DAILY NANCY UPDATE #128

Greetings. 

This is the one hundred and twenty-eighth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I have posted-- now celebrating the fact that even though her post bone marrow transplant and brain seizure recovery continues... the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture, click SUBMIT, and follow the prompts!

SUNDAY REPORT

Inch by inch, mile by mile, the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess is making her way down the road toward full recovery.

But today... she really stepped on the gas. 

That's right... for the first time since May of 2017... Nancy got behind the wheel of a car and drove.

It's been a long time coming. And she still needs a little practice before she can fly solo at the end of the month. But her brain completely fired on all cylinders while she drove us both to run a couple of quick errands around the neighborhood. I was very impressed, and she was extremely elated-- saying it was like finally getting released from prison. 

Meanwhile, her latest checkup last week at City of Hope was her first in three weeks-- and the numbers were all great. So she's still in full remission and the meds are still slowly but surely being reduced.

In other words, I'm wildly pleased to tell you there's nothing but good news to report. But as always, we deeply appreciate your continued good vibes and prayers for continued health. She's certainly moving in the right direction, I can tell you that much. 

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #127

Greetings. 

This is the one hundred and twenty-seventh in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I have posted-- now celebrating the fact that even though her post bone marrow transplant and brain seizure recovery continues... the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture, click SUBMIT, and follow the prompts!

TUESDAY REPORT

The Holidays were pretty delicious this year. 

Not only did we have a heartfelt Hannukah celebration with our family, but after spoiling me with a Christmas Eve surprise birthday celebration that lasted from sun-up to sundown (which was no small feat for her to plan and orchestrate), I took Nancy and the kids out for dim sum in Chinatown on Christmas Day, followed by an afternoon screening of STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. In other words, we were the perfect Jews.

But the real reason I say the Holidays were delicious-- is because this time last year, we had just arrived in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico-- and Nancy was already very sick. We just didn't know it, yet. And as we know now-- things went swiftly and sharply downhill for awhile.

So for her to be in full remission one year later was a bona fide Christmas miracle.

It's truly incredible to consider all that the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess has been through. All that she's overcome. And we are all so deeply proud of her.

As for me-- well, if I'm being honest (and lord knows I've tried to do that here), I've been a bit threadbare, emotionally speaking. I guess the past year of care taking has taken a bit of a toll. But the people who matter the most have been here for me like never before, and I'm deeply grateful for that.

Our amazing daughter is home from college. And of course, the boys are here with us as well. 

Nancy's memory slowly but surely continues to improve. And soon, 2017 and all that Nancy and the rest of us have been through, will be that distant mountain I've spoken about in previous posts-- slowly receding slipping back to the horizon.

So in the name of counting blessings and moving forward, I'm not sure there's much else I can really say right now except...

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #126

Greetings. 

This is the one hundred and twenty-sixth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I have posted-- now celebrating the fact that even though her post bone marrow transplant and brain seizure recovery continues... the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture, click SUBMIT, and follow the prompts!

SUNDAY REPORT

Every day, the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess is getting just a little bit better.  

Her hair is coming back. Her mind is sharpening. Her strength is on the rise. And her meds are gradually being decreased.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to take a moment and reach out to all of you to say how truly thankful we are to have had all of you with us throughout this incredibly challenging year. 

Yes, she's still got some ground to cover. 

And for the sake of personal sanity and financial security, I need to get my ass back to work.

But truthfully, we already have everything we need.

Healthy and happy kids. 

Loving parents, siblings, and extended family. 

Unbelievably supportive friends. 

And extraordinary doctors and nurses.

There's just no world where Nancy would be able to peacefully soak up the sun in our backyard and count on any real recovery without all of you in her corner.

So thank you for continuing to be there. And from the SSWG and me... HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #125

Greetings. 

This is the one hundred and twenty-fifth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I have posted-- now celebrating the fact that even though her post bone marrow transplant and brain seizure recovery continues... the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture, click SUBMIT, and follow the prompts!

WEDNESDAY REPORT

Sorry for the radio silence. But we've all been busy trying to get our feet back onto firm ground. 

Especially the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess.  

Fortunately, Nancy's after-care appointments are becoming fewer and further between. We're now only going back to City of Hope for follow-up tests every two weeks. Soon, that will scale back to once a month. Her numbers are all strong-- which has also resulted in her various anti-rejection medications being gradually lowered. Her eyes have been bugging her quite a bit-- constantly running at all hours of the day. But after repeated trips to multiple opthalmologists-- it thankfully doesn't seem to be caused by any kind of bone marrow transplant related infection. Rather, her symptoms are the typical side effects of heavy chemotherapy and radiation. The surface of her eyes have become dry-- which causes her tear ducts to overcompensate. So even though it seems counter-intuitive, Nancy has to keep adding drops to her eyes all day. It annoys the hell out of her-- and often makes her look sad when she isn't-- but we're hopeful that the situation will resolve itself sooner than later.

Nancy's also doggedly working to recover from her officially diagnosed anterograde (short term) and retrograde (long term) amnesia caused by the brain seizures she suffered in late June. Fortunately, all of the other high functioning areas of her brain-- IQ, verbal skills, creativity-- are still firing on all cylinders. But the patchy memory issues she's been struggling with are a constant source of frustration for her. 

Nevertheless, her doctors all remain supremely confident that none of the damage done was permanent or degenerative. It just requires time and patience.

In the meantime, she's starting to write again. Play the piano. Take control of her schedule. And she's exercising more and more, slowly but surely rebuilding muscle and regaining strength.

In short, the SSWG is working extremely hard to construct a new and improved version of herself. And all of us genuinely appreciate your good vibes, thoughts, and healing prayers in the process.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #124

Greetings. 

This is the one hundred and twenty-fourth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I have posted-- now celebrating the fact that even though her post bone marrow transplant and brain seizure recovery continues... the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture, click SUBMIT, and follow the prompts!

FRIDAY REPORT

We've had two weeks off from going to City of Hope-- and her next routine appointment for blood work and a doctor's consult isn't until next Monday. So what have we been up to? Well, I've been working more and more (since in addition to sucking, cancer is also expensive) and I also took a quick trip out to visit our daughter at college in Maine for Parents Weekend. And while I was gone-- Nancy had all kinds of fun with her girlfriends. 

The Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess went to the Broad Museum in Los Angeles (as perfectly pictured above). She did some shopping. She went to movies and restaurants. And most of all, she got to enjoy herself in the company of people who love her very much.

One thing that's also made a big positive difference in our daily lives is an electronic medication dispenser that allows me to pre-load all of her many daily meds into a motorized disc which automatically dispenses pills at the right times, lighting up and sounding an alarm in the process. So between that, and setting alerts on her computer and phone-- she's gotten into a much more comfortable rhythm with her meds, which has made life much easier for both of us.

While she's slowly but surely improving, short term memory issues continue to frustrate Nancy. But one of her Monday appointments is with a psychoneurologist to get the results of an exhaustive cognitive assessment she was subjected to a couple of weeks ago. So hopefully those results will help us pinpoint some of the specific areas of her brain which are still being affected-- and then help us customize some ways to pursue appropriate methods of healing them.

I know the blogposts have been less and less frequent. But please know that's just reflective of us trying to regain our lives and find our footing while she continues to recover. And as always, know this...

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

A VERY SPECIAL DAY

Today marks 100 DAYS since Nancy's bone marrow transplant on June 6th-- or her "new birthday" as they like to call it at City of Hope. The day she was empowered by the cells of an anonymous Israeli male with a genetic profile nearly identical to hers from the International Bone Marrow Donor Registry. And the day she rechristened herself...

NANCY NEWCELL CALLAWAY

We all know it hasn't exactly been an easy ride since then... but there's still one thing we can't lose sight of.

IT WORKED!

She has now officially gotten past the traditional 100 day window of recovery with no traces of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in her system after three complete BCR-ABL tests. 

So if you have a moment... please reach out to Nancy directly to congratulate her yourself. Email her, text her, call her, or leave a message on the blog page to tell her how incredibly proud we all are of how hard she has fought to not only beat cancer-- but also recover from a brain seizure.

She's still got some ground to cover. But so far, the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess has cleared every single hurdle that's been put in her way. I've simply never known a stronger woman in my life. 

And if the past 100 days have been any indication-- 100 days from now she'll be better than ever-- a new and improved version of someone who was unstoppable to begin with.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continuing and humbling kindness and support.  

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #123

Greetings. 

This is the one hundred and twenty-third in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I have posted-- now celebrating the fact that even though her post bone marrow transplant and brain seizure recovery continues... the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture, click SUBMIT, and follow the prompts!

SATURDAY REPORT

This is a picture of my beloved childhood friend Thad Westhusing-- who today, swam two miles in the chilly open waters of Seattle as part of SWIM ACROSS AMERICA, a charity devoted to raising funds for cancer research and clinical trials. 

And look who he dedicated all of that exhausting effort to...

We love you, Thad. 

And you've given us the perfect opportunity to express our heartfelt love and appreciation to everyone else who has done so much for the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess and our entire family.

Honestly, there are too many of you to name. But you know who you are. And we will never forget you.

Because of your extraordinary kindness...

• Multitudes of lives may be saved through The International Bone Marrow Donor Registry.
• Congregations of all faiths across the country have included Nancy on their prayer lists.
• Candles have been lit from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City to Notre Dame in Paris.
• Prayers have been hand carried and placed between the stones of the wailing wall in Jerusalem.
• Healing talismans - stones, shells, crosses, crystals - have been sent from around the world.
• Trees have been planted. And wishes have been tied to trees.
• Prayer shawls have been painstakingly knitted.
• Meditation recordings were specially made and daily played for Nancy.
• Fuzzy socks, and warm blankets, t-shirts, and stuffed animals were sent by the dozens.  
• Signs and banners and cards were received by the hundreds.
• Dear friends have driven mile after mile, to spend day after day, and night after night with Nancy-- at three different hospitals and here in our home.
• And almost every single night since January 4th... another unbelievably generous friend or family has fed us dinner through the Meal Train. Some of you, multiple times.

And all of that's only the half of it.

I mean, look... we all know I'm a sap... but I'm weeping all over again just writing this. 

Because it's not just humbling. Your outpouring of love for us has literally redefined love-- in the same way Nancy's strength has redefined what it means to be strong.

So thank you. All of you. Again, and again, and again.

She continues to improve, little by little, every single day.

Her outpatient clinic visits at City of Hope have now been reduced to only once a week. Two of her three anti-seizure meds have been eliminated, along with a few other meds related to her transplant. During our last visit, her immune system numbers were higher than ever. Her last EEG showed completely normal brain activity. And this Monday, Nancy's undergoing a detailed, four hour cognitive assessment in the hopes of pinpointing specific memory centers affected by the seizure-- so her doctors can gather more insight about how best to help get her amazing brain fully back to fighting form.

She has not been defeated. Neither have the rest of us. And thanks to all your incredible support-- we never will.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!