Finally settled for the night

Well, after waiting all day to be transferred, Stefan is finally settled in his room at Northwestern Memorial. He arrived by ambulance shortly before 9pm, and just after nine, Daniella called from the room to let me know he's been admitted and is now settled in his room.

All vitals look good. I spoke with him, and he told me he is now feeling much better. A big part of that is that he is finally at NMH, so he does not have to worry about the transfer, or whether there is an open bed or not. He has a very large room, so said Daniella. He is looking forward to getting some more sleep tonight. The pain in his head is not so strong tonight, so that is good news [yesterday, he said his head felt like it was caught in a hot vice that just kept squeezing]. He hasn't needed a transfusion all day today, so his red blood count is still doing good. I did not get any current information about his white blood count. Blood pressure, oxygenation levels, and resps/minute are all good too.

We are still waiting for the results of the biopsy. The heart stress/strength test - called something sounding like "mugga" test - came back with very good numbers. What that means to me and you is that his heart should not have any problems with the treatment or therapy that he will go through in the next month.

So, that's the news as of 10pm, Wed 9/7.

When I hear from Daniella in the morning, I will post any news. Until then, sleep well. I think the Macas (and former Maca) and families will finally get a good night's sleep, knowing Stefan is in very good hands and that everything is going as well as can be expected. Good night. -SMK

They got the ball rolling... 5pm, 9/7

Okay...
At 5:15pm, Daniella called. NMH has an open bed waiting for Stefan. So that got the ball rolling, on transferring him from Resurrection to Northwestern Memorial. Stefan is waiting to have his vitals checked, and whatnot, prior to his checking out of Resurrection.
Tonight, he will be sleeping at NMH. No word yet on what time they'll be leaving for NMH. As of right now, Daniella said they may leave just before 7pm. Any folks who were planning on visiting him tonight at Resurrection may want to call and see if he's still there. The number for SICU is 773-792-7916, Stefan is in bed/room 3. The nurses' station has a specified list of numbers and names from whom they can accept phone calls; if you're not on the list, just ask if Stefan Maca has checked out yet, as you would like to visit him. They may not be able to patch you through to his room, but they should definitely be able to tell you if he's still there or not.

I do not know the visiting hours or regulations at NMH yet, so I wouldn't plan on heading into downtown to visit him tonight.

Still waiting... 2:30pm 9/7

Daniella just called. They're still waiting for an opening at NMH. Stefan is sleeping, all vitals are good. As soon as a bed for Stefan opens up, he's ready to be put in the ambulance for the transfer. And no, there won't be any sirens on his ride - his condition is stable, not life-threatening.
Just thought I'd post something, in case y'all are wondering if he's settled at NMH yet.

Orange ribbons for leukemia

I couldn't put in two graphics on the same post. I'm not going to try to figure it out now, so I'm just posting again. Here's an orange ribbon.

Gotta tell you... of all the colors there are to show support, Daniella is least crazy about orange! She's never really liked it... But orange is a positive, happy color - and we need positive, happy thoughts right now! So, show your support and wear orange - even if it ain't your color! I'm looking forward to picking up one of those orange support-the-cause bracelets... If anyone finds "support-leukemia" rubberband bracelets anywhere, please let me know. I'm looking for them - already found them online, but I'd like to know if I can get them from a brick-and-mortar store. Thanks! -SMK

- - - - - -
I just heard from my mom. Everything is okay, they're just waiting for an open bed at NMH before they initiate the transfer. She is sitting with Stefan; they're going to get lunch now. He hasn't needed another transfusion, so his red blood count has stayed in the "safe" range. I'll post when he does get transferred.

An orange ribbon angel

You've all seen the ribbons, to show your support for a cause. Pink ribbons are for breast cancer awareness. Yellow ribbons show support for our troops. The color ribbon used to show support for leukemia awareness is orange. For this reason, I'd like to post this orange ribbon angel here.

For more information on cause-related awareness ribbons, visit http://www.productsforthecure.com/pages/ribbons.html

Still waiting to be transferred

10am, 9/7/05
Stefan's current doctor at Resurrection and Stefan's new doctor at Northwestern Memorial (NMH) are conferring, whatever you want to take that to mean. Why is it when doctors talk, there's a fancy word for it?

Anyhow, the doctors are still comparing notes, let's say. As soon as they give the word, Stefan will be transferred to NMH. Right now, he's awake and feeling better, relatively speaking. His white blood count this morning was at 53,000. His red blood count is still looking good, but if it drops too much, then he'll need another transfusion (so he doesn't get too anemic again). No fever, a little appetite, and a few good hours of sleep - however good it got, what with being all wired up with tubes, left and right.

I'll post as soon as I hear he's being transferred. And when I learn his building and room number at NMH, I'll post that too. I'll see if I can find out visiting hours and regulations at NMH and phone number, as well as finding out if he's up to having any calls or more visitors, so family and friends can call or see him.

- - - - - -
I printed off emails sent to me so he could know of your prayers and thoughts. There's a list of all folks who've called, emailed, or visited him, so he knows what strength of support he's receiving from you all. My brother and I are working on a website where we could have an online guestbook, so you could post your comments directly to Stefan. The site would also host or link to this weblog. But Steve and I will not be able to work on that till the weekend, as we'd like to spend our time with Stefan right now. But if you post your comments here, addressed to Stefan, I'll print them off and take them to him when I visit him. I've put together a binder for him where I keep all these things together, so he can read it when he wants.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support. It really means a lot, to all of us.
-SMK