Back home

Hi everybody - Tony here. We're all sitting in the family room right now watching some tennis, relaxing. Just before this, we all went outside to hang with the neighbors for a while for Halloween, catching up with each other and getting visits now and then from many boldly dressed but soft-spoken neighborhood kids.

We left the hospital to fly home around noon today, after meeting with both our nurse practitioner and Dr. McDermott. As always, Dad was diligently coordinating between Boston and Cincinnati to find the quickest and most expedient way to get along with treatment, which was no easy task considering all the strain we were under today and yesterday.

At this point it has to be said that the people at Beth Israel Deconess were all excellent - attentive, professional, compassionate ready with answers and always ready to help. And although we didn't leave in the best of circumstances, at least we feel like we've gotten the best help we can get, and thankfully Mom is returning in better condition than when she left on Sunday.

The flight was blessedly uneventful, and we arrived in Cincinnati greeted by Andrea's warm and loving smile. We all hugged and then were out and on our way back home, sweet home. Now we'll all be home together till Sunday.

On Friday we meet again with the doctors, and in the meantime we'll all work on getting Mom to move from smooth to more solid foods. Her appetite has been improving daily since we started in Boston, so we're hoping this keeps up on an upward trend. Thank you Wan, Mom enjoyed your ice cream tonight.

Thanks everybody for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Talk to you again soon.

Much love,

LJA&T

A Disappointing Change in Plans

The news from the CT scan was not good. Dr. McDermott came in this morning and explained that Linda's trouble with eating and nausea is likely due to the tumor in her abdomen pushing against her large intestines. He told us that this tumor, as well as the tumors in her lungs are growing much faster than anyone expected. For this reason, he recommended against continuing the IL-2 treatment. He said that even if effective, it might not act quickly enough and we would lose precious weeks waiting to see what would happen.

The other treatments, such as Sutent, can shrink the tumors and in some cases have worked for a couple of years, but do not have the chance of a permanent, long term solution that we were hoping to get from the IL-2. So for now, they recommended that we head back to Cincinnati and they will contact our oncologists there to work out an effective treatment plan as soon as possible. So we will return tomorrow.

This is all disappointing news, but we are not giving up, and we know you won't either. And we will need your support now more than ever.

Luv ya all,

Linda, Jim, Tony and Andrea

One Step Backward

Well, we made it to Boston last night just fine, and "checked in" to the hospital this morning. The surgeon even put the line in and everything was a go for the first injection at 3pm. But Linda started getting nauseous again around noon and everyone's antennae went up. Dr. McDermott felt it was unusual for her to still be nauseous after all this time, so he wanted Linda to get an abdominal xray just to see if there might be some sort of blockage in her digestive system. The xray didn't happen till 3:30, and it came back inconclusive, so now they want to do a CT scan. That won't get read until tomorrow morning, so that means no IL-2 tonight. Worst part is, Linda has to drink that awful Barium solution. The bottle is more than she's had to drink all day today, but she's being a trooper about it, as always.

The blood tests also showed a very low hemoglobin level. It's 6, and it was 8 when she left the hospital last time, and normal is more like 12. Linda's always been anemic, but this was really low. They feel this may also explain her fatigue, and they plan to give her blood when we get back after the CT scan. It would be great if that helped.

On the plus side, Tony's here! He arrived safely around 1:30, and has been running errands and taking care of Mom. Running errands is more complicated than it sounds. The apartment that Tony, Andrea and I will be alternating evenings in is part of the hospital arrangements, and because they are sometimes used by bone marrow transplant patients, there is nothing, nothing in the apartment. No sheets, no pillows, no shower curtains, not even shower curtain rings. So Tony was on a scavenger hunt. Fortunately there's a Bed, Bath and Beyond up the road, so we're all set for the week now.

So now we hope for the best tomorrow. I'm not sure how I'm going to get thru the week myself-- I've only got one fingernail left. There's no way it's going to last the rest of the week.

We'll let you know what we find out tomorrow.

No News is Good News

I said I'd check in so here I am. Eat, sleep; sleep, eat; sleep, sleep. We also walked halfway up the street this morning, a new record since we got home last week. Everything we do right now is focussed on getting on the plane Sunday afternoon. We're both a little nervous and hope that nothing comes up to change our plans. Also, once we get there we'll get to see Tony and Andrea! Please keep your fingers crossed with us. Those of you who are flexible, toes too.

Luv ya,

Linda and Jim

Wednesday Night

Hi everybody,

Jim here. Sorry for not posting recently, but there's not a lot to report right now. Linda spends most of her time sleeping and, thank goodness, eating. Today was the second day in a row that she ate 3 meals. The biggest problem right now is her fever, which is not that uncommon with cancer. It's mostly low grade, but once the Tylenol wears off it can go up to 101. We hope to start reducing some of the meds (nausea, heartburn, decongestant, diarrhea) as the week progresses, with the hope that we can be down to just Tylenol by the time we leave for Boston. Patty, if you have any suggestions don't be shy. I'll probably check in again Friday night.

Night all, Luv ya,

Linda and Jim

One Step Forward...

Hi, everyone! It's Linda this time. I thought this blog would be written from Boston this evening, but that is not the case. When we consulted on the phone this morning with Virginia, the nurse practitioner, and told her of my condition at this point, she suggested that maybe we delay the next round for a week so that I could be in a stronger position when starting next Monday. If we just delayed it a day this week, it would cause their weekend staff to be off schedule. I was still feeling rather weak and tired this morning, so I agreed that delaying a week would give me a better chance all around for the next round of treatments.
Of course all this meant changing airplane and hotel reservations, both for us and the kids who were going to come in shifts this week. Jim has been so patient in doing all this. Thank goodness I have him to take care of all of the details!
So now I have a few days to stay home, rest, and try to EAT to get my strength back. I really haven't f
elt like eating anything this week, so now I'm hoping to enjoy the good meals in the refrigerator downstairs, made by wonderful friends and neighbors. As always, thanks for every act, whether small or large that any of you have done for our family. There's no thank you note big enough to include all of our appreciation and love.
Linda and Jim

Linda's Feeling Better

Alright, maybe not well enough to go zip lining, but better. Still very tired and not much of an appetite. She's getting around pretty well, and while no one is looking forward to doing this all again on Tuesday (we leave tomorrow), she is looking forward to getting it over with.

BTW, the picture is from our vacation to Alaska in July. Linda is about 100 feet in the air above the rain forest in Ketchekan, zipping between two trees about 300 yards apart. For those of you who didn't know, Linda is afraid of heights, so this was an especially big deal.

Wish us well on the trip. We'll be in touch, if not tomorrow then definitely Tuesday.

Love Ya,

Linda and Jim

Day Four

Quite a lot of progress today. Linda ate breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ok, ok, breakfast was half a bowl of cheerios, lunch was soup and dinner was soup, but we're celebrating anyway. Lots of force-fed Ensure in between as well. We cut way back on the nausea meds that were making her drowsy all the time. We also went outside and walked around the circle 3 times.

Breathing is still a chore for her. We were able to find a Pulse Oximeter like they have in the hospital that measures oxygen levels in your blood. I think that convinced her to take this deep breathing stuff more seriously, and by the end of the evening she was able to maintain 95%--not great, but better than it was earlier in the day.

So we're looking forward to tomorrow. Solid food, here we come!

Linda and Jim

Third Day

Well, the anti-nausea meds seems to be working. Today was the first day Linda kept everything down. But (there's always a but) the anti-nausea meds cause so much drowsiness that she's barely able to stay awake. Virginia, the Nurse Practioner from Boston actually called us today when she heard from Dr. Glotzbecker about our problems yesterday. Between her conversation and a later call we made to the on call Oncologist, we decided to cut back a little on the Ativan and see if we can keep her awake tomorrow. You can't imagine how relieved I was to actually see her eating something for the first time in three days (thanks for the soup, Wan).

Breathing is becoming a problem again. With so much sleep and so little movement, her lungs aren't getting much exertion. Once she gets some strength back and starts moving around more, I'm hopeful this problem goes away.

It's hard to believe we are actually going back on Monday to start the second round on Tuesday. Virginia told us to call on Monday morning to let them know how Linda was doing, and they could always move it back a bit. I guess we'll see how the weekend goes.

Two new blog developments--I've fixed the time stamp at the bottom of the post, which was driving me crazy, and more importantly, I think I've fixed the comment option so you don't have to sign-up first to make a comment--I know that was driving some of you crazy. Let me know if I was successful.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers,

Linda and Jim

Second Day Home

Sorry, not very creative titles right now. We spoke with Dr. Glotzbecker in Boston about an hour ago, 6:30pm. (Yes that's right CE people, Dr. Glotzbecker's husband and Melissa Glotzbecker's husband are third cousins). She was not as concerned about Linda's constant nausea as we were. She said one day was not unusual, but that after two days we should be much more aggressive with the anti-nausea medication, alternating the Compazine and the Ativan every 3 hrs round the clock, and the Zantac every 12 hrs. They gave us these pills and we should be using them, she said.
She was also relieved to hear that Linda was drinking and processing lots of water, which meant her kidney function was returning to normal. I guess we'll push the nausea meds and try again in the morning.

Luv ya,

Linda and Jim

First Day Home

Well, we'd like to tell you that Linda's feeling a lot better, but that 's not the case. She's feeling a little better, with the emphasis on "little". There have been several bouts of nausea today and last night, which not only makes it difficult for her to get any of her strength back, but also makes it difficult to keep track of which medications are staying down. She's had lots of nasal congestion which none of the doctors listed as one of the side effects, so we wonder if it isn't just good old Cincinnati seasonal allergies. Whatever it is, it's preventing her from breathing through her nose and getting a good night's sleep (or an afternoon's sleep for that matter.) Sudafed didn't work, but a nasal spray seems to be providing some relief. We'll find out for sure tonight.

We're sorry we didn't thank everyone for the cards that were sent to the hospital, but that's because they never arrived. At first we thought it had something to do with the bone marrow patients, and not bringing anything in from outside, but on the last day, we asked about it, and the nurses said they should have been delivered. We're sure the address was right, because a FedEx package arrived with a necklace (thanks Vicki and Charlotte.) They said the mail may have gotten stuck at the clinic and they'll try to retrieve it before our return. If only this was the biggest of our problems.

Linda's lungs still have some fluid, and between this and the nasal congestion, breathing is a full time job that she has to think about and not take for granted. On the plus side, we actually walked outside for a bit today, if only to the other side of the circle. Once she starts holding solid food down, things should start looking up.

We hope to have better news tomorrow.

Love ya,

Linda and Jim

Home Sweet Home

Hi everybody, Jim here. I said we'd post later so I thought I'd better check in. It's 11:30pm (I don't know why that stupid time marker at the bottom of the post is always off, but it is), and Linda is finally resting comfortably in her own bed, as I will be shortly as well.

I'm sure we have the reputation at Beth Israel Hospital as the "last minute panic family" after today. At 9am Linda's oxygen saturation level was still only 92% even with 3 l/min of oxygen going in her nose thingee all night. Once again everybody was telling us that we would be staying another day. Linda still had fluid in her lungs causing the low O2 levels, and the Lasix (now being given orally since the line had been removed) would not act quickly enough to decrease the fluid levels. They could administer it through a seperate IV, but the Nurse Practicioner said excessive urination might result, which would not be good for a plane ride. On the other hand, traveling with low oxygen saturation levels could cause respiratory distress on the flight home which would not be good either. Better to wait until tomorrow. But after everything that happened this week, we knew better than to cancel the plane reservations. Around 11am Linda used the restroom for the umpteenth time, and we forgot to put the O2 back on (the line doesn't reach to the restroom). It had been off for 15 minutes when Dr. McDermott showed up. Everybody decided, what the heck, let's check the O2 again. With everybody in the room (McDermott, Virginia the NP, Gretchen the nurse), she registered 94% with no O2! So Dr. McDermott suggest gettting out of bed later on and checking it once more as she's walking down the hall. So around 1pm we do just that, and Gretchen now gets a reading of 97%. We finally get the all clear sign, and Virginia started writing all the prescriptions for home (seven of them), Gretchen started writing the discharge instructions, and I started throwing everything in suitcases. (I swear, after a week it looked like a family of gypsies had moved into the room. Come to think of it, that's about what happened.) Hugs all around for everybody as we leave.

The trip to the airport and the plane ride home on one of Comair's toy airplanes were not the most comfortable for Linda, but she made it without incident. If only we had thought to take some anti-nausea medication before we left the hospital. We finally pulled on to Trestle Drive around 8:30pm, and another Good Samaritan Neighbor (Cindy Enger this time), stayed with Linda while I ran to the pharmacy to fill the prescriptions. Our front porch was already decorated for Halloween, with lit Jack o' Lanterns, flowers, and balloons strewn about, and the lawn mowed. (We don't know who to thank yet, but Trestle is like Wisteria Lane, secrets don't keep forever.)

It hard to believe we only get 5 days of recuperation before we head back to Boston next Monday to do this again. But if it works, it will all be worth it. Sometime over the next few days, I'll try to explain what the IL-2 treatment is expected to do. But not now. Now I'm going to bed. I'll let you know how Linda's doing in the morning.

Thanks everybody, your friendship means the world to us.

Linda and Jim

O Happy Day!

We're outta here! It was touch and go with the blood oxygen levels but it's 1:30p and we're leaving for the airport. More later tonight.

Love ya,

Linda and Jim

Slowly but surely

Sorry this post is so late, but Google's blogger service was down earlier.

So it's been a day of slow improvement. Linda ate a little real food for breakfast, the first time in 3 days (thanks to Dunkin Donuts). The hardest part of the day for all of us was when Andrea left at 11am. But by then at least Linda was able to get out of bed. Around 2pm they disconnected her from the constant IV drip and gave her Lasix to start reversing the fluid retention problems. There was still fluid in her lungs, so she still has oxygen to keep her blood oxygen level up. At 9pm, they've decreased the oxygen flow and the plan is by the morning it will be off completely. The other big problem right now is just being weak from lying in bed most of the time. We've taken to strolling down the hallway occasionally with a portable oxygen tank to build up her strength for the walk through the airport tomorrow (I'm sure she's going to refuse to get a wheelchair). Then lots of napping in the afternoon, and a real dinner.

If anything, Linda's getting a little impatient that it's taking longer than she wanted to start feeling better. We're really looking forward to getting on that plane tomorrow.

Love ya all,

Linda and Jim

Andrea, thank you so much. we don't know what we would have done without you.

She made it to 11

Last night, Linda's symptoms multiplied and became more severe. You know that description of IL-2 treatment that we mentioned, "Like the worst flu you'll ever have"? We finally found out what that meant. Shortly after the 10th dose at 4pm Saturday, Linda started having breathing problems. The fluid retention that had been going on started causing fluid build-up in her lungs. Her respiratory rate was in the 35-40 bpm range. She was getting very uncomfortable, so they started her on oxygen. Her bicarb level was dropping too, and they added that to her IV. She also started experiencing some of that itchiness we were warned about. So with all the nausea and diarrhea on top of everthing else, and her BP down to 92/50, Dr. McDermott recommended skipping the 11pm dose.

At 6am she wasn't feeling much better, so Dr. McDermott said to hold the 7am dose until he could personally assess her. He came in a little after noon today, and by that time her BP was back to 123/78 and her breathing was back below 30 bpm. He said he would recommend one more dose, but since the symptoms would likely return, that would be enough. 11 doses was a lot according to him, and he is satisfied when patients get at least 10. Despite her evident distress, she told the doctor she was ready for another one, and she took her eleventh dose at 1:15pm.

Through the night and all day today, Linda has been in obvious discomfort, but has never complained. She's insisted on getting up to walk around several times today even though she can only make it 50 ft or so, because the doctor said it would help clear the fluid in her lungs. She's been a real inspiration to us, as always.

It's about 6pm, and she's resting, but not exactly comfortably. We're all looking forward to the symptoms subsiding, as they hopefully should later this evening or tomorrow. Monday should be a day of recovery and we hope we get to make the 4pm flight home Tuesday. It will be nice to be back with family and friends, although thanks to Al Gore and his Internet, it's like you've been with us through it all.

Luv ya,
Linda, Jim & Andrea

Ten doses down, four to go! (hopefully)

Hey everyone, Andrea here. Mom's sleeping. It's Day Four of treatments and things are still going relatively well. She has not yet had to miss a dose and the expected side effects still haven't been too bad. She continues to maintain her normal positive attitude, and has shown temendous strength and will-power. She is determined to get in as many doses as possible to improve her chances of having a positive response to the treatment. Everyone out there who is pulling for her owes her a BIG "thank you!" when she returns to Cincinnati, as she is going through all this for all of her loved ones as much as for herself.

On to the side effects: IL-2 causes capillary leakage and temporary reduced kidney function, which causes weight gain and skin redness and irritation. For all of you who have always wanted to fatten her up, Linda currently weighs 14 pounds more than normal! (Don't get too excited, it's just fluid and she'll lose it fast). Her skin is glowing like she has a sunburn, but so far the expected itchiness has not been too bad. The nurses keep telling us to look out for strange dreams, as hallucinations caused by neuro-toxicity are one of the reasons why some patients have to skip a dose of IL-2. Linda keeps telling them that she always has funny dreams, so that would not be unusual for her!

It seems that the most frustrating thing for her so far is not having an appetite at all, despite taking medication for nausea. She wants to eat, and really misses eating, but doesn't have much of a stomach for it. If we can time it right and she can eat soon after taking her nausea medication, she has been able to put down a few bites. On this topic the nurses say to eat as much or as little as she wants, and not to worry if she doesn't eat. Most IL-2 patients don't eat much during their hopital stays.

This morning Linda said that as bad as she felt, she actually felt better than she did when she first arrived at the hospital. However as the day has gone on, it's now getting to be neck and neck.

Jeff and Fran, college friends who now live in Boston, stopped by for a visit today. It was great to see them and have other visitors in the room besides the nurses!

Linda is still sleeping a lot (which is very good for her), but today she also has felt up for playing Yatzee and Set, finally finishing that movie (thanks David T), and writing a thank-you card or two. She also enjoyed the CD you made for her, Susan. Thanks!

To everyone: Thanks again for all of your love and support. It gives strength to us all.

Linda checking her blog

Two of Linda's nurses, Amanda and Gretchen

Still hangin in there

Today has been much like yesterday. Medicines, IVs, a shower, a little food, and lots of waiting. At around 8:30 this morning the nurse said that Linda was to receive a blood transfusion because of a low red blood cell count (anemia) which showed up on her 4:00 AM blood tests. This just involved Linda signing another waiver and the nurse running one more line into her catheter. It took about three hours total. The various liquids they are pumping into Linda are shown in the picture (taken this morning). The doctor said that the anemia was mild, but it is standard procedure to give a transfusion in the case of anemia during IL-2 because the treatment seems to work better when patients have a higher red blood cell count.

The doctors still say to expect worse side effects tomorrow and Sunday, but said that Linda is doing very well, relatively speaking.

Otherwise, Linda has passed the time playing Set and Boggle with Andrea, watching a movie and TV, working on a Sudoku puzzle, reading e-mails and blog responses, eating a little, and sleeping. We are all looking forward to the Red Sox game tonight (sorry, Tom). On another note, Jim and Andrea have both had a chance to take advantage of the hospital workout gym, which was a nice stress relief for both.

Thanks again to everybody for checking in. It's so nice to feel connected from so far away!

Love you all!
Linda, Jim, and Andrea

So far, so good

It's around 5 PM and Linda just got her fourth IL-2 treatment. Ten more to go (we hope). The first one was certainly the most exciting. About an hour after we last posted, Linda got the first and most severe of the side effects so far, namely "the rigors". This consisted of severe chills and uncontrollable shaking from head to toe. We were warned of these ahead of time and called the nurse as soon as they began. The nurse hurried in with warm blankets and a demerol IV. The rigors lasted for about 20 minutes total until the demerol took effect. Andrea and Jim held her hands and legs to keep her on the bed.

Needless to say, we were all relieved when that was over, but a little nervous about the next injection, which would be at 2 AM. For that reason, Jim and Andrea both spent the night in the hospital. Fortunately, the rigors have not returned. Apparently it is most common with the first injections.

Other side effects she has experienced are slight nausea, temperature changes, fatigue, and hypotension (low blood pressure), all of which have been managed quite quickly by the nurses so far. We hear these and other side effects get worse on the third and fourth days.

We are extremely impressed with the care here so far. The nurses have all been very friendly and helpful, and are well-equipped and experienced to handle the side effects of IL-2. We have a double room to ourselves so between the second bed and a cot, we are quite cozy in here. Between 8-hour injections, 4-hour vital-sign-checking, and 6-hour meds, Linda didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but rested well this afternoon for about 4 hours. She also was able to take a shower this morning which was very refreshing for her.

We REALLY enjoy reading all of your comments and e-mails. We keep the blog up all the time, and whenever a new one comes in, we make sure to read it aloud to each other right away. They are morale boosters, for sure. It's great to know how many people are out there pulling for Linda.

We apologize for the phantom e-mail that was sent to some of you this morning. We accidentally posted a blank blog and then removed it when we discovered the error.

By the way, thanks Jack and Joe for the care package. As you can see, the nail polish made it to the hospital.

Love you all,

Linda, Jim, and Andrea

Another Roller Coaster Ride

What a day. Linda ate dinner (quite a lot) and kept it down with no problem. She was feeling really good as we went to sleep, with big plans for the next day. Around 3am, Linda thought she should take some Tylenol just to get ready for the morning. The night-shift nurse decided to take her temp first, and it was 102! Checked it again, 102.1. Once again, that was it. The nurse said a temp that high was a sign of some type of infection, and they won't give IL-2 under those curcumstances. Besides, IL-2 raises the body temp, and you can't start with a temp that high. She told us how sorry she was, but they would draw blood for 24 hr blood cultures and see if they could identify the type of infection. She said they would send us home with antibiotics and wait until the infection is gone. So at 4am we called Andrea and told her not to come. At 7am I started looking for flights back to Cincinnati. Needless to say, we were numb by this time.

At 8:30am, the Nurse Practioner came in. She asked, "Ready to go?". We thought she meant to leave, but she was talking about STARTING TREATMENT! What the heck? She said she spoke with Dr. McDermott, and they were convinced that Linda's white blood cell count was normal, and the fever was not due to infection. They drew blood again to make sure, and checked her temp at 10:00am (No tylenol for 6hrs)- this time it's 98.1. At 10:30 we call Andrea back and tell her it's back on. She drives to the airport at 10:40 and makes the 11:20 flight.

We would be more excited, but now they can't start until the surgeon installs the catheter in her chest where all the medication is administered. They only schedule this for the first day (yesterday), so the surgeon is busy all day today and can't come up until 4pm! ARGHHH!

Now at least Linda is feeling better, both physically and mentally. She eats a big breakfast and lunch and feels much stronger. The surgeon eventually shows up and starts installing the catheter just as Andrea walks in the room. It's now 6:45pm and the first IL-2 dose is finally being administered. Now it's really time to pray....

Jim and Linda

Nothing's ever easy....

It was not a good weekend for Linda. In addition to the persistent low grade fever and fatigue, she developed a bladder infection on Sunday. On Monday as we were at the airport ready to go, the flight was delayed one and a half hours till 6:45pm. Then she got nauseous on the plane, the first of several episodes Monday evening and Tuesday morning. Diarrhea began Tuesday morning as well. So by the time we arrived at the hospital, she was pretty much a mess. The nurse practitioner was on the fence about her starting the treatments, and when she heard about the bladder infection (and the fact that she was already taking antibiotics), that was it. As Linda was in the bathroom throwing up again, the NP said there was no way she would be able to start IL-2 injections in her condition. She said under normal circumstances, they would have sent her home and started some other week, but since we came from out of town, they didn't even want her traveling on a plane in her condition. So Dr. McDermott admitted her and started treating her nausea. He also ordered the blood tests and urinalysis to see what the extent of her infection was.
Anyway, by the afternoon, Linda was feeling much better. The tests all came back negative, that is to say that the antibiotics she took Sunday and Monday must have cleared up the bladder infection, and she thankfully didn't show signs of dehydration. She's started eating again, and our guess now is that she caught the 24-48 hr stomach virus that had been going around Cincinnati last week- at least that what we hope.
It's 6pm now, and assuming she continues to improve overnight, they plan to start the injections tomorrow afternoon, and just delay everything by a day. The big concern is that if she starts the process in a weakened state, she will not be well enough to get the full round of injections. So we wait and hope. Linda is right here in the room with me, and wants everyone to know she is feeling ok and looking forward to tomorrow. Your thoughts and prayers are deeply appreciated. We'll post again as soon as we have more information.

Love,

Jim & Linda

Three days to go!

Hello, all!
This will probably be the last post until we arrive at the hospital on Tuesday. Fortunately, things have calmed down around here lately. Jim is feeling much better now and we're just waiting and packing for the trip to Boston.
Some of you have asked for the hospital address. It's:

BIDMC
330 Brookline Ave.
7 Stoneman
Boston, MA 02215
Attn: Linda Wimmers

FYI, there are people in the same area undergoing bone marrow transplants, so flowers are prohibited. If there are any questions or you just need to get in touch with us, Jim's cell # is 513-254-7089 and mine is 513-720-5575. Andrea will be there too, and her cell # is 910-620-6020.

We plan on being temporary Red Sox fans while we're in Boston, so it should be an exciting time to be there.

I'm going into this with a very positive attitude because I've been buoyed by the love and prayers of so many of you already. I know that your support will get me through.

Love ya! Linda

Another interesting day for the Wimmers family

First and foremost, the nurse from Boston emailed Jim that "Linda has nothing between her ears". That's code for the CT of the brain was clear, and I am good to go next week.

While were in Boston Sunday and Monday, Jim developed an abcess on his tailbone that got bigger and more painful as the days passed. (You can imagine what the plane ride home was like for him.) Anyway, he got it taken care of this morning at Christ Hospital with the help of yet another Good Samaritan/neighbor, Tom Andrews.

If this weren't excitement enough, Andrea called this afternoon and told us about her day trip to Bald Head Island, where as part of her job as Recreation Director for the City of Wilmington, she was taking some older women on a tour and a walk up the Lighthouse there. Near the top, one of the participants (a 79 year old woman) collapsed, and Andrea at first feared she was dead. Paramedics were called, confirmed that she wasn't (dead), but still took another hour to get her back down. The woman turned out to be fine after a trip to the hospital, but Andrea was obviously shaken by the ordeal.

Jim and Andrea then proceeded to argue over who had the worst day. At least Jim was able to take Vicodin.

We're hoping for a liitle less excitement as we get ready for the Real Trip to Boston next Monday.

Love to you all,
Linda

Tuesday, October 2nd

Hi everybody, this is Jim. Linda is out tonight, so I thought I would send a quick note to let everyone know what hapened in Boston yesterday. Bottom line--Linda passed all her tests that we got the results for: the ECG, Pulminary Function, Stress test, blood work. The only test that matters that we didn't see was the CT Scan of her brain that they did at 5pm Monday night. Since she had an MRI of her brain only 3 weeks ago that was clear, we are hopeful they won't find anything new this time either. They said they would let us know today or tomorrow. The staff was great, and all our tests happened within 10 minutes of the scheduled time.
We got on the 6am flight this morning and are back in Cincinnati. The plan now is to go back up this coming Monday to start the IL-2 Treatments Tuesday. Thanks for all your prayers and support. Love ya,

Jim