Friends of Geraldine

Author: Malcom

  • Freedom!

    Geraldine has checked out of the hospital after recovering from her second transplant. She is still in Richmond, but as of today, is no longer sleeping in a hospital bed! The apartment where she will be recovering over the next couple of weeks is about 5 minutes away from the hospital, which she had been staying in for about the last three weeks.  The good people at the MCV Massey Cancer Clinic are great, but she’s really glad to have returned to a somewhat normal environment. She’ll be visiting the hospital just about every day for blood work.

    Over the past 4 or 5 days some circumstances were taking a heavy emotional toll. Due to a lack of sleep and being cut off from the rest of the world, especially her daughter, Geraldine was a wreck. It’s hard to imagine how it must feel being trapped in a hospital room while things are happening in the outside world that are beyond your control. The feeling of helplessness and futility are emotionally taxing. Even though she has visitors, it’s easy to forget that she was alone for this process.

    I’m happy to report that she’s in a MUCH better mood, and although she is tired and weak, she is doing everything that she can to ensure a lightning quick recovery so that she can face the challenges that await her in the world back home. That includes removing and avoiding any and all sources of stress from her life over the next couple of weeks.

  • The Pendant

    Pendant Fundraiser Auction
    Pendant Fundraiser Auction

    A while back, we had an auction of a pendant that was handcrafted by Drew Weiser of Ann McKay Studio and donated to FriendsofGeraldine.org. As if the act of charity on behalf of Mr. Weiser wasn’t enough, the pendant was purchased by someone, who in turn had it shipped to Geraldine. This person is a regular visitor and support of FriendsofGeraldine.org, but wishes to remain anonymous. So not only did the proceeds to go Geraldine’s medical bills, but she also ended up owning this one of a kind piece of jewlery.

    To Drew, and to our anonymous benefactor: all of us here at FoG thank you.

  • A bad day

    This isn’t going to be a pretty journal entry. If you are squeamish or don’t want to read all of the gory details of this particular day, then I highly recommend that you read up until the warning point in this entry, and then skip to the end.

    ————————————–

    There have been many bad days for Geraldine in this battle, but the worst that I’ve personally witnessed had to be Saturday, January 24th 2009. She had been in the hospital for less than a week (checked in that Tuesday) and had been in relatively good spirits up until then. Her chemo regimen this time consists of different drugs, whereas last time she only had the Melphalan. On Saturday, she was having the last chemotherapy drug for this transplant.  Unfortunately, it is also one of the most toxic.

    The drug’s name is Cytoxan. For those of you who may just be tuning in, the second bone marrow transplant (she’s doing two back-to-back) will work just like the first one, where her existing bone marrow is killed off by high-dose chemotherapy drugs. Her own stem cells, which were harvested around Thanksgiving, are given back to her so that new bone marrow can be regrown. This process completely destroys her entire immune system, replacing it with a brand new one. It takes about a month and a half, with a major danger period being during the first three weeks of that process.

    That’s if she can survive the chemo. The doses used here are near lethal and extremely toxic. On Saturday, I walked in to find her in seriously bad shape.

    Warning – if you are easily grossed out, skip to the end of this post (The next morning…)

    I’m used to her sleeping, and even getting nauseous from time to time. There’s a convenient little device built into the toilets of these hospital rooms. It’s basically like a shower-head on an arm that swings down over the bowl. It allows you to hold the “bucket” that they give patients to vomit into over the toilet, bring the arm down, and flush the contents into the drain. It makes it very easy to clean this out and return it to the patient without getting your hands too dirty. It also gives them some comfort, because they don’t have to keep puking into the already filled container.

    I emptied that container at least 10 times in one hour. Just when I thought there was nothing left, there would be more. It was bile, all bile. It looked like Mountain Dew, and at times it was thick. It smelled awful. I can’t imagine how hard it was on her. From my understanding, she had been doing this for at least 6 hours straight, and it was getting worse.

    She didn’t look right either. They had to give her a lot of fluids. I’m also used to seeing her a bit puffy when they do this, but she looked swollen this time. Her eyes were dark, sunken, and almost closed. She wasn’t coherent. She really couldn’t talk much. She couldn’t sleep, no matter how much they encouraged her by eliminating all noise and light. When she wasn’t puking, she would lay down, but there was this constant sound of heaving – almost sounded like hiccups, only worse. With these heaves, her whole body would twitch. It was constant at one point, and the twitching heaves were about 2 seconds apart. They had given her as many anti-nausea drugs as they could, and the medical professional that was taking care of her, well to me he looked really worried. He was doing everything he could think of to calm this whole thing down. Finally, with the addition of some morphine to ease the heaving/twitching, she fell asleep. The vomiting stopped. I left for the evening and went to stay with some friends who were kind enough to put me up for the night in Richmond. (Thanks Emily and Jeff!)

    The next morning, when I got to her room, I was very surprised and relieved to see her up and smiling at me, albeit weakly. She even cracked a joke or two. I watched her order food and eat it without fear of it coming back up. I was amazed and very, very grateful. That day by comparison was one of her best. She had tons of visitors, including her daughter and parents.

    I went to say goodbye that evening, and she was sleepy, but happy. And of course, she was still talking shit. You know she’s feeling better when she’s busting on you or saying some ridiculously dirty thing.

    Ah, Geraldine. You have such strength and resilience. And you’re a complete pain in the ass. 😉

  • For our newest visitors…

    Welcome to the site. In case you’d like to catch up, I’d start with this post. It is a letter written by Andrew, who is Geraldine’s father. It really nicely sums up the situation before we started this blog.

    Other helpful historical information to have on hand is that this site was created and is maintained by Geraldine’s friends Nick, Pete, and Malcom (that’s me). Nick and Pete worked on the design, hosting, and setup of the site. They worked especially hard to get the donation utilities built. I am the main poster here, and am always sure to provide updates when Geraldine is unable. We are in this because we promised our friend that her story would be chronicled, no matter what the outcome may be, so that her daughter would have a record of everything that happened.

    We work on this project, as always, in our spare time.

    Currently, Geraldine is undergoing her second bone marrow transplant. The first one ended only a few weeks ago, and took about a month and a half. She has been fighting this battle for about a year and a half at this point. She hates being away from her daughter for too long, but she loves it when you leave her notes of encouragement. Please note, however, that some comments are moderated on an as-needed basis.

    Thank you for your continued support.

    Don’t forget to check out this post! It’s very helpful.

  • Second Bone Marrow Transplant

    The second and hopefully final autologous stem cell (bone marrow) transplant for Geraldine begins tomorrow, January 20th, 2009. I’ll post more info as I discover it. She will be heading to Richmond for about a month or so, and has been told that this transplant will be rougher than the first. However, I think she’ll actually fare better because of several factors such as familiarity with the process, her incredible resilience and her ability to snap back more quickly from this than the typical transplant recipient. Also, she seems more focused this time, and that will be the key to ensuring a speedy recovery. I strongly encourage everyone in her life to do whatever it takes to support her in staying focused on healing and getting through this.

  • Positive Influences

    Brace yourself kids, this is going to be a long one. I am home now and things are starting to get back to normal. Viviane has been with me and I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have her in my life again. She is doing awesome and is happy to be back to her routine. The month of December was very hard. Not only with my first bone marrow transplant, but having the added stress of things going on in my personal life did not create a positive emotional recovery. I know that there are certain things that are beyond my control, but rest assured that I would never wish the things that have happened to me to anyone. Its especially hard when you are fighting for survival to have moments when you are vulnerable and weak. You seek love and support, but that is also the time that you reach out and find the people that make a difference in your life. Everyone who has called me, emailed me, visited me, and texted me have all contributed to my recovery. Viviane and all of you are my lifeline. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you.

    Viviane – You are the love and light of my life. You are the reason that I will beat this. I love you with everything that I have and that will never change.

    Andrew and Martine – You both are wonderful parents. You have shown and taught me the meaning of unconditional love.

    Malcom – You are my foundation of strength. You are always there to help me pick up the pieces and rebuild me.

    Harvey – I feel the love and support that you continue to send even being miles away. Thank you for everything that you have done for me.

    Allie, Katie, Risa, Sara, Brooke, Amy, and Courtney – You are my sisters. Thank you for comforting my broken soul and helping me heal. All of you inspire me to be better. I am so grateful for all of your friendships.

    Kim and Candis – “my circle sisters” 🙂 – You fill my life with humor, laughter, and sugar. You are both amazing women and I am lucky to have you. Thank you for sharing your life with me.

    Pete and Ron – what would I do without the both of you? Thank you for your love. You both are a part of my heart.

    Nick and Sha – You are my husband and wife 🙂 – You bring me joy and warm my soul.

    Mary – You are the voice of reason and an incredible mother. Thank you for being so nuturing.

    Megan – You are so brave. You give me strength and hope that everything will get better.

    Gwen – little brother – you amaze me. I have such fond memories of my childhood with you. Thank you for being part of my family.

    Drew – You drive me crazy, but I have love for you. Thank you for being so giving.

    Diana – my PPU – You are so loving. Thank you for always reaching out to me.

    Chrissy – You are the disturbed in my life. Thank you for checking in on me and giving me some much needed comic relief. God bless you.

    Katina – You are my gangsta. I love you dearly and miss you. Don’t let Malcom talk you into anything and remember that you got that killa P.

    Crystal A – Where do I begin? Thank you for your weird sense of humor and your husband (who is not a good boyfriend).

    Emily – ” I am a doctor, so…..” – You rock! I could not have made it through this transplant without you. Thank you for being awesome.

    Cat – You are my supermodel P****. I want to grow up and be just like you! Thank you for everything that you have done for me.

    Darren – My snuggle. Thank you for visiting me and giving me such emotional comfort.

    Boris – Thank you for all of your emails. Its so nice to hear from you especially after all of these years.

    Craig K – You are straight up silly, but I love it. Thank you for all of your texts.

    Libby, Sara W,Emily H, and Sabine – I can’t even describe how much it means to me that we were able to reconnect. Thank you for your emails and words of encouragement.

    Ann Lee – You are a remarkable woman. Thank you for your visit and all of your cards. I love you.

    Neil, Brenda, and Lois – You are a wonderful family. Thank you for all of the love that you have shown me.

    Susanne – Thank you for the bond that we share. Its nice to know that we have each other and that we are not alone in our dark times.

    There are many more people that I would like to thank. More to come soon. Thank you to everyone. I feel such amazing love from each of you.

  • First bone marrow transplant has been completed!

    The first autologous bone marrow transplant has been completed! I spoke with Geraldine by phone earlier and she was told that she could go home today, so I am sure that she and her family have packed up and headed back home for a well-earned break from all of this.

    I don’t have all of the details, but from what I’ve been able to piece together, her counts and weight have reached a point where she no longer needs to be residing a few minutes away from the Massey Cancer Center at VCU/MCV.  From all indications, Geraldine has bounced back from this very intense procedure a lot faster than expected, and while she still will be traveling back and forth for bloodwork every few days, she should now be back at home with her family. I’m sure they are super busy with the packing and unpacking from her long stay in Richmond (about 27 days in total), so I wanted to give you all a quick update until Geraldine can fill in all of the details.

    Also, the charity auction for the One of a Kind Diamond and Tanzanite Handcrafted Pendant ends later tonight.

    Welcome home Geraldine. Your strength and resilience through this hard time continue to amaze me. Keep up the good work!

  • Nip/Tuck?

    Hello and Bonjour!

    I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays with their loved ones. I am still recovering in Richmond. This recovery process is slow and sometimes very frustrating, but I am so thankful to have Vivi with me. The time that I spent in the hospital was the longest time that I have ever been away from her and that was heartbreaking. I really need to take this time to thank my parents who brought Vivi twice to the hospital to see me. If it had not been for them, I would not have seen her. She is the biggest part of my recovery and having been away from her has been the most difficult thing that I have ever done. I can’t begin to understand why someone would keep me from her, but there are cruel people out there. Okay, enough of that.

    While I was in the hospital, I met a little girl named Cheyenne who is ten years old and had just completed her second bone marrow transplant. We used to walk up and down the halls together talking. Its one thing to go through this as an adult, but when you see young children suffering, it breaks your heart. Cheyenne has a type of cancer that is very hard to treat. Despite everything that was going on with her, she was an amazing little girl. Other normal people would come to our unit and Cheyenne one time asked me if they had Cancer like we did. I told her: “No, its just you and me kid.” I know that I am probably not doing a good job in putting this into words, but Cheyenne and I shared a bond. Bond by disease and baldness, but something beautiful. I am so glad that I met her and I really admire how brave she is. I will never forget her. She is a little angel who truly touched my heart.

    Okay, now for some craziness. Many months ago, one of my best friends (Allie) asked me which celebrity I would like to come visit me in the hospital. Her suggestions of Angelina Jolie or Madonna where not what I had in mind. Without hesitation, I said Julian McMahon. For those of you who do not know who Julian McMahon is then you should be ashamed. One word for Julian, delicious. He is an actor on my favorite tv show Nip/Tuck. I immediately thought of him when Allie asked me the questions because in my mind, seeing him would give me something to live for and possible jump start my system. 🙂 Well, Allie got together with my other very close friend from high school, Libby and on Sunday night. I received a phone call from Julian. At first, I was totally not buying that Julian McMahon was calling, but the more we spoke, the more I realized that this was the real deal. He was very pleasant and I got the opportunity to speak with his daughter who is precious. Bottom line is that he wants to have babies with me. Okay, okay, let a girl dream. Truthfully, I never expected this to happen and I will forever remember this and cherish it. Libby and Allie, you ladies are amazing and no words can capture how truly touched I am. Thank you both. Well, Julian has my phone number so hopefully I will hear from him again…and then we can start making babies. 🙂

    Thank you for all of your comments and texts. I will be in touch with people soon. I wish you all the very best holiday. Thank you for your continued support and I love you all.

  • Fundraising Auction – One of a kind, handcrafted pendant

    An expert jeweler has generously crafted and donated a unique piece for a fundraising auction being held on eBay.com!

    See info below.  This impressive pendant is going to be eligible for bids on eBay for the next 10 days. 10% of the proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

    FreindsofGeraldine.org would like to thank the designer and crafter of the piece, Drew Weiser of Ann McKay Studio for this awesome donation.

    Click here to go to the auction!

    Pendant Fundraiser Auction
    Pendant Fundraiser Auction

    Many thanks to Wilcox Graphic Innovation for the high quality promotional poster design!

  • Progress report after first transplant

    Geraldine and her mother, Martine, just before being released
    Geraldine and her mother, Martine, just before being released

    Hello again everyone. I have been out of the hospital since Thursday afternoon, and am staying in a very nice corporate apartment in Richmond.

    The view here is incredible, and the apartment is a very upscale, furnished condo with assigned parking and 24 hour security. Although I do miss seeing everyone back in Norfolk, I am grateful to be out of the hospital with such a nice place to recover. Its important that I stay only a few minutes away from VCU Medical Center in case anything happens during the next couple of weeks.

    Happy Holidays!
    Happy Holidays!

    On to even better news. My counts continue to climb and I continue to make progress with healing and re-growing my bone marrow at a fast pace. The hospital staff has been very pleased and everyone is saying how far ahead I am in the recovery process. I still feel like it is going too slow sometimes, but then I get reminded how far ahead of schedule I am.

    I feel very lucky in all aspects. I get to spend the holidays with my daughter and my parents. I have wonderful friends who have shown me huge amounts of support and love.

    Thank you all, and I hope you all have happy holidays.