Moky's Leukemia Chronicles…and Beyond!

Daily Meds

In his final month he had many visitors: Jon, Karla, Margo, Mema & Maria.  Everyone was so supportive of Mark and his needs….but he was getting restless and ready to go home:

Enough Already!

There seemed to be some visible signs of changes to come:

Look closely for the "5 o'clock Shadow"

Then………tick, tick, tick…….December 2nd rolled around!

First Step: Catheter Removal

Then it was off to meet with the Dr to get the approval to leave Texas.

In the waiting room....waiting.....waiting......

Here is Mark with Dr. Parmar – the wonderful doctor that directed his care:

Mark & Dr. Parmar

She said, “oh yes Mark, you can go home now but you’ll be back in two weeks”

Back to the apartment at the AMLI to pack up and wait for Matt to take him to the airport.

Killing time

Matt arrived and it was off to the airport and headed home!

BUH...BYE!!!! (Don't let the door hit you.....")

Well needless to say, there have been many heroes in this great adventure: Toni, Dr. Parmar, Matt & Marie (what would we have done without you two?), family caregivers and especially Hero Mark who endured it all.  Thanks for all the prayers, financial help and letters & gifts.  Let’s hope 2010 brings continued healing.

It was a rousing Halloween for the Michnovicz clan not holed up at the AMLI.  Taking on a great twist for the popular Mac vs PC tv commercial, here are Randy & Elena:

I'm a PC - I'm a Mac

It’s uncanny how perfectly outfitted they are for their respective computer alliance!  Here they are about to hit the road for hopefully, a bounty!

Going Trick or Treating

Well, was it worth it?  Let the picture answer that:

If you think I'm going to share, well you better think otherwise!

Looks like they had a great time!

Uncle Moky had some Dallas visitors on Friday and they brought him a lovely lunch:

Moky, Melissa and Clara - where is Ellie?

Looks like it might be a bit tough to eat that food with the mask on, Uncle Moky.  After lunch Moky showed the girls what he has to do to assemble his daily pills:

No worries, the wine glass holds the pills!

Moky visited with Paula and wrote some letters:

Paula and masked Moky

Not to be outdone, but every photographer has to capture Moky at his finest:

Wiseguy.....

Well another vistor departs from the Amli – thanks for coming by!

Home Sweet Home

Mema’s quilting group, Sweet Charity made this gorgeous quilt as a surprise for Moky.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  It’s even stitched with a message that reads, “Marky Mark, Get Well”. 

The following is a quiz on transportation to the hospital - reliable transportation, that is.  See if you can pick the winner:

Sitting at the Shuttle Stop at 7009 Almeda

Hmmmm………waiting…….and waiting………….hmmmm………

Then there’s this:

Matt's friend lent the household a truck.

So which do you think it is?  Give up?  Do you want me to tell you?

Guess you’ll just have to come to Houston to find out for yourself!

So what do you think?

It’s a little weird now, without the lashes and eyebrows – but it’s still Moky!

Is that a little facial hair we’re starting to see?  Moky, are you shaving????!!!

Who wants to know?

Ok, ok – I get it.  Stop bugging you! 

I said, put the camera away ... NOW!

Here he is getting his saline & magnesium.  This is something he’s capable of doing and is used to doing at the apartment, but every few days he goes back into the hospital for them to do it.

Almost done.

Well, that’s enough for now.  Better go catch the bus back to the car.  We’re headed home for the day:

By the way, Happy Birthday, santo once!

I bet you’ve been anxious to see Moky’s apt.  Here is Moky at his front door, inviting you to “come take a look”

You want to see the front of my apt complex?  Here it is:

7009 Almeda:

The best part of the day is when Moky sees that he has Mail!

Walking back to the apt here’s what you see: the pool!

Well, he’s getting pooped so he needs to get back inside.  Here’s on the way back into the apt:

Back inside, it’s time to get his pills together and get ready for some rest.

Hope you enjoyed your tour!

The camera has surfaced at 7009 Almeda in the Big H – Moky’s apt in the city of high tech medicine.  Join us as we take a look:

Hey handsome!  What happened to your hair?  Last time we saw you it was growing back in!

Here is Moky lying in bed on his beautiful quilt that has kept him comfie all these weeks:

Moky has had three caregivers since “escaping” from the hospital: first Margo then David then John Gibson.  Not a complaint on any of their care.  Each of them got the method of changing the IV lines, cleaning the port, inserting the heparin drip down to an art.

BUT…..then Steph came along…….and……….

That’s right – she drew BLOOD!  Holy moley.  Her biggest fear realized.  Moky was sitting there, playing on the computer, looked down and said: YIKES.  Quickly removing his shirt he noticed there was a missing cap on his port.  Quick thinking on his part had him clipping the port shut.  A call to the nurse at the hospital set aside their fears.  Luckily, Moky had a spare cap and after careful cleansing, things were put back into place.

The bloody shirt is soaking in the sink!

On to dinner: yep – Moky is cooking (perhaps he’s too scared to have Steph cook after the aforementioned fiasco).  Here is selecting his pasta to make Moky-Mac.

Ok – that’s it for now.  Check back for more photo adventures in the big H…..

No photos to include, not yet – but we can give an update since Mark came out of the hospital.  He had a great week with Margo – she set the apartment up so nicely, took care of cleaning and cooking great meals for Mark during his first week “home.”

One night they had a delicious dinner of marinated/grilled t-bone steaks!  Those were a real winner, as was the green chile that Margo brought with her.  In the earlier blog it was noted that Mark and Margo were administering his IV from home, allowing for an occasional day off from visting the clinic/hospital.

After Margo departed, brother David arrived and stayed 8 days.  Mark said he had a really good time with him and impressed David with his knowledge of certain sports, even though Mark isn’t really a “sports kinda guy”!  They too had many trips back and forth to the hospital and as Mark tells it, it’s the waiting and waiting that truly drives him crazy.  Toward the end of the week, Mark’s ankle had swelled up and David had him drinking more water and keeping the foot elevated.  John Gibson arrived on Sunday to take the place of David, and his first orders were to have that foot looked at on Monday!

Mark had a bit of lightheadedness when at the hospital yesterday and spent hours waiting, only to find that blood had been ordered since he had allegedly “fainted” – which wasn’t quite true.  He’s to go back today (Tuesday) for that transfusion and most important, hopefully, to get the results of his biopsy that was taken last Thursday. 

Come back for an update on that!  Keep those letters coming to Mark – he loves to hear from you!!

Mark Michnovicz; 7009 Almeda, Apt. 814; Houston, TX 77054

Mark has been out of the hospital since Sunday, and Margo has been there since then, seeing to his every need, cooking some excellent meals (we’re told) and accompanying him to the hospital on his daily visits to the clinic.

HOWEVER, yesterday they were told they didn’t have to come to the hospital today (Thursday) but would instead be administering his meds through the IV at home.  After some very quick instructions, they were sent home with the medicine to administer ON THEIR OWN.

Glad to say that after extensively reading the instruction booklet, Mark & Margo were successful, though they do not have an IV pole to hang the bag on.  Margo very creatively improvised using a hangar from the closet.  This will have to be solved before the next home infusion….  Big kudos to both of them.  Wow – who would have known they would be doing this so soon after his release?  I hope Margo can get some photos so we can post it on the blog!!!!