Week 1

"Its been one week since I was admitted to OHSU to start chemo treatment of the relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Just prior to that, life was pretty much normal, going around doing my errands, cooking dinner, attending church activities and wrapping up work here and there. I was enjoying the simple things, thinking how uneventful in general everything had been and grateful for it. 

Obviously things didn't stay that way."

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Husband Roy resuming the blog, as Ruth feeling too uncomfortable to write:

Ruth's first symptoms looking back on things were the fact she was lagging behind during walks with myself and our 7 yr old daughter, Naomi.  Then she noticed unusual bruising.  At that point, she had labs done that showed her platelet count to be low without an explanation.  The next morning, her local hematologist Dr Christie Moore told her that 53% of her white cells in blood were leukemia cells. This was hard news to swallow.  Ruth felt like her recovery from her first bout of leukemia was already a miracle, and would God give her a second?  We knew the odds would be even tougher this time.   

We had to make a quick decision as to where to seek medical care.  Her biggest priority was providing stability for Naomi.  We wanted to keep her in school, where she had just made best friend, and keep her in her weekly activities.  Ruth also wanted to be close to her own family and to the support of her friends and church.  So we decided not to return to MD Anderson in Texas, where she had most of her care during her first bout of leukemia.  We instead decided to stay home in Portland and go to OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) while seeking consultation from her previous doctor at MD Anderson.  

We pulled Naomi from school the next day to do a "Yes Day" as that would be the last chance in a while that Ruth could just be Mom.  Ruth also got a "Yes" of being outdoors in the Columbia Gorge one last time before being stuck indoors.

The next day, she met her new OHSU Hematologist, Dr Jessica Leonard; after which, was convinced she made the right choice.  Dr Leonard had clearly read her chart and listened to our concerns.  She was willing to talk to Ruth's MD Anderson doctor and together, they formulated a plan.  It consisted of several rounds of chemotherapy + immunotherapy, then possibly CAR-T (a new breakthrough innovation you can Google), with the goal of getting to Stem Cell Transplant.  

She was then admitted to the Hospital the next day to begin her battle with leukemia.  

Chemotherapy was nothing that she hadn't been through before, but there was a bit of PTSD from being back in the sterile confines of the hospital.  Additionally, she went in with a cold and tested positive for the cold virus, so was confined to a room all week.  We had to fight to get an exception to leave the floor gown/gloved/masked to visit Naomi.  

So it was tough emotionally.  Physically, she quickly got tired of being swollen from IV fluids, steroids and being tethered to an IV pole all the time.  Sleep was poor, and hospital food was horrible.  Fortunately, a meal train was started and many people brought her some of her favorites.  Her poor husband was making runs to Spaghetti Factory and to Best Baguette for specific last second cravings.  

The immunotherapy part scared her a bit. She started shaking vigorously at the start, due to destruction of cancer cells, so the team backed off the drug dosing. She been ok since other than dealing with headaches.

She's hopefully one day away from discharging after round 1, and she'll be stuck wearing a bag infusing continuous immunotherapy into her.  It will follow her into the bathroom, into the shower, and into bed...making clicking noises all night long -at least that's what she remembers from the same drug last time.  But at least she'll get to sleep in her own bed soon :)

I want to thanks for all those who have sent Ruth messages and prayers in support.  Some have visited.  Some have helped out with shuttling Naomi too and from places.  Many have brought food and even groceries for home.  Some have walked my poor dog Scout, who's getting the least attention of all.

As far as logistics going forward, meals are covered for February.  We'll get the meal train link out for March at some point.  As far as playdates and helping out with transport of Naomi, and potentially Ruth when she is out of hospital (she'll have lots of appointments and infusions), we're creating a spreadsheet and may reach out to you.  Please be flexible.  If you want to visit, best way is to text Ruth or me.  We'll have to pace the number of visitors coming and going according to how she's feeling. 

This going to be long process.  We're relying on the "village"of people we're surrounded by, that is You, and trusting our doctors and God completely in the final outcome.