Monday, December 30, 2013

Transplant Day 20; MDA Residency Day 30:

Hey Folks
 
Luke’s blood counts still are still recovering.  He’s getting daily injections of nupogin to accelerate white blood cell recovery and he’s still getting blood and/or platelets every day.  With the holiday's MDA is low on donations so if you have the time to stop by MDA to donate Luke's patient number is 776302.    

They are trying to move Luke off of IV drugs to oral.  Tacro which is the primary drug used to combat GTHD has been problematic.  When they went to oral on his Tacro the level shot way.  Higher levels present as headaches which Luke is experiencing. 

They think the Tacro level increase is due to how the gut absorbs the oral drugs vs. IV.  Hoping they can get it adjusted in the next day or two.  To dealing with the headache it's been a dark room for the past 48 hours and they bumped his dilaudid and merinol back up.

Some nausea yesterday and last night.  Today was better but not much appetite.  Temperature has been bouncing around.  Being told that is typical.  When it spikes Tylenol has brought it back down.   To be sure nothing is going on they are doing blood cultures and took a chest x-ray.           

Looks like Luke will over shoot the 30 days of residency.  The best guess on discharge is early next week.

Thank God for the Breaking Bad marathon – TV has been on AMC for 48 hours straight.         
Happy New Year

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Transplant +18

Greetings from Texas and MD Anderson.  We hope everyone had a safe and Merry Christmas. 

Updates on the past couple of days:

We spent the day with Luke, of course, in matching green plaid pajamas and Christmas hats.  Luke's counts continue to improve and the doctors are very happy with how he's doing, there is talk of releasing him early to mid to next week...so keep  your fingers crossed.  Today (Saturday) he got some blood (red blood cells) and could have used some platelets but there aren't any available....

MD ANDERSON IS IN DESEPERATE NEED OF PLATELETS!!!  IF YOU CAN DONATE PLEASE CALL THE MDACC BLOODBANK @ 713-792-7777.  There are two locations, one at the main MDACC in the Mays Clinic Building, 2nd Floor and 2555 Holly Hall (just east of Alameda).  Donating platelets takes an appointment, but just read blood cells you can walk-in.  You can't donate if you have any fever, have been tattooed or pierced recently, or traveled to exotic malaria ridden places in the past year....there are some other restrictions as well, more can be learned here: MD Anderson Blood Bank

Luke is pretty tired and resting today, he is running a low grade fever but nothing that the staff is overly concerned about.  His mouth sores continue to improve and they have transitioned all of his IV medications to oral (pills)....another step on the road to home. 

We are ready to have him home, and there is a large black dog who misses him terribly too.  Visitors are always welcome, just not if you have been sick or around those that are sick.

Thanks!

EB

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Transplant Day +15

Everyone Merry Xmas! Enjoy the day,

On this end we are thankful for so much.  Luke is coming along.  Counts are up, throat is feeling better.

For anyone that is not familiar with a pain medication bolus the result is to the right!








Eric and Buffie paid a visit today and brought
more hats. 








Doctor T is happy with Luke's progress  She expects he will have another week in residence but to quote the Duck guys she is "happy, happy, happy".  Evidence of her happiness is to the right/  We are blessed with the support of family, friends and MDA.

That is it for now.  Thank you to everyone who has supported Luke, Light the Night, or donated blood! Have a great Christmas and all the best in the New Year.    

Monday, December 23, 2013

Transplant Day +13

Trends are good.  White Blood Count (WBC) is 500 (normal is 4,000-11,000).  Doctors need to see an Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC ) count of 0.5 for three days before they will think about discharge.  ANC is a measure of the number of neutrophil granulocytes in the blood.  Neutrophils are a type of white cells that fight against infection. The ANC is the fraction of mature and immature neutrophils in the WBC.   Got more platelets today, that's around 7 days in a row..      

After white count come back docs will start watching for Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD). White cells go after what they think are foreign cells.  As Luke now has Kendall's white cells the wait and see is whether those white cells will look at Luke's own cells as foreign.  GVHD most often affects the digestive tract, skin and liver.  

Hair is gone, scalp is well polished.  Mouth sores are still there.  It's hard to eat but nutritionist is not worried as when white counts come up sores should heal quickly. 

Kate spent yesterday baking cookies for the nursing staff.  Kate is well known for here baking,  after delivery of the cookies she caught a few of the nurses hording and had to nip that in the bud.

For those looking for an Xmas gift, the new line of Breaking Bad themed Lego is popular with
Luke.      







One last note with the sisters being home and not having Luke around to fulfill their passion for dress up, poor Traveler is paying the price. 

Luck Feukemia!

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Transplant Day +11

Trends are good.  White count inched up to 0.2.  It is not engraftment but doctors are happy, happy, happy.  Luke gets a dose of chemo (methotrexate) today which will probably bring his white count back to zero but doctors have indicated he should start seeing improvement in the next 48 hours.  Counts are still very depressed  He received a unit of platelets and two units of blood yesterday and is getting platelets again today.     

Mouth, throat and stomach remain extremely.  It's hard to swallow and has a lot of blood in his mouth.  He's not sleeping well and trying to eat is painful so not much food consumption the past few days.  His pain med PCA pump dosage is pretty well maxed out.  Every two hours he able to get a bolus (medical term for courtesy hit of pain meds) administered by his nurse.  He has started to time the bolus with when he has to take his oral meds.

Temperature has bumped up a couple of times but it was controlled by Tylenol.  He has a rash on his arms, legs and groin but it not causing an itching problem and Doctors are attributing it to pre-engraftment.

Luke is keeping up with this exercise.  he did a record high 6 laps this morning, not sure were he is finding the energy.  

Visitors in the past 48 hours were Ron Graham who is the father of a friend of the girls.  He had a transplant one year ago and is doing great.  Also stopping by was Sam Morrow.  The two play a little bit of the steel pedal and guitar together.
  
Thanking this one step at a time.  Onward to engraftment.           

Hair finally took a hit.  Severed follicles were put to good use.

Be well.

    

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Transplant Day +9

The past 48 hours has been a roller coaster.  Yesterday Luke had throat and stomach pain from ulcers.  The dilaudid pump dosage was increased 4X from where it was started on Monday.  With the difficultly he was having swallowing they changed what oral meds they could to IV.  His IV pole is now loaded with two power units and 6 pumps. 
He also has a suction line to clear his throat.  Without saying eating has been minimal.   

The chemo Luke received targets the cells that divide the quickest so bone marrow, hair and digestive tract get hit the hardest.  True to that hair is being impacted.  Strange but true, Luke"s hair growth seems to have gone in reverse and he now resembles the members of ZZ top.  

Since Sunday he has received a daily unit of either platelets or blood.  Without bone marrow Luke s not producing his own blood cells so whatever of his blood cells that die off need to be replaced by transfused cells.  Until he engrafts transfusions will likely be a daily event.  

Last night for the first time since transplant he spiked a temperature so they took blood cultures.   Cultures take +24 hours so things are on hold.  This afternoon Luke broke out in a rash on both legs and panic set in as the skin is an organ that often rejects the transplant.  The doctors were called in but the news was encouraging , a rash on the legs is often a precursor to engraftment and Luke starting to produce his own white cells from the transplanted bone marrow.  If that is the case WOW.  Luke is still feeling like crap but hearing that the leg rash was potentially a good sign was a big positive. 

Luke has all of our respect the way he is hanging in there.  There is absolutely no complaining.  He gets up on his own initiative 2-3 times a day and does his hallway laps and religiously pulls out the floating ball to keep his lungs in shape.

Kendall is back in town for a few days.  Leaving he hospital this evening she came upon a woman in the parking garage that had fallen and could not get up.  The Nurse Practitioner in he kick in and she wheel chaired the woman to the ER for treatment.  Nothing was seriously wrong with the woman but she was grateful to have been found by someone that could help her.               

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Transplant +7

Picture this. A darkened hospital room.  Patient in pain and drowsy from narcotics. Two young attractive child life therapists silently enter the room.  They nudge Luke and ask "Luke what do you what for Xmas?".  He slowly opens his eyes and the question gets repeated "Luke what do you want for Xmas?" but this time they add "Luke listen to us, the MDA pediatric floor has a donor that is financially well that wishes to grant cancer patients their Christmas wish." 

Upon hearing the last statement Luke was aroused from his narcotic stupor and groggily rambled off guitar strings and song books to which the child life gals responded, "Luke, you did not hear us, there is a donor out there that is in a position to grant you your fondest wish, think about this, do not be shy".

Luke thought for a few seconds and replied "please let me think about this.  May I suggest you give me your email address you will have my list in an hour".  Well it took three hours for Luke to prepare his list and after seeing the child life rep in the hall who told him she has not received his email, the list was sent! 

WHAT A WAKE UP CALL!  Don't know what was on the list but there may be a Santa Clause!.

Now to the mundane, aside from producing an Xmas list, medically Luke kept busy.  Counts continue to drop.  No white cell, platelets at 20 vs 140 normal, hemoglobin at 8 vs. 16 normal.   He got another unit of platelets. upped his pain meds and started neupogen to accelerate white blood cell production.  Continuing with the tacro to combat organ rejection.  Gut pain is the biggest issue.  Tossed a little bit of blood up this morning but doctors were not concerned, as torn up as Luke's gut is some blood is expected.  Luke is starting to loose his hair.  Tired.  Has some appetite but the mouth sores make eating difficult.

Other than preparing an Xmas list Luke tossed the pigskin with Kareem Jackson from the Texans (as before Luke is the one in the glasses).  Luke also built a ginger bread house with his new best friend Jessie.  Jessie is 6 years old and Luke shared construction of his GB house with her as they ran out of kits before Jessie arrived.
  

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Transplant Day 5

Many of the transplant issues Luke was told about are starting to show up.  The major one is the digestive tract.  Luke is having a lot of pain from sores in his mouth, esophagus and stomach.  Without white cells the lining of his gut is blistering up and becoming inflamed.  

This is consistent with what everyone he has talked to has told him, starting day 4 or 5 until he starts producing white cell (~day 14) is a difficult time.  He is dealing with nausea, but for now the itching and headache have seem to have taken a back seat.     

It's dilaudid for the pain.  Blood counts have tanked.  Platelet transfusions have started.  Expect that red cells won't be far behind.  In addition to all the IV meds breakfast is at least a dozen pills.  

Luke was able to eat soft food last night and keep it down. Not a lot of sleep last night.

Eric came by with a few fun hats.  Dr. Lee from transplant said by mid week the natural head cover will probably be gone and Luke may want a hat. 

 

 

Friday Luke helped out the music therapist and played Xmas songs for the pediatric floor.  Show lasted about 90 minutes and it was a great diversion for Luke and the kids.      

After a great deal of contemplation and thought Dr. Lee volunteered that Luke reminded him of David Crowder.  I'll let you be the judge.            

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Transplant Day 2

Wow, life is good.  Things at MDA are going very well.  As expected Luke's blood counts are dropping, white count is leading the way.  Luke is feeling good, eating and staying active.  His only complaints are a headache, queasy stomach and mouth sores.   Hair has not been displaced, but its coming.   

Luke was active yesterday.  Each year the Lombardi award candidates and Miss Texas visit MDA. In past years Luke got in his tux and attended the actual award ceremony.  This year it was just a meet and greet on floor 9 at MDA.  Luke is the one with the glasses.  Adri - you're over and above Miss Texas!

Tony and Kendall, the bone marrow machine, returned to Denver this afternoon.  Kendall was pretty sore yesterday.  She did decline an offer to put a picture of her two back side puncture wounds on the blog.  In the end, no pun intended, we were blessed to have a match in the family with an employer that gave the the flexibility to come to Houston.  Tony and Kens, we love you guys.  

Beth and Kate will remain to cater to Luke's every whim and desire, but if Luke keeps doing as well as he is that may be short lived. 

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Luke has been transplanted!

For as little as she is Kendall provided an abundance of bone marrow. The Doctor harvested over a liter. Kendall was under for an hour and in the recovery room until 3.  She made it up to see Luke and then headed home to sleep..  She is going to be sore but  has a smile on her face




Luke’s transplant started at 2 PM.  The bone marrow was blessed and then hung. The bone marrow was drip feed so it took over 5 hours to get it all into his veins. The transplant went well. There were no signs of an allergic reaction which is a good start. Counts are starting to drop with white cells taking the biggest hit. Luke’s coloring is on the pale side but that’s to be expected. The only change reported by Luke after have received Kendall’s bone marrow was the urge to pee from the seated position ……….……go figure

.


Luke is in trouble the next few weeks having his three sisters in Houston. Like when he was a mere child his sisters would dress him up. Well dressing him up has continued! 
 


 We have been blessed!


 

It's T Day

Here we go; it's time for a BMT! Kendall had an eventful day yesterday. Her original draw for her t-cells was contaminated in the lab requiring them to draw more t-cells yesterday. Before the draw her hemoglobin was <9, 14-16 is normal. After they removed the equivalent of another unit of blood from Kendall’s veins she got a bit pale and light headed requiring the administration of smelling salts and cold compresses. Following recovery Tony wheel chaired Kens to the car and we deposited her on the home front couch for an afternoon nap. Kendall feasted on a gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Tony. Dinner was followed by ice cream and what was described as a rather sensual foot massage after which Kendall returned to full vitality. It was an early morning. Kendall checked in at the OR at 5:30. The procedure started at 8:22 and is expected to take two hours. After turning her hip bone into what was described as swiss cheese drawing the bone marrow out, Kendall will get the two units of the blood MDA relieved her of last week. Luke had a good day. Played guitar with the music therapist, ate well and toured the floor pulling his IV’s. He was started on the drugs to impede his cells from doing combat with Kendall’s bone marrow. He was told that he will be on those drugs for at least a year. Kate arrived Sunday. She bonded with the Lukester and spent the night in his room. Kate and Luke remained sound asleep well after our 5:30 arrival. As of yet we do not have a time for transplant but will keep you posted. Luck Feukemia!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Transplant T minus (-) two days and counting

Chemo is done.  The last two days of chemo were rough.  They went start of chemo at 4:30 am, headache onset at 5:30 and nausea at 5:45, close the blinds and turn out the lights and let Luke sleep between "ralphs".  By evening he was able to keep light food down.  Despite dealing with the effects of chemo feeling he is being diligent with getting up and walking the halls.  Friday evening some friends stopped by and Luke rallied to spend some time with them.  Last night he got a good nights sleep.........on to transplant

Thanks to every one that came by to donate.  The statistics were 100 chick-fil-a , 8 large pizzas and 3 dozen kolaches consumed.  I don't have the official totals on blood but I am sure you guys delivered every unit MDA expected.   

It's Sunday, a day of rest in the biblical sense and for the tranplantee.  The medical activities should be limited.  With chemo behind him Luke watch his counts drop and get started on the transplant meds.  A big one is tacrolimus to help minimize graft to host disease (GTHD)

Kate is coming in town this evening.  We are sending Kendall to the spa (she wishes) for pampering (nails, hair, massage, botox etc) and feeding her whatever he heart desires (more likely) in preparation for the removal of a liter of her bone marrow Tuesday morning.

Hey good news for Todd, he's the 25 year old guest at MDA down the hall from Luke.  He's at day +14 after transplant and white cells have started to show up!  He has a long way to go but that is a significant milestone.

NO MORE CHEMO!  DOUBLE YAHOO, YAHOO!

Take care

Dave             

Friday, December 6, 2013

Transfusion -4 days and counting

Things are going well.  Luke's chemo starts at 4:30 AM.  It takes an hour for one and two hours for the other so round 3 of 4 has been delivered as this is being typed.  The onset of the nausea is coming sooner after each round but by noon yesterday he was doing ok and was active the rest of the afternoon with his steel pedal, guitar, walks and lung calisthenics. 

He thinks his hair is already departing from is head and face surfaces and was talking like the hair clippers were going to visit today.  anyone wait a hair ball souvenir?  . 

As of yesterday after one day of chemo counts were not showing any change.  I don't know for sure but expect he will start to see a drop this weekend. 

Tony and Beth have arrived to we're rotating faces in the room. 

Looking forward to seeing some of you at the blood drive tomorrow. 

Luck Feukemia!          

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Transplant -7 Days

Today was chemo day 1.  Three more days to go.  Luke tolerated the day well.  He felt a little funky in the afternoon and had a headache but no nausea, yahoo!. 

Attitude is great.  He is walking the hallways, playing guitar and working on lung function to keep the pneumonia at abeyance.  

Tony and Beth arrive in town tomorrow evening so Luke will have two new sources of irritation.  

Have a trivia question for you.  What cancer patient and his dog are pictured in the 20' mural on the second floor at MDA?  Hint - the dog is black.     

Blood drive is Saturday.  Walk ins are welcome.  After 2:30 would be the best time for walk ins but no one will be turned away.  When you mix holidays and cancer blood supply takes a hit and MDA needs all the platelets and red blood they can get. 

Take care

Dave

Monday, December 2, 2013

Transplant -9 days

I was a good day.  Luke is ready to get through this; his spirits are high and his appetite is good.

Accomplishments today included playing an engagement with the music therapist for the younger pediatric patients (I may of misunderstood what I was told but I believe the highlight of gig was an original Christmas carol about noodles) followed by the creation of an Xmas wreath for what has been renamed the "housepickle" room door.

The steel pedal is up and operating and no complaints from the hall.

Kendall will be staying in Houston until after they draw her bone marrow. She is already down three units of blood.  Over a five day period last week they withdrew 2 units of blood to transfuse back to her after they take her bone marrow. They also pulled the equivalent of a unit of blood harvesting her t-cells. Luke is going to participate in a clinical trial involving t-cells. They are going to use Kendall's t-cell which will be genetically modified to kill any cancer cells which may remain in Luke's system after the BMT.

Beth and Kate will be arriving in the next few days so Luke needs to get conditioned for mothering  as the Gayle and 3 sister can deliver a heavy dose.  

Will see what BMT -8 days brings tomorrow.. 
 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

It's Day Minus 10

After 5 pm mass we headed to MDA and Luke was admitted. Upon arrival his singular priority was to set up his steel pedal guitar. He was started on IV fluids. Tomorrow and Tuesday it's continued IV's to optimize his system chemistry for chemo and further testing. The major testing is to check his sensitivity to one of the two chemo's he will be given to kill off his bone marrow. The one chemo can cause seizures. Probability is low but none the less they want to check. Wednesday will be the first of four consecutive days of chemo. Last day of chemo will be Saturday after which they let the chemo do its thing for two more days. Tuesday the 10th Luke will receive Kendall's bone marrow. The 10th is day "0" on the bone marrow transplant calendar. Everything after Tuesday is referenced to day zero. After the chemo Luke will have no ability to make his own blood cells, red, white or platelets. With no ability to make blood cells Luke will receive platelet and red cells transfusions. The hope is that within 10-14 days of receiving Kendall's bone marrow he will start producing white blood cells from the transplant. Along with the production of blood cells, they will also be looking for signs of graft to host disease. Its the same issue with organ transplants, the body sees something foreign and begins to reject the transplanted organ. For a BMT they watch the liver, kidneys and digestive system. It's going to be a long process. The transplant team has a 100 day calendar. For this initial phase Luke will probably be in MDA until after the 1st of the year. He is going to be in isolation. Mask and gloves and avoiding physical contact with everyone. Following discharge he's been told to expect being in clinic 3 days a week for a month. After transplant Luke has been told repeatedly moving around is critical. The last thing they want to see is pneumonia and the best way to keep that from happening is to push the exercise. This evening we meet Todd. He's 25 and received his BMT November 20. His donor was his brother. He confirmed chemo was a bitch and with no blood cell production energy level sucks. He was getting after it though as we met him walking the halls. Luke is ready to go. He will be active on Face Book. His email address is lucasdnovick@gamil.com. Please feel free to contact him. If you want to send him anything your can send to or drop it by the house and I will get it down to MDA. Take care and Luck Feukemia Dave

Monday, November 25, 2013

MD Anderson has tweaked Luke’s bone marrow transplant schedule. He I still being admitted Sunday (12/1) but BMT will not occur until Tuesday 12/10. When Luke is admitted they will run more tests including one to check Luke’s sensitivity to the chemo that kills off his bone marrow. Chemo will now start Wednesday 12/4 and take four days. After chemo Luke will rest for two days and the BMT will be 12/10. The other change in the schedule is Kendall’s schedule. MDA has recommended that Kendall stay out of a hospital environment between now and the BMT to minimize her exposure to disease and pestilence. Dear sweet Kendall Ann Babb is going to remain in Houston until they pull her bone marrow on 10/9. All the tests MDA has done on both Luke and Kendall have turned up no red flags. Fingers are crossed that that continues. Blood/platelet drive for Luke is 12/7 and the Residence Club. It’s recognized it’s a lousy time of year for a blood drive but over the next month we’ve been told Luke will need a lot of blood and platelets. If he has replacement units he will receive priority for his needs. Please if you are in the neighborhood stop by and make a deposit! Send me an email at LukesBlood@earthlink.net if you would like a time to donate! Luke goes under to get his PICC line tomorrow. His attitude is great. He’s going to whip the asshat. Everyone have a great turkey day. After you get plenty of nourishment and plan on coming by for a blood letting on the 7th! Regards Dave

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

BMT Schedule

Luke’s schedule for the rest of the year is firming up. As of last week insurance has approved the transplant and he was taken off all chemo in preparation for a bone marrow transplant. Prior to the BMT he has been/will be down at MDA 2-3 days a week for testing. The blood draw this week was pretty extensive – he took a picture of all the tubes of which they must have been a dozen. Luke also had bone marrow drawn this week to check for blast cells. They do not want to risk problems with his port so he will be getting a PICC line with 3 or 4 ports to accommodate everything he will need following the transplant. Next week he gets a pulmonary assessment. Kendall is in town next week to begin her screening. I am not sure what all is involved but they wanted he here over the weekend to see her on Monday after her initial testing. If all goes according to plan Luke will be admitted on Sunday December 1. Upon admission he will begin four days of chemo to kill off his bone marrow cells. He will be receiving two different chemos. It’s hard to think of this as chemo therapy, one because they are designed to kill all his bone marrow and not to just target cancer cells and two the names for the chemos are better suited for drain cleaners. As with any chemo there can be side effects. For one of the chemos he will receive a low dosage the week before transplant to allow the transplant team to assess how his body assimilates it. Following the 4th day of chemo Luke rests for 2 days and will be given the bone marrow transplant on December 7th. Kendall will make another trip to Houston and they will draw her bone marrow the same day it will be given to Luke. The bone marrow transplant itself is described as an uneventful process as it only involves hanging a bag like a blood transfusion. December 7th is designated as “Day 0” by the transplant team and everything else is scheduled off of that date. From day 0 it’s a lot of wait and see. They expect to see white cell production somewhere between day 10 and 14. The big variable is Graft to Host Disease (GTHD). The transplant team wants to see some GTHD as it is a sign his body is recognizing the graft cells. Luke will not be discharged until is white count exceeds a safe threshold. Xmas will probably be at MDA. For those reading this in Houston, Luke is going to need a lot of platelets and blood. Over the holidays blood supply is always a problem. While not everyone donating will match Luke he will be given priority if there are replacements units donated in Luke’s name. I am going to try to set up a blood drive on Saturday December 6 with MDA at the Residence Club. Please email me at dmnovick4@gmail.com if you think you will be able to donate so I can get an idea if the numbers can support having MDA do a drive.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Heading to a BMT

Luke has made the decision to go forward with a bone marrow transplant.  Kendall is a 10/10 HLA match which is a big plus.  Kens will need to make a trip to Houston for further testing and if that all goes well she will be Luke’s donor.  When Luke is scheduled for his BMT Kendall will make a second trip to Houston and the day of his transplant they will take a liter of her bone marrow to give to Luke. 

The date of Luke’s BMT has not been scheduled.  He is expecting that the BMT will be within 4 to 5 weeks.  When Luke is scheduled he will be admitted a week before the BMT and receive chemo to kill his own bone marrow.  Following the BMT he will remain in MDA in isolation until the transplanted bone marrow begins to produce white blood cells.  We are expecting that the stay in MDA will be a minimum of 4 weeks after the BMT. 

After the BMT Luke is going to need a lot of platelets and blood.  The transplant team suggested platelet and blood donations close to the time of the BMT to assure availability for Luke.  I may try to schedule a blood drive at LRC but if you can and are willing to donate platelets please let me know (davenovick@att.net) and I will let you know what the timing is as far as scheduling a donation.

Until the BMT date is finalized Luke will continue with chemo.  Tomorrow he is scheduled for another round of methotrexate which will probably keep him in MDA until at least Friday.     

Thank you to everyone that donated to Light the Night.  Team Luke raised almost $33,000 and was the number 1 fund raising team participating in the downtown walk.  Thank all of you that came out for the walk on the 12th.  The turnout was great and The Team Luke t-shirts stood out in the crowd.   

Luke celebrated his 24th birthday on October 5.  As a birthday gift Gayle got tickets for Luke and me to see his buddy Garth Brooks in Las Vegas on October 19.  Garth’s show was the man and his guitar.  He spent two hours entertaining the audience with stories of the individuals and music that influenced him.  He played a lot of covers of the artists that influenced him and his songs that they influenced.  I was amazed with number of covers Garth played that are on Luke’s own playlist.  All and all it was a wonderful trip and along the way he shot automatic rifles, a couple of pistols and a tommy gun and drove a few high speed four wheel vehicles at the Las Vegas Speedway.  In addition Luke demonstrated his gambling prowess and arrived back in Houston with a couple of hundred dollars more than what he left Houston with. 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

October 1

I just realized it’s been a month since there was an update.

Luke had a scan of his chest done two weeks ago. Scan showed progress being made in the fungus battle. He will have another scan at the end of October and if that is looks good infectious disease would clear him for bone marrow transplant team if that is what he wants to do.

For now it’s chemo. Routine is pretty well established. Round one in current cycle is methotrexate. Its been taking at least two weeks for counts to recover after round one and he usually gets a transfusion or tow (platelets or blood). The second round of the cycle is cytoxin is scheduled for tomorrow.

Kendall is between jobs and was off for the month of September. After two weeks in Montana at Tony’s parents she spent 10 days in Houston. Beth came through town for a few days as well.

Luke was feeling well enough to play Rudy’s and Genuwine during September. He also traveled to Nashville. The music department worked with him to complete work in two classes he started in January and trip was to take finals in those two classes…..he passed!

The Light the Night Walk is October 12th at Discovery Green. Hope you can join us……..this year Team Luke will again have a tent and as an added attraction/incentive Team Luke will be providing “Luck Feukemia” t-shirts for all walkers! Shirts are guaranteed to be collector’s items.

Team Luke is still open for donations at http://pages.lightthenight.org/txg/Houston13/DNovick We’re at 50% of the goal so donations are welcome.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Thursday August 29

Luke got another bye on chemo this week.  Platelets and hemoglobin were in range but ANC (white count) wasn't.  He'll enjoy the weekend and gear up for the LP now scheduled for Wednesday of next week. 

Have a great Labor Day weekend!   

Thursday, August 22, 2013


it's been over three weeks since the last update, but that's because not much is going on.  The update on Luke can be summed up in three two words “low blood counts”.  He is going through the first of what was advertised to be four 3 week cycles of chemo.  The first week he received methotrexate.  After the methotrexate it took three week for his counts to come back (white cells and platelets).  When his counts recovered last week he got the second round in the cycle.  This week hemoglobin is down so he received a transfusion of whole blood and chemo was deferred again to next week. It looks like the first 3 week cycle will turn into a 6 week cycle.. 

Luke is still taking the antifungal meds.  Fungus in the “lungus” is hard to treat so the only thing he’s waiting on is the next x-ray in a few weeks to check on progress.  Joints are still a sore subject (pun intended) but Luke knows it a long term issue and is dealing with it.  We walked up to the lake yesterday to let the Traveler shag balls and swim.  Luke’s knees and ankles were swollen and sore today but again he’s handling it.     

With the sabbatical from chemo the benefit is Luke is not feeling that bad.  He’s been playing at Rudy’s the three Saturdays now and my guess is he will be there this Saturday.  He invested in a steel guitar so there is a new sound eminating from the upstairs studio.   Hair is coming back in – looks darker than before.      

Adri visited last week prior to returning to Belmont.  Love that girl, she puts a smile on Luke's face which is always good to see.  Paul stopped by to see Luke a Rudy’s Saturday.  Eric, thanks for spending the time with Luke!  

Light the Night is October 12.  Come join us if you can.  Please think about supporting Team Luke and donating at  http://pages.lightthenight.org/txg/Houston13/DNovick and send the link to your friends! 

Wednesday, July 31, 2013


An update is overdue.  Luke was back in MDA last week for scheduled chemo.  He received methotrexate (IV) and vincristine.  This time around the methotrexate was a much lower dose due to the time it took his kidneys to clear it last time.    He was only in for the scheduled three days I first time that has happened in a while. 

After getting home the methotrexate kicked in and he developed sever mouth and throat sores.  Those have started to clear up but Luke did not have much of an appetite until today.   

This week Luke was schedule for mercaptopurine, cyclophosphamide and etoposide.  I don’t know who thinks up he names but this stuff just sounds like chemo!  Good bad or indifferent Luke’s counts dropped and combined with the mouth sores Dr. Wells gave him a bye on this week’s chemo until next week. 

We are meeting with the bone marrow transplant (BMT) team tomorrow.  As of yet no final decision has been made on BMT.  To go forward with BMT the Infectious Disease team wants to be sure the fungus infection Luke has is under control. To ensure that they want him to be on fungicide for at least 3 months before undergoing BMT.  With a 3 month window before making a decision on BMT Dr. Wells is keeping Luke on the prescribed chemo protocol.  If it was possible for Luke to immediately go forward with a BMT Dr. Wells was considering putting him on a maintenance dose of chemo but 3 months is too long to try to bridge on a maintenance dose.        

That’s the update.  Hopefully those reading this got the notice that Team Luke is again participating in The Light the Night Walk for LLS.  Date is October 12.  Please consider donating to Team Luke and joining us at the walk.   

Saturday, July 20, 2013

July 19


The week as quit.  Blood counts are recovering for the next round of chemo which will probably start next week.  Next round will be more methotrexate.  Because of the slow recovery of Luke's renal function the last round of methotrexate Dr. Wells is going to reduce the dose from 5 to 1g/m2.     

The prospect of a bone marrow transplant is still out there.  Before a decision can be made on BMT the fugal pneumonia will need to be cleared up.  To ensure that happens the infectious disease folks want him on the antifungal for another three weeks. 

Luke's feeling well enough that he is talking about playing at Rudy's tonight.  May see you there. 

   

Friday, July 5, 2013

Friday July 5

Friday July 5

Luke was discharged from MDA Tuesday evening.  He's moving rather slow.  Having a lot of joint pain that is being attributed to the neupogen he is getting putting is bone marrow into over drive producing blood cells.

In additional to all the other medications he is now getting antibiotics and fungicide.  Antibiotics are for a bacterial infection which is not expected to take long to clear up.  getting rid of the fungus is going to take a while. 

White count is still coming up, red cell count is steady platelets are still low.  Luke went to MDA this morning for blood counts and as this is being written he is getting a bag of platelets. 

At this point we are not sure whether Luke will star the next round of chemo next week or wait.  The next round is the first of four three-week cycles of methotrexate.    

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Day 8

Luke has a lot going on but in spite of all the issues it's a grand time at MDA! The blood and platelets continue to flow. Luke must be north of 20 units since arrival. He had platelets yesterday and 2 units of blood today. Still no white count.

Fighting the fungi and associated pneumonia. He's been dealing with chest pain. They stuck a camera and probe into his lugs to pull a sample. The first antibiotic they tried on the fungus Luke had a slight issue with. The issue was best expressed by Luke when he said "Mom I can't breathe". Needless to say they took him off that one after less than a minute. The next day he was given a different formulation of the same thing but this time they prepped him with Tylenol, Benadryl and hydrocortisone. The reformulated stuff he was able to handle but once a fungus establishes itself, it can be incredibly hard to get rid of. He is getting multiple antibiotics daily for weeks to come.

Temperature is up and down from normal to +103. Joints are sore. Appetite is good. He's been able to walk the floor at least once a day and has felt well enough to get the guitar out.

To be discharged Luke will need to stop spiking a temperature and get some white cells. His counts are supposed to bottom out 3-4 weeks after the start of the last round of chemo. 4 weeks will be next Wednesday - home for the 4th?

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

June 26th 5:AM CST

Luke was at MDA Friday (June 21) for blood work and received platelets. He got home around 2 pm, had dinner, he spiked a temperature and was in the ER at 10 PM. He’s been in MDA since. Temperature has been up and down. Blood counts still don’t appear to have bottomed out. Since Monday a week ago he has last received +12 units of blood and platelets.

White count is non-existent which makes infection is a big concern. Sunday he was experiencing chest pains. X-ray on admission showed pneumonia. A CT Monday night seemed to show a fungal infection. Luke has been on antibiotics since starting chemo. He got a isit from the infectious disease team late yesterday. Fungus can be a problem to treat so today they are going to put Luke under and get a sample of what is growing in his lungs to know what they are dealing with.  Luke will be resident at MDA for the rest of the week.

Computer is back from Apple so he is able to email and Face Book. Stop by and say hello if you are on line.

Dave

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Update June 19th

Luke got to repeat the cyclophosamide and erwinia routine last week.  He was admitted Wednesday and was discharged Friday.  Instead of pushing the erwinia they gave it IV which seemed to help with the nausea.    

As expected his blood counts dropped.....like the proverbial rock.  He got a unit of platelets last Friday before being discharged.  Counts on Monday were abysmal.  White count was non-existent and platelets were way down.  Can't do much about the low white count but and he received a unit of  platelets.  Today (Wednesday) at clinic counts were still low so the blood goddess approved a unit of platelets and two units of blood should be prescribed as nectar.  Unfortunately the blood fairies did not start transfusing until after 1 PM.  Given the option of staying late or coming back down tomorrow Luke opted for staying late so he will be an MDA resident until at least 8 tonight.  He's back in for labs on Friday....expect he will need another unit of the red stuff or the chicken soup.  

Next round of chemo won't be until he recovers fully from the latest event.  Expectation is that will be another 2 weeks.  Who knows maybe with the break Luke will fell well enough for an evening at Rudy's or Genuwine!  He could use the break and the diversion.

That's the latest.  Waiting to see how quickly blood counts bounce back and hoping no infection sets in requiring another residency stay at MDA.

By the way,  Luke's computer is back with Apple to replace the logic board so he is without his primary tool for communication.  Try texting or calling - I know he appreciates hearing from anyone other than parental voices asking "how do your feel, did you take your medicine, are you drinking!"      

Friday, June 7, 2013

Update June 7

Luke made it home this evening.  He handled the cyclophosphamide (4 doses at 12 hour intervals) but after the last dose he got one dose of erwinia and with that came the nausea.

Luke gets the same chemo regime next week.  The cyclophosphamide will cause a big time drop in his blood counts.  Even though his counts have dropped some already, they are not expected to bottom out until after the next round, so some time next week Luke will he in the market for a transfusion and he'll need to watch out for a fever and the onset of an infection.

The AVN in Luke's ankles is giving him problems.  Both ankles are swollen and the right is painful to the touch.  For now there is not much that can be done with the ankles other than to try to manage the pain and hope his ankle does not collapse.  He was fitted with an inflatable boot to provide protection and additional support and crutches or a walker are optional.

Luke met with Dr. Worth from transplant after check in on Wednesday.  After presenting Luke to the department oversite committee, the recommendation was for Luke to continue with chemo and not undergo a transplant.  The chemo route was recommended for several reason; to the length of time Luke was in remission before relapsing and Luke's favorable response to chemo to date - they were able to get him into remission in 30 days and his Minimum Residual Disease (MRD) is negative.  Also considered by the committee was the risk associated with transplant.  Dr. Worth did not pull any punches, even with a sibling HLA match a transplant will carry some amount of Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) and there is not way to predict the severity.  Bottom line is dealing with the leukemia, the asshat, there is no magic bullet, no overnight cure, it's going to be a long haul.       

Luke was on the newly remodeled pediatric floor (just opened Monday).  The new room wow factor is LED lighting in the ceiling of each patient room.  You can select from the full spectrum of the colors of the rainbow to light the room. 

The new room was the good news, the not so good news was MDA has started a two year project of remodeling the lobby of the inpatient tower.  With the tower lobby shut down there is no direct route to the "F" elevator bank and the inpatient floors - visitors beware you will need to leave the security of the carpet to get to the F elevator bank!

Patrick from the MDA blood bank stopped by to say hello.  The crew from our May blood drive has the picture we took of them with Luke in a prominent place and they all want to know when we were going to do the next drive.

Will stay in touch.

     

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Here we go again!

Sorry for the delay in updating Luke's status but he had a wedding to go to!

Luke is taking up residency at MDA again tomorrow.  Last time Luke received a high concentration of methotrexate which kept him in residence for a week waiting for his kidneys to clear out the residual MTX.  Luke will receive a high dose MTX again but with the issues he had with his kidneys this time Dr. Wells will likely cut down on the concentration.  Tomorrow Luke gets aristide and erwinia.  He's had both before, but like the MTX, the concentrations given will he higher.  Expected stay is until Friday but predicting his length of stay to date has not been great. 

This aristide/erwinia round was scheduled to start last week but Luke was able to finagle a chemo pass to attend Kendall's wedding.  He did take oral methotrexate for the week but the oral dose was a lot lower than the IV dose the previous week so overall his week was good.  

The good news from Luke's last visit with Dr. Wells was his minimal residual disease (MRD) was negative.  This means that minimal leukaemic cells were seen on a flow spectrometer.  The problem is it only takes one leukaemc cell to cause relapse.  With having relapsed once the ongoing chemo Luke will receive is designed to eradicate all the leukaemic cells.  With chemo not working last time this time the concentrations will be higher and over a longer period than last go round. 

A stem cell transplant is still in the picture.  Being MRD negative qualifies Luke for a transplant should he want to go in that direction.  With Luke responding favorably to chemo, the medical opinions on continuing with chemo or going with a transplant differ depending on who you talk with.  In ether case in the objective is the same, zero leukemia cells and no relapse.

Val and Addie to the ER
Stopping by to see Luke at his last appointment with Dr. Wells was Addison and his mom Val.  Addison was at MDA for a LP and while he was having the LP Val went over to donate blood.  Well Val got a bit light when they came up to see Luke in the clinic and Addie, who just had an LP, treated her to a complimentary ride to the ER for evaluation.

Kendall's Wedding was great.  It was wonderful to see friends and family and meet new friends and family.   Luke played and sang at the wedding ceremony and after much coercion he played and sang at the reception (and if you believe Luke really had to be coerced to sing at the reception I have a bridge to sell you).

Luke and Kendall
         


Luke, Mom Beth and Kate

Friday, May 10, 2013

Methotrexate Day 3


Luke remains in residence at MDA. The chemo this time around is a blast of IV methotrexate which is nasty stuff. The kidneys do not tolerate methotrexate well and it will cause inflammation of the mucus membrane in the mouth if left in the system. The basic plan of action has been to put the methotrexate in and then flush it out as quickly as possible.

Before they started the methotrexate Luke got IV fluids to bring his kidney pH level up to minimize damage to his kidneys. Once they got the pH up the methotrexate went in over 24 hours. After that it’s been an IV fluid flush.

The methotrexate has not been kind. There’s been a lot of nausea. Luke has gotten multiple meds for nausea that has kept him knocked out. White cells and platelets are holding up, red cells are low. Expect he will be transfused in the morning.

Methotrexate concentration started above 60 and is down to 1.1 this evening. It has to be down to 0.1 before Luke can be discharged. Been told getting down to 1.0 is the easy part. Hoping to get out of here tomorrow but getting the methotrexate down to 0.1 can take a lot more time.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

What a difference as 48 hours makes!  Sunday and Monday were miserable days with a headache,  and throat soars .  On Tuesday Luke finally ate and got out of bed and cruised the halls for the first time since being admitted on Sunday.  Best of all on Wednesday counts had recovered enough for Luke to be released from the care, custody and control of MD Anderson.

Blood counts improved on all fronts.  White count increased from .1 to above 2 (normal is +4).  Platelets got above 20 (normal is +140).  Hemoglobin is at 9 (normal is +14).  He is at clinic tomorrow to draw labs.  If counts continue to improve he will be inpatient for chemo Wednesday and Thursday next week.   Next week's chemo includes a high dose of methotrexate in the spine which in the past has been rough.

Beth will be in H town late next week.  Adri is coming to town next weekend.  We are  looking forward to meeting the much anticipated and world renowned beauty, Adri, from Monterrey!           



  

Monday, April 29, 2013

LUCK FEUKEMIA!!!

There are a lot of green "luck feukemia" bracelets around. I challenge everyone, if you're asked about what your green bracelet means, to give it away, and challenge who you give it away with to email a picture of the bracelet in a ridiculous/exotic location...we just started and the winners so far are Brisbane, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. Luck Feukemia!!!! All pics will be published and please, if you can donate money to the LEUKEMIA and LYMPHOMA Society (www.lls.org) or sign up to be in the bone marrow bank (www.marrow.org) do it!



Sunday, April 28, 2013

Luck Feukemia!

This sucks!  Luke was admitted to MDA at 4 am with a temperature.  He has no white cells.  He's on  medication to increase white cells production but his counts have not bottomed out from the last chemo.  MDA is running blood to check for bacterial infection.  Expect results in 24 hours. 

Luke's temperature has come down but he's still dealing with a headaches and nausea.  Being off steroids there is not much of an appetite.

Kendall and Tony were in town for their shower.  It's official, Kendall is a perfect HLA match giving Luke the option of a bone marrow transplant. 

We also talked to the docs at MDA about a trial they are doing with t cell therapy.  They are using genetically modified t cells to kill off leukemia infected white blood cells.  The t cell therapy would be done in conjunction with a bone marrow transplant.  Results look promising and it may be an option for Luke.

That's it for now.              

            

Thursday, April 25, 2013

International Luck Feukemia!!!

So there is now an around the world competition. Let's see how far the "Luck Feukemia" bracelet can travel. Send the pictures!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Chemo Round 2

Luke is finished with his the third day of chemo and he's doing okay.  No nausea.  He had a slight temperature Wednesday night but nothing since.  He's been bothered by a headache and joint pain but they are staying top of it with the meds.  He got his port Wednesday and that area of his chest is tender.  Appetite is not great but he is eating.  His blood counts dropped from the chemo so got a couple of units of blood today and that seemed to help with the headache. 

Early afternoon Luke did a couple laps around the floor and played on the guitar.  Chemo followed at 3 and since chemo its been a quiet evening.

Luke hasn't talked to the transplant team but he did hear from Dr. Wells that one of the sisters is a match.  Don't know which sister, but knowing there is a match is good news as it provides another treatment option.   If Luke decides on a transplant he will still get a couple of more rounds of chemo to kill off the residual cancer cells prior to the transplant.  
   

Friday, April 12, 2013

REMISSION!


From Luke's Face Book page yesterday "april 11, 2013 and i am in remission. forever in debt for the love and support i continue to receive from so many incredible folks, i wouldn't be where i am without it all. now i'm gonna keep up my end of the deal and keep kicking ass and keepin' on. LUCK FEUKEMIA. you guys rule."
Remission means they found no blast cells in the bone marrow they took Wednesday.  This is what Dr. Wells was hoping for and what we were praying for.  Luke still has a long way to go, but for now his bone marrow is producing good blood cells.

With leukemia being a blood borne cancer, the leukemia cells can be anywhere in his body.  Chemo may make him symptom free but the only way to know whether the chemo eradicated all of the cancer cells is the passage of time.  

Luke will continue with aggressive chemo over the next several weeks, after that we don’t know what the path forward will be.  After Luke went into remission the first time around the treatment protocol was +30 months of chemo.  With relapsing there is increased probability that chemo will not be entirely effective and the cancer will again return.   

Getting Luke into remission does make a bone marrow transplant more of a possibility.  Whether Luke will receive a transplant depends on a number of factors, but a major one is finding a compatible donor.  Luke met with the transplant team at MDA a couple of weeks ago   If Luke’s decides to go the transplant route he will leave the care of Dr. Wells and become the patient of the transplant team for 100 days. 

Early last week Luke was taken off the steroids cold turkey.  After going off the steroids Luke experienced severe joint pain.  Gayle took him to the ER Tuesday when the pain became unmanageable.  They were able to get the pain under control.  They started him on lower dose of steroids and are going to try to wean him off. 

Luke is off of chemo until next Wednesday.  Wednesday he will be admitted to MDA for five consecutive days of chemo.  During the stay he will also have surgery to remove his PICC line and give him a port.

Except for the joint pain Luke is doing well.  The new pair of studio monitors Luke invested in arrived this week.  Firing up the monitors seemed to have helped with pain mitigation!  Expect to see Luke at the blood and Be the Match donor registry drive Saturday.  

We’ll take the good news of this week and deal with whatever next week brings.  Luke and the Novick family appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers.  

God bless

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Update April 4th


There is not much to report.  this week was pretty routine week.  Overall Luke is doing great.  Blood counts are creeping up.  Appetite is good.  Hair is thinning. 

Luke played with the Motley Rockers last Friday at Jim Curtin's surprise b'day party.  He was on his feet all night and up late.  The next day he was moving pretty slow but I guarantee putting the guitar in his hands and having him play was the best possible therapy for him (as well an Gayle and me).  Motley Rockers thanks.  Jim your timing for your 50th birthday could not have been better.   

Luke's last dose of erwinia is tomorrow.  After tomorrow he's off until next Wednesday when they will draw bone marrow and spinal fluid and look for blast cells.

After next Wednesday Luke will be off chemo until the Wednesday of the following week.  The following week he will get wacked with the start of the second round of chemo.  To start the second round he will be inpatient for 5 days and get three different chemos. 

Beth was in town last weekend.  Kendall will be in town this weekend. 

Everyone that has signed up to donate on the 13th thanks.  If can donate there are still plenty of slots available late morning and through the afternoon.  If you would like to donate shoot me an email at lukesblood@earthlink.net and give me a time. 

That's it for now.  Keep the prayers coming.

Dave



The next round of chemo is rough and will require Luke to be in patient for 5 days.  He will get three different all of which deplete the bllod counts.  chemos .  t.  mLuke gets three different chemos.   is Luke will get three different chemos in the next round the next round of chemo He will he h  

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Luke is responding to chemo


Yesterday Luke had good news, his blast cells are down to 3%.  Two weeks ago the blast cells in Luke's bone marrow were at 73%.  The leukemia is responding to the chemo.   

Leukemia shuts down the production of blood cells in the bone marrow.  Blast cells in the bone marrow are undifferentiated cells that the leukemia prevents from "evolving" into white or red blood cells.  Blast cells are essentially dead weight in Luke's system. 

Remission will be when no blast cells show up on the bone marrow.  Dr Wells is targeting for remission in 30 days from the start of chemo.  Once Luke is in remmission the goal will be to get rid of all the remaining leukemia cells hiding out in body.  The path forward to achieving that goal has yet to be determined.  It will either be another long term chemo regime to try to kill off all luekemia cells in the body or a bone marrow transplant provided an acceptable match can be found.. 

Monday was a long day.  Luke was at MDA from 9 until 4.  They drew bone marrow, did an LP and he got methotrexate, vincristine and erwina.  Wednesday he saw Dr. Wells and received erwinia but was home by noon.  Blood counts are relatively unchanged; white cells are at essentially 0%, but platelets are still above the threshhold for being transfused. 

Luke is tired but holding up.  Most of the time on chemo days is couch time.  For now the meds they have him on are keeping the nausa at bay.  Chemo is taking a toll on the hair.          

We're having a blood drive for MD Anderson on April 13th.  If you can donate blood or platelets please send us an email at Lukesblood@earthlink.net and the time you would like to donate.   

Buffy, Cindy and Peggy.......thanks.  

Saturday, March 23, 2013

It's been two weeks since we learned Luke had relapsed.  Overall Luke is doing ok and his spirits are good .  He handled the erwinia pretty well this week.  He's not getting any chemo over the weekend. 

Monday will likely be a long day.  After labs are drawn Luke will meet with his oncologist.  After meeting with Dr. Wells the fun starts.  Luke will have bone marrow taken to check on blast cells.  Following the bone marrow he is scheduled for an LP, methotrexate and then erwinia. 

A bright spot this week is the appetite.  The steroids have kicked in so Luke is eating big and frequently.  Three meals a day and major consumption between meals. 

The chemo has taken Luke's white count down to zero so infection is a big concern. If is temperature goes above 101 F he will be heading to MDA.  His  platelets are dropping.  Eventually the platelets will drop to a level that Luke will need to be transfused.  I'd be surprised if he makes it through this week without needing to be transfused. 

Luke's sister Kate was here for the week.  She returned to KC this morning and will be back to teaching Monday.  Mom and Dad will go-it-alone this week.
Thanks to everyone that dropped to visit and for the meals.   No having to deal with preparing a meal for those days was a God send. 

There is a new member in the household.  Today we brought
home Traveler a 5 1/2 year old black lab.  We had to put Bailey down in January and Luke had been wanting another dog.  Traveler's was in a household of 10 and was having issues with a younger sibling in the household.  Traveler's mom had learned about Luke's and thought Traveler would be an ideal mate for him.  Luke felt well enough today to drive up to Elgin, Texas to meet Traveler and Traveler came back with us to Houston to see if we're a good match for Traveler.        

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Hey Luke continues to hang in there. 

Chemo Saturday was uneventful.  Yesterday's had a bit more of an impact.  It left Luke feeling a little puny and he retired early.  Today he's bounced back and is doing good.  He gets hit again tomorrow and meets with Dr. Wells. 

Blood counts are holding up.  White count is way down but platelets are in the 100K range. 

Luke and his appetite are on steroids.  Eating +3 meals a day. 

Adam, Alex and Mike thanks for stopping in and sponsoring the impromptu crawfish boil for Luke.  Brian and family thank you for the lasagna.  Father Bravo, the visit was appreciated.  

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Luke home 

Luke was discharged yesterday.  Starting this morning he is back down at MDA for out-patient chemo every other day through Friday. 

Overall he is doing ok.  Infection needs to watched for as the white cell count is way down.  Moving around much more at home than in the hospital.  Some appetite. 

Nancy thanks for the soup, its was delicious. 

Barb and Paul stopped by.  Kate arrived last night.   

DN 

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Thursday 03/14

Good morning from H-town.  Luke is continuing with chemo sometime today, he had an "off" day yesterday, no chemo just antibiotics and pills.  He slept most of the day and slowly returned texts and emails---if you didn't hear from him, and it is urgent, feel free to reach out to any of the family, if he's napping he'll get to it eventually. 

The always awesome, Mr. Michael Hannon, came to visit which seemed to perk Luke up.  His runner-up mom, Traci, also stopped by, which always makes Luke smile.    

We watched the announcement from the conclave in the Vatican, Luke decided that if left up to him, the papal name would've been Boris----it is also a great name (the Boris part, not Pope) for a new rescue dog (hint hint hint Dad).   

The news this morning is that Luke should be (fingers crossed) discharged tomorrow!!!!  He will have to be back at MDA every other day for chemo, but there is nothing better than being in your own bed and getting rid of beeping machines and blood draws at 4am.

Loads of gratitude for all of your love and support!  In addition to everything that you do for Luke, MDA is always in need of blood---please donate at an MDA facility, there are two in the medical center (MD Anderson - How/Where You Can Donate Blood). 
The Novick Fam
(EB)