Hey friends,
As some of you know, and as some of you may be learning, Elizabeth just found out that she is very sick. She was diagnosed with Leukemia yesterday evening. She went in to Urgent Care to have some stomach pain checked out, and as they ran tests they found abnormalities in her blood counts. It was all really sudden and unexpected last night, without very many answers, but they ran as many tests as they could and transferred her to where she could get intensive care.
As of this afternoon, we have a few more details, though we’re still trying to figure the whole thing out. So far, the doctors say she has AML, which is Acute Myeloid Leukemia. They don’t know the exact cell type — that will take more time. However, knowing that it’s AML means that it is treatable and she will be starting chemotherapy tomorrow. The treatment type is called the 3+7, and I believe, though the internet will know more, that it should take about 7-10 days to be administered. However, she will be in the hospital for as long as a few months as they take care of her.
Right now she is at OHSU, she has very good doctors and nurses looking after her who are doing their best to figure out what exactly is going on. This has all happened extremely quickly and there is a lot still to learn and find out. I will be providing updates as we know significant developments via email.
In the meantime, she’s in a beautiful room with a great view. If you live in Portland, she’d love to have you come by and say hi. I was told we weren’t supposed to bring flowers, but then I saw someone else with flowers so I’ll get back to you on that one. As of this afternoon she is on an “open diet” which means she can eat food we bring her, but no raw fruits or veggies, i.e. no salad or berry shakes etc. Finally, especially with chemo starting, it’s really really important that we’re healthy ourselves before visiting her. The body is susceptible to infection and virus when it’s battling cancer and undergoing chemo so washing hands a lot, wearing a mask and gown in her room if we’re visiting for less than a full day, and opting for a phone call if we feel under the weather is important. If you’re not in Portland, you should feel welcome give her a call, or text, or facetime. She’d love to see/hear from you.
At the moment that I’m sending this, she’s asleep, but she’ll probably be awake in a few hours and checking her phone ❤ If you aren’t comfortable getting these emails, let me know. For the next few days I’m going to try to be here as much as possible, and you’re welcome to text me to ask questions (just so she’s not inundated), or to see what’s happening before visiting. I figure other people will be here more at different times so we can of course just try to keep in touch and offer support as best we can.
All my love,
Simone
Elizabeth's Updates 