One of Dodo's favorite Gifts

Jodi proudly wears her beloved family tree necklace that was hand delivered by her grandson, Jared. This is a handpicked gift from Mimi and Jenner. "Thank you" Jodi will not take the necklace off, so it is safe to say she loves it.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words!

Jodi's Recovery Journal, week 3 and into week 4

The phoenix has long been presented as a symbol of rebirth, immortality, and renewal.

It is time for another update on Jodi’s recovery. The light can be seen at the end of the tunnel is a fitting cliché to describe Jodi’s recovery at this point. She has really been fortunate at every stage of her illness and her recovery has been no different. She has continued to get better a little each day since being discharged from the hospital. Along the way her doctors and nurses have been amazed at how well she is doing.

Jodi was discharged from the hospital just over 3 weeks ago. Generally most patients find that they do not even start to feel anything like their normal selves until at least 30 – 60 days after being discharged from the hospital following an autologous stem cell transplant. Jodi has been gaining strength and feeling a little better each day. She finally started well enough to come down to the dinner table for dinner about 10 days ago which was a big step.

For the first week after coming home Jodi was so exhausted she could barely get out of bed. She spent most of the day sleeping and she had to be practically force fed to keep her from becoming malnourished. All the food just sounded awful to her and made her nauseous. She had no appetite and just felt exhausted all the time. The thought of being stuck in that state of health forever was a real fear for her. She actually was doing much better than expected for her first week. Many patients get rushed back into the hospital for a variety of complications, all of which Jodi successfully avoided.

During the second week home she really started to turn the corner and began feeling better. She could get up and walk around a little each day and started socializing which was a sure sign and a good sign that Jodi was back. J During the third week she really blossomed and began actually leaving the house occasionally on a short errand with Ed. Two days ago the whole family including Jodi met me at 5 Guys Burgers after my shift at 8:30pm. This was amazing that she had the strength and health to do this as we did not expect this level of health and energy for a few more weeks. It truly was unbelievable how well she has bounced back from the depths of cancer misery.

As we enter the fourth week Jodi has been up and about each day walking up and down the stairs. She is no longer nauseous and is getting her appetite back. It is great to see the Jodi we all know and love starting to reemerge. It has been nothing short of a miracle.

Just before entering the hospital Jodi was given a very powerful blessing where she was told that at some point her healthcare providers, nurses and doctors would actually tell her that her healing was a miracle and use the exact word “miracle”. Now that some time has passed since the blessing and hospitalization it has become clear that her progress has been a miracle. Two doctors and One nurse have told me on separate occasions that Jodi’s recovery and progress have been a miracle and I can say from a medical standpoint it has been a miracle.