Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tea for Ten
Last November, at A3M's Starnight, Silent Auction, Susan Carrier asked me if I'd help her host a "Tea Party for Ten." I was skeptical but knew it was the right thing to do, since I was responsible for her being knee-deep, as she calls it, in volunteer work with A3M. (Susan, you are a valuable asset and resource to A3M!!! And... it's always a joy to be in your company!)
The winning bidder collected on this affair last Sunday. It was a blast hosting this wonderful event. To read more about the event from a much more prolific writer, see Susan's blog on my sidebar.
It was a WIN-WIN situation, with the girls having a lovely time and A3M earning additional funds to help in their mission. I believe we are planning to do this again next year, so if you are interested in bidding on this or supporting A3M, please save the date, October 18, 2009 for A3M's Starnight featuring, the talented, Lea Salonga. The event will be held at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
AMAZING LETTER!!!
If you recall, last December, my mom and I wrote letters to my bone marrow donor in Japan. We thanked her for her life-saving bone marrow donation last May 2006.
I'm so excited (crying, in fact) , as the most amazing thing just happened. I got an envelope in the mail from the City of Hope, Matching Unrelated Donors (MUD) Program. They forwarded a letter that my donor wrote to me and also one written to my mom. The letters had to go through many channels to get here... Japan Marrow Bank, US National Marrow Donor Program, City of Hope Hospital and finally to me. Turns out she lost her brother to leukemia 12 years ago. So, she wanted to help someone else struggling with the same situation. She sounds very sweet and genuinely wonderful and caring.
Although I wanted to, I can't post the letter on my blog because somebody may be able to trace it back to her. The international laws about keeping the donor and recipient anonymous are very strict and I wouldn't want to be the one to put the donor program in jeopardy. Maybe someday there will be a change in the laws, but for now, this was my one contact with her. Suffice it to say, she's happy that she could save my life and appreciates the special bond between her and I.
Thank you for following my blog. To me, this letter brings this journey around full-circle. I'll be forever grateful ......
love, nance
I'm so excited (crying, in fact) , as the most amazing thing just happened. I got an envelope in the mail from the City of Hope, Matching Unrelated Donors (MUD) Program. They forwarded a letter that my donor wrote to me and also one written to my mom. The letters had to go through many channels to get here... Japan Marrow Bank, US National Marrow Donor Program, City of Hope Hospital and finally to me. Turns out she lost her brother to leukemia 12 years ago. So, she wanted to help someone else struggling with the same situation. She sounds very sweet and genuinely wonderful and caring.
Although I wanted to, I can't post the letter on my blog because somebody may be able to trace it back to her. The international laws about keeping the donor and recipient anonymous are very strict and I wouldn't want to be the one to put the donor program in jeopardy. Maybe someday there will be a change in the laws, but for now, this was my one contact with her. Suffice it to say, she's happy that she could save my life and appreciates the special bond between her and I.
Thank you for following my blog. To me, this letter brings this journey around full-circle. I'll be forever grateful ......
love, nance
Monday, March 02, 2009
Okay, Time to Blog...
Many people have called or emailed me asking how my counts were at my appointment two weeks ago. I'm sorry, I haven't updated my blog site. But, no news is good news. My counts are holding steady. My doctor isn't worried, in fact, he said it could take years for my counts to reach normal levels...
Counts on February 17, 2009
WBC 2.9 (normal 4.0-11.0)
RBC 3.78 (normal 3.8 - 5.20)
HGB 12.3 (normal 11.5- 15.5)
PLT 93 (normal 150-350)
Speaking of "years".... at my next appointment, I'll almost be three years post transplant! Yay!!! So, we were asking Dr. Nakamura, if he'll be performing a bone marrow biopsy (bmb) to check my status as we previously discussed. Surprisingly, he decided not to do the bmb. He said we may do it at five years, unless something seems "off" in the meantime. This is good news as it is never fun to have that procedure and it proves to be expensive on my end. So, obviously, my doctor is satisfied with my progress and is not particularly worried about anything pertaining to my transplant. He is, however, keeping me on the same dosage of anti-rejection medications. This is really not a big deal in the big picture. He might reduce the dosage slightly at my next appointment! I'll be looking forward to that!
Thank you for continuing to follow my progress. I've been swamped with.. hmmmm... so many things. I haven't had the time (or energy) to email, blog or stay in contact with everybody. But, rest assured, all is well.
I hope all of you are having a great 2009, so far. Even though the economy is so bad, life is good.
Love you all, nancy
Counts on February 17, 2009
WBC 2.9 (normal 4.0-11.0)
RBC 3.78 (normal 3.8 - 5.20)
HGB 12.3 (normal 11.5- 15.5)
PLT 93 (normal 150-350)
Speaking of "years".... at my next appointment, I'll almost be three years post transplant! Yay!!! So, we were asking Dr. Nakamura, if he'll be performing a bone marrow biopsy (bmb) to check my status as we previously discussed. Surprisingly, he decided not to do the bmb. He said we may do it at five years, unless something seems "off" in the meantime. This is good news as it is never fun to have that procedure and it proves to be expensive on my end. So, obviously, my doctor is satisfied with my progress and is not particularly worried about anything pertaining to my transplant. He is, however, keeping me on the same dosage of anti-rejection medications. This is really not a big deal in the big picture. He might reduce the dosage slightly at my next appointment! I'll be looking forward to that!
Thank you for continuing to follow my progress. I've been swamped with.. hmmmm... so many things. I haven't had the time (or energy) to email, blog or stay in contact with everybody. But, rest assured, all is well.
I hope all of you are having a great 2009, so far. Even though the economy is so bad, life is good.
Love you all, nancy
