UPDATE FROM PAUL
October 2004
Sorry for the bad news, I really hate doing this. I want to spread good news, not bad! Rocio had some extreme back pain two weekends past (10/16) and ended up in the Emergency Room on Monday, 10/17. The doctors ran the usual tests, and found nothing wrong. She saw her oncologist, Dr. Wagner, on Wednesday 10/20; he informed us he thought she was out of remission. He wanted to admit her then and there, and start chemo right away, but after the last round and all those complications, Rocio was adamantly against that...rightfully so! "Do a Bone Marrow Biospy, and if that is negative, do a Bone Scan, but you're not just putting me in the hospital and filling me full of poison" was her response. I love her spunk and fire, isn't she awesome?! Well, the preliminary results from her BMB showed her marrow full of leukemia cells, and that was confirmed on Friday. We had a good weekend, went for a drive up the coast in the convertible on Sunday; she was in good spirits. She was admitted on Monday 10/25, and that was pretty traumatic. Trying to get her pain under control was an issue, and the nurse had to poke her a few times to find a good vein; our little girl wasn't a very happy camper. I saw her Monday afternoon, she was very sad and upset. Plus her room was small and cramped, it just wasn't right. Her good friend Kimberly and I weasled one of the bigger rooms (we didn't ask the nurses, we told them we were moving her, and that was that, right?) which seemed to set a calming effect into motion. That, plus all her visitors the first night, one of our friends bringing a delicous homecooked meal, and her mom spending the night with her, Rocio was a different woman when I came to see her on Tuesday morning. She was happy, smiling and in good spirits, wearing makeup and a cute skort (combination skirt + shorts) I bought her, she looked great! Even her nurse commented how different she looked! Rocio had many more visitors Tuesday, someone brought flannel sheets, someone else brought meal supplements, someone else brought a big plug in Jack o'Lantern and some Halloween candy, posters were hung all over her room, and I brought her fish taco's for dinner! It's lobster season out here on the west coast, so I'll be bringing her lobster dinner tonight, Puerto Nuevo style. That's with beans and rice and tortilla shells, Rocio is looking forward to that. She's doing well, and has done 3 treatments of 5, but we're not sure how long she'll be in, probably two weeks or so. Her immune system will be suppresed, so no fresh flowers or fruit, but she can have cards and phone calls. Those of you who are local, if you even THINK you're sick, or your kids are sick, or you looked at someone who was sick, you'll put her at risk of an infection, so please don't visit, a call is just as good. The City of Hope hasn't found a complete match for the Bone Marrow Transplant, that's why she's at the hospital in Laguna Beach again. The City of Hope would've given her the same treatment up there, so why not keep her local, right? I'll be updating everone as much as possible, please keep her (and us) in your prayers. I'll end on a good note, and tell you all that Klaire has handled this situation with so much grace and maturity, it's been such a blessing. I went to her parent teacher conference yesterday, Mrs. Young told me she's doing great, what a great little girl we have, she participates in class and is such a good helper. The students were learning about the word suvivor, and once the class was told what it meant, Klaire's hand shot up and she said "my mommy is a survivor" - I almost started crying when Mrs. Young told me that. It's been almost 3 years now, and Klaire has been such a champ the whole time. Isn't that great?! Here's the address and phone # Rocio's address: Phone # South Coast Medical Center 949.499.1311 Attention: Rocio Jansen Room 414 press 1 / press 1 / 414 31872 Coast Highway Laguna Beach, CA 92651 Thank you all so very much for all your prayers and support. It means so much. I'll try to get a picture out soon. Paul
