Sorry

Sorry it has been so long. Being back at school...yes back to work...has been great, but so busy.

Health report: Things have been going smoothly. I will have my year exam soon. I cannot believe it has almost been a year since my transplant. My blood tests keep coming back positive and I have been feeling good. Still taking quite a few medications and I have not started weening from my anti rejection drugs, but that is all in the plan. My doctor told me that she wants to take the weening slower this time, as I had GVHD when we weened the last time.

School report: Things have been going very well at school. I have had a couple of meetings and really enjoy the new schedule. My team teaching partner and I are having fun teaching math. Boys soccer has been fun, although we are not getting the good results that we need. Hockey does not start until November 5th. It has been great getting into that though. So much fun being busy and being surrounded by friends. Going back to work has been incredible.

Life report: Adeline has been doing well, no more episodes and she seems to be very energetic and happy. Molly has been busy with work also but really likes the kids she is working with this year. Was able to go to a Packer game, and although they lost, I had an amazing time! Got to see a bunch of friends from college. How about those Brewers! Pretty darn exciting.

Hope everything is going well with everyone else, I will try to keep up with my blog a little better. Enjoy the weekend, go Brewers, go Packers, go Highlanders.

Already the Summer

Things have been very busy. A few weeks ago I got some great news.

First, my doctor got the results back from the biopsy and there was no sign of Leukemia. The genetics test also came back negative (which is a good thing). I have been feeling better every day and have even played hockey a couple of times. I don't have the scoring touch yet, but played well enough and wasn't terrible on the ice. I have been going down weekly on medications...I am almost finished with my anti-fungal, I am very low on anti-rejection, I am down 1600mg of magnesium, and continue to drop the amount of steroids I am on. My weight is holding at 200 (yes 200, its all muscle). The humidity is horrible, but that gives me more of a reason to spend time at the hockey rink or in AC.

Second, speaking of hockey, I got the job as Homestead High Schools Head Hockey coach. I am very excited about that and looking forward to getting everything going.

Adeline has been doing well also, she has started two "toddler" classes. The first is creative dance...she definitely needs some work on following directions. They said pick up the bunny, she picked up the dots the bunnies were on, they said sit on the carpet square, she took the carpet square and put it on her head, other kids were sitting still, she was trying to find a way into the storage room. She is pretty energetic. She needs some practice sitting as well. The other class is Teddy Tumblers, which is essentially playing in a padded room. She is very outgoing, took the bubbles, and tried to turn on the radio...I think the other two year olds are a little scared of her. She may be a little aggressive with hugs and giving love.

Summer has been going great. I had the opportunity to hang out with two of my friends in Madison, Happy Birthday Thane, and my friend Clark. I have a wedding I get to go to in July, I have been playing hockey on Sunday nights, and just feel great about this summer.

Hope everyone is happy, healthy, and enjoying the weather!!
Tony Navarre

Been a While

Good morning everyone! Hope all is well. Figured it was overdue for an update, and since Adeline is matching shoes with Bert on Sesame Street, I'd get this out of the way.

Medical update: My big 180 day appointment is coming up on Tuesday after Memorial Day. This appointment is all the important information once again...PFT's (Pulmonary Function Test..Lungs), Bone Marrow Biopsy, Meeting with Doc, Blood...and possibly a few others...those are the biggies. For the most part, I have been feeling well. There was some mix ups with my medications, which was taking a bit of a toll on my liver...but it seems like things have gotten straightened out. I was still taking a treatment dose of an anti fungal, this just needed to be a prophylactic dose. I also got a prescription from the pharmacy and by computer error, the dose was 5mg instead of . 5 which is a rather large mistake. Finally, I was on a very, very high dose of prednisone(steroids) and that was not making things any easier. I think we have finally got all the meds back to normal, which is much easier on my stomach and liver. Also, I did have a little bit of GVHD in my gut. The great thing about this is that the doc says this will actually make my chances of relapse less likely! What a strange thing...but great!

Adeline update: Well, things have been a little weird with the little girl. She had a couple more seizures, which were scary because they still are not positive why they are happening. Not related to seizures.  So.. Rotavirus? Just who she is? She is back on the anti-seizure med (overall she is pretty good at taking the meds). We have also started her on a Gluten Free diet, see if that helps with things. Bummer for her, she loved the Hotcakes from Mc D's...oh well.

Sports update: Haven't been able to talk much sports. Pretty depressing in the pro ranks at the moment. Brewers are playing terrible, and the Penguins totally lost it in the Playoffs...against the Flyers no less. Terrible. On the bright side, I always have the Packers to look forward too...really liked their draft and feel they made a lot of moves to improve their abysmal defense. I understand they were 15-1, but anyone who says they didn't need defense was out of their minds.  However, the Packers already have their first trophy of the year with Double D winning the Mirrorball trophy! The HHS Girls soccer team has been up and down. Very very talented, but when they make a mistake, it usually results in a goal...they head into playoffs this coming week. It has been awesome getting back into the swing of coaching...and the gals are so much fun, not only to coach, but they are so much fun to be around. All the teams were such a huge part in getting me back to good health and they have made it so easy to come back.

Hope this finds everyone else doing well, have a great Memorial weekend and enjoy good weather!!

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Packer Nation, get after it.

Day 137

Things are by no means perfect, and I have a long way yet to go, but I do feel pretty good. My doctor officially took me off the anti-rejection drugs today, we will see how that affects things. I am still on quite a few pills, and need to continue to drink lots of fluids, but it was a good appointment. My doc said I was still doing better than someone in my position should be. I just hope to keep on improving and working hard at staying healthy!

Thanks Everyone!!!!
Tony Navarre

Appointment tomorrow

I have got appointments tomorrow. They start at about 11 and then....you never really know how long you are going to be there. Going to bring my kindle and try to finish up the 5th book in Game of Thrones series. Hoping to hear more good news, more flexibility, and more info on how my counts and bloodwork look.

HHS Girls still unbeaten with a nice win against Port Washington tonight. I don't even want to think about the Penguins and their game 4 tomorrow. Draft for the Packers coming up, on the heels of Megatron saying if the Lions stay healthy, they will win the Superbowl. I'll believe that when I see it. Brewers with an excellent come from behind walk-off win tonight against a solid Dodgers team. Kottaras coming through huge with a 2 RBI hit to win the game in the ninth! Good luck to Alex a playoffs are going on for the Youngstown Phantoms.

Thanks for meeting us for dinner Uncle Ryan!

More to come tomorrow, Hope everyone is doing well. So a great little saying that can go with anyone fighting cancer, but specifically for Leukemia...

For Every Fight Won
For Each Battle Lost
For Those Still Fighting...
I Proudly Wear Orange

Love you all,
Tony Navarre

Other sites to check out:
Be The Match
Let Fish Walk
SO IMPORTANT!!

April Fools?

I guess when I said that I was going to do a blog the the next day, that was an April Fools Joke. HAHA, very funny.

In doctoral news, I have continued to get good news. I am ahead of the game as far as how I am doing. "For how bad I was when I was first there, I am doing better than expected." I feel very good, with the exception of occasional headaches and some rashing around my arms, legs, face and stomach, I am doing very well. After my "toe collision" in indoor soccer, I had some drainage (gross) and some bleeding, so I got the "Why don't you take a few weeks off from indoor...." from my doctor. Believe me, if she says not to do something, I will not! Number one, I never want to be where I was at ever again! Number two, my toe was killing me and it gave me an excuse. Number three, Molly heard, and if I ever tried to do something Palmer said no to, I would be in deep! Finally, if it means I can play more into the Spring and Summer, I will wait. Some other good signs...I have a few nicks and cuts that I have gotten putting in the car seat, scratch from Adeline, and the toe, and they all seem to be healing like a normally healing person. That is good, prior to me being diagnosed, I would get a cut like that, or hurt myself and it would take FOREVER to heal. So, there is all the news on the doctor front. If you want to quit now and skip all the silly sports and life stories beyond this, I would not blame you.

Homestead Girls soccer playing well. Some very close games and some very fun practices. Very fun group of ladies with a lot of talent. BREWERS are BACK!!! Love watching the games...especially seeing as how last year I was unconscious for opening day. Makes things more fun...you know...being able to see and hear the games. :) Pittsburgh Penguins playing unreal...#5 Philly plays at #4 Penguins in what could be a ridiculous 1st round of NHL playoffs. The Packers are getting close to draft time and we can see who the 2013 Super Bowl Champs will Draft.

Finally, the family is doing very well, Adeline was stuck with a fever for a few days, but came out of it alright. Mols is back to work and loving it, although, spring break is nice. We are getting back to old habits: meeting at parks, having dinner with friends when things are not crowded, and taking bike rides and playing cards. Very steadily, life is returning to normal. Also, wanted to say if anyone is really more concerned than my bi weekly blogs, I am now on Twitter @navarre17 wink wink!

Thanks to everyone! Hope you are all healthy and happy!
Tony