Dec 22

Just wanted to let everyone know that my mom is coming home tonight!! She is waiting for one more medication and then will be discharged. So she will be home for Christmas! She is feeling the effects of the chemo today unfortunately-some mouth sores, tired, etc. but she is glad to be coming home where we can make her more comfortable :) Reminder that our bone marrow drives will be held tomorrow! Thanks to our family in NJ and NY who are holding drives today for her!

Dec 19

My mom is still in the hospital today... Just waiting for the headaches to go away. They are hoping the leak in the spinal fluid will heal on its own because doing a spinal patch to fix it is risky. Her oncologist said they plan to do chemo tomorrow or Wednesday. We are hoping tomorrow so that she has time to get home before Christmas. Either way, they said this chemo should be quick with few side effects, and she should be home for Christmas. The only reason they keep her here for it is so they can give her plenty of fluids so the chemo does not harm her kidneys. I am at the hospital giving my dad the day off. Emily is going to come sleep here tonight. My nana and dad will return tomorrow. My mom seems to be feeling quite a bit better today. She has been online looking at Pinterest! Thanks Ash! I will let you all know when she begins chemo. Keep praying!

Dec 18

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12

Sorry I have not updated the blog in a while. My mom had been home since her last chemo treatment on Monday. However, we had to take her to the hospital yesterday because her neck and head pain had not subsided and felt worse. She began throwing up once she was there and finally stopped throwing up about 4 hours ago. The doctors think it is the migraine making her throw up. They did a CT scan and saw fluid around her brain. They had worries it might be some kind of infection, but it could also be from the chemo they injected into her spine causing a spinal fluid leak. Just in case it is an infection, they have hooked her up to antibiotics. Her pain is finally under control and she is sleeping.

We don't know how this will affect her next chemo treatment, but we are hoping they will postpone it until next Monday so she can be home for Christmas. Picturing Christmas without her being there is painful for all of us. Chemo is supposed to begin this Monday and it will be 2 to 4 days in the hospital. Please pray she will be home for Christmas! Thanksgiving without her was hard enough... I don't know how we will get through it!

My Nana is here again helping out with things. My aunt Debi will be coming on Christmas Eve. Bobby and Cory are coming christmas day. Hopefully having others around will help! Special thanks to my Poppop, my mom's dad for visiting last week and decorating our house for Christmas! it helped lift all our spirits.

I will try and keep the blog updated more now with upcoming treatments. Thanks to everyone!

Dec 8

 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

My mom met with the bone marrow doctor yesterday. He was really positive. Basically he said the transplant is something that the doctors can't say 100% yes she should do it. However, with her type of lymphoma, it often relapses after people achieve remission. So, they believe her best shot at getting rid of it forever is to have the transplant after she finishes chemo. He said they have had good results by doing it this way and not waiting until the cancer relapses because then it becomes harder to treat.

They do have potential matches in the registry for her, which is great news. Now we are just hoping that at least one will be a perfect match and that the donors are still willing to give their cells. We definitely will still be doing the bone marrow drives because we want to make sure that other people can find matches as well and add as many people as possible to the registry. Over 10,000 people need a transplant and only half will get one. This number includes babies, children and adults. The next steps of them determining matches will be to have their potential matches come in and have a blood test done to see if they have at least 7 out of 8 things that match my mom's tissue. 8/8 would be the best case scenario.

My mom is beginning chemo again today. She is actually almost done. My dad just told me that her oncologist said they are very pleased with how she is doing and her LDH is back to normal, which is a good sign. This is the outpatient part, and she will be coming home once she is done and returning tomorrow, Sunday (for a white blood cell shot), and then again on Monday. We will be praying that she does not get a fever and can remain at home until her next treatment, which is on December 19th. That treatment is only supposed to be 2 days inpatient and we are REALLY HOPING she will be home by Christmas. But we know the most important thing is that she get the chemo and get rid of the lymphoma! Either way, we will be together on Christmas.

God is truly present in our lives each day, from the amazing people we meet to the small signs He gives us. We feel Him acting all the time! He is keeping us all strong, and I know there is a purpose for all of this. We will persevere!!

Dec 4

Hello everyone! My mom is doing great and enjoying being home. We are currently in the process of organizing a bone marrow transplant drive in honor of her. We are hoping to make it BIG and to get hundreds of people to join the registry in order to find her and others a bone marrow match! I was contacted by a man named Michael Guglielmo, who spent time in prison but now dedicates his life to finding people bone marrow matches. What a blessing that he lives so close to us! He became passionate about finding bone marrow matches after his own son needed a match at the age of 6 months. Since then he has added thousands of people to the registry within the past 5 years. I am so inspired by him!

We are going to be meeting with him one day this week hopefully to get this drive going. We will be needing volunteers to attend the meeting this week and then to help with things such as logistics and publicity. Publicity is most important and I know that each of you will be able to help us with that. So please start spreading the word to your coworkers, friends and family about this bone marrow drive. It only takes 10 minutes to join the registry and involves only a cheek swab.

If you are not in NH, please join the registry online and they will send a kit to you in the mail. You could be the match for my mom or another person in need! It is the most amazing gift you could give someone! The website to do so is: http://marrow.org/Join/Join_Now/Join_Now.aspx

 If you feel like you want to help in an even bigger way, you can organize your own bone marrow drive in honor of my mom. People are much more likely to get tested if they see a face with the drive. The website to do this is: http://www.dkmsamericas.org/recruit

I know that between everyone who reads this and everyone each of you knows, we have the potential to make this big! Our whole family is so thankful to be able to be proactive in this process, and my mom really wants to be able to make a difference in others' lives in this process. So please take a few moments to help spread the word and join the registry!

*Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering at the drive and attending the meeting this week so Emily and I know if we have enough volunteers!

Dec 2

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
     Psalm 37:5


Just thought everyone would like to know my mom is back home!! She is doing so well. I am back in CO until Tuesday, but will be done for good after that! I called my house this morning and my mom answered. She sounds amazing! She also got a wig yesterday, and I got to see pictures. It looks beautiful and just like her hair before chemo. My mom's dad is there now and has been decorating the house for Christmas all day :). Dani stayed home from school to hang out with my mom also. They are working on feeding my mom so she puts some of the weight she has lost back on. Aunt Wendy went back to NJ. What would we do without her?! Thank you to everyone for the continued support, flowers, cards, gas cards, food and everything else! It has been so helpful!!!


We are not sure when the next treatment will be, possibly end of next week or beginning of the week after. However, that cycle is supposed to be outpatient, and hopefully it will stay that way. So until then she will be relaxing and regaining her strength!

Nov 30

Just a quick update. Julie is still in the hospital but hanging in there! She has been having lots of pain in her mouth, unfortunately just another side effect of the chemo. They have been waiting for her white blood cell count to go up and yesterday it started going up a lot. The more white blood cells, the less pain she has in her mouth because her body can start fighting it. Besides that, everything is going well and she is feeling okay. She is so strong! We hope to have her home soon! Keep praying!!!

November 24

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Unfortunately, we had to bring my mom to the ER last night because she was running a fever. We knew that with this kind of chemo, every 1 out of 3 people has to go back to the hospital because of a fever. They look for a source of the fever like some type of infection. However, last time and this time there seems to be no real cause for the fever. It might just be the chemo causing her body to react. Her white blood cells are pretty much non-existant, so she is at high risk for catching something. They decided to transport her to Boston, where she will stay until she is no longer running fevers and her white blood cells return to above 500. This is the same situation as last chemo session. We think they have gone up slightly since last night, which is a good sign because once they start going up, they take off. We are hoping they will go up very quickly. It's not the best way to spend Thanksgiving, and we are all very disappointed :( Emily and I are bringing Thanksgiving to the hospital. Emily has cooked a bunch of my mom's favorite foods and I made a pumpkin pie. Dani is going to go to her friend Molly's house for the day. Then Emily will stay at the hospital tonight so my dad can go to work tomorrow. We know this is just another bump in the road and there will be better holidays to come where we truly will be thankful for good health and family. Please pray that her white blood cells go up significantly so we can get her home as soon as possible. Love you all and hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

November 23

Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Peter 5:7

My mom had a rough night last night but is doing better today. At about 1am we had to call and ambulance. She got up to go to the bathroom and called my dad to come in and then fainted. It turns out she was just dehydrated from throwing up yesterday. They took her to the local hospital and gave her fluids. Once she was done with the fluids, she was able to come home at about 4am. It was scary but thankfully it was nothing too serious. She has not thrown up again since yesterday and is now able to keep drinking water and Gatorade. My dad is going to work today. He is such a wonderful person and I think he deserves some recognition. He has not left my mom's side since this all began. We appreciate him so much! He barely sleeps but he is still going and is still strong. He keeps us all thinking positively. Thanks Dad! Weare getting ready for Thanksgiving today. Hope everyone has safe travels!

November 22

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest"
Matthew 11:28


Hey from home! Today has been a bit tough but my mom is now home. She has thrown up a few times today, which is the main side effect of the chemo. The anti-nausea medication helps her a lot though. We are confident tomorrow will be better! We will pray that she gets stronger each day. The next few weeks involve lots of rest and healthy foods!

November 21

Hi everyone! It's Melissa again. I am back in NH for a week. My mom will be coming home tomorrow :) We are so excited. She will have 3 weeks off after that! They are meeting with the bone marrow specialist on December 7th to start planning for that. We are waiting to find out if her brother is a match. If not there are many other options. I would encourage EVERYONE to consider being put on the bone marrow donor registry. The process of being put on the list is just a simple swab in the mouth. If you actually are ever a match for someone, the process is more involved, but you have the potential to save someone's life! I just signed up to be put on the list. I know how important this is now and wish I had done it sooner. Here is the link to join online: http://marrow.org/Join/Join_Now/Join_Now.aspx. They send you the kit in the mail. Thanks for all your support! We are so glad my mom is now halfway through chemo!

November 19th

Fourth day of chemo! Went exceptionally well, all side effects of chemo r being controlled, we started the day a little puffy, but with a little massaging and elevation of legs we got them down......I threw Tom out of the room around 1130 am.... Told him to please get a hair cut ,shave and buy new jeans.....lol, while him and Emily were gone, Julie and I tackled a shower, new pajamas, and pretty new scarf that Emily bought her....she's looks great!!!!! I ordered her food, which she was able to eat, she loves butter!!!!! Butter it is..... We walked and to our surprise while in the hallways,approached a clean cut ,well shaven, handsome man named Tom.....and he smelt good ( he showered too, at my hotel) Julie and I were so thankful. Hahaha ..... We are currently undergoing her treatment as I write...she's resting comfortably and she overheard Tom and I ordering Chinese and her eyes widened and asked for pork fried rice!!!!! Need I say more.....
-Alicia

November 18th

Third day of chemo, it's 3pm and we've had a long morning. Julie's not feeling as well as she did yesterday!!!!! Emily, Tom and I (Alicia) are here for support. It seems that the nausea medication she was given earlier is finally working. She is resting and definitely more comfortable but she is unable to eat due to the nausea. But that's ok...her puffiness went down a lot...still adorable!!!! tonight at 9pm, she will begin her third chemo treatment for this admission, which will consist of two chemo medications. Her blood levels are starting to decline, which is normal and she will be receiving a blood transfusion later on today as well. We are keeping her in good spirits, and Tommy is doing well. He is upset with Dennis that he left today and didn't say goodbye!!!!!!We decorated her room  with all the beautiful cards that friends, family, and her students have been sending....KEEP THEM COMING!!!!! -Alicia

A special thanks to the wonderful Wendy Guarino for staying with Dani and taking care of our horrific dog companions. Dani is looking more stylish than ever after a little help from her oh so fashionable aunt. We can't thank everyone enough for all of the help and support. You have no idea how much it is appreciated! Melissa and her boyfriend Lee will be starting their 30 hour journey home from Colorado tonight. They have to drive because Mugsy (Melissa's very ugly/cute pup in the photo above) is on the no-fly list after a rough experience.  

Update Nov. 17th

Second day of chemo, Dennis and I are here to support... It went well .... Tommy shaved Julie's hair and all I can say is thank god he is not a barber!!!!! Emily and I went shopping for scarfs, we picked out such pretty ones..... She showered and we switched to a bigger room... She ate well today, retaining fluids but that's normal, she is a lil puffy but still adorable !!!!! She does have nausea and pain was given medication to help with that. We went for walks around the hospital and all followed her around like her posse lol all and all a good day we laughed alot and prayed.... OH WE NICKNAMED JULIE ..... "DORY" JUST KEEP SWIMMING.......NEVER GIVE UP .... we will be decorating her room tomorrow with card, pic and pics of DORY LOL stay tuned I will keep u posted tom night ..... TOM SAID THE BIG SHARK IS GOING TO BED lol so please everyone continue to post she reads them everyday and looks forward to cards

-Alicia

November 15

Back to the hospital today. Everything is looking good and she starts chemo tomorrow. She will be there until Monday if all goes as planned, which the doctors seem to think it should!

November 14

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
    Philippians 4:13

Hey everyone! What a good past couple of days it has been. My mom is feeling much better and had a relaxing time being home. She goes in to the hospital again tomorrow for 3-5 days of inpatient chemo. The doctor seemed to really believe it would be a maximum of 5 days and said it would not be like the first time. We are glad she is feeling better and ready to fight!

Wendy, Tom's cousin came last night. She's the best! Dani loves her so much too. I (Melissa) came back to Colorado yesterday morning to finish up with school. I will be driving home from CO and moving my things back on Saturday. So it's only a week away, but I wish I could be there. Thankfully, we have wonderful people who are so willing to help. My mom's mom went back to FL this morning and Loretta left yesterday morning also. It was so nice to have them and so helpful. We have received SOOO many kind cards, food and gifts. We will continue to hang cards in my mom's hospital room. The doctor said she had all of his other patients beat for the most cards. She still hasn't gotten to read all of them yet, but they keep her busy when she is bored in the hospital. So thank you to everyone for everything! Knowing we have so much support makes everything easier. We also look forward to your comments on the blog. I will try my best to keep you all updated during the next week from afar. Keep praying and asking God for her healing and strength!

November 11

Mary and Ray sent us a card reminding us of a verse in James that says: "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" James 5:16. We know God is listening. Thank you all for your prayers!

Good news today! Her white blood count has gone past 500. It should be very soon that she can go home! We are just waiting for the doctors to come in and tell us if they will monitor her for longer or if she can get out today or tomorrow. We will keep you all posted :)

Update: going home today!!! We are waiting for Tom to get here and packing up to leave! She won't have to be back in the hospital until Tuesday!

November 10

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a couple days. We are just playing the waiting game and waiting for her white blood cell count to go up. They were at 300 this morning but need to reach 500 before she can go home. The doctors think she will probably be here over the weekend. She will probably only get to go home for 2 or 3 days and then will be back in the hospital for her next chemo treatment for 5 days. The good news is that the doctor said she will only be there for 5 days next time. So hopefully we've been through the worst of it.

Julie got a ton of cards from her students at school and has been slowly reading them! They have made her soooo happy. We have been hanging each of them in her hospital room to brighten it up. They are so sweet and thoughtful!! Thanks to everyone who has brought us food, flowers, pajamas, socks, and every other goody. We are so appreciative to everyone. And thanks to everyone who has come to stay with us or visit. It's been so helpful with Dani and for Emily and I. We will let you know as soon as she gets out of the hospital of course!

From Julie

Hi everyone. This Is Julie... Today is the first day that I have seen this blog. What an amazing blessing it is to see that friends and family have been thinking and sending prayers for me. My family is so grateful for all of your caring support. Family and friends from FL, NJ, NY, NH and MA have helped us make it through to today. I am feeling so much stronger today. I just wanted to especially mention Alicia. You and Dennis got us through the roughest darkest days! Even though I don't remember some parts of the days you were here, I know Tom or I could never ever have done it without you. You are the truest friends and true angels! I will never forget your kindness, knowledge, and sense of humor. You are my hero, Alicia!
Ray and Mary, the book you gave me "Jesus Calling" by Sara Young, has gotten me through some tough moments. My girls so appreciated having Mary and Wendy stay with them. You will never know how your long drive helped lift spirits at my house and at the hospital. And Everyone comments on my leopard pjs! : ). Fred, Barney, Wilma and Betty ,forever! Thanks Loretta and Deb for all your help and love. Guess this is just one more struggle our families will pull together and face together. I am sooo glad to have my mom around to help me. She always knows what to say and do. And Lyn and Molly, thanks for being true friends. There aren't many 8 year olds who are true bff's! Thanks to all who have truly touched our lives with your care and prayers! Please keep me and my family in you r thoughts and prayers continuously.

Love you all!

Julie

Day 8

No real news today. She is doing better and is able to eat and move around. We are just waiting for her white blood cells to go up in the next few days so she can come home. Her temperature is normal and she is feeling and looking much better! Next chemo should go better as her bone marrow becomes healthier and is able to produce platelets more quickly.

Day 6

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Hi everyone, unfortunately she will be in the hospital for a while longer. Her blood platelet counts are pretty low so they may need to do a blood transfusion. She has had a slight fever. Doctors say this is due to the dead cancer cells releasing toxins, but at least the chemo is working. They will keep her here in order to watch for infection since her body is unable to fight it by itself. They have her on antibiotics also. She is feeling pretty bad unfortunately and probably will not feel better until her blood counts go up in a few days. She will also have to miss her next chemo treatment next week but the doctor said this won't make too much of a difference since the body needs time to heal before more chemo.

Debi and Loretta are flying here today to be at home with Dani. It will make it much easier for Dani to have her aunts here for her. We are all just trying to take everything one day, even one hour, at a time. Looking too far ahead is overwhelming; so we must only focus on the present. Thanks everyone for your support.

Day 5

God is our refuge and strength,
    A very present help in trouble.
                                       Psalm 46:1

Julie is still having a lot of stomach pain and did not get much sleep tonight. Her stomach is very swollen and they think it might be due to the Rituxan. Emily and Julie's mom, Sarah, are going to the hospital today. We are still hoping she will be able to come home today, but it may not be until tonight. It's been a rough week for all of us. I will update you all as soon as we get more information.

Update: She has a slight fever and will be staying another night in the hospital. The oncologists said that the fever is most likely due to the chemo killing her blood cells. This means that the chemo is working! They are going to reduce the amount of fluids she has been getting in order to make the swelling in her stomach go down and think this will reduce her pain. Her LDH levels in her blood have slightly gone up, which the doctors say is a good sign of the chemo working. They expect a temporary spike in LDH from the dead cancer cells. But overall, her LDH should get lower as the treatment goes on (which it has been other than a few expected temporary spikes). We don't mind having her stay in the hospital because we know it is the safest place for her to be.

Day 4

"Fear not, for I am with you;
    Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
    I will strengthen you,
    Yes, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
                                                              Isaiah 41:10

*We know we cannot do any of this without God. So please keep praying and trust in Him!

Today she is much better. She is up and moving around but feeling nauseous still. She has thrown up some from the chemo but that's expected unfortunately. She had someone come in her room and do Reiki this morning and said it relaxed her. Alicia and Dennis are still here. Julie's mom is here now also. We are all at the hospital with her. Tom says special shout out to Alicia for her birthday tomorrow (he didn't know the correct term shout out though, he said "call out"). Alicia gets a kick out of him. Alicia is so amazing and Julie is so thankful for her being here. She is a nurse and is so helpful and hilarious. Tom and Dennis have been talking about the Kardashians all morning. Tom tried to catch Julie up with all of the current events since she doesn't really remember the past few days. He told her the Costco stock went down a dollar and Kim is still getting a divorce.

Julie can go home tonight or tomorrow. It's her decision based on how she feels. She's getting ready for the Rituxin today. They will administer it slowly to watch for reactions. They got the preliminary report back from her spinal tap and don't see anything in her nervous system, but we are waiting for the full report to come back tomorrow.

Dani and Em are home today. Dani hasn't had school all week because of power outages. She is in good spirits and can't wait to see her mom! She loves being Emily though, so she's happy.

Thanks to everyone who has been helping us with everything from bringing over food to helping with our generator to visiting in the hospital!

Update: She did well with the Rituxin and should be all finished with it by late tonight. She was having some anxiety about it because it felt like the doctors were almost waiting for a reaction. So they stopped it for a while and then started it while she was sleeping so she didn't have to be thinking about having a reaction. She has also been having some stomach pain, which is probably due to the chemo. We are hoping to wake up renewed tomorrow and ready to go home!! Keep writing comments because we love to read them.

Day 3

Hi everyone! We are hoping to have a more positive day today. Julie slept through the night last night, which is great. She's still having some pain in her back but the doctors seem to think once the chemo starts working, the pain will go away because the lymph nodes will start to shrink. This should be within the next few days. Dennis, Alicia, and Justine came to visit last night and it was comforting. They will be coming back today also. Julie said "Alicia will whip my ass into shape." so we know she is glad they are here!!

I think people are having trouble leaving comments. In order to comment you have to have a gmail or blogspot account I think. Hopefully that's not too hard to do. If it is, she appreciates your Facebook comments and reads them all! More to come later :)

Update: She started off the morning a bit stronger- was able to shower by herself and smile. But they gave her some anxiety medication that set her back and she has spent the day sleeping and unable to do much. The doctors are going to keep her here again tonight. She had a reaction to the anxiety medicine and was extremely restless and really out of it. So to counter it, they gave her medication that makes her very sleepy. So now she just needs to sleep it off before they can proceed with the Rituxin, a drug that helps the chemo to work. They will keep her here for that because often people will have allergic reactions to it. She will also be having a spinal tap to check her nervous system and make sure everything is ok. They think everything is normal but want to take the extra precautions. They are going to wait until tomorrow to do everything, so just more sleep today.

Day 2

Thanks everyone for all of your support. Wendy and Mary just left. Dennis and Alicia are on their way to Boston now and Julie's mom will be here tomorrow.

Julie is doing okay today. All of the medicine she is on makes her feel sick but we think once she gets home she will feel better. It's hard to stay in the hospital when you weren't expecting it. Also, we are all still in shock. She will have another chemo treatment later this afternoon but first they have to do an MRI because she had some back pain yesterday. The doctors are extremely thorough, and we are so grateful for that. The nurses are all extremely nice. They said she might be able to go home tomorrow if she is feeling well.
That's all for now.

Updates for Julie

Hi!! In order to help all of you understand what we know when we know and to cut down on miscommunication we have created a blog to keep everyone updated! It becomes a bit exhausting to repeat everything for each person. So here you go:

1. She just finished her first day of chemo! They just put the meds right in an IV and she can sleep/eat/do everything normally. The side effects will probably begin tomorrow or Wednesday.

2. She will be staying in the hospital for about 3 days so doctors can monitor her first chemo treatment. The reason they are doing this is because after checking her LDH blood levels today, they found that her levels went up quite a bit. The reason for this is that the medicine she was taking this weekend already began to kill some of the lymphoma. The dead cells then are toxins to the body. Since the lymphoma is already dying so quickly, they are expecting it to do the same when chemo begins. So in order to make sure these toxins do not hurt her, they will be monitoring her in the hospital. This is a good thing because the doctors will make sure she is not having any bad reactions and can also provide drugs for the chemo side effects.

Please continue to say prayers for her!! We need lots of support, cheerfulness, and optimism. The nurse told us her only advice is that "attitude is everything, and people with good attitudes are the ones who make it through!" So please please be optimistic!!