Monday, August 26, 2013

Why I Won't Be at WorldCon

A couple of people have e-mailed to ask why my name is no longer on the guest list for San Antonio WorldCon.  Don't worry.  I didn't get kicked out for bad behavior.  Here's the scoop.

Judy and I bought our memberships to WorldCon a couple of years ago, and we got our hotel reservations as soon as they became available. We were really looking forward to the convention, to getting together with old friends and to making new ones.  But sometimes life throws you a curve.

If you've been reading this blog for a long time, you might recall that in 2007 Judy was diagnosed with small-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.  I haven't talked about this often on the blog, since the blog is more or less my escape from reality, but maybe it's time for an update. 

The kind of lymphoma Judy has isn't curable, but it's treatable, and since 2007 Judy has been through innumerable clinical trials and rounds of chemo.  Okay, maybe not innumerable, but more than I'm able to enumerate.  Let's just say there've been a lot and that it's been tough.  Judy's borne it all with grace and courage as those of you know know her would expect.  

Last fall, something strange showed up on a PET scan.  Even after a biopsy, the doctors weren't sure what it was, so we were sent to the doctor at M. D. Anderson who specializes in unknowns.  She thought the lesion was sarcoma, and Judy started chemo for that.  The chemo didn't work, so they tried radiation, six weeks of it, five days a week.  That "arrested" the sarcoma, but other lesions appeared.  Judy's lymphoma doctor was sure they weren't lymphoma, but other doctors weren't.  Judy had another biopsy.  Even after that, some of the doctors weren't 100% convinced, but Judy's lymphoma doctor was.  He released her to a sarcoma doctor.

On August 5, Judy started a new chemo regimen.  It required her to be in the hospital for six nights, as some of the chemo was administered for twenty-four hours a day.  The chemo has some serious side-effects, and Judy had to be closely monitored.  Her blood counts were so low at the end of the period that she had to have a transfusion, which meant another night in the hospital.  There are two weeks between the treatments.  I won't go into detail, but they're no picnic, either. 

If the treatment is working, there will be five more rounds.  The second one will begin today or tomorrow and will still be going on during the weekend of WorldCon, so there was just no way we could be there.  We won't be at Bouchercon, either, I'm sorry to say.  Maybe next year.

Judy, as usual, is taking all this a lot better than I am.  All we can do is hope that the treatment works.  We're hanging in and trying to take it a day at a time, which is a lot easier said than done, as some of you who have gone through similar experiences know all too well.

I probably won't have much more to say about this until the treatments are over, but if the blog posts become sporadic or even stop for a while, you'll know why.

21 comments:

Gerard said...

Dang. You had not written on this topic in a while and I presumed everything was hunky-dory.

My best wishes to Judy, you, and the rest of the family. This sounds very tough.

Steven said...

I also thought things had worked themselves out. Sorry to hear about this for both your sakes. Best wishes, of course.

Deb said...

All best wishes and prayers coming Judy's and your way.

Randy Johnson said...

We have you folks in our thoughts.

Jerry House said...

You and Judy are both in our thoughts and prayers.

George said...

We're all rooting for you and Judy!

Max Allan Collins said...

Thanks for sharing this. I know it's not easy, but you have a lot of friends out here. I'm one of them, and so is Barb, and we send our love, thoughts and prayers.

Bud said...

Best wishes and prayers for your wife and you for treatment success. I know that chemo therapy can be particularly tough on patients and spouses.
We don't know each other, but I've been a fan of your books and blog for some time now.

Unknown said...

Thanks, folks. Judy and I truly do appreciate your support. We learned today that they want to try the second round of chemo on an outpatient basis, which will involve having Judy attached to a "backpack" of chemo drugs regulated by a pump. She'll have to wear the backpack around the house, but she can put it beside the bed to sleep, as we understand it. We have to go in every day to get it reloaded. Starts tomorrow. The adventure continues.

Cap'n Bob said...

I'm so sorry this horrible adventure continues. I hope it resolves in a satisfactory manner, and soon. You guys have been through enough.

Lawrence Person said...

Condolences, Bill. We'll miss you. I hope Judy gets better soon.

And let me know if you want me to put some of these new Bradbury hardbacks aside for you...

Kevin R. Tipple said...

Thoughts and prayers for both of you, Bill. As we understand it, the backpack is a good thing and a sign that she is strong enough to handle that. Sandi never was so that was never an option for us.

Unknown said...

We're going to find out. I worry that the care she got in hospital was the reason she did well. She's not going to get any skilled nursing at home!

Ed Gorman said...

You know how much I care about your folks. Before I read your blog post I'd just said my nightly prayers for Judy. d.much

James Reasoner said...

You guys are never far from our thoughts and always in our prayers.

Rick Ollerman said...

Bill, we've never met but you've been very gracious and supportive in the few times I've asked you questions about books or writers. I hope more than anything Judy beats this thing as much as she can and you two can continue your wonderful life for many more years to come.

Carol G said...

Bless you both, Bill. Much love from Ed and me.

Jane Yolen said...

Bill--been there, done that as you know. I send you two all the hugs and Light I can muster.

Jane

Lillian said...

Please pass on my best wishes and hugs to Judy. (And you!)

Damian said...

Sincere best wishes to you both. No skilled nursing, but positive attitudes is a great step towards continuing to kick this things ass.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Damian. We saw Joe the other night, and he was really selling The World's Best Zombie Movie. I hope it leads to some great things for you.