DAILY NANCY UPDATE #79

SAME DAY, NEW POST.

But guys, I'm sorry... I HAVE TO SHARE THESE AMAZING PHOTOS.

When Nancy completed her last of 11 high dose radiation treatments over 4 days-- today her team in Radiology just surprised her with a medal and certificate for her accomplishment.

I'm so damn proud of her, I can't stop crying. 

And if you feel even remotely close to the same... you can post a message here, email, or text/call her to say so.

Or, if you'd like to express your pride and encouragement in a card-- (she LOVES cards!) she'll be at City of Hope for another five and a half weeks. So here's the address:

Nancy Neufeld Callaway

City of Hope Hospital

1500 E. Duarte Rd.

Helford Bldg. Rm. 6105

Duarte, CA 91010

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #78

Greetings. 

This is the seventy-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

DAY THREE...

Day Three was actually yesterday-- and Nancy sailed through it with flying colors. Some uncomfortable swelling due to medication side effects and heavy intake of fluids (she thinks she looks like a blimp, we think she looks youthful) and a little bit of nausea-- but otherwise, amazing. Plus, she got a visit from all three of our kids, which definitely boosted her spirits.

DAY FOUR...

And today is the fourth and final day of her radiation protocol, with 11 high dose treatments total. But just to show them who's boss-- she rejected the wheelchair attendant's offer to give her a ride to Radiology-- choosing to make the 10 minute walk from one building to the next on her own, dragging a family photo decorated IV stand along with her. Such a badass.

So for the rest of the day, she's probably gonna take it easy... because tomorrow promises to be very challenging. Nancy is scheduled to receive a four hour chemotherapy treatment that by all accounts, will be much more intense than any others she's previously experienced.

In other words, if you have any additional good thoughts, vibes, and prayers to spare this weekend-- we'll gratefully accept them. 

ALL HAIL THE SUNSHINY SUPERWARRIOR GODDESS!

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #77

Greetings. 

This is the seventy-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

DAY TWO...

Today, Nancy bravely endured THREE MORE separate high dose radiation treatments at City of Hope... PLUS walked the ward and worked out on an exercise bike. The folks in Radiology are kinda blown away. Of course, they're just getting to know the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess.

Then we moved her into her new "permanent" room on the fabled sixth floor of the fancy Helford Building, where transplant patients are treated. And when I say "we," I mean me and our freshly returned (but no longer freshman) daughter CLEMENTINE!

That's right, our favorite girl is finally home from college for the summer-- and her beautifully happy face has immediately brightened our days. Also-- as you can see from the photo above... she's a really good decorator! Guess all that dorm room design experience is really paying off!

On a side note, unless you're welcoming a baby into the world, spending long hours in a hospital completely sucks-- especially if you're a patient-- but even if you're only a visitor. And even though I'm still using as much free time at COH as I can to write the "next big thing," I thought you'd at least be amused by the story of how the general monotony paired with writing too many crime dramas over the years finally got to me over the past 24 hours.

Yesterday morning, while looking out the window of Nancy's first room-- I could see down into some kind of small garden plaza, where from my fifth floor vantage, I saw a man sitting on a bench. Then a few hours later, when I glanced out again-- I noticed he was still there. But it wasn't until this morning-- when the guy hadn't moved, that my mind finally began to race.

"Oh my God. Some poor bastard has died on a bench and nobody's found him yet."

So after a little hit and miss crime scene triangulation-- I finally went downstairs and outside to find the plaza and check on the victim myself.

And that's when I met "Bernie." At least that's what the plaque on the bench said!

In other words, just another daily reminder not to always listen to my overactive imagination-- and to try and stay focused on all the most positive possible outcomes, no matter how dark things may occasionally look.

After all, things are actually looking pretty bright so far.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #76

Greetings. 

This is the seventy-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

DAY ONE...

Today, Nancy bravely endured three separate high dose radiation treatments at City of Hope... and STILL somehow managed to speedwalk for a MILE AND A HALF around the the sealed leukemia ward while I sprinted along in front of her, trying to open doors and clear a path as fast as I could.

ALL HAIL THE SUNSHINY SUPERWARRIOR GODDESS!

I know there's a long way to go. But seriously, this woman is unstoppable. Please keep up the good vibes, thoughts, and prayers! So far, they're working!

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #75

Greetings. 

This is the seventy-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

Today was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary. And it was also the day we officially checked Nancy into City of Hope for a six week stay.

But not before we had some unexpected fun. Because after we got her to the hospital bright and early this morning for some bloodwork-- they told us that her room wouldn't actually be ready before 3pm. So we decided to make the most of that time and celebrate our anniversary however we could. 

First, we drove back to Pasadena and had a tasty breakfast at The Reyn Cafe. And then, we drove to Arcadia, home of the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. We hadn't been there since the kids were really little-- but on a particularly beautiful Memorial Day-- it seemed like the perfect place to wander.

So wander, we did.

The gardens are actually quite beautiful. And at the center of the park's 127 acres, sits the Baldwin Mansion (circa 1875), which is far better known to those of us of a certain TV viewing demo as the fictional home of FANTASY ISLAND.

 

Now admittedly, if you would've told me back when I was a kid watching Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize welcome guests on that Victorian front porch, that one day my wife and I would be killing time in the same place before taking her to the hospital for leukemia treatment-- I probably would've changed the channel.

But today, there was actually something kind of perfect about being there. We both got a much needed stress-relieving walk and some delightfully warm Southern California sunshine.

And best of all, after a short hike up to the top of a waterfall, we found a quiet bench to exchange a couple of gifts we'd both brought along. Nancy gave me a vintage, leather-bound, 39 New York World's Fair journal with handwritten detailed descriptions of each of our 23 anniversaries, and pasted in photos, as well. And I gave her a 175 page gold book of "Happy Thoughts," which detailed my own handwritten recollections of pretty much all the high points I can remember of our time together so far. 

So yeah. After that, we had a pretty good cry.

And then we drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch. And maybe some Rosé.

And finally, we drove back to City of Hope and got her all checked into a room on one of the two special floors dedicated to treating various blood cancers. 

Tomorrow she will begin a heavy course of radiation-- three times daily for four days-- followed by chemo, all in an effort to completely eradicate any remaining traces of leukemia and zero out her blood counts. And then-- on June 7th, she will receive her anonymous Israeli donor's bone marrow in the transplant.

She's been referring to that as her new birthday, and joking about renaming herself NANCY NEWCELL.

But I just want to get her through the next 100 days-- which is the period her doctors say it will generally take for her to feel normal again.

 

So look-- I know I've been asking for this in every post. But we could really use your good vibes, thoughts, and prayers... especially over the next several days. 

Thank you, sweet family, friends, and fans of the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #74

Greetings. 

This is the seventy-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

Okay family, friends, and unabashed fans of the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess... it's almost GO-TIME.

Her lungs are clear. The pneumonia and fevers are gone.

And after a full morning of appointments at City of Hope today-- Nancy's doctor feels everything is full speed ahead for her to receive a series of preparatory outpatient medical treatments this weekend, and then check into the hospital to begin the six week bone marrow transplant process, starting this Monday, May 29th. 

First, she'll undergo several rounds of heavy radiation for five full days. By all accounts, that's not going to be any fun for her at all. Then she'll have the transplant (courtesy of her amazing, but anonymous Israeli male twenty-something donor). And then... she rests. Recuperates. Fights what we hope will be minimal rejection. And finally... if all our prayers are answered... she reaches full remission.

The irony of her being admitted on May 29th isn't lost on either of us. 

Because that day will be our 24th Anniversary.

We've been together for a long time, me and Nancy. Many more ups than downs, and we've been genuinely blessed to see all kinds of our dreams come true. 

But suffice it to say, we've never experienced anything like the past six months-- nor anything like what she's about to endure. So to be honest... we're both a little scared. Optimistic and positive. But scared.

Maybe that's why I was particularly struck by reading these words of whiteboard wisdom at the COH Oncology clinic this morning.

Fight or flight. 

Well, we've made our choice. We're gonna fight. FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE.

Nancy is the single strongest woman I have ever known. Inspired by that strength, me and the kids will always have her back. But it brings us constant comfort to know that each of you reading this is here for us, as well.

So now, more than ever, please continue to think good thoughts and keep her in your prayers-- this weekend, and throughout these challenging weeks to come.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!

DAILY NANCY UPDATE #73

Greetings. 

This is the seventy-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

So we now officially know what was causing the mystery fevers that have forced a delay in Nancy's bone marrow transplant.

PNEUMONIA.

Pneumocystis jirovici pneumonia, to be exact.

It's a lung infection that often strikes people with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and/or using medications that suppress the immune system. And fortunately, one of the infectious disease specialists at City of Hope was able to spot some very light telltale shading in Nancy's lung tissue while it was still early. So she is now being treated with the same steroids she was already receiving to eliminate inflammation and fever-- along with a strong course of antibiotics-- and her doctors expect a full recovery.

And that's very important, because as previously mentioned, the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess has to be in tip top shape before she storms Marrowtown and leaves leukemia in her wake.

So as of now-- assuming the drugs do everything they're supposed to do and she's completely pneumonia and fever free-- she is scheduled to be re-admitted to COH and begin that six week odyssey on May 27th.

To that end, your continuing prayers and good vibes are humbly and thankfully encouraged.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!