.
The delay was welcome news to Luke as he was not looking forward to chemo starting again so soon after to just started to feel better.
His cousin Paul is in town for the week and John, Luke's roommate from Miami, surprised Luke yesterday. John stopped by Houston for a few days on his way to Seattle for the summer. John has never been to Texas so the three are taking advantage of some nice weather to give John a tour of the Texas hill country.....pictures to follow.
The delay was welcome news to Luke as he was not looking forward to chemo starting again so soon after to just started to feel better.
His cousin Paul is in town for the week and John, Luke's roommate from Miami, surprised Luke yesterday. John stopped by Houston for a few days on his way to Seattle for the summer. John has never been to Texas so the three are taking advantage of some nice weather to give John a tour of the Texas hill country.....pictures to follow.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday May 8
Luke started the day not feeling great. He got 2 units of blood and seems to rebounding. His hemoglobin was low but his ANC and platelets were showing signs of recovery. For now he needs to keep a watch on exposure to infection. With as low as his blood counts are he will need to wait on next week's labs to see if he can start the next round of chemo.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Time Off from Chemo
On Monday Luke got the last harpoon for a while. His labs revealed that his counts were still low, things are beginning to trend upward but rather slowly. Luke did not get any blood, his doctors would like to see how his body reacts now that the chemo has stopped for a few days. Luke will be back down at MDA Friday for another count check, if necessary he may be transfused.
Because his counts are so low Luke is pretty tired and he runs the risk of infection. Dr Yuen does not think he will be ready for chemo next week, but he has surprised her before.
The next round of chemo is not as intensive as the last several months. For the next round Luke will get methotrexate, vincristin and erwinia every 10 days with a few spinal taps thrown in. The dosage of methotrexate will be increased each week until his system says no more.
Because his counts are so low Luke is pretty tired and he runs the risk of infection. Dr Yuen does not think he will be ready for chemo next week, but he has surprised her before.
The next round of chemo is not as intensive as the last several months. For the next round Luke will get methotrexate, vincristin and erwinia every 10 days with a few spinal taps thrown in. The dosage of methotrexate will be increased each week until his system says no more.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Last Harpoon Monday; Week Long Respite from Chemo Starts Tuesday
Hello everyone. This week Luke received the his double chemo injections M-W-F. Wednesday was his longest day as in addition to the chemo he needed another unit if platelets and two units of blood. To date Luke has needed 2 units of platelets and 11 units of red blood. He is just one Leukemia patient at MDA so you can imagine how much blood MDA needs on a daily basis. MDA needs all the platelets and blood they can get!!
Luke is feeling good despite some pretty low hemoglobin. Also with no white cells the Docs wanted him in isolation as much as possible. By week end all counts did look to be trending up.
To the right is Luke and nurse Anna. Anna is a cancer survivor herself and has been a delight to get to know. She has administered most of Luke’s chemo, blood and platelets as an outpatient and took responsibility for harpooning Luke’s left thigh on Friday.
The Luke story of the week comes from Wednesday's clinic appointment. Nurse Brandie came back with Luke’s lab results but before she could say anything Luke asked what super hero powers he had tested positive for. She had to have him repeat the question and responded with "those results aren’t back yet".
Uncle PJ was a surprise visitor this week. He stopped by when driving from Kansas City to Tulsa for Colin’s (his son) soccer tournament (he was aware that Tulsa via Houston was not his shortest route). PJ stayed long enough to donate some chicken broth (aka as platelets) and red blood cells to MDA as well as supervise the MDA nursing nursing staff administering to Luke after Friday's
chemo.
You can form your own opinion but judging from the picture to the right it looks to me like donating is either truly painless or MDA provides a complimentary dose of Valium before hand.
PJ brought Luke a book that was highly recommended by Chase (his other son). The book is one with extensive and very profound insights into life. It provoked laughter from Luke numerous times during Friday's chemo. As testament to the sophisticated nature of the book, when his parents asked what was so funny Luke's response was “you don’t want to know” or “you wouldn’t understand”.
PJ also brought a box full of his version of the "Ass Hat". The design was done by one of the design architects at his firm. I call you attention to the picture below and the subtle curvature in the lower portion of the "SS".
By the way PJ left at 6 am to continue the drive to Tulsa Saturday morning only to get a call at 9 am that the soccer tournament was rained out!
Luke is feeling good despite some pretty low hemoglobin. Also with no white cells the Docs wanted him in isolation as much as possible. By week end all counts did look to be trending up.
To the right is Luke and nurse Anna. Anna is a cancer survivor herself and has been a delight to get to know. She has administered most of Luke’s chemo, blood and platelets as an outpatient and took responsibility for harpooning Luke’s left thigh on Friday.
The Luke story of the week comes from Wednesday's clinic appointment. Nurse Brandie came back with Luke’s lab results but before she could say anything Luke asked what super hero powers he had tested positive for. She had to have him repeat the question and responded with "those results aren’t back yet".
Uncle PJ was a surprise visitor this week. He stopped by when driving from Kansas City to Tulsa for Colin’s (his son) soccer tournament (he was aware that Tulsa via Houston was not his shortest route). PJ stayed long enough to donate some chicken broth (aka as platelets) and red blood cells to MDA as well as supervise the MDA nursing nursing staff administering to Luke after Friday's
chemo.
You can form your own opinion but judging from the picture to the right it looks to me like donating is either truly painless or MDA provides a complimentary dose of Valium before hand.
PJ brought Luke a book that was highly recommended by Chase (his other son). The book is one with extensive and very profound insights into life. It provoked laughter from Luke numerous times during Friday's chemo. As testament to the sophisticated nature of the book, when his parents asked what was so funny Luke's response was “you don’t want to know” or “you wouldn’t understand”.
PJ also brought a box full of his version of the "Ass Hat". The design was done by one of the design architects at his firm. I call you attention to the picture below and the subtle curvature in the lower portion of the "SS".
By the way PJ left at 6 am to continue the drive to Tulsa Saturday morning only to get a call at 9 am that the soccer tournament was rained out!
Kendall reports that the response to the blood drive has been great. All the time slots are close to being booked and she says she may need to think about MDA bring in more tables.
We expect to finalize plans for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fund raising event this week. We do know Luke will provide entertainment and Wal-Mart has donated a 42” LCD TV that will be raffled off along with other items. Right now we are working on two dates, Saturday May 30 and the afternoon/evening of Sunday May 31. We will finalize ASAP but for now please keep those dates open to help us help others in their fight with Leukemia.
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