Seattle or bust

Seattle is ready for Jill and her brother, Harley. Their first Seattle appointment is next Wednesday, 9/28. Harley will undergo 3 days of testing and then return home. Jill’s testing is more extensive and will keep her in Seattle until the transplant. So, Jill and Sylvia will fly there Tuesday and stay for the duration. If all goes as scheduled, Harley will return in mid-October for five days of stem cell collection and Jill will have her transplant. After the one day transplant, Jill will have to stay in Seattle for at least 100 more days. Everyone will initially stay at a nearby hotel until long term housing becomes available – contact information will be posted later.

To prepare for the (gray, rainy) Seattle experience, Jill has all of the blinds closed and is standing in a cold shower for several hours a day. Those Goretex shoes sure keep the water out!!

Scott

Festival date

Jill saw her doctor Friday. He indicated that the scan showed almost no cancer remaining. He will follow up with the doctor in Seattle to discuss how treatment will proceed. In the meantime, Jill and Scott had fun Saturday at the Hyde Park Festival in Boise – see picture. This was the same festival where they had their first date 3 years ago.

No Scan, but feeling better

Jill’s PET scan was re-scheduled for this Monday, so we don’t know anything more regarding Seattle. Jill will see her doctor this coming Friday about the results.

Meanwhile, Jill had her best day in 3 weeks on Saturday. She remained upright all day and she enjoyed several nice visits from friends and family. Still some occasional dizziness and nausea, but she is obviously feeling much better. It is also worth noting that Jill is sleeping well at night – which hasn’t always been the case.

A Slow Heal

The past 2.5 weeks have been a miserable "slow heal" for Jill since her last chemo. The nausea has mostly subsided, but she continues to suffer from migraine type headaches shortly after she sits or stands. This is a typical spinal tap side effect. Heal times vary from several days to several weeks and rest is still the best remedy. The Labor Day weekend was low key - she read a book, watched movies, played cards and ate her birthday cake. Jill is scheduled for a scan this week and will meet with the doctor Friday to review the results and determine the plan for Seattle. We will share what we learn.