DAILY NANCY UPDATE #95

Greetings. 

This is the ninety-fifth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

FRIDAY AFTERNOON - BREAKING NEWS

More good news:

Nancy suddenly began to turn her head on her own this morning-- most notably when I gently stroked her cheek and she turned toward me. She also started to yawn and move her hands and arms. And when the nurses gave her involuntary eye drops to keep them lubricated, she winced and frowned like she was genuinely pissed.

All of these are very encouraging indications for both her lead oncologist Dr. Forman and her neurologist Dr. Prakash that the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess is slowly but surely coming back online.

I've also been playing constant classical music to stimulate her brain. Spraying tangerine oil in the air, because scents are also known to do the trick (and because I know she loves the smell). And when I haven't been reading her silly poems from Shel Silverstein (one of her faves), she's had sweet girlfriends reading her stories as well.

I will do anything it takes to bring her back - just as soon as she's ready.

And that includes praying.

I'm not a big prayer, to be honest. Yes, I'm the son of a Presbyterian minister who also happened to convert to Judaism before Nancy and I got married. But my relationship to God is far less about going to church or temple than it is having a quiet conversation with some koi fish.

And thankfully, City of Hope has a beautiful Japanese garden at the center of their amazing complex. So whenever I can steal a few moments away... I've been conversing with the koi (and a turtle or two), asking for any help the Universe can offer my sweet girl in her efforts to wake up.

But the only reason I mention any of it-- is because of how deeply grateful I am to so many of you for continuous prayers from all over the world. So many of you have reached out to your places of worship, putting Nancy's name on prayer lists. Or sent recorded prayers for me to play in her ear. Or just shared a kind word or hopeful thought with me and the kids.

It's hard not to believe in the collective power of all those good vibes. And thanks to your soulfully encouraging efforts-- as stressful as this week has been-- one thing remains resoundingly clear...

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a little love (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 3215 East

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #94

Greetings. 

This is the ninety-fourth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

THURSDAY EVENING - BREAKING NEWS

Since Nancy's pre-dawn seizure early Tuesday morning, she is still unresponsive. But there is good news:

She finally closed her eyes last night and today has been sleeping very peacefully. No more staring into space, heavy blinking, or involuntary mouth movements. The doctors feel this is a great sign that her mini-seizures have stopped (like aftershocks following a big earthquake) and her body is now getting the rest it needs after all the trauma. And the latest EEG from this afternoon backs up that belief.

Her post bone marrow transplant white blood cell counts are incredible. 9000, to be exact-- which is NORMAL. That means our anonymous 20 year old Israeli male donor's cells are doing an extraordinary job of building her new immune system.

And even though it hasn't yet made the decision to wake her up-- her brain is still doing an extraordinary job of maintaining a normal heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory function. In fact, she's doing so well with the latter of those three, that today they decided to take her off oxygen.

Finally, based on those improvements, her doctor also decided this evening NOT to put her on a feeding tube. Instead, she will begin receiving intravenous nutrition tomorrow morning-- and we're hoping that will also help replenish her energy and bring her back to a waking state.

If you know Nancy at all-- and duh, that's why you're receiving this-- then you know how ridiculously active she usually is. Exercise, yoga, running our lives-- she's a perpetual ball of energy. So seeing her unable to move in a bed for three days like this is really painful. But nothing like the pain I'm sure she'll be in once she finally comes out of this. The ICU nurses at City of Hope have been amazing about repositioning her body every hour or so, checking her skin and muscle tone, etc. But the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess is still going to be very weak-- and in need of some serious TLC, followed by careful physical therapy to regain her strength. 

Thank you for all your continuous loving support. It means so much to me and the kids right now. I can't wait to tell you that she's finally awake and smiling once again at all of us.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a little love (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 3215

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #93

Greetings. 

This is the ninety-third in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Since Nancy's pre-dawn seizure yesterday, she is still unresponsive. Early this morning, I met with Dr. Forman (her lead physician and the Chair of Hematology/Oncology) and Dr. Prakash, the Chief of Neurology at City of Hope. Both doctors believe her condition is temporary and reversible. They are stopping one of the anti-rejection drugs from her transplant, which can affect the brain. They are adding a new anti-seizure medication, since yesterday's EEG indicated she might still be experiencing some minor seizures. They are slowly bringing her sodium levels back up, which caused the major seizure when they dropped too low. And they’re continuing to treat the virus she has, which causes a form of encephalitis. Their mutual belief is that those four moves will collectively bring her back on line. Could be two days. Could be two weeks. All we can do is be patient and keep the faith.

It is absolutely brutal to see her this way. We all know Nancy as loving, vibrant, funny, fit, active, and sharp as a tack. But right now, she is somewhere else... cast adrift. I promise to stay by her side, doing anything I can to help her find her way back to shore. And I will tell each and every one of you as soon as she returns.

Meanwhile, we could really use your most powerful prayers for the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #92

Greetings. 

This is the ninety-second in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

This is a difficult update.

Last night, Nancy had a major seizure in the middle of the night and was moved to the ICU at City of Hope. Her sodium levels had crashed to dangerously low levels (which causes seizures) and her doctors suspect that may have been a side-effect of either the virus she's fighting, the strong medication used to fight it, or both. 

At any rate, she has been generally unresponsive since then. But the good news is, after performing a CT scan, EEG panel, and an MRI today (the latter of which we can compare to another one she had last week), her brain function appears normal. Still, the doctors are telling us it may be 24-48 hours before she gradually comes back "online."

In short, it's been a very long night and day for all of us-- so your extra good thoughts and prayers would be extremely appreciated. More details as they become available.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #91

Greetings. 

This is the ninety-first in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Okay, there's good news and bad news. Let's start with the good.

Nancy's doctors at City of Hope have finally figured out what's been causing her headaches and fevers over the past 10 days. Turns out it's a very common virus called HHV6. It infects most of the human population by the time we're three years old, and then lies dormant, held at bay by a healthy immune system.

Unfortunately, the immunosuppression which occurs after a bone marrow transplant can often reactivate the virus, causing a form of encephalitis. That's why she's been experiencing some agonizing migraines and high fevers that have only been temporarily stopped by pain killers.

But now that they know what's been ailing her-- they also know how to treat it. So they began administering a powerful anti-viral drug this morning that has already stopped her fever and headaches entirely.

There's only one problem. And that's the bad news.

As the virus makes its way through the brain, another major symptom of HHV6 is confusion. So for the past 24 hours, Nancy has been a pretty fuzzy about what's going on. She will seem to be engaged in a lucid conversation with you-- but then lose track of what she's saying, be unable to find the right words, or use the wrong words entirely in a nonsensical way.

I can see it's really frustrating for her, and it's hard to watch her struggle. 

But back on the good news side... the team at COH are confident this condition is only temporary and the drug they're using to beat down the virus will also help her brilliant mind come back on line very soon.

Meanwhile, even though I'm trying to discourage her from using her phone or computer for the next day or so, if you're in any kind of direct contact with Nancy, please take whatever she says with a grain of salt. And also-- PLEASE don't attempt to schedule any kind of visit unless you've reached out to me first. With her typically cheerful demeanor, she'll tell you to come on over-- but the truth is, this really isn't the best time, and she probably won't remember it, anyway.

What she truly needs more than anything right now, is rest.

Thank you for your continuing good thoughts, vibes, prayers, love, support, kindness, and understanding as we fight to get the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess over one more hurdle on the road to remission. 

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a little love (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #90

Greetings. 

This is the ninetieth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Well, as another weekend comes and goes, I wanted to update everyone on where Nancy's at.

To be honest, she's probably in bed, sawing logs. Because even though the rashes and throat pain are gone-- all the meds she's had to take for the persistent headaches, fevers, and nausea she's still suffering have pretty much wiped her out for the past couple of days. 

But again, the good news is, this is all to be expected-- and her doctors and nurses remain very encouraged by her slowly but surely rising white cell counts-- which tell us her new immune system is gradually coming online.

And that's what the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess needs the most right now. The stronger her immunity becomes, the greater her ability to fight off everything-- including the virus Doctor Forman thinks is causing her feverish migraines. 

So please save a good thought or prayer for her to that end. We appreciate it more than we can possibly say.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a little love (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #89

Greetings. 

This is the eighty-ninth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

I know I haven't made an update in a few days. And I don't mean to leave anybody hanging-- especially after the last blogpost wasn't filled with great news. But I don't really like to post without some kind of new develpment-- and the truth is, we're pretty much on the same road. 

Nancy's still been battling some really nasty headaches and nausea. And as you can imagine, that hasn't been fun for her at all. But at the same time, her white blood cell counts are impressively on the rise-- which has her doctor very pleased. So much so, that yesterday he told the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess that if he could just figure out what's causing the headaches-- he'd actually contemplate sending her home. 

Obviously, as much as we'd like to see that happen-- there's no point in having her leave City of Hope if there are any lingering issues that might force her to immediately return. So for now, we're just trying to be patient as they experiment with some of her anti-fungal and anti-rejection meds to see if lowering their levels might help eliminate the daily migraines she's been suffering.

Meanwhile, we can't thank you enough for your continuing support. The cards and texts and emails and calls have been profoundly humbling and a constant inspiration for all of us. But especially for her.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a little love (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #88

Greetings. 

This is the eighty-eighth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

I really wish I had better news, but it's been a couple of long days and nights for the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess. Sporadic fevers, headaches, nausea, rashes... and maybe worst of all... very little sleep.

So she's sore, tired, itchy, emotional, and exhausted.

But she's also the strongest woman I've ever known. She's barely left her room, hasn't left the leukemia ward, and hasn't once been outside--  since May 29th. I honestly don't know how she's doing it. But thank God she is. And we will do everything we possibly can to help get her through this extremely difficult period of recovery. 

PLEASE KEEP THE UPBEAT, POSITIVE, ENCOURAGING CARDS, BLOG MESSAGES, EMAILS, AND TEXTS COMING. She really needs as much love-bombing from her family, friends, and fans as possible right now.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a little love (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #87

Greetings. 

This is the eighty-seventh in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Well, damn. I know I've already blogged about how Nancy's recovery is gonna be filled with ups and downs-- but today was definitely on the downside.

She barely slept at all Tuesday night. Then she had a high fever all day Wednesday-- along with the chills. Her hands and feet were burning from radiation. Her swollen throat was particularly painful. She was extremely nauseous. And as if all that weren't bad enough-- she broke out in a crazy rash.

Again, all normal. And all to be expected. But none of that makes her any less miserable.

Of course, it also didn't stop the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess from trying to do some yoga poses in her room this evening before I left.

So like I said... ups and downs. But there's something else important to bring to your attention, dear family, friends, and fans of Nancy.

For some reason, whenever I make these posts-- they don't get auto-emailed to you until the next day. So even though I do the best I can to keep everybody updated, by the time you read all this-- it's essentially old news.

Which means, she could be better. God forbid, she could be worse. Or she might be exactly the same. It's all just the nature of the recovery beast. But the first week post transplant is supposed to be the hardest-- so I can only tell you the same thing I tell her. 

THINK POSITIVE! 

And thanks for keeping the SSWG in your thoughts as she claws her way back to a leukemia free life.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a card or some words of encouragement (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #86

Greetings. 

This is the eighty-sixth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

First, I should warn you that Nancy just got our daughter Clemmy to create some personalized bitmojis for use on her phone. But no matter how much I may be rolling my eyes over that, I'm extremely happy to tell you that the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess has gone from feeling like this...

To feeling like this...

Yup. Thankfully, her condition seems to be improved. No more fever, and no more bloody noses. Still some pain swallowing and gastro-intestinal fun-- but the light is back in her eyes (well, at least the one without broken blood vessels) and today she seems back to her usually chipper self.

Chances are, there will be a fair amount of back and forth on this sliding scale from sickness to wellness. But again, it's all to be expected, as her body slowly rebuilds an immune system and her healthy white blood cell counts gradually come back online.

Thanks for your continuing good thoughts, vibes, prayers, love, and support for all of us!

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a card or some words of encouragement (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #85

Greetings. 

This is the eighty-fifth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Well, it hasn't been the best weekend for the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess.

Unfortunately, she's still been fighting a fever on and off and has been really nauseous. Her throat is swollen, so it hurts to swallow. Somehow she managed to break a few blood vessels in one of her eyes, which is now beet red (though thankfully, it hasn't affected her vision). And just as this post was being written, she started to have a really bad bloody nose. The last two miseries are likely caused by a blood thinner she's been on-- so they've dialed that back for now. 

But as you can imagine, none of this has added up to a very relaxing weekend for poor Nancy. 

Nevertheless, according to the doctors and nurses at City of Hope, these symptoms (and more) are all to be expected in the aftermath of heavy radiation, chemo, and the transplant itself. And it's one of the primary reasons why she has to continue to stay at the hospital for the next few weeks. 

Meanwhile, on behalf of the rest of us Callaways back at home-- I just have to express my gratitude once again for all the unbelievably generous gifts of meals which keep getting delivered to our door every day. To keep running back and forth from Woodland Hills to Duarte as much as I have (40 miles each way) is a bit challenging. But to know that I don't have to worry about my kids being fed while I'm gone has truly been one of the most soulful blessings imaginable.

I know I/we haven't been able to thank each of you individually yet. But please understand how much we deeply appreciate you taking such good care of us. Nancy and I keep saying that when this is all over-- we're gonna have a big soiree at Camp Callaway and treat each and every last one of you sweet people to a big feast in humble gratitude. And yes, she will definitely bake a big cake!

*Please note this is a really bad simulation of a high

quality cake that only Nancy could make.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a card or some words of encouragement (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #84

Greetings. 

This is the eighty-fourth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full 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 and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Rough day for the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess.

To be clear, this is all normal and fully expected after 11 radiation treatments, high dose chemo, and a bone marrow transplant. But Nancy's been running a 102-103° fever since early this morning. And since they don't want to mask the fever with Tylenol in case of potential infection, they'd rather give her IV antibiotics and make her curl up with ice packs. Sound cozy? Plus, her throat hurts and it's painful to swallow due to mucositis, which is inflammation of the lining of the mouth and GI tract. So she hasn't been able to eat anything all day.

Simply but painfully put... the poor girl feels like she's been hit by a tornado.

Which is eerily perfect, now that I think about it-- since on this day, June 8, 1974-- a terrible series of twisters hit my hometown of Tulsa when I was just a kid. 

The Tornadoes of June 8th

I've always kinda hated this particular date ever since. But just like the brave folks who had to crawl out of the rubble and rebuild their lives back then-- I know Nancy is on her way to doing the same thing right now. 

I just wish I could make her feel much better, a lot faster.

Oh well. In the meantime, we sincerely appreciate all your continuing love and support, good thoughts, vibes, and prayers.  

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

If you'd like to send Nancy a card or some words of encouragement (please no flowers, balloons, or food), you can reach her for the next few weeks at:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

Meal Train For The Callaways