Andrea is home

Though Andrea is very frail she is home. She has been back to hospital clinic to be seen twice in the few days she has been home. But overall little by little she is dong better each day. It is so wonderful to have her home. It is still hard to see how much she has to struggle with even the simplist things but she is working hard. She is still on continuous oxygen, is very nauseated most of the time, and is still dealing with the terrible nerve pain all over. She is going to have physicaltherapy, speech therapy and occupational- who works mostly with her hands. We are trying to work on getting a more comfortable wheelchair but pray that she won't have to be in it very long, but she has a hard road ahead. She said she missed being normal, to just eat, get up and walk. It's hard but she still pretty positive most of the time. think we too hoped getting her home she would just feel better but now we are enjoying the moments she has and hope they get more and more frequest and I think they really are. She saw her doctor today and we love him. He is going to add some vitamins and change a medication to see if that will make her feel better. She really enjoyed Penny coming home. Penny misses the twins and all their activities since they have been taking wonderful care of her these last couple of months. But we really have enjoyed Penny being home. We have missed her. We still hope to post a few pictures.
Andrea is now reading her posts and cards. She is unable to use the computer yet but I don't think it will be long. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.love the taylors

Oh, Happy Day!

Click here to see a video of Andrea seeing Penny and appreciating her first visit outside in about three months! She has a long road ahead, but we are so grateful she is such a strong fighter and loving individual. Please say a happy thought on the blog or a prayer at home. She is drawing from all of our strength to get through this difficult time.


Much love,
The Taylors

The amazing Andrea and her continuing journey to beat leukemia

Dear family and friends

Again I am sorry that this is so late in posting the time has been very busy.

The good news is that Andrea did get off the ventilator. It was a very scary time. Andrea was again amazing. The Pulmonary doctor told her she was a miracle because she had never had a patient survive her injury. We believe that is Andrea's strong will to live and everyone’s thoughts and prayers.

She is on continuous oxygen and still needs a lot of oxygen when she gets up but she is improving and they believe if she continues she won't need it for long in the future. She is still suffering with that terrible nerve pain everywhere. It makes it difficult for her to use her hands, move to get out of bed, stand or walk. She works so hard and little by little she is improving. She has had a few tearful episodes about it but she reminds herself of how bad she was after her first chemo and how she worked hard and it got better. She remains so strong, positive & hopeful for the future, she is very thankful to everyone who cares for her. Her doctors & nurses talk about how amazing and wonderful she is and how so many other employees ask about her. She has loved all the cards and my reading all the wonderful notes inside them. We spent some time with my reading her blog and all of your comment. It was really nice, thank you. Noreen she has really enjoyed all your cards, notes and the care package with the cute Mickey & Minnie mouse (and it did make her smile) and all the magazines, were really just the kind she liked and has started looking through them. It is really hard for her to look through them but she still enjoys them and I think it helps her feel a little more like what she used to do.

So thank you everyone for so much. This is really a hard time for Andrea and she is working hard so anything you all do for her is a moment that feels good in a day filled with hard work and pain.

They are discussing Andrea going home. However in last week she has needed blood and platelets. She also has had an ever increasing fever that they thought was related to one of medications however the fever has persisted and today she had a slight rash. So this morning she felt ruff and she had more tests but we are hoping for a short wheelchair ride off the unit. It will be the first time out of her room except for tests since February 7th. Wow what a journey this has been.

Thank you all so much for all that do for Andrea. Take care Love Andrea, Sharon, Joe & Kathleen

Andrea was about to be weaned off the ventilator when she developed a fever and a drop in her blood pressure. They are treating it like a serious infection until they know differently. The gave her two units of blood and several new antibiotics. She seems to be having a better afternoon. I read her the blog postings she seemed to relax more. Since she is unable to talk due to the endotrachial tube into her lungs to help her breath. Then the medications they are giving her cause he to be very sedated and may be making her confused. So has intermittent episodes of waking up with fear and confusion and few episodes of her seeming to understand what is going on. She was so deathly ill when she was put on the ventilator and she has no idea about the chest tube in her chest. It seems so hard but she keeps working so hard. So keep Andrea in your thoughts and prayers we are trying to hold onto some good momentum. Thank you from the taylors

Andrea is getting better

4-4-2011 Dear Family and friends Andrea had her lung biopsy March 29th. The surgery team not only appeared very knowledgeable but they were very thoughtful and gentle with Andrea and us. They seemed aware she was a very special person and seemed very tender in talking and touching her. It took a little longer to do because they were very careful with her and she was and is very fragile. Fortunately she had no infection. Unfortunately she had severe injury to her lungs from? possible post engraftment inflammation or it possibly may be from a previous infection. Infectious disease and pulmonary doctors think it was from post engraftment and should respond to steroids. We were pretty upset to get what could have been terrible news. But we put our tears aside and remembered how strong Andrea really is. I said I think if anyone truly deserves a miracle I think Andrea should. She is so kind and such a wonderful person and she has suffered so much to overcome this cancer. So we proceeded She started off on very high oxygen and other ventilator assistance but she every day improved slow but sure. She was improving daily until Sat and Sun night when suffered a couple of set backs from an air leak from the chest tube and she had two episodes of a pneumothorax affecting her lungs. She so rallied and is again making big strides to improving. Starting Sunday they are starting to slowly reduce her sedation so that later this week or next if all goes well, she will get extubated and then get her chest tube out. A couple of days ago she woke up some, sat up in bed and with all her chest and endotracheal tubes and arterial and central lines and reached out and hugged me. Though that was scary and totally not something we would have wanted, still it was a very touching moment for all us. Also it let us know Andrea’s strength and loving spirit is still strong, even with all that pain and confusion she must have had when she sat up. She was sedated more and has been sleeping quietly since. We are so hopeful her lungs are healing well and that the terrible pain she had from her reaction from one of the immune suppressive drugs will be gone. So the rest of her body is doing really well so hopefully after this lung injury is better she will be better. Everyone is amazed on how well Andrea is doing On a wonderful note :-) Andrea's bone marrow is now 100% her host- This is not that common to have this so early but it is truly wonderful. Many transplant patients have some engraftment at this time, some fail at this time but a few special people have this full engraftment. We always knew Andrea was a pretty special person J She has grade 2 graft vs. host reaction. This means her new immune should see any possible leukemic cells as foreign and destroy them (We’re unsure if it was what damaged her lungs but that is done and if it is it should respond well to steroids, which it seems to be doing). That means her chances of a full cure from her leukemia is extremely high " Go Andrea" So if she can make this lung hurtle she should be able to hopefully move on from her back in her mind, everyday worry of Cancer. She will still have a tough road in the immediate future just getting off the ventilator and in just getting stronger. She has been extremely sick and in bed for almost two months. However, those that know her, know that she is so motivated and tuff that she will conquer those challenges too. Plus with the love and support of all of her family and friends that too will help her through this and other possible tough times she might have ahead. She will still have to worry about possible infections for the first two years post transplant but lets hope they are mild if she has any. So we thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I have read Andrea your notes because she might hear them. We were encouraged to play music and talk and read to her as her sedation is decreased and she starts to wake up. I will also read them to her again when she wakes up. I know she will enjoy them. Thank you for love and kindness for Andrea Take Care love Sharon

Keep Andrea in your thoughts and prayers

Dear family and friends We are so sorry that we have not been able to get the blog started or keep up with any updates. Andrea would love to hear your words of support and comfort and we will read them to her or show any cards or care packages to her. The cards that she has already gotten, decorate her room along with a few pictures, decorations made by Sam & Emily, decorations gathered and placed for Andrea by Kathleen. She enjoyed getting the box of oranges from my cousin Stephanie from her tree in California. She has enjoyed music during some of her terrible times, created by her physical therapist, friends & family. A couple of nights ago she really enjoyed looking at some pictures from Linda, a longtime friend of our family. They were a booklet of some old pictures of her and Joe & I that we had never seen. They were so neat that we all have enjoyed them multiple times. They really make Andrea smile. Though it has been some time that Andrea started on her path to cure she still has a lot of adversity to still overcome so anything you might think is helpful please send. It seemed like from the beginning Andrea’s bone marrow transplant has been a lot of work and has been and continues to be filled with heartbreaking challenges and pain for Andrea. It is also very difficult for those of us at her side trying to support her through it to do much else. It has been heart wrenching watching her suffer and then also be so fearful of losing her so many times. 3/28/2011 Andrea seemed a little better. She smiled and did some arm exercises and wanted to Get out of bed. Unfortunately she lung function is still very impaired. The tests done so far appear to Indicate a condition easily treated with a round of steroids. Unfortunately the tests were inconclusive and Andrea still has those viral illnesses and so there is concern about treating a condition unless they are really sure of what they are treating. So our poor Andrea has to have an chest biopsy and it is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Andrea will have a chest tube for 5-6 days and will be on the ventilator until her lungs start to heal. We pray that they will quickly without Andrea getting another terrible infection. We pray that she will have the strength to deal will more terrible pain and suffering. The pulmonologist said if she has the condition they think she does than they think she will do really well with treatment and it works really fast. With in a couple of days she will feel better except for that chest tube is going to be in her chest will slow her down. 3/25/2011 Andrea struggles with terrible pain in her entire body from possibly a side affect from her immune suppressive medications. At the same time she has multiple infection that started during the use of the immune suppressive drugs. She is suppose to still be on them because this is the time during the first 100days when she is at risk for a life threatening graft vs. host reaction. Because she was being overwhelmed with infections which still could be life threatening they decided that for her to survive we needed to give her new immune system a little chance to help and then try and deal with any future reaction. They discussed with us how this is also putting her more at risk for a fatal graft vs. host reaction but if we didn’t she would probably not be with us today. Currently she is battling a severe infection involving most of her lungs. Last Friday she got so sick that the immune suppressive drugs were stopped and the discussion of Andrea needing to be on a ventilator. It was frightening for Andrea but she said if it will save her life. Everything was prepared and at the last minute Andrea seemed to improve so the ventilator sets outside her room just in case. She held her own this week. The discussion was made to see if she will get better or will she need a bronchscopy and be on a ventilator for ?days to see what is there or she might need a lung biopsy which would require a thoracotomy , a small incision in her chest and she would have a chest tube and also would require being on a ventilator. They have hoped she would just respond to the multitude of medications. However, she has persistent high fevers and they have been very concerning. At the end of the day Andrea has developed more difficulty breathing and is now on a bipap machine. It assists her breathing and hope is that it will help with the expansion of her lungs. In this journey for Andrea’s treatment and hope for a cure there have been moments that made her smile but mostly it has been a nightmare of painful challenges. I can tell you that Andrea has been amazing in her ability to deal with excruciating pain and life threatening complications. Dr. Azar stoped by on Friday to check on her and he sat and talked to her and us. It was really a comfort. Also Andrea has been worried that people might think she wasn’t trying hard enough and that she had expressed thoughts in her worst moments that she wasn’t strong enough and told us she loved us and said goodbye. He as well as us have told her how amazing she has been. He went on to say that she is strongest person he has ever met and at times the staff and he were worried she might not make it but her strong will helped her get through some terrible times. He said the staff and he were very thankful and amazed on how tuff she was and is. He said he was just thankful that she was alive and breathing on her own.. She then comented on how thankful that she had very caring excellent medical care and a lot of love, prayers, energy, thoughts and support that have helped her through this time.
>February 25th After a two weeks of no white cells to help fight infections Andrea has mucositis that involved her mouth and entire colon -


Andrea was admitted to the IU Health Bone Marrow Transplant Unit on Monday February 7th. She is now in room 5276 . She can have healthy visitors, when she physically feels up to. This is an older post that had been sent to family and a few friends I had hoped to 2/11/11 was a pretty good day. She had a new central line put in her chest this AM and she was a little sore, but in good spirits. She completed her 11 radiation treatments on 2-10-11. They had been uncomfortable because of the positions she has had to be in for 2 hours at a time and because it was cold. With the knowledge that they are ending and the addition of hot packs they have become more tolerable. They put this heavy cold blubber product under, around and over her. It helps her hold still so that the radiation is low dose over her entire body. There have also been lengthy monitoring tags that have been added and moved as needed. The second day of the 3 times a day treatment Andrea got a little tearful because of “everything.” So today it is done. The point of total body radiation and the high dose chemo she get tomorrow, is to wipe out her bone marrow, in preparation for her gift of life from some wonderful persons stem cells. She will get them next week on the “14”. Then the hope is they will grow and be healthy and if there is any residual leukemia cells hiding the new healthy cells will destroy them. There is the critical concern of them also destroying Andrea’s liver, kidneys and in the worst case, Andrea. It is called graft vs. host disease. This is the major problem for survival and is part of why Andrea was given a 30% chance of survival. However this transplant is Andreas only chance of survival and hopefully it will also be her cure. They will give her immune suppressive meds for? year or longer and Andrea is going to be in the last part of a study for a medication that has been used for years in other cancer treatment. The difference is that those patients get it for years but Andrea will only get two doses. In the studies it is proving to not only reduce the risk of severe graft vs. host disease but it also has other anticarcinogenic benefits She will be here for 4-6weeks. The time frames for serious concern for her survival is post transplant is 30 days, then 100 days when graft vs. host disease occurs most, they have said she will be admitted during that first several months for infections and then after the first year she should start feeling better but it at least two years before she really starts feeling stronger. The chance for cure is greater after 5 years but they do not say cure even than. We will try and do occasional updates and know that Andrea will treasure your blog notes of encouragement. She also really loves a written note; card, photos, decorations and small care boxes. She cannot have any homemade food while she is in the hospital. She can have silk but no live plants in the hospital and very limited contact with them at home. So I leave you with this update on Andrea and my hopes that you will keep her in your thoughts and prayers. May you find a time to send a note, stop bye or whatever to Andrea. She is a bright, kind, and loving person who has had to deal with such terrible pain and grief in dealing with this terrible disease and all the losses along the way. But everyday tries her very best and is thankful, loving and tuff as a person could be. She has long hard road ahead and any comfort she can get along the way from those who also care about her is so appreciated especially by her but also from those of us at her side during this difficult time. She can have healthy visitors. She is feeling better and actually smiling with the thought radiation is over and her tuff survival self is getting stronger. Her count will be at its lowest the middle of next week. She may or may not be up for visiting after that so just call her or me at 317626 5477 and I can ask her what she is up for. You can add notes to blog, write her to her home address and we will give it to her or you can send it to the hospital or Home; 2727 Westleigh Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46268 Hospital: Andrea Taylor IU Health Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Unit 550 N. University Boulevard Indianapo lis, IN 46202