Team Jamie...

    Can anyone of you say that you know 1400 people? I didn't think I could either before I got sick. I will explain this statement later on in this post...
    In times of need it blows my mind how people can rally together for a single purpose. That is exactly what Team Jamie was. My former hockey coach and long time friend Ralph Nespor came up with the idea. Everyone wanted to help in some way, but there was really nothing to be done. I was only allowed to have my immediate family as visitors, so for everyone else it was as if their hands were tied. No one knew what was really going on with me. The only thing that they had heard were rumors or what they had heard from word of mouth. It was like that game of telephone that you play as a kid. The story was bound to change somewhere. Team Jamie eliminated this problem.
    My Mom would take as good of notes as she could of what was going on with me, forward that in an email to her fiance Phil who would then write it into a more formal update to email out to the ever growing "Team Jamie." The Team started as just family members and close friends but as more people heard about it, more were added to the email list. Phil was getting more and more requests by the day of people that wanted to be included in the updates. His email list was up to about 30 or so people who would then forward that on to more people. I'm very popular!! 
    On a busy day at the hospital Mom wasn't always able to get her information to Phil in sufficient time. If the Team Jamie email wasn't sent out on that day, people would automatically start to assume that something drastic had happened. I don't blame them. It became another routine. People have told me that they would be sitting by their computers constantly refreshing their inbox waiting for the daily update. Even on days where there was no change in my condition an email needed to be sent out so people wouldn't panic.
    This system eliminated a lot of the phone calls my family was receiving as well. This allowed them to keep their focus on me. Team Jamie was a very good idea! I got all the attention haha just kidding :).
    In times like these all people want to do is help in any way they can. That's where the idea for "Positive Moment for Jamie" came from. There was nothing to be done, so in the update emails everyone was asked to have a positive thought, prayer or anything for me every night at 9pm. I don't know what everyone was thinking but it obviously worked! I am still here stronger than ever telling my story.
    In addition to the positive thoughts, prayers, gifts, cards and emails, Ralph went ahead and had bracelets made up for me. They were yellow and said JAMIE'S TEAM on one side and BELIEVE on the other side. He started with 100 of them for my family and friends. He must have underestimated how popular I was. When people saw these they wanted one immediately. 100 bracelets ran out in a hurry. He had 500 more made, also gone in a hurry. In total 1400 were made and there are none left. Thats where my question comes from. I did not know I knew 1400 people. They were everywhere. Those bracelets made their travels. They were in Winnipeg, Stonewall, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Switzerland, Egypt to name a few places. All the sports teams from the university I attended (University of Wisconsin-Superior) were wearing one.
     I woke up one day with a yellow bracelet on my wrist beside my hospital bracelet. I thought I was hallucinating. It had my name on it, I thought to myself what a coincidence, someone else named Jamie is in need too. That's when my family explained it to me. I still thought I was hallucinating. I didn't believe them, I wasn't that popular. It finally clicked when I saw all the nurses and doctors wearing the same ones. Holy shit this really is for me! Who do I thank? There were too many people doing little things for me behind the scenes that I never thanked so I will use this opportunity to do it. THANKYOU EVERYONE!!!
    The bracelets were a non-profit thing. If you really wanted to make a donation my family requested that you donate the money to CancerCare or Canadian Blood Services, two organizations that were responsible for saving my life.
    There were also blood drives being organized in my honor. One in Stonewall and one in Wisconsin at the university. If you have ever heard the ads on the radio or TV stating that leukemia patients require 8 units of blood per week it is no word of a lie! I can't even begin to count the amount of blood and platelet transfusions I received. The need for it is so great and I am living proof of that! If I could make one request it is that each and everyone of you at least considers donating blood or signing up to be on the bone marrow registry. It's true that it saves lives. I owe my life to the generosity of complete strangers!

Team Jamie bracelets

Team Jamie makes a stop in Egypt

...And Mexico

...And at a game at the University of Wisconsin-Superior

My former university team retired my jersey for the season

And played a game dedicated to breast cancer and leukemia awareness

I like this pic of my little mini afro :)

   
  
   

Bring it on Cancer...

    After the initial shock of the new diagnosis had worn off it was time for my family and I to move on and put on our fighting faces. I do not like to lose at anything and this was certainly not the battle that I was willing to lose. Bring it on Cancer!
    I was still on the respirator, but the doctors decided it would be a good idea to slowly remove it since it increases the risk of infection. That would be the last thing my body needed to add to the growing list of problems. The doctors warned that this may cause distress to me which would increase my heart rate which would then increase the pressure inside my head. This was a risk they were willing to take though, as one more infection could potentially be lethal to me. My vitals were strong enough so it was time for it to come out.
    On August 21st, 2009 I was taken off the respirator again, hopefully this was the last time! I was watched 24 hours a day by a respiratory technician for the slightest sign of distress. If this were to happen I would be put right back on it. I believe subconsciously I just wanted to prove something. The respirator was removed and I had no difficulties. A down side to having a tube put in and pulled out of my throat so many times was that my vocal cords were slightly damaged. If I wanted to communicate it would be through hand signals or whispers. Let me tell you it is very frustrating when the only sound you can make is a whisper. There were many times that I got so frustrated and my family members got the short end of the stick. I think my Mom, Dad and Dale all had my fingernails stuck into their hand or forearm at some point!
    You all may be wondering if there are any positives at this point. They were a few. Believe me my family would take any shred of good news the doctors had. Like I said my vitals were strong, first positive. The blood test taken on this particular day showed no new immature white blood cells (aka cancer cells) located in any of my organs, second positive. My first round of chemo for the APL was finished, third positive. Even though I was finished the chemo for the first type of cancer I was still receiving a Vitamin A derivative that causes immature white blood cells to mature into normal white cells. My body was accepting this treatment without any complications, another positive.
    Since my body was dealing with so many other complications, the doctors felt that my chemo treatments for the brain leukemia (AML) would have to be held off until some of the other complications improved. They did not want to put too much stress on my body since I was already in a very delicate state.
    The last MRI that I had done showed that the new brain bleed, which we now know is a stroke caused from the ATRA, occurred very close to the portion of my brain that controls vision and speech. The doctors did not believe that I would have any long term effects once the bleed clears itself up. I'm sure my family was crossing their fingers!
    The doctors decided to suspend any thoughts of doing anymore bone marrow biopsies at this point as I was too unstable. They feel that possibly by my 40th day of treatment they will try again. As for the treatment for the AML (brain cancer), I was in the second stage which is the consolidation stage. If the other life threatening complications can be stabilized I would undergo an 8 week regime that consisted of chemo being administered intrathecally (through the lumbar punctures.)  Oh great, 8 weeks of lumbar punctures, something to look forward to...

    Everyone was wondering not only how I was doing, but how my family was holding up. My Mom was spending every moment by my side. I was beginning to get sick of her!! Just kidding of course. She developed a routine at the hospital. Rushing out for a 5 minute shower every morning around 5:30am while I slept, grabbed a tea from the nurses station and back to her chair by 6am in time for the nurse to come in and draw my blood. She slept in a chair beside my bedside most nights. She had to fight to get that chair! Initially the nurses did not want any family members staying the night with me. Wrong thing to say to her, she refused and said she would sleep on the floor if she had to. They eventually brought her a chair haha. Dad and Dale would take turns spending the odd night with me to give her a break to go home, even though in her mind she was wanting to be with me. Momma Bear had to be forced to go home. People were beginning to think that she worked at the hospital! Dad and Dale were back at the hospital bright and early each and every morning.
    Mom, Dad and Dale all took stress leaves from work. I guess I don't blame them. Dale tried to work but I guess his mind wasn't all there. He made the decision to take time off when he almost got hit by a train. Good choice I'd say!
    My family was amazingly supportive. I had someone by my side 24 hours a day. Even though they were under a great deal of stress, everytime I opened my eyes there was a smiling face looking back at me. I did not see any one of them cry once! I can never thank them enough for this. Without even realizing it I got a lot of my strength from them!
   

The chair that had to be fought for!

   

Curveball...

    My family was awaiting the preliminary results from my lumbar puncture. I'm sure that subconsciously I was too but I was on so many meds and painkillers to seem to care. Dr.Seftal was right. I now had one more thing to add to my growing list of problems... Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in my central nervous system. Let's recap what has been going on so far with me; 3 brain bleeds, intracranial pressure that is through the roof, pneumonia, blood infection, double vision, massive headaches, nausea and vomiting, and now two types of cancer. APL in my bone marrow and blood, and now AML in my spinal fluid and brain. How much can the human body endure? I think I was the ultimate test.
    The doctors had to rethink their plan of action now that they had this new curveball thrown at them. This is extremely rare. Like I had mentioned previously; 1 of 500 cases in the entire world! The doctors would not be having a restful night tonight. They spent the night researching treatments and prognosis. I have now been sedated enough to be able to sleep through the night and let my body rest. I'm going to need all my energy and strength to beat this!
    It wasn't just the doctors that weren't sleeping that evening. My family had no sleep either. I was only allowed one visitor through the night, and Momma bear won. Dad and Dale were hesitant to leave the hospital not knowing what would happen through the night. They would be the first ones waiting at the doors to be let in to visit bright and early the next morning.
    My family anxiously awaited the doctors arrival as they made their morning rounds. This would not be like other mornings however. Instead of the doctors meeting in my room, my family was called into a little conference room instead. This is where they were delivered a devastating blow. They had also found two new bleed on the MRI that were exerting extreme pressure on my brain. "Jamie's outlook does not look good. You should let her friends and family in to say their goodbyes." The doctors continued to say that they were going to do all that they could but they did not believe that my body was strong enough to make it through all the treatments that I was going to need. I don't think cancer knew who it was messing with...


    Now for the plan of action. It is now August 20th, 2009. I was given 2 different types of antibiotics, one for the blood infection, one for the pneumonia. I was also given a diuretic to help drain some fluid off my lungs. The doctors realized that the original bleed in my brain was actually a stroke. That would explain why I felt tingles in my toes and hands when I was in the boat. This would also explain my difficulties walking. The new bleed in my brain was also a stroke caused from the ATRA chemo. This caused both of my feet to fall and now both were placed in splints. 
    Since my pressure was so high they needed to do something about this before any permanent damage occurs. They looked at the option of surgery and inserting a shunt in my head. I was not stable enough to make it through such an operation, and my platelets were so low that they feared that would bleed out on the operating table. Scratch that idea. I was given some sort of diuretic to help drain fluid from my head. The pressure was of some concern but not the main issue at this point...

   

Rollercoaster ride begins...

    After I got my room all nicely set up how I liked it on D6 and made friends with all the nurses they moved me out of there. I had to go back to the ICU. I developed a blood infection from the PICC line that was inserted in my arm. It had to be removed. They put a new one in my right arm.
    Since my immune system was so low, the doctors wanted me to be on the ICU floor to be constantly monitored. My immune system was so vulnerable that I could basically pick up any infection that I came in contact with. They were right. I also picked up pneumonia in addition to the blood infection. Back on the respirator I go. It wasn't that I was unable to breathe on my own, they just wanted to assist my breathing so my body wouldn't have to work as hard. I needed all my energy to battle these 2 infections...oh yah, and the cancer too.
    I must have looked like some sort of robot. I had a tube coming out of my throat, tube coming out of my nose, tubes coming out of my arm, and a catheter. I basically had to lay there and do nothing, I had tubes to do all the work for me. Tube to breathe for me, tube to eat for me, tube to pee for me, tube to fight my cancer for me.

    The next few of my Mom's journal entries are kind of scattered so a few days are missing. I guess her mind was a little preoccupied elsewhere. I've tried to piece it together as best as I could.

    In my last post I had said that Dr.Seftal stated there was a remote chance that I may have leukemia in my brain and spinal fluid as well, my central nervous system (CNS). He wanted to be proactive and started me on another type of chemo treatment for the type of cancer that he sensed (Acute Myeloid Leukemia aka AML). He also started this treatment because the APL cancer that I already had can attack weak areas and the doctors did not want it to attack my existing brain bleeds. 
   The results of my last MRI came back. There was a slight abnormality noted, the doctors said this may be an artifact as a result of movement but they wanted to do further testing to further investigate.
    On August 18th my vitals were stable enough for me to have my first lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap. Once again I will spare the details and give a brief overview. Basically you stick a needle in between the vertebrae of your lower back and draw out some spinal fluid. That is the simplified version and it still gives me shivers. The doctors were doing this to get a biopsy of my spinal fluid to send it away for lab analysis, looking for what Dr.Seftal suspected. This procedure was also done to measure the pressure in my head.
    Following the lumbar puncture you are supposed to lay completely flat and not move for 4 and a half hours. This is done because it needs to completely seal which was a difficult task since my platelets were so low. The last thing the doctors wanted was for me to start leaking spinal fluid on top of the cancer, pneumonia and blood infection. At the 2 hour mark I began to vomit profusely again. It is difficult to lay flat on your back when you are vomiting. Luckily I did not leak any spinal fluid which is a bonus! The vomiting would continue until we got the preliminary results back from the lumbar puncture.

Unlucky 13...

    So on day #13 of my chemo, August 13th I awoke with a major headache again. I hadn't slept well the evening before and it seemed I had my days and nights mixed up. All I wanted to do during the day is sleep while at night it was very hard for me to settle down, even with a sleeping pill. The good news was that my bowels had settled down from the day before.
    My nurse gave me some Gravol and morphine for my headache to try to help settle me down. I complained that I was having some nausea. I slept on and off throughout the morning, each time I woke up I complained that my headache was getting worse.
   My white board stats today were as follows: hemoglobin 79, platelets 18 and white blood cells 0.5. Once again this is to be expected as a result of the chemo and medications. The doctors decided that I would have another platelet and blood transfusion on this day to target my platelets to above 20 and my hemoglobin above 80. It was disheartening to wake up and see the numbers on the board and see that they aren't good enough. I felt I was doing something wrong. Maybe I shouldn't have walked so far and exerted myself so much yesterday is a thought that crossed my mind. There goes the pride and sense of accomplishment that I had felt the previous afternoon.
    Even though I was heavily medicated on painkillers my subconscious mind was on a rollercoaster of emotions. I tried to stay positive as best as I could and put on a brave face for my family but there are some days that you just want to lay in bed and be sick. I did not have many days like that, but this, my 13th day of treatments was one of those days.
    I began throwing up very intensely without any warning. I would be laying there sleeping and all of a sudden my bed was a mess. I had 5 or 6 bed and gown changes, like I said those kidney basins are really useless!
    Dr.Seftal, one of my oncologists sent me for an MRI because the pressure in my head remains and he would like a better idea what is going on in terms of the healing process and any possible long term damage that may have occurred. He has some disheartening news that the leukemia may be in my central nervous system (brain) as well but states that it is a very remote chance. He wants to be proactive if this is the case and catch it early. Dr.Seftal also is going to arrange for a more in depth speech/learning assessment to confirm that there are no cognitive learning issues as a result of what is going on inside my head.
    I had not seen it yet, as I had not looked into a mirror since being admitted, but my eyes had no white to them. The outer white portion of my eyes that surrounds the colored part was completely RED. Yes that's exactly how red it was. I must have looked like something out of a horror movie. My family did a good job of hiding it though since I had no idea. They looked at me the same as they normally would! This was a result of the pressure in my head being so high that it burst all the vessels in my eyes. I was also having issues with my vision. Everything I looked at was blurry and doubled.  It made it difficult to watch the Food Network, Ellen, or The Price is Right when you cannot see it. I still enjoyed listening though. I would close my eyes and just listen. It may have appeared that I was asleep so when anyone changed the channel or shut off the TV they would get a not so nice glare. I was the boss, it was my room. At least that was my thoughts :).
    I loved being on D6, I got my own room which could be decorated however I wanted. I had pictures of friends and family all over my walls. I had my own TV which was only allowed to be tuned to 1 of the 3 options I mentioned before. I got to use my laptop and talk to my friends on MSN and Facebook (I needed help typing in passwords since my double vision made it difficult to spell correctly.) I want to thank everyone that I chatted to for putting up with my typos! The only thing I wasn't allowed to have in D6 was flowers. (I didn't mind since I think they are a waste of money because they don't last long!)

Sorry for the scary picture, but this is exactly how my eyes looked.

Moving forward...

    At this point (August 12th,2009) I was no longer in the ICU. The doctors felt I was strong enough once the ventilator came out to move me up to D6 (the cancer floor in the hospital.) The idea was that I would continue my treatments there and continue to get stronger and eventually be discharged to go home.
    If you ever have to have an extended stay in Health Sciences Center I suggest you try and sneak up to D6 and spend your time there. The nurses are amazing!!! They are so positive and upbeat all the time. It takes a special type of person to have an attitude like that in an environment where so many negative things happen.
    The numbers on my white board this particular morning were as follows: platelets 41, hemoglobin 87, and white blood cells 0.4. My numbers were dropping as a result of all the chemo being pumped through my body. With my white blood cells being so low my immune system was in a very vulnerable state so my visits were limited exclusively to immediate family, although the visitors continued to show up only to be turned away.
    The medications and chemo treatments were taking a toll on my body. On this particular day I had an onset of very bad diarrhea (I'm not ashamed to talk about it...you lose all shame when you're in the hospital for that long.) Since my bowel issues were so sudden and came without warning I wasn't able to make it to the toilet in my room. After a few bed/gown changes it was decided that I would have a commode brought into my room. A commode is a toilet on wheels that looks like a chair.

This is a deluxe commode, mine was not that glamorous but you get the idea.

    I spent about half of the day on the commode. Not such an easy task when you have little warning and have to manouevre off the bed with a catheter in place, IV tubes, IV pole, tube in my nose and a wobbly leg as a result of the stroke. Looking back now I would have loved to be a fly on the wall to watch the pure chaos that took place in those tense moments! I eventually gave up and just sat on the commode to watch tv and visit with my family. They understood.

    I made an agreement with the doctors and nurses that if I attempted to walk and move around a few times a day that the evil Heparin shots every morning would eventually come to an end. I liked this agreement, I felt like I was finally in control of something for the first time since being admitted to the hospital.

    So on a bright note my foot brace and walker arrived on this day. Time to get moving!!! With the assistance of my walker and 2 nurses I managed to walk the length of the hall and back to my room. There was not a dry eye on the floor. Every nurse on the floor was standing in the hallway crying and smiling at the same time. My Mom was no exception to this either. This would be the first time I smiled in 12 days!! I was so proud of myself. I felt like I finally made some progress and the fact that I may no longer have to get the daily Heparin shot contributed to this smile. I couldn't wait to get back into my bed, I was exhausted. I also could not wait to tell my Dad and brother who had stepped out for a little while. I napped for a couple hours and when I awoke Dad and Dale were sitting there anxiously awaiting the news I had for them.

    This was a huge day for me as a couple days before this I secretly whispered to my Mom that I was afraid I would never walk or play hockey again. You take the little things for granted, a simple walk down the hallway was the most amazing thing that happened to me in 12 days!

Morning Routines...

    It is now August 8th. Every morning at 6am a nurse would come in and draw blood from my PICC line. It became a routine that I got used to. I would know to be sleeping on my right side when the nurse came in, I'd pull out my left arm from the blanket, didn't change my sleeping position, she took the blood and left, I tucked my arm back in and went back to sleep. What is a PICC line you are probably wondering? A PICC line is a peripherally inserted central catheter. Mine was inserted in my right arm. It is basically a tube that runs from my arm, through the vein and into my heart. It is what was used to draw blood, give me chemo, and other medications. It is just a simple way of doing all those things without having to stick me with a needle every time. You may be wondering if it hurts or is uncomfortable. The answer is no, I barely felt it when it was in. It was annoying because you cannot get it wet. I was unconscious when it was inserted so I couldn't tell you if it hurt or not. 
    The nurses would come into my room every morning around 8:30 and write statistics on the huge white board in front of my bed. What they were writing were the numbers of the different components of my blood that they drew at 6am, my platelets (clotting), hemoglobin (oxygen carrier), and white blood cells (immune system). The normal values in a healthy person is as follows: platelets 150 to 400, hemoglobin 120 to 160, and white blood cells 4 to 11.
    It was another highlight of my day to see how my body was reacting to all the chemo, seeing if it was doing his job. On this particular day these were my numbers... platelets 39, hemoglobin 109, white blood cells 2.9. The chemo is starting to take a toll on my body, dropping all my blood levels to below normal. This is all normal and to be expected since I was having such aggressive chemo treatments.
    The next part of my morning routine was not a fun one. It was a Heparin needle in my belly (this is to prevent clotting since I was laying in bed all day.) It would come at the same time as my breakfast at 9am. Since I was tube fed at this point that was just warmed up Boost drink through my nose. The first time I didn't know what to expect. I thought "Oh just a little needle in my stomach, I can handle that, I'm a tough hockey player. I had a needle drilled into my hip bone and bone marrow taken out, this will be nothing." Well was I ever wrong! I'm pretty sure I yelled every curse word in the English language, maybe even a little French. Needless to say I came to dread every morning at 9am. I didn't even want to have my breakfast since I knew what was coming right after that. It wasn't even an enjoyable breakfast, warm milk like substance running through a tube in your nose.
    After breakfast and Heparin shot the next routine was to sit and wait for the Doctors to make their rounds and tell us the plan for the day. They would usually be there between 9:15 and 10am. Some mornings they would come and interrupt my Boost breakfast, further delaying the Heparin shot and further increasing my anxiety. If you think it is intimidating to talk to one doctor, picture 3 to 5 doctors standing around your bed drilling you with questions.
    On this day we were waiting for the Doctors to come in and make the decision whether I needed another platelet transfusion before trying another round of ATRA chemo. That was the plan, 2 platelet transfusions folllowed by another try of the ATRA. The doctors were hoping that my body was stronger now and could handle the treatment this time around.

These pictures give you a better idea what a PICC line is!

Hospital days...

    In my last post I was put on a ventilator to give my lungs and body a rest. This was supposed to be for 24 hours, however the fluid has remained on my lungs so they have decided to keep me on for one more night so I could rest more easily. My brother, Dale would stay at the hospital with me this night as all I was doing was sleeping and sedated enough to not act like a little brat. Because of the ventilator tube in my throat I am unable to talk but can respond to questions by squeezing hands, 1 squeeze yes, 2 means no.
    I actually made it through the previous night without acting up! Little did everyone know that I was just plotting my next stunt...
    The date is now August 7th, 2009. The doctors have decided that the ventilator has given my body enough of a rest since my vitals are much stronger and it may be time for it to come out!
    Time for my next stunt, although I was unable to talk I could hear everything. I heard that the ventilator was going to come out. Well not exactly, but that's all I heard. I decided to help the doctors and nurses out. Since my hands were no longer restrained because I had behaved the prior day and night, I grabbed that tube and was ready to pull it out on my own.  Maybe not such a good idea... the nurse, Mom and Dale rushed to my bedside and grabbed my hands. It took all three of them to unpry my fingers... Damn so close!
    I was mistaken I guess, I thought the ventilator was going to come out right away. Nope, wrong. The plan was to gradually change the level of support I was receiving. So it was time to prove them wrong. I was switched to the lowest level of support and breathing well on my own.
    I guess I needed to eat somehow, and since they had a stupid tube down my throat the plan was to insert a feeding tube through my nose. Great!! (sense the sarcasm) Time to act up again...
    While the nurse was inserting the feeding tube through my nose she had the help of a second nurse to hold my hands. She didn't know who she was dealing with, as she only had a loose grip on my hands. I broke free of her hold and began yanking out all of my IV tubes. The nurse had to pry off one finger at a time and then reinsert the ones that I had pulled out. After a stern scolding and warning that the restraints would come back I decided to behave and be a good girl. (I wonder if I was thinking that if I was a bad enough patient if they would just get fed up with me and send me home.)
    The ventilator was finally removed after only a couple hours. I was breathing well enough on my own and my vitals were stable. I was alert and sitting upright in my bed answering one word answers to the doctor's questions. 
    Dale had briefly left the hospital to go pick up his girlfriend at the time, Ashley (now his wife). Even though he had spent the prior evening with me and had been at the hospital along with my Mom, and Dad everyday since I was admitted, I forgot who he was when he and Ashley returned. I asked politely that he leave my room since I did not know who this strange man was. Ashley was allowed to stay, even though this was probably the 3rd or 4th time I had met her in my life. I can only imagine how this crushed Dale's spirits. He had been at the hospital everyday. I'm sure the thought ran through his mind that his only sister may not ever remember who he was. Dale was crushed and left the room and let Ashley have her visit. (I'm very sorry Dale, but thankyou for respecting my wishes and leaving.)
    That night my Mom and Dad tried everything to refresh my memory on who Dale was. Nothing they said worked. It wasn't until they showed me a picture of Dale tubing behind the boat that I remembered. I loudly screamed "DALE!" It worked. I'm sure Dale was relieved to get the phone call that evening telling him that I remembed him.
   An update on my medical status... I was still receiving chemo treatments and they began to wear down on my immune system and body. At this point my white blood cells, that are responsible for your immune system were at 4.2 (they can go as low as 0.50 before it is cause for alarm.) 4.2 is low and the risk for any type of infection is increased. My visits were limited to only immediate family, although many people were trying to visit only to be turned away.
    The nurses were delivering many random gifts, stuffed animals, and cards. A couple times we had no idea who the gift was from, the nurse would just deliver a random gift. It was like having a secret admirer! I loved all the surprises! The nurses were amazed with how popular I was. I think it's just because I'm so loveable! haha jk :)

**I would like to personally thank everyone who came to visit and was turned away! I would also like to thank everyone for the wonderful gifts and well wishes! That was the highlight of my day everyday, reading all the cards and receiving all the gifts!**