On Tuesday, my Mom got the results of her bone marrow biopsy. She finally got that biopsy in an interesting way. Her blood doctor called her last week and said "If you can get in here in the next half hour, we can do this." So we got her in. We had no idea what to expect. Woody, who has been battling (and winning) leukemia for the last two and a half years, told Mom not to worry "It's not as bad as you think it's going to be."
It wasn't. I dropped Mom off at the clinic. I couldn't go in with her, as the policies have all changed since I kept her company at her first blood transfusion a month ago. They called me when it was over and I went and picked her up. Oh, yes: the nurse had to call me because Mom put her cell phone through the laundry. It was an accident...she says. She never liked that thing.
I pulled up to the hospital door and the nurse walked Mom out. She stuck her masked face in the window of the car and said "I just have to tell you; You're mom is delightful!"
I said "She is, isn't she? Everyone thinks so!"
Mom laughed and got in the car. She said she regaled them with tales of her grandson, who was going through the same procedures so often and how much spiritual support he'd given her. Then she showed them a picture of Woody. He's 6'3", blond and blue eyed and adorable in every way. If you ordered a grandson from central casting he wouldn't be as cute as Woody. Or Zack. Or Logan. Or Finbar...my Mom has a lot of insanely cute grandsons.
Tuesday, we got the results of her biopsy. It was going to be a telephone call and she didn't want to hear bad news all by herself so Joe, Heidi, Andy and I were all there with Mom and Dad, when the Doctor called.
The news wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst, either. Mom has a condition called Myelodysplastic Syndrome, or MSD. Her bone marrow is still making blood but it's no good. The cells aren't able to mature so instead of entering the bloodstream, they're dying. The good news is there is an aggressive treatment for the condition that won't kill her. 7 days each month, she needs to go in for a dose of what is basically chemo therapy. The side effects could include fatigue and nausea but there are pills to combat both, so we won't worry about that. The bad news is this is treatment, not a cure. This will continue for the rest of her life, which we all hope will be years and years because as noted earlier, my mother is delightful.
Today, I dropped her off for her first infusion. She told me they didn't even mix up her dose of vidaza (the medication) until she was there. Then is was two subcutaneous shots in her abdomen and she was done. The whole process took only an hour and she was ready for me to pick her up. We went straight to Costco where I picked up her anti nausea meds while she waited in the car. Andy was at the apartment, keeping Dad company. We were home in time for lunch. Mom felt great and Dad looked great. It was a nice day.
Tomorrow will be a good day, too.