7/29/08

Hey everybody.....Today (+75) was another tremendous day for BJ. Since BJ has moved back to Tuscaloosa, there really hasn't been any day-to-day news, so I waited to post until after his visit to UAB today. The first big news is that they removed his PIC line, which I am sure will be a big relief to BJ. The next big and suprising news was that they have started cutting back BJ's dosage of Cyclosporin. The suprising part about this is that they usually wait until day +100 to start reducing the dosage of this medication. This is just another indication of how well BJ is reacting to the treatment so far. They did caution him to call with any type of reaction or effect he feels due to this change. There are still some dangerous things that could happen, but the fact that they have enough confidence to cut back the dosage has to be very encouraging. Also, his counts have remained about the same, which is completely normal and more good news.



BJ sounded great when I spoke to him this evening. He has been going into the office for most of the day and working himself back into his normal routine. He did admit that he was caught of guard by the reduction in his medication, but that he would treat that with the same caution that he has everything so far. He is looking forward to seeing everyone at the golf tournament at the end of August and continuing to get back towards normal life.



I will update you if anything new comes up. If not, I will update after BJ's visits to UAB. Please don't hesitate to leave comments, because BJ will be checking in regularly. Talk to you soon!

7/22/08

BJ continued to receive more positive news with his visit to UAB today. I don't have a lot of medical or technical details other than the doctors were extremely pleased with his progress. He has been cleared to move back to Tuscaloosa and visit UAB once a week on Tuesday's. This was tremendous news for BJ and a huge vote of confidence in how well he is doing with his recovery. He will be able to slowly work himself back into his work routine as long as he doesn't over do it.

When I spoke to BJ this evening, he was in a great mood and really encouraged by today's results. I will keep you posted with any new information that I get! Until then, please continue to leave comments and words of encouragement on the site. BJ would love to hear them. Talk to you soon!

7/20/08

Hey everybody.... Just wanted to update you all on Friday's visit to the ENT doctor and BJ's weekend. BJ's visit to the doctor went very well. As I mentioned before, this visit was to determine what action, if any, should be taken to deal with some sinus trouble he has been having. They have decided that surgery is not yet necessary and they feel confident treating it with antibiotics. This was some relieving and and welcomed news for BJ.

After his visit to to UAB, he went back to Tuscaloosa. I texted him this afternoon and he said he has had a very good weekend. Many of you may or may not know, but Ashley had a car accident on Friday. She was not seriously hurt, but is experiencing some soreness, so please keep her in your prayers. That got the weekend off to a bit of a rough start, but it sounds like things improved from there.

BJ goes back to UAB on Tuesday. Everyone pray for great news and I will talk to you then!

7/17/08

Hey everyone....BJ had another really good visit to UAB today. He has an appointment tomorrow with an ENT doctor at UAB to try and help him with some of the sinus trouble he has been having. After that, he can go back to Tuscaloosa for the weekend. The doctors have told him that they want to see how he does this weekend, see him next Tuesday, and then determine if they will cut him back to one visit per week. They are very encouraged and hopefully his move back to Tuscaloosa will be soon!! Obviously, this is a really big deal for BJ. He would like to get back to Tuscaloosa and start going back into the office some and working himself back into his normal routine. Hopefully, tomorrow will go well for him and the positive results will continue.

Thanks to everyone for the response and contributions we've received thus for the golf tournament. Please continue to spread to word about the event and hope to see you all there on the 23rd!

7/15/08 - BIG NEWS!!

BJ got some HUGE news this morning! The results from the FISH test (a blood test to check blood cells, leukemia levels, percent of donor cells, etc.) and they were great! There is NO LEUKEMIA!! There is also no Phiadelphia chromosome and the FTR test revealed that his blood cells are 100% donor! This is tremendous news and BJ is obviously very excited. He will get more details on his visit to UAB Thursday about what these results will mean for him. I will pass them along as soon as I get them. So, for right now he is just enjoying the good news! Keep praying and I will talk to you soon!

7/14/08

Hey everybody....I hope you all had a good weekend. BJ had a really good weekend. He stayed in Tuscaloosa until late yesterday afternoon. He really enjoyed getting back to a little bit of normalcy, if only for a couple of days, and it was a little bit difficult to come back to Birmingham last night.

Mrs. Green came home from the lake Friday afternoon and is feeling much better. I know that it has to be a huge relief to have everyone feeling better and under one roof. I didn't get to talk to Mrs. Green very long tonight, but she did sound a lot better for the little bit I did talk to her. The last few weeks must have been difficult for her.

BJ also sounded very good when I spoke to him. He said that today's visit to UAB went well. They didn't have any big news, other than to say that everything looked good and on schedule. They hope to have test results from last Thursday's test either this Thursday or next Monday. I know BJ would prefer to get them sooner rather than later. Either way the results will have a pretty big impact on where BJ spends the next month or so.

So, right now we need to pray for good results from his tests and that he continues to get positive feedback from the doctors. I will try to update with a few more details later in the week. Talk to you soon!

7/10/08

BJ had another really good check up...he went back to UAB today and actually was in and out by 11 A.M., which is earlier than normal. They gave him some more Magnesium and did the normal blood work and check-ups. Today they also did a big blood test to see what, if any, levels of leukemia are still present. They are looking for the Philadelphia chromosome in particular. This test will determine how far along he is in his recovery and how soon he will be able to move back to Tuscaloosa. Ashley did mention the nurses told them the lab is really backed up right now, so it could be next Thursday before BJ has the results. Obviously, he is quite anxious for the results of this test.



Speaking of Tuscaloosa, BJ is back in T-town tonight, and will be there through Sunday. He will still be very careful and stay close to his house, but I know being back in his home and his bed will be very relaxing. He did have the chance to go by and see Coach Wells this afternoon, which he was pretty fired up about. He is really looking forward to getting back on the field and getting back to the team.

He is going to see an ENT doctor in Tuscaloosa tomorrow regarding the sinus issues that I mentioned in the last post. Hopefully, they will have a simple solution for him and he can get those issues resolved. Everything else seems to be going pretty well. He is quite positive, but also trying not to get overconfident.

Mrs. Green continues to improve and Mr. Green is doing better as well. Please keep them in your prayers, as well as BJ. Hopefully, this next week will provide good news for all of them. The strength of their family has been truely amazing through this process. There have been many people helping behind the scenes and your prayers have helped as well, but I still admire the family's resolve.


I also want to encourage everyone that wants to participate in the golf tournament ( playing, volunteering, donating, etc.) to give Eric Beasley or me a call or fill out the registration form.
Our numbers are on the registration form on the right side of the homepage. It will be here before you know it and we want to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.



I will post as soon as I get any new information. Until then, everyone have a good weekend and I will talk to you soon!

7/Th7/08

I hope everyone enjoyed their July 4th weekend! BJ had a good weekend and another positive visit to the unit today. Mr. Green tried out his new smoker on the 4th and from what I'm told, his ribs were pretty strong. Later that evening... BJ, Ashley, and Mr. Green went downtown to watch the fireworks at Red Mountain. I think everyone enjoyed getting out and spending a little time together outside of the house. Obviously, there are a couple of names missing from that group. Mrs. Green is still at the lake recovering from her pneumonia. Hopefully, there will be some kind of turn around soon, because I can't imagine how difficult it must be for her to be away. Mr. Green came home today with a bit of a sore throat, so he went straight upstairs to avoid being around BJ. Everybody pray that he is not getting sick, because that would be the last thing the family needs now.

As for BJ's visit today, it went very well. His counts continued to remain about the same. They are still in a good range and the doctors are pleased. The rash from his GVHD is almost completely gone, which is also great news. They did a CT Scan of his chest today and they didn't see anything abnormal....everything looked great. He is still having a little sinus trouble (for those of you that know BJ, this is nothing new) that the doctors said they may try to treat to help him breathe a little better. I would think this might be welcomed by BJ because he has battled sinus issues as long as I have known him. He will go back Thursday for another follow-up and hopefully get more great news.

BJ has been extremely positive over the last few days. He has kept busy the last few days keeping up with the Olympic trials and Wimbeldon tennis tournament. He has also been walking on the treadmill everyday. He is doing a great job of fighting of the urge to take unnecessary chances because of how good he feels. Please keep BJ and the family in your prayers. Hopefully, Mrs. Green can come home soon and Mr. Green will fight off this sore throat, and BJ will get more good news Thursday. Talk to you soon!

7/3/08

Hey everybody... BJ went for his check up at UAB this morning. I talked to Ashley this afternoon and she said everything went well. His GVHD rash is continuing to improve and the doctors are pleased with that. His counts dropped a bit, but they are not concerned with this at all. As I have mentioned in previous posts, it is normal for them to go up and down. They did a chest x-ray today as well and it looked good too. He did get to take a few hours off and drive to Tuscaloosa Wednesday. He went to check on his house, check his mail, and also got to go by and see Coach Wells and talk with him a bit. I know this must have been a much needed trip for him!

Mrs. Green is still at the lake and recovering. Unfortunately, they think BJ's aunt Teresa has caught pneumonia now. I know this has to be hard for the family, so keep them in your thoughts.

I also need to correct my last post. Today was day +49 for BJ. I guess in all of my excitement with his recent positive results, I decided to just skip a week or so for him. Hopefully, I can keep my days straight from now on.

I hope everyone has a good weekend and I will be sure to update if there are any new developments. Please keep lifting BJ and his family up and I will talk to you soon!