Updates from Mayo

Hello all. Chris is winding down his 3rd day at Mayo and seems to be doing really well in his recovery. His pain has subsided somewhat (after a really rough 1st night Tuesday) and is at least manageable. He has had physical therapy the past two days to help him get the hang of crutches and one leg. He's done really well, making it all the way down the hall today. Most of all, his attitude seems really good: he's been open to learning the skills needed to face this challenge and curious about all the various medical protocols.

Dr. O'Conner said tonight that Chris may be ready to go home as early as tomorrow evening, but Dr. Joyce said probably one more night (Friday) to try it without the catheter. Chris has had lots of visitors: Uncle Ron brought up Non and Pop Severino yesterday, aunt Kathy was there, Ronda and Katy (Chris's teachers) have been a couple times, as well as Whitney, and oh I'm probably forgetting some. And of course, mama Patty and Nana Sheri have been nearly constant companions.

Chris seems to enjoy the "room service" food at Mayo and the HDTV but I'm sure he'll be glad to get home this weekend. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement, support, love, and prayers.

Hello From Mayo Clinic

Chris is resting comfortably in his room at The Mayo Clinic following his surgery today.
He has bounced back really well, eating a solid dinner and mostly being awake. He has both a nerve block and pain meds to help manage the pain--so far,so good. He has his Mom, Nana, and Aunt Kathy here waiting on him, and he wants everyone to know he's okay.

Surgery Update

Chris came out of surgery around 11:45 this morning and, according to Dr. O'Conner, the operation was successful. She was able to salvage the patellar tendon and knee cap, which is really good news as he will be better able to articulate his prosthesis. Chris has been in the recovery room for the past couple hours but hopefully will be in his room soon. He'll be in room #506 at Mayo until Saturday. If all goes well, he should be well on the way to healing in a couple weeks. The pathology results won't be back for at least a couple days. More to come later.

PS. Patty puked at Jason's Deli today. Like mother, like son.

D-Day

Okay, well this is it: D-Day for Chris's cancer battle. He went in for surgery a little before 10AM in good spirits and ready to get on with it. Dr. O'Conner said the procedure would take 90 minutes to 2 hours, then Chris will be in recovery here at Mayo for four days. Patty and Chris's grandmother Sherri are here at Mayo and pretty much a wreck. Please keep those prayers coming. We'll let you know how it turns out later today.

Thanks to Team Blackwell

It seems that well-wishers for Chris are spread far and wide. Here are members of "Team Blackwell" in Virginia that ran their event for Chris a couple weeks ago. Thanks so much to Steve and all of you for your support. And thanks to Uncle Mike too ;)

One Good Thing...

Well, actually two: Chris had his pre-surgery bone scan and chest CT scan yesterday, and both of them came up clear. Yay! So for now, it looks like the cancer is still localized in his leg. Also, Dr. Joyce (oncologist) said that the bone scan showed more necrosis of the tumor, which is really good news since it means that the chemo is having some effect.

On another good note, Chris saw Dr. Jiang again this week who gave him some Chinese remedies to compliment the chemo and strengthen Chris's immune system. It seems to have a very positive effect as this was one of the better weeks for Chris on chemo.

We'll keep you posted with new info as we get closer to surgery. Amazingly, Chris seems almost philosophical about the prospect of having his leg amputated. Quite a brave young man. Tuesday is the big day. Prayers y'all.

This Is Getting Serious

Chris is back at Wolfson for another round of chemo this week. His follow-up
exam with his ortho/onco surgeon, Dr. Mary O'Connor, on Monday was not good. The MRI showed that 2 months of chemo had little or no effect on the tumor in Chris's right leg. First off, this means that the surgery scheduled for Tuesday, 5/26 will involve amputation of his leg somewhere around the knee. An even graver concern, however, is that the lack of response to chemo indicates a highly increased probability of metastases elsewhere in his body. The oncology team is working on a change in chemo protocol because now Chris's survival is in jeapordy. This is serious folks. We know a lot of you have been praying for him, but the next couple weeks will be a turning point so we ask for any help you can give.

Chris will be at Wolfson until Friday late or Sat AM, then home for the weekend. He is still in good spirits as you can see from the video, eating fried chicken and playing with his MacBook. I know he'll be glad to get home and see Jakie.

A Break in the Action

This is a typical scene for Chris while "hangin out" in the ever so plush room on the 5th floor of Wolfson's...he and his beloved baby-the MacBook! As Chris puts it..."this is my way of saying don't bother me". Thanks to Nana for providing him with the capability to fulfill his favorite past time at his "home away from home"!

And hang out we did this past week. 6 nights and 7 long days were spent waiting for his fevers to go down and counts to go up. Put a damper in the much needed "week off" and was extremely frustrating for Chris as he was feeling so good the week prior. As always he handled it like a trooper...

Or something like that!

Monday Chris goes to Mayo for a comparison MRI and to meet with the Surgeon to discuss the upcoming surgery. Tuesday it is back to the 5th Floor for more Chemo. Let's pray that after these last two rounds the tumor in his right leg will have been destroyed by 90%. This will indicate "good response". Thanks to everyone for all the love and support.

Peace, Patty

A Rough Week

After doing so well following 'round 4' of chemo (Chris went to school 3 days last week and was eating like a champ), he crashed last Friday (5/1). He started running a fever and had to be readmitted to Wolfson. Over the course of the next couple days his blood counts dropped to near zero and temps hovered at 103, except for relief from Tylenol. So it's been nearly a week of unplanned time back on the 5th floor at Wolfson. Chris's blood counts (ANC, WBC, etc.) finally started to climb above zero yesterday and looks like his fever is subsiding, so hopefully he can go home by tonight or tomorrow AM. This unexpected visit to the hospital has been really draining and discouraging for both Chris and Patty. Please keep them in your prayers.