Orman Lee "Santa Claus" Stanfill

On March 5th, I posted a story about meeting an honest-to-goodness Santa Claus in the waiting room before a radiation treatment. Even though he was in "off season" form, his very presence among the 5 or 6 of us there lifted our spirits as he told us how long ago and why he had become Santa Claus. Not acted as Santa, but became Santa--and addressing him by that name during the conversation was as natural as could be for all of us there.

Sad to report, but Terry came across an obit in the paper that Santa, Orman Lee Stanfill of Austell, GA, did not survive his fight with cancer and passed away on April 23rd. He was 72 years old, and survived by his wife of 49 years.

The obit included this statement: "One of his greatest joys was to see the excitement in a child's (or even an adult's) eyes when they saw him in a public place in the middle of the year. He would wait until parents had looked away and give a sly wink as the children were trying to figure out if they were truly seeing who they thought they were."

It was a privledge to meet Santa Stan and have that memory to counter all of the things I'd like to forget about this experience.


mike

More Encouraging Signs

We had the 9-day post-chemo follow up with the oncologist yesterday (4/22) and got some encouraging news from the few tests they could do in the office. Mike's blood counts are well within the normal ranges, which means he should avoid the wild drops that put him in the hospital this far out from the last chemo infusion. He was also taken off two more drugs, one of which made him very drowsy 3-4 times a day.

As always, this kind of positive news has to be tempered with the reality that the PET scan will be the definitive test when that happens in 4-6 weeks. But we will take any good news we can until that happens.

He had essentially no more scalp hair loss from this round of chemo, so he got his hair trimmed yesterday. With the shorter hair and no more white beard, he looks 10 years younger! We'll post a picture soon and you can text your votes to say whether you think he should keep this look.

The next challange now is to get him back to eating solid foods, so he'll start with broths, etc and try to work his way up to a large slice of Rosa's pizza in a few weeks.

Still a long ways to go, but both of our spirits have been boosted by yesterday's developments.

mike and terry

Still Waitin' and Watchin'

It's been five days since the third and last chemo infusion and things are going along pretty much as expected--Mike is taking it easy and sleeping a lot as the chemo takes a stronger hold. We had an optimistic visit with the radiation oncologist yesterday, who summed it up that things are going "as well as he can see" right now. Meaning, he is limited to looking only at outward signs until the more definitive tests are scheduled in the coming weeks.

mike and terry

Chemo Infusion a "non-Event"

For the record, the chemo infusion was the non-event we had hoped it would be. Mike came through it with no problems and no early signs of nausea. Tomorrow will give us the first sign of that as a lasting trend.

So, now we keep our fingers crossed that no side effects emerge in the next 2 weeks--while we wait to hear from the doctors about the post-treatment PET scan.

That means we need your good vibes to still keep coming, and we'll keep you posted as any new things develop on our end.

mike and terry

Time For Another Rally

After a great week at home recovering from the last stay in the hospital and getting lots of rest, Mike gets his final chemo infusion tomorrow morning (Monday, 4/13). The procedure lasts for about 6 hours and it usually uneventful. It's what happens in the following 2-3 weeks that is most critical.

The infusion will cause Mike's white blood cell count to drop to around zero (the nadir) in about 10-14 days, at which time he's most at risk for another infection. If all goes well, the nadir will not last long and he'll start to regenerate his own cells again--which will be the real start on the road to recovery.

Sometime around late May he'll get another PET scan which will indicate how many Prairie Dogs are still present in his body. The 'target' number is zero, zilch, none, nada, bumpkiss.

During this next stretch, "No news will be good news" from our standpoint, so please don't be alarmed if there are few new blogs. But, don't let that stop you from sending cards (see the picture), emails, and comments to the blog. We love to get them, and each and every one cheers us up. Those of you who have been in our home at Christmas time know that we have a "Memory Tree" that shows some of the highlights of year just ending. Boy, do we have a good start on the Memory Tree for 2009 already!

Oh, some special thanks go out to Mike's brothers, Jim and John, who visited us for 3-4 days and provided some needed help while they were here.

This is one of the most critical times in Mike's treatment plan, so if you can spare any extra good vibes over the next 2-3 weeks, they will certainly not go unused.

mike and terry

Back From The Brink

Terry's last blog gave a good description of the situation while I was in the hospital last week--along with the nurses and doctors, we watched my condition slip to very dangerous levels on several counts. We were very fortunate to have made the decision to get to the hospital the night before, so when things bottomed out we were right where we needed to be.

I can directly recall only bits and pieces of what happened from Wednesday night to Friday afternoon--most of what I know know has come from the doctors, nurses, and Terry. What I do know is that the medical personnel at Piedment Hospital saved my life more times than I can count until my own body was able to take over for itself again.

One result of this episode is that the third round of chemo has been postponed until next week, probably Monday. That will allow my blood counts to get even higher and for me to build up some additional strength. Another great decision by my docs, I think.

We'll let you know when the last chemo infusion will be, so you can crank up the good vibes once again.

My thanks go out to all of you who have emailed me with well wishes--you have no idea how much they were really needed over the last few days.

mike

End of Week 6 score: Team Mike 14, Team Prarie Dogs 12 and Team Chemo/Radiation 21

We've decided to think of this journey as a three-sided game.

During the sixth and final week of radiation treatment there are signs that team prarie dogs have been pounded, pummeled and sent packing by team chemo/radiation with the help of Mike's positive attitude. Mike's speech is better and he's able to sip some water and take a pain medicaton orally. Unfortunately, team chemo/radiation also did a number on Mike. After the initial admission to the oncology floor on Tuesday for neutropenia, he was holding his own until his temperature spiked at 103.8 and his HR increased to 170+. Mike's team of "stat" nurses hauled him to the Intermediate Care Unit on a different floor so that he could be monitored more closely. One day later, with the HR under control, numerous shots to increase the WBC count and two units of blood to treat anemia, he was allowed back in the game and readmitted to the oncology floor. There is a good chance that he will be sent home today. It all depends on how well he does after receiving two more units of blood. The third and final chemo has been delayed at least one week.

We couldn't have gotten this far with out all of the fans rooting for Team Mike, so thank you for all the positive vibes, prayers and well wishes. We need everyone to keep the rally going. Make some noise.

One last thought on how to make some noise...

I happened to notice that the label on each of the units of blood that Mike received indicated that the blood was donated by a volunteer. That meant four units given by four different people making a difference in someone else's life. So I can't think of a more tangible way to help Mike and to help other cancer patients than to donate blood and/or platelets every chance you get. Visit your American Red Cross this week and donate blood: The gift of life.

Terry

PS: I'm looking for Mike to rally this weekend and write his own post.

A "speed bump" at the end

Mike will try to post later tonight or tomorrow.

We need all the prayers, good vibes and special wishes to crank up a notch. He hit a "speed bump" last night that meant a trip to ER and finally being admitted early this morning. He has a condition called neutropenia (low white blood cell) that is the result of chemo, which will probably mean a delay in the final chemo scheduled for Monday. Very disappointing news, but understandable.

With the low blood cell count comes the possibility of an infection which is exactly what happened to Mike. He's resting comfortably and has improved today with IV antibiotics. He'll be released as soon as the WBC count rises to an acceptable level and the doctor is satisfied that the infection is under control.

In case you're wondering: The radiation train didn't stop--he was carted on a gurney downstairs earlier this afternoon. He's got two more radiation treatments after today. Yippee!