Mixed bag...my mom

Again, I am sorry for not blogging on this sooner, but this past week has been one of the busiest and craziest since my transplant. My parents were out in California for one of dad's business trips, and arrived home a week ago Sunday, on June 29th. Near the end of the trip, Mom noticed she had developed a number of unexplained bruises and some worse-than-normal fatigue, so she made a dr. appt. for the day after they returned, on Mon. June 30th. When she got to the dr. office, they discovered that her platelets were dangerously low - about 3-5,000 (normal is 150K - 400K), and she was told to go directly to the local hospital in Voorhees, and not to bother going home to get her toothbrush or finish unpacking from her trip. To make a long story short, she was transferred to the Univ. of Penn. hospital in Philadelphia on Wed., and is now awaiting the results of a bone marrow biopsy done over the weekend. It looks like she now has some type of leukemia, or perhaps a pre-leukemic condition (sometimes called myelodysplasia or myelodysplastic disease/syndrome). A definitive result should be forthcoming as a result of the biopsy results later today. Mom has a lot of bruises in various places, and is pretty weak. They had a hard time getting an IV started because of all the bruising and bleeding, but they finally were able to get a PICC line started in her left arm, which they are using to give her whole blood transfusions, as well as numerous platelet transfusions while they await the diagnosis and then come up with a treatment plan.
Lisa, the kids, and I drove down on Thursday, and were able to visit with Mom in the hospital on Fri. and Sat., before driving back north as far as Claremont on Sun. and spending the night there, as I had my own dr. appt. at Dartmouth on Mon. AM (yesterday). My appts. went very well, and other than being a little dry and needing to increase my water intake, I am doing very well. I was even able to drop one of my medications completely while backing down on another. Every other week visits will continue through the end of the summer, but we really have entered a maintenance or watch-and-wait mode, for which I am overjoyed.
The timing of getting my "all-clear" scan, and then having Mom come down with this a little more than a week later is a shock, to say the least, but I truly believe God has a plan and is going to use my experiences to benefit others - I just didn't know it would someone so close to me and happen so quickly after getting "out of the woods" myself. I was able to have some wonderful, sweet conversations with Mom, as well as the rest of my family while we were all together this weekend, and while we are now back home and Maine and trying to catch up on rest and recoup some, we are also preparing for perhaps another trip down to NJ in the near future.
Please pray with us for:
1) wisdom for the doctors and nurses as they diagnose and care for Mom, and as they come up with a treatment plan.
2) clear thinking for both of my parents, as they consider the doctor's words and make some hard decisions.
3) encouragement, clear thinking, and helpfulness for the rest of us in the family, that we might draw closer together through this experience. Patience for each of us as we deal with the news in different ways.
4) continued physical strength and endurance for myself, Lisa, and especially my dad, Richard, as he commutes to work in Baltimore while trying to see Mom as much as possible in the hospital in Philadelphia.
If you're interested in sending mail to Mom in the hospital, the address is:
Barbara Basner
Rhoads Rm. 6017
Hospital of the Univ. of Penn.
3400 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104

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If you do go to visit, please remember that NO fresh flowers OR fruit are allowed on Mom's floor.
Thanks for your continued love, support, prayers, and encouragement.

Jon