We have "gooder" news tonight! The RNA came in and the MUGA test is scheduled for Friday morning! Now we don't have to come back for it next week. And, the person who was in line in front of Bill has "tested out" which means he is not qualified for the study. Soooo, if all of Bill's tests are good, he's in. Our nurse told us that it will take a full 7 days to get all of the test results so we know we won't come back next week, but it could be the week after.

It was a very long day again today. We didn't have to be there until noon, but the tests were delayed, of course. Bill could not eat this morning according to Nicole, the nurse, but the guys in the lab said he could have had breakfast this morning! As soon as they were done they sent him to get some food. The Big Mac was gone in about 10 minutes! We didn't leave the hospital until 6:30 and we're too tired to go get something to eat. Bill has his holter monitor and he feels like a pin cushion from the IVs. So, I'm going to order online from room service. It's not here in the hotel but an online service. We'll have to see how it goes.

It's going to be strange to have a free day tomorrow. Don't know what we'll do, if anything. Swimming is out because of the monitor and I don't know if we'll venture out. The traffic here is wild! But, who knows. After a good night's sleep we may be ready for anything.

Hope all of you have had a good day!

What a full day, and they weren'te able to do one of the tests! We got to the hospital at 9:45 and left at 3:30. So far everything looks good. Our nurse told us that there is only 1 slot left in this particular study and there was 1 person in front of Bill. If he "tests out" then Bill would be in, providing everything is ok with all of his tests. If the other person makes it, the next one would start in 28 days and Bill would be first in line for it. The bad part of that means that all of these tests would have to be repeated to make sure nothing had changed in the meantime.

The test that we're waiting on is supposed to ready next week. So it looks like we will probably be coming home on Thursday, going to see Dr. Garrett in Memphis on Tuesday and then heading back here so they can do the test on Thursday and back home by the week-end. Like I said before, we need frequent driver miles!

For those of you who have left comments or asked questions, I have just now figured out how to see the comments, and to reply. Of course the reply goes into the same post as the comment and question, so I will try to include the answers in the next post. Some of you won't be interested in the info, but right now that will be the easiest for me until I figure out more about using this.

Harris, you asked how this will affect the transplant. He can still have the transplant. He can also drop out of the study at any time. So, if they call with a heart he will leave the study. The only risk is kinda like a false negative test. A test they do for, I think, RPA can show readings that may lead the transplant team to think that a heart is not compatible. But, your dad has weighed the facts and wants to proceed with the research. The nurse said that only 2 have had elevated numbers.

Linda, you wanted to know where the site came from. I went to Blogger.com to start and after I set up the account and named the blog, they set the blogspot.com of the account. You don't have to publish the blogs you set up. I also have one that is my own private journal, even though I keep a handwritten journal. Sometimes I think of things when I'm at work and don't have my journal so this lets me get the thoughts down.

We still haven't found a grocery store to get some supplies and there aren't too many restaurants in the area that we can see.

Thanks for the comments. I'll post again tomorrow.

We've made it to Houston. Bill thought I got us lost when we got off the freeway, but I was right! If he had just kept going we would have gone straight to the hotel with no problem. Our little studio is set up nicely except for the kitchen. The cabinets are all waaay up high. I did not bring my stepstool, so Bill will have to do some kitchen duty to get the dishes down, especiall if he wants me to cook!

We still have to find a grocery store to get some supplies. There's a shuttle in the morning that will get us to the hospital. St. Luke's is across from the MD Anderson Cancer Center and we can see it from the hotel. The entire medical center area is HUGE.

There are lots and lots of cranes in the area. Whether this is new construction, or still repairs from Hurricane Ike is unknown. I was impressed with what I saw coming in. Of course the route we took is different from where we were before, but there was no left over destruction. There also weren't a lot of bare areas from tree loss. I told Bill I would like to go back to the area we were in to see the Chase Building. We saw it before the storm when it was sandbagged, we saw it after with all of the windows blown out and I would like to see it now to see if the area has recovered.

So far, so good. We are halfway to Houston, give or take a few miles in Texarkana. Weather was good, cloudy but no rain until a few sprinkles right before we got here. Traffic wasn't too bad either, especially with it being the end of a holiday week-end. Tomorrow should be about the same, but we'll have to time it to miss rush hour in Houston since the Heart Institute is downtown.

Bags are packed, van is ready to be loaded. The great adventure is about to begin. It looks like the weather is going to try to cooperate. We're staying in Texarkana tonight and going on to Houston tomorrow so we won't be so tired when we get there. Maybe the holiday traffic won't be too bad. Have a great Sunday everyone!

As usual there's been a slight change of plans. The testing in Houston was supposed to take 2 days, Tuesday and Wednesday. The nurse called late yesterday afternoon and told Bill that they are out of the RNA (some kind of radioactive test solution) that is needed for the mapping of his heart. They wanted to re-schedule the entire 2 days for the following week, but he has an appointment with Dr. Garrett the transplant doctor that week. So, since they may have the solution on Thursday or Friday, we are going to stay for a couple of extra days and be home either Saturday or Sunday, depending on what day they can do that procedure. Otherwise, if it hasn't come in by then he will have to go back to have just that test done. Best case scenario if that is what happens is for the team to have all of the other tests evaluated by then and after the MUGA test, could start the next step which is the actual stem cell implantation.

Did I explain that he has a 15 in 20 chance of getting the actual stem cells? I don't think I did and I don't want to give the impression that getting the stem cells is certain. There are also different "doses" of the stem cells, 25 million, 50 million and 75 million.

All for now, have a great day everyone!

Happy July! You know, you kinda expect your family to be interested this stuff. But when your friends let you know, by signing up to follow the blog, or even emailing and letting you know they've checked it out, it makes you feel so blessed!

I'm probably not going to have a new post until Sunday since nothing is changing until then, unless of course the study is cancelled again! But, feel free to come back and read what's here again, or just see if something is new.