Writing to you from the towers............

Today Jason is beginning his journey through hopefully his last chemotherapy ever!!!! We went to see Dr. Nieto and go J's official height and weight so that they can calculate the chemo. Everyone is happy with how Jason is physically going into this round. He has even dropped a few more pounds of water weight. His tumor markers still remain in normal range 3 and a half months out of his first transplant and is still in radiographical remission. Dr. Nieto said that he believes that this is a cure for Jason. He also says that Jason will not need any surgery to remove any residual masses.
This transplant round will still be harsh but less so than the one he went through. I suppose the other one was so hard that this though still crazy will seem like a cakewalk compared to the first. Dr. Nieto is actually the actin physician on the floor right now so we will have him until next Monday.

We are in room G1157. This is apparently a Bone Marrow Transplant Floor not a stem cell floor so Ronan is not allowed on this floor and hopefully by the time that J could gather enough suppport to leave this floor we will just be packing to go home.

I have decorated the room for Christmas even though Dr. Nieto said he will try to get J home before then. So please send Christmas cards to J here. It will help raise his spirits and make more pretties to decorate the room with. YOu can mail them to:

Jason Elliott
Room: G1157
MD Anderson Cancer Center
PO Box 300206
Houston TX 77230-0206

We are settled in and I have my sewing machine to work on Christmas presents, we have the computer, J will be having physical therapy everyday, they have the exercise classes 3 days a week and I will get him out walking around as much as possible. We dont want to lose any ground and maybe even gain some.

Thats about all for today. Tomorrow we start the chemo!!! Bring it on! Prayers Welcomed! Kimmy

It has begun.....again.

We went today for Jason's outpatient chemo. He had to go and get his official height and weight and it was totally funny watching the tiny nurse getting on the chair to read the measuring stick. He did really well, they had a little trouble find a vein for the IV but got one on the second try. He will be getting the CVC(IV port on his chest) put back in next Monday. He will then be going in Tuesday afternoon to start the HDC. Thats about all for now. He is doing great about not using the wheelchair. I left it in the trunk and that seems to work out just fine. Ronan is doing pretty good. Its amazing how fast he is growing. I swear he wakes up in the morning and he has grown a half an inch. Thats about all for now. Prayers welcomed. Kimmy

Approved

We went to see Dr. Nieto on Thursday and J is doing really good. We were sent on our way because the insurance decision was not made yet. Well we got really good news Thursday evening. The Independent Review Organization sided with us and overturned Blue Cross Blue Shields denial for the transplant! Wahoooo!!! So what that means is now BCBS has to cover the transplant and now J can move forward with treatment. Now on Monday J will be going into to recieve the Avastin (thats the chemo that inhibits new blood vessel growth) and will be going into the hospital on Novemeber 29th with the HDC starting the 30th. There is a pretty big chance that he will be in for Christmas but we will sacrafice this one to have the chance at 50 more!
In other news home physical therapy is no longer coming out and I kind of took the wheelchair away from J unless we are at MDAnderson. I think he is doing so well. It takes a while to get from point a to point b but with every step he getting stronger. It was kind of a blessing in disguise that it took a little longer for this next transplant it allowed Jason to be in a much better position physically.

As Thanksgiving approaches this year, J and I have so much to be thankful for. From family, friends, doctors, to even being thankful for the chemo. We have faced so much this past year and yet I think that we are better people for having faced it. Support from all of you was and is vital to us making it through this together. So thanks to every single one who clicks on this blog and leaves a comment on here or on facebook and who sends up a prayer in our names. Please everyone have a blessed Thanksgiving and slow down and know that its not about the turkey or side dishes its the conversations and family time you get to spend with one another while making it!
Thank you,

Kimberly, Jason, and Ronan Elliott

Insurance Update

We went and saw Dr. Nieto today and were pulled into the financial office. THey got the call this morning that BCBS upheld the denial for the second transplant. Rhat really irks me is that BCBS was given the entire protocol when we applied fo r the first transplant so they were aware of this second one. And the fact that HDC with tandem SCT is the standard of care for relapsed testicular cancer that has surpassed first line therapy. GRRR!!! To me its like okaying a heart transplant and then stopping the surgery and say oh no, we didnt approve sewing them up you will have to stop! GRRR again! Dr. Nieto and MDAnderson are filing the appeal with IRO and hopefully we will know something in the next two weeks. If they uphold the decision as well then we go to either self pay or apply for the MDAnderson financial assistance program. I know J and I will qualify. So thats where we are....which is no where really. We know Jason will have the second transplant before the end of the year. Please pray that IRO finds in our favor! Prayers Welcomed Kimmy

Oh J is doing really well. He is progessing in his therapy and blood count wise everything looks great. Looks like he will get another two weeks to continue to get stronger!

Bring on the rain..........

Well our anniversary was very low key this year. J had therapy and we all went and picked up Olive Garden (fancy I know). It was just good to have him home. Halloween was fun kind of. Jason was feeling under the weather so he stayed here with his mom. I took Ronan over to my parents house and we hit a few houses in the neighborhood. Ronan was really getting into it and he was the cutest Lightning McQueen ever! He got two pieces of candy at a house and he says"I have lots of candy" We all need to adopt that attitude. On Wednesday we had to go take and get J's CVC removed because it came back positive for infection. THis would explain his generally feeling lousy. And of course another anitbiotic. They will replace the line before his high dose chemo.
Yesterday I ended up taking J to the Er. He was still having a low grade fever, lots of drainage, coughing, and wheezing. We took him and basically it appears he has a cold. Chest xray was clear, he did a breathing treatment and his breathing improved. They did a nasal swab so we will see if any viruses show up on that. So they gave him another antibiotic and an inhaler and sent him home. He seems to be doing a little better today.
Now on to other news. Jason's second transplant was denied by Blue Cross Blue sheild as being investigative, experimental and not proven to be safe or effective. So now MDAnderson is appealing this and we will be appealing through IRO ( Independent Review Organization) with the Texas Department of Insurance. Hopefully it will work otherwise we have to self pay upfront for the cost of the transplant. Roughly $147,000. So prayer request...please let the insurance company change their mind or for the IRO to rule in our favor. Prayers in general please.. Prayers welcomed. Kimmy