Donna Dunn

[Guest guest]

Dear Avis,

I certainly do remember you writing for your cousin and I always thought that

was such a loving, thoughtful thing to do for your cousin. When we don't hear

from someone in a while, sometimes we fear the worst, when the patient is doing

fairly well, but we are not aware of it.

Your Aunt is a very astute woman and lives by her wits. I have heard of Dr.

Weil and seen him on several TV stations. He practices integrative medicine and

can spot a charlaton a mile away. Dr. Cortes is one of the most prominent

doctors at MDACC. I have seen him on occasion when my doctor (Dr. Talpaz) was

not in and I am very impressed when I watch one of his web cams. I see him

quite frequently at his work station, along with his team.

I am so sorry about her QOL and I'm sure if there was anything to be done, the

doctors there would be aware of it. I have found that they don't give up and

always pulling a rabbit out of the hat. Not everyone is so lucky. At the end

of the year, I was staying in an apartment starting a new trial and I met a

couple from my home town. He had AML. He saw me first and came to talk to me.

He is in the obits today and it saddens me that there is not more than can be

done for AML. I don't suppose there are any questions I could ask or any

suggestions that have not already been discussed, but I can emphathise with her.

I had c-difficile and it took me 3 years to get over it and I lost 50# during

that time. Maybe Donna will outrun the c-diff if she gets the right drug. One

of the drugs I was on was Avalox. After that I had an obstruction and I was

unable to eat and continued to lose weight. I took it upon myself to take

castor oil after talking to the pharmacist about my problem, slurped it down,

and away it went. I began to feel better, started eating and gained some of my

weight back. I certainly hope she can get some relief from that, it is one of

the worst things I had to endure as any other patient can attest to. We have

others in the group who have had it, so it is not all that uncommon.

Just before that, I lost 40# after I stopped Gleevec. I was just a shadow of my

former self. Before that I had MRSA in my sinuses and my husband was in

isolation in the hospital for 29 days with it in his lung. I never figured out

how they let me roam free and he was quarantined. Different doctors would be my

first thought. If it is any consolation to your cousin,I can certainly pray for

her to get some relief, but I will be happy to add her name to our list of

everyone who made it a decade. I can even identify with her, having had the

same problems. I have tinnitus also. It sounds like a roaring engine sometimes

and I think there is something wrong with an appliance and it is my ears.

Do keep us abreast of her progress, we always want to be aware of our members

and if anyone wants to send her a message, they can do it through you. It is

difficult to tell someone in her condition to " hang in there " . I am careful not

to send some people a get well card, instead, I send one that says, " thinking of

you " . If anyone would want to send her a card, where would they send it?

Carpe Diem and best wishes to Donna during her time of suffering,

Lottie Duthu