10/31/08

Hey everybody..... BJ went back to UAB on Wednesday for a follow-up and I wanted to let you know how it went. He said this trip was fairly uneventful and almost everything seemed to where they expected. The only thing out of line were his liver enzymes. They were a little high, so the doctors cut back one of his medications. Apparently one side-effect of taking this particular medication for a long period of time is the it increases those enzymes. Hopefully, cutting back that medication will remedy that situation.

On BJ's next trip to UAB (two weeks from now) they will be doing another bone marrow test, so that visit will be much more informative than this last one. Everybody keep him in thoughts going into that visit because, I'm sure they make him a little more nervous because of the magnitude of the results of that test.

BJ said everything else was going well right now. So, everybody pray for continued good results and I will talk to you soon.

10/21/08

I hope everyone is doing well this week. I talked to both BJ and Mrs. Green today to get results from last weeks visit to UAB. The results from the MRI of his lower back didn't show any problems, so the people on the unit are lining up some more doctors' visits to try and determine what is causing the tingling in his legs. The good news so far is that they haven't seen any direct correlation between the tingling and the leukemia. I think that news was comforting, but BJ won't be completely comfortable until he gets a final reason for the tingling.

He doesn't have to go back to UAB until a week from tomorrow. He will probably get a little more specific information regarding his counts and current condition then. He has been really busy with work and getting back to life as normal as possible, which I think he has also enjoyed.

I will update you with any new information as soon as I get it, until then everybody keep BJ and his family in your thoughts. Talk to you soon!

10/14/08

Hey everyone....I wanted to update you all on the last few days events. BJ was back at UAB last Thursday for the MRI that I mentioned in the last post. He said it was quite a long day because there was an emergency MRI that had to be done before his, so he at UAB most of the day. They told him they would have the results back this week when he went in for his visit.

Sunday, I had the chance to go down to Tuscaloosa and play some golf with BJ. BJ played the best round of his life, which was enough to beat me. He looked great and is in good shape. His hair is growing back in, which he seemed pretty excited by. It was a perfect day outside for BJ. The sky was really overcast, so he didn't have to worry about coating on the sunscreen. I'm looking forward to getting in another round soon.

BJ went back to UAB Monday for his follow-up and to get the results from his MRI. They didn't put too much emphasis on his counts or blood results during this trip. They did reduce some of his medications which led BJ and Mrs. Green to believe that all of those results were good. They told BJ that they want him to come back Thursday for another MRI of his lower back. This is all in an effort to figure out what is causing the tingling he has been experiencing in his legs. They have the results from his head and upper back, but feel like they need to see the lower back to figure it out. Obviously, this was a little frustrating for BJ because he was under the impression that they had done all of the MRI's last Thursday. So, he should have some results by the first of the week.

I should have a lot more information next week regarding BJ's counts and the results from this next MRI. Check back in then. As always, if anything happens between now and then, I will let you know.

10/6/08

Hi everyone..... I waited a little while longer to post this time because BJ was waiting on some test results from last week's visit. BJ and I played phone tag most of the week, so I never heard from him about how the visit went. But, I did get to talk to Mrs. Green late last week and she filled me in. BJ had to get another lumbar punture last week because they wanted to take another look at his spinal fluid. Dr. Vaughn urged BJ not to get alarmed by this, it was just to confirm the results from the first test. He got the results this morning and they were good. So, he doesn't have to have another one of those test done until day 200. I know this had to be a big relief for BJ and the family.

They are still trying to figure out the tingling feeling in his legs that I mentioned in the last post. They are going to try to line up a MRI during his visit next week to see if it is possibly a nerve issue. Hopefully, they will get that figured out soon. Everything else looked good at this visit.

Ashley told me that he has been feeling good and doing well. Mrs. Green & Ashley have both mentioned to me that BJ is getting his hair back, which probably makes him feel better too. Hopefully, next week the positive news will continue. I will talk to you then.