Tues 1/22

Hi All,

After a few really uncomfortable days in the hospital Drew was released on Saturday afternoon. His recovery is going well and he is doing much better after a few nights sleep out of the hospital!

The talented designer that he is, Drew has also been working on the task of renovating the back house at our sister’s here in LA into an ADA accessible apartment for him to move in to. We are all working this week to help him with the last parts of the project and getting him settled and moved in. 

Please feel free to email me if you have questions of where to send him things or have any questions at all - jillguidi@gmail.com

Thank you all for your love and we will update again soon!

xo

Tues 1/15

Hi All,

Drew’s surgery went well yesterday and he is recovering in the hospital. The focus this morning seems to be on getting him comfortable and managing the pain. 

Please keep sending  your healing thoughts and love!

x

Sun 1/13

Hi All,

Just a quick update to let you know Drew will be going in for his surgery tomorrow Monday 1/14.

They anticipate at least a few days in the hospital afterwards. We imagine he will be on a lot of pain meds next week and he most likely won’t be up for returning calls/texts. Well wishes are much appreciated so feel free to reach out knowing you might not hear directly back.

Please send him lots of love and light - it helps so much!

We will post here as the week goes on to update everyone.

We love you Drew!

XO

Thurs 1/3

Hello All!

Happy New Year to all the family, friends and supporters of Drew!

Drew has been home now for two months - getting stronger and stronger and adjusting to life at home. There was a lot of adjusting to do as we can all imagine. After a lot of trial and error, he found a home nurse we all like who has been assisting him at home when friends or family are not staying with him. That has a been a huge help having in-home support, transportation to his countless Dr.’s appointments, managing his medications and general help at home.

His visits to the Cancer Center at Cedars went quickly from 3x a week, to weekly to now monthly. This is excellent progress - his blood count numbers are doing great and his stem cells are almost 100% engrafted! He is slowly gaining weight and gaining strength.  As a lot of you know from talking with him some days he feels great and some days he is really tired. He has a brand new immune system, so he still needs to be aware of avoiding crowded public spaces, sick people etc. 

The biggest challenge  at this point is adjusting to the situation with his feet. He has temporary prosthetics that enable him to get around somewhat, but they are very uncomfortable for him to wear. They were crucial to have made so he could come home, but it has still been really challenging to get up and down stairs and around his 1950’s built apartment, etc.

After meeting with many orthopedic surgeons and prosthetists over the last two months Drew has decided to move forward with a recommended double below-knee amputation. This surgery will allow him to be fit for state of the art prosthetics and have the ability to gain complete mobility in the future. The surgery is scheduled for some time in January. The recovery should be faster than the last surgery since his platelets and blood counts are so much higher. We will make sure to post here when is is happening so everyone can send their love and well wishes.  

The graceful and courageous way Drew is, and has, approached this whole situation is nothing short of amazing. He is truly one of the strongest people I have ever met. To have gone through, and be going through, all he has and still have that spirit and glow that makes him so beloved to so many is incredible to watch.

Here is a picture of Drew looking gorgeous on his 30th birthday last month!

Thank you for all your support! Here’s to our Drew!

xo

Sat 11/3

Hello All!

We are very happy to say that Drew was able to be discharged from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon and is settling in back at home. His ‘100 Day’ bone marrow biopsy and tests showed the his body is still doing well with the transplant and his cell counts were high enough for him to start receiving outpatient care.

The other factor that deemed him ready to come home was that last week he was fit with new prosthetics that allow him just enough mobility to move around at home and in and out of the car. These initial prosthetics  will be the first of many as he develops more mobiltiy and strength. It’s important to keep in mind however that its still very difficult for him to walk in them, but they have got him on the right track to progressing.

Due to the complications with his feet, Drew has not been able to have much mobility through the transplant process, and in turn is still quite weak. The doctors have advised that the next many weeks involve lots of resting, nutrition, and focus on getting stronger. He will also need to go to the Cancer Center for checkups and transfusions Mon/Wed/ Fri and recieve Physical Therapy at home as well. It’s crazy how busy he is and will be with appointments!

We are all so exited he is home, espcially Drew, but need to remember that he’s still got a lot of strength to regain. His immunity is high enough to be out of the hospital, but still quite low - so still no busy public spaces or hanging out with anyone who is sick or kids. He loves hearing from everyone, so please keep sending your love! But please keep in mind he’s got to take it really easy, and isn’t yet up for much socializing, visits, etc… This is the very beginning of a huge transition for him and we know it can be really overwhelming for him to feel like he needs get back to everyone.

We will make sure to keep you posted the next couple weeks! If you want to send or bring him something just text him to see what’s best - or you can always email Jill at jillguidi@gmail.com to coordinate ( i live in the same apt building as Drew now!).

Thank you for all your love and support. Welcome home Drew!!

xo

Sat 9/22

Hi Friends of Drew,

 

Sorry for the radio silence on the blog! Drew is still doing really well, and we have been adjusting to some changes in the plans for his treatment.  He was discharged from the hospital in the beginning of September, but after three days at home, it became clear that he was discharged prematurely.  Unfortunately, he simply did not yet have the strength to be home on his own without a lot of assistance.  He was very weak, not sufficiently mobile, and still needed to go to the hospital for transfusions for up to 8 hrs. every day.  So rather than push himself further and potentially endanger himself, he was readmitted to the hospital over Labor Day weekend.

 Drew’s readmission to the hospital is not a regression or a backslide in his recovery. The doctors are very pleased with his progress. The stem cells that he received during the transplant are 97% engrafted into his bone marrow, which is an excellent percentage at this point and the doctors are thrilled with this. Recovery from a bone marrow transplant is just a very slow process, and is very much different for each person.  Drew is still very weak and his body is still working to bounce back from the major change and intense procedure it has undergone.  

He also has the additional complication of his feet, which have not been able to heal very quickly since his immune system has been suppressed for the last three months due to the transplant process.  Because they have not been able to heal, he has not been able to use his prosthetics without a lot of pain. However, as his immune system returns, the healing will speed up and he will be able to use them more.  He also had a small procedure to do additional skin grafts on his feet, which should further speed up his healing.     

 At this point, the doctors would like Drew to stay in the hospital for a few more weeks until his strength returns, his feet heal more, and he is able to do a good amount of physical therapy. There is not a specific timeline, but we are assuming it will be at least another 3 to 4 weeks.  Drew is being very upbeat about the whole situation, and is ready to do whatever he needs to do to go home safely and comfortably.  

 

As Drew’s friends and family, we all need to understand that while he is doing GREAT, the recovery from a bone marrow transplant is long and slow.  He is not going to be bouncing back into his regular life and routine very quickly, but will get there eventually! We all need to keep supporting him emotionally and physically because he still has a long road ahead.

 

Drew is still very busy in the hospital with physical therapy, transfusions, tests, etc., and very tired a lot of the time - you have most likely noticed he is still not as responsive as usual to texts and phone calls.  But please know he has received all of your messages and is so encouraged and supported by your love and positive energy! Drew has been on this intense path since March now and all messages of support, love and just saying hello are very much needed and welcomed at this time.

 

Also, if you do go visit him, please do offer to bring him food! He very much hates the hospital food by now, and it’s important that we keep him well-fed and gaining weight. 

Thank you for all of your love for Drew!

As usual please feel free to email us at jillguidi@gmail.com with any questions.

XO

Tues 8/21

Hi All,

Things are continuing to go well with Drew’s transplant. Today his white blood cell count rose to the highest level it’s been to yet during the transplant. It’s still quite low, but the numbers are rising very slowly but surely. As soon as his white blood cell count is high enough he will be able to go home - which could be sometime in the coming weeks.

He is starting to get his appetite back after not having one for quite a few days - still struggling with nausea and extreme fatigue. It’s still great to send him texts and emails but know he may not respond. He does appreciate the support and love!

We should note that once he is able to go home he will have a lot of limitations as he continues to recover - especially for the first few months. Once he is released we will know more about what that will look like for him and post about it here.

We love you Drew!

XO

Thursday 8/9

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let you know that the transplant is still going really well. Donor B (one of the two sets of cells he was given) has taken over and is already 89.1% engrafted - which is more than was expected by his oncologist. The doctors and transplant team are really encouraged by the progress. His WBC (white blood cell count) is still at 0.1 be we are advised that this is not uncommon. 

At this point they are estimating he could get to go home in as early as a couple weeks, but that time could adjust. With still such a low WBC he is advised to still be very careful about accepting visitors and is still extremely tired and lethargic. Hopefully soon he will be feeling much better as his numbers begin to rise.

Please keep sending him your love and support although he many not answer!

Thank you all so much for reading this to check on his progress and all the love for Drew and our family. It is truly appreciated!

XO

Saturday 8/4

Hi All,

Overall Dew is doing well as he waits for his white blood cell counts to rise. He is still really tired and sleeping a lot. He had a bone marrow biopsy on Day +21 and the results show that the cells are starting to grow, and next week we should have the results from the Day +28 biopsy that was taken yesterday, which will give even more information.

For now he is still resting and waiting for the cell counts to go up. Visiting is still really limited until his counts go significantly higher - the good news about that is once they start rising you usually see them gain momentum and the numbers rise very fast.

We are so proud of Drew! Please keep all the love and support coming.

We will post more soon.

XO

Monday 7/23

Hi All,

Today is day +17 in the bone marrow/stem cell transplant process and Drew is continuing to do really well.  He is EXTREMELY tired and lethargic, sleeping a lot of the day. He hasn’t been doing much of any texting or emailing, so rest assured he is doing OK if you don’t hear back from him. He has mentioned it is exhausting to even text at this week.  

Around day +21, which is next Friday, we may start seeing a rise in his blood cell counts. This is a sign that the news cells are grafting and growing and he should feel better and better as the numberers rise. The doctor’s plan to do a bone marrow biopsy on Friday to get a closer look at how the cells are growing. Send your healing thoughts and energy to those little cells! 

Also this week Drew finally started significantly losing his hair - a side effect he wasn’t looking forward too but is handing well. The last two chemo rounds he only lost a small amount of hair, but this time it seems to be all going. Of course, in typical Drew fashion, he has already found some stylish hats to wear ;)

Reaching out to Drew now to send love and encouragement is great  - but letting him know there is no need to write or call back is ideal. We all know how much he likes to connect with everyone but it can be overwhelming for him! The great news is that hopefully starting in the beginning of August as his blood cell counts rise he can accept more visitors and get to see more friends and family.

Thank you for your love and support!

We love you Drew! 

XO