Our New (Temporary) Home

View From Our New Room

Saturday morning was nice and relaxing.  Although the nurse was in at 5AM for Will's daily lab draw, everyone else left us alone and we were able to catch up on a bit of that sleep that the previous days had stolen from us.  We had breakfast, then the nurse came in to inform us that we would be moving to a private room around the corner.  Our new room is small, but cozy.  The view is not as impressive as our previous room that overlooked one of the many impressive gardens that surround the hospital, but it's still lovely.  Everything about this hospital is amazing.  They obviously try to make the experience feel more like that of a hotel than a hospital and we are really feeling comfortable.  We are most impressed with the wood floors and painted walls that bring a home like setting to our room.  Who am I kidding? The wood floors at this hospital are better than our floors at home!  There are fountains and gardens spread throughout the building and art lines the walls that was either painted by patients or donated by people who this hospital has helped.  There is amazing healing energy here.  Everyone is overwhelmingly nice.  From the people who deliver the meal trays to the guy who pushes the wheel chair to the doctors and nurses, everyone we have met is so kind and pleasant that we feel we have wandered into Utopia. 

Model of the Expansive Hospital

Will's parents and Uncle came to visit us in the morning and we took a stroll out to the gardens.  Willie's white blood cell count is extremely low which means he has no means of fighting off an infection.  Because of this he is on what is called "nuetropenic precautions" and cannot have any fresh fruit, flowers or anything that could carry fungus or bacteria around him.  His door remains closed all the time and anyone who enters must wash their hands or apply the purel gel that is stationed at his door.  I've used enough purel in the past few days to keep the company in business.  Perhaps we will buy stock in them...



Sunday Walk in the Gardens

He has a hospital grade mask that he must wear whenever he leaves the room that has a strong filter on it to protect what immunity he has.  The mask makes him look like he may mug you at any moment and sound like Darth Vader which makes our trips out pretty exciting.  There are a lot of other people wearing these masks around the hospital.  It's hard to miss them because the filter on the mask is neon pink.  We passed a woman about Willie's age wearing the same mask and they nodded and waved to each other as they passed.  It was like watching motorcyclists pass each other on the road.  I've always thought it was funny when Willie rides his motorcycle around and waves to every motorcyclists he sees whether he knows them or not.  I didn't grow up around motorcycles and thought this practice was funny so one day I asked him why he waves
"Because we both have bikes, Missy" he said, as if I should have known where this was going "we understand each other."
The motorcycle has changed to the immunity mask, but the wave is still the same.  You wave because you understand each other.
Our walk in the garden was refreshing and it gave us a better view of the great expanse of the hospital.  I think there may be no end to it from what the eye can see.  We returned to the room and our team of doctors came in after Will's parents had left.
The diagnosis had been confirmed, they told us, and we were to begin treatment as soon as the tooth situation can get figured out.  An oral surgeon was scheduled to see us that morning, but because he hadn't come yet, we had to simply wait until his consult before we could proceed.  They had, however, made a decision about the type of chemo he would be receiving when the time comes.  Our attending physician is a cute woman with a strong accent that sounds to be from Russia.  She explained in her heavy accent that there are two types of chemo: the high dose, and the higher dose.  Because Willie is young and in good shape they want to give him the higher dose to get him into remission faster.  Of course there are risks that come with this, the greatest being damage that can be done to the heart, but after reviewing all of Will's body systems, they are confident that this is the best route for him to take.
The treatments will be given by infusion over a 4 day period.  He will likely feel fine during this time as the effects of chemo don't really take place until 7-10 days afterward.  He will remain quarantined during this time and will most likely need blood transfusions as the chemo begins to take effect.  11 days after the treatment begins he will be given another bone marrow biopsy.  The cute Asian MD who had given the terrible bone marrow biopsy the day before was in the room when they announced this.  Willie and I immediately looked at her in a way that must have been threatening enough because she laughed and said
"Don't worry Willie, I won't be doing it this time.  We'll call in some manpower to handle those hips."
There is a possibility that he could go into remission after one round of chemo so we are looking forward to this with optimism.  That means the hard part of this leg of the journey could be over in just under two weeks!  This first part of chemo that is done in the hospital is called "induction" and is when he receives the higher doses.  After he completes this, we will be able to come home and do his maintenance treatments at Enloe. 
The team answered a few more questions, but made it clear that chemo could not begin until the tooth situation was addressed which would mean waiting to hear from the oral surgeon.  We agreed to wait for his visit, hoping he would show up by the end of then night, then meet again the next day to create a game plan. 
That meant we had a relaxing night ahead of us.  We at dinner then took a walk around the hospital to look at some of the artwork that the patients here have done.  They offer in-room art classes where someone brings an impressive selection of art mediums to the patient's room and allows their creativity to take it from there.  We saw some amazing, motivational things and felt the good healing energy from all those who have endured this trial before us.  One picture in particular that spoke to me was a mix of color and shape that didn't really make any formal image.  Next to the picture was posted the scripture John 14:27.  This scripture reads: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 
This kind of peace that cannot be offered from the world is what has sustained us on this journey.  We have seen our fears disapper and our hearts become calm as we pray and experience the prayers and loving thoughts from all of you.  Words cannot express the appreciation we feel for your expressions of love and your willingness to serve and support us.  There is a timeless quote that says something to the effect that "A man is rich who has friends." If that is true, then we are millionares!
After our walk we returned to our room.  It was around 8PM and the halls were quiet.  We were startled when, after a short knock on the door, a man dressed in surgical scrubs entered the room and introduced himself as the oral surgeon. 
Do these people ever sleep?! 
He was tall and young and looks to be of African decent with long features and strong skinny fingers that seemed to wrap around my hand twice as he shook his hello.  He got straight to business and had instructed Willie to open his mouth while still standing in the middle of the room.  I thought perhaps he would have him sit down, but if there is one thing we've learned this week it is that Dr.s have no time for formalities!  Those long thin fingers poked and proded in Willie's head and I watched from behind as Will bent futher and further backword.  The surgeon continued to push and prod and ask questions without really waiting for answers.  I was sitting behind Will and couldn't help but laugh to myself as those long fingers pushed Will further backward into a back bend that would be most impressive in yoga cirlces. 
The surgeon removed his fingers and Will sprung back into proper posture.
"Those teeth have to go!" He said as he removed his gloves and opened the door "I'll see if I can schedule a surgery room for Monday."  He was half way out the door by this time and we barely had a chance to drag a question out of him before he left.  He was obviously in a hurry and told us that he would talk to our Hematology team and they could update us. 
The door closed behind him and we just looked at eachother and laughed.  He had come in an out so quickly and created such and uproar that we had to re-tell the story to eachother just to make sure it had actually happened.  As far as Stanford people go, he wasn't in the Utopia category of service, but he did smile at us before he left.  That counts for something.  We assured eachother that he must simply be busy and not a bad surgeon.  With this update we knew that there would be no treatments started on Sunday.  That meant we were in for at least one more day of rest...