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March 13, 2011
Dear friends,
It is with great sadness that I write to inform you of John's death. He
went very peacefully this afternoon with our family at his side. Two days ago his kidneys began to fail and he was too
fragile for dialysis. This morning the ICU doctor told us that everything possible had been done, but we had lost the
fight.
His funeral will be at Collierville UMC this Saturday, and there will also be a memorial service at Andrew Price,
hopefully the next Saturday. Times are as yet undecided.
Thank you so much for the many prayers you sent up for
John...and for me.
We love you all,
Marilyn
January 26, 2011
When we saw Dr. Reddy on Monday, she did not like a couple of his lab numbers and ordered a bone marrow biopsy to see
what was going on. She called yesterday afternoon to tell us that the leukemia was showing up again in the marrow.
The result is that John will be admitted to Vanderbilt tomorrow for another round of induction chemo (4 weeks). Needless
to say, we are very disappointed. Although, I have to admit, I was concerned that John had not had a consolidation round
(maintenance chemo) for well over two months. Initially Dr. Reddy told us that consolidation would be given every 3-4
weeks to keep him in remission until a donor became available. I think the glitch in the whole process was donor availability.
Dr. Strickland had told us the last time John was in the hospital that recent studies had shown that transplant outcomes were
more positive if the transplant did not follow closely on the heels of a consolidation treatment. We think that the
docs were reluctant to do consolidation because it appeared that the transplant was imminent. Of course, that turned
out to be wrong. Dr. Reddy told us yesterday that donor #1 failed again to show up for a physical, and, since no one
has heard anything from donor #2 since he/she was asked to come in for "typing" (whatever that is) on Dec. 20th, John is now
considered to be without a donor. The only bright spot in all this is that Dr. Reddy told us a donor is coming available
in April. Of course, if it's donor #1 or #2, that's nothing to get too excited about. Anyway, that's how things
stand now. Tonight we are going to eat our last meal before "incarceration"--dinner with Matt, our son who lives here,
and his wife Libby at a Mexican place. When John does have the transplant, he will not be able to eat out at a Mexican
restaurant for a year, so we're enjoying Mexican cuisine as much as we can now. Tomorrow we are going to have breakfast
at Waffle House before we go to the hospital. He just loves those hash browns "scattered, covered, and smothered"! We
covet your prayers. Blessings, Marilyn John & Marilyn Meeks 1101 Bob White Lane Mount
Juliet, TN 37122 H 615-288-4161 C 615-681-3592 email: meeksmaj@comcast.com
November 6, 2010
When Dr. Reddy came this morning, she seemed very hopeful that a new donor for John would be found. We already
knew that more than one "preliminary" match had been found the first time around, and Dr. Reddy indicated that that was
a good sign. Of course, at this point we are grasping at anything that sounds positive, and we may be reading more into
what she said than is warranted, but we felt a lot better about John's prospects after she left. Our oldest son, Marcus,
wanted us to ask again why children weren't tested, so she explained to us the genetics of sibling matches and offspring matches
by drawing circles and stars on the whiteboard in John's room. We tried to nod at all the right places, but I think
she saw our eyes glazing over and put a merciful end to our misery. Suffice it to say that children are no more likely
to be a match than anyone else in the general population. Several of you have asked about being tested. Unfortunately,
there is no way to be tested to see if you are a match for a specific person. The only thing you can do is sign up with
the bone marrow donor program (national registry). To do that just involves giving a little blood, but once you are
on the registry, then you could be called on to donate stem cells to someone you don't know. We have no way of knowing what
happened to our donor--even Vanderbilt doesn't know--but I wonder if they signed up because a friend or loved one needed a
stem cell transplant, and then, when they were called on for John, just decided they didn't want to go through the hassle
of donating to someone they had no connection with. Just speculation on my part... As of now (8:30 p.m.) John
has had a little over 24 hrs. of his second round of consolidation therapy. This will keep him in remission for a while
longer--until another donor is found. He still feels fine and enjoyed the Alabama-LSU game earlier. We are both
looking forward to "falling back" tonight, since we are getting our usual broken sleep here in the hospital. Every hour
counts! Sleepily yours, Marilyn John & Marilyn Meeks 1101 Bob White Lane Mount Juliet,
TN 37122 H 615-288-4161 C 615-681-3592 email: meeksmaj@comcast.com
November 5, 2010
I am forwarding this email that John sent to our family. It says it all, I guess. I'm too depressed to write
more right now. At least we were admitted to Vanderbilt in a timely fashion--and on the 11th floor, too!
Blessings
Marilyn
The nurse practitioner assigned to monitor my case, called me this morning and told me that I had lost my donor.
As a result I will be admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital tomorrow morning to begin another round of "consolidation" chemo therapy.
She also told me that they would put my name back on the national bone marrow registry to begin the process of searching for
another donor. I must admit that we allowed ourselves to get excited about the prospects of the coming days only to
be very disappointed. I also have to admit that I, too, feel like I have taken a "shellacking."
We
will let you know when we know any other substantial information.
Grace and peace,
John
John & Marilyn Meeks 1101 Bob White Lane Mount Juliet, TN 37122 H 615-288-4161 C
615-681-3592 email: meeksmaj@comcast.com
September 29, 2010
We have just finished two exhausting days of "hospital activities" but feel positive about the way things are moving
along. John had his last meeting with Dr. Reddy, his hematology oncologist, last Monday, and she told him that, from
now on, he would be treated solely in the Stem Cell Transplant Clinic. Our first appointment with them was yesterday,
and we were given a two-day schedule for yesterday and today that included, lab work, an EKG, a chest x-ray, bone marrow biopsy,
bone density test, and an assessment by a physical therapist (yesterday) and meetings with the transplant social worker, a
financial counselor, the nurse practitioner, and the transplant doctor, a lung function test, and echocardiogram (today).
We arrived at Vanderbilt this morning at 8:30 and got home a little after 5:00, and both of us were ready to fall in the bed! The
good thing is we got a lot of our questions answered. Unless there is an undue delay in the actual transplant, John
will not have to have another round of consolidation. We were pleased about that, since he ended up having a week of
unexpected hospitalization after the first round. So, we will probably have about three weeks of "peace" before preparations
for the transplant begin. Ten days before the day of the transplant (Day 0), he will start chemo as an outpatient.
On Day -3 he will be admitted to the hospital to receive stronger chemo over the 72 hours before Day 0. He will be allowed
to go home the day after the transplant, but we will return to Vanderbilt everyday for 30 days for evaluation. For the
next 100 days we will return to the SCT Clinic 2-3 days a week for evaluation. After that, our visits will get further
and further apart, if there are no complications. One shocker is that John can't drive while he is on this one particular
medication, and he will be on it for A YEAR!!! I don't know if he can take the stress of my driving everywhere...and
I don't know if I can take the stress of his telling me how fast to go, how close to follow, where to park, etc. One
of us may not make it to the end of the year! He will be receiving a peripheral blood stem cell transplant rather
than actual bone marrow. The donor will get shots to build up his/her white blood cells and move the stem cells into
the bloodstream. The stem cells are harvested by drawing blood from the donor, and John will receive the transplant
just like a blood transfusion. Joyce (his sister) and I are going to a caregiver's class next Tuesday from 9:00
- 12:30 to learn how to take care of him. Thanks, once again, for all the prayers and good thoughts you are sending
our way. Marilyn John & Marilyn Meeks 1101 Bob White Lane Mount Juliet, TN 37122 H
615-288-4161 C 615-681-3592 email: meeksmaj@comcast.com
August 31, 2010
John was admitted to Vanderbilt yesterday for his first round of consolidation therapy. We were so proud of ourselves--got
here at 8:15 for his lab work, saw Dr. Reddy, and had the picc placed all by 11:00. We were almost two hours ahead of
schedule, so we had a leisurely lunch in the hospital cafeteria, then headed to admissions, where we proceeded to wait in
the lobby for almost five hours because there was "no room in the inn." Finally, after about 4 and 1/2 hrs., I went
up to the 11th floor (hematology/oncology) to see what the deal was, and the charge nurse very sweetly told me there were
no rooms available and we would be put in a room on the 8th floor, where chemo is also given to patients. We got in
the room a little after 6:00 pm. What a bummer!! No refrigerator, DVD player, coffee room, nor "nutrition
room" stocked with ice cream, sherbet, milk, juice, etc., for the taking. Oh well, John will only be here until Thursday
afternoon (about two days less than we thought), so we can take it. One of the big differences will be that John won't
feel the effects of the chemo until a few days after we get home. Then his counts will bottom out and he will be very
vulnerable to infection again. In fact, Dr. Reddy told us if his temperature hits 100.4, we are to come straight
to the emergency room. Guess we won't be going to the movies next week! Sunday afternoon John met with the new
pastor who will be at Andrew Price Sunday for about three hours. He had known her through some programs the Tennessee
and Memphis Conferences had held jointly before he came to Nashville. She is also a member of the Nashville Emmaus community--another
plus. He said it was a very productive meeting and he feels good about having her replace him. She is very open
to our continuing to attend Andrew Price when we can. Our next big hurdle is finding a bone marrow donor. John's
angiogram last Monday showed no blockage, so his heart is OK. He has been recommended by the transplant committee and
has signed the consent forms. Now it is just a waiting game. Dr. Reddy said it usually takes a month or two to
find a match, sometimes longer. Many thanks to all who have volunteered to be tested, but such random testing is not
done because it is very expensive. Jenn Newman has talked to me about organizing a bone marrow drive at church to correspond
with our next blood drive, so we may do that if a match is not found in a timely fashion. To be a match, 10 protein
markers on the white blood cells must be the same. Blood type is irrelevant. Please pray that a donor is found. Blessings
to you all, Marilyn Rev. John E. Meeks Pastor Andrew Price Memorial United Methodist Church 2846
Lebanon Pike Nashville, TN 37214 O 615-882-2321 C 615-681-3592 email: j.meeks@apmumc.net
August 21, 2010
Well, we have good news and some not-so-good news. The good news is that John's biopsy on Monday
was clear, so he is set to start consolidation therapy on Monday, Aug. 30th. The not-so-good news is that neither his
sister nor his two brothers were a match. We knew that there was only a 25% chance that one of them would be, but we
had heard so many stories of those who had matches with siblings having a good outcome that we had really been optimistic...a
little too optimistic, apparently. The transplant committee will meet next week to decide whether or not to submit his
name to the national registry to see if a match can be found there. We suppose that if the committee thinks he has a
good shot at a successful transplant, they'll submit his name, but we are not really sure how this works.
On Monday
he is going to have an angiogram because of some scarring the cardiologist saw on the front of his heart when they did the
stress test last week. At least we'll know if he has any blocked arteries. The docs want his heart to be in good
shape going into the consolidation chemo. A little good news on the heart front...his ejection fraction is now 53%,
which is almost normal (55-70%), so his heart seems to be recovering from the damage caused by the first round of chemo.
The scarring the doc saw was old, not related to the chemo.
We are enjoying our few weeks of peace and quiet.
We had thought he would be back in the hospital by now for consolidation, but the heart business has delayed that a little.
John's been working in his garden a bit, and we went to a movie. Tonight we are going to celebrate Libby's (daughter-in-law)
birthday. We have many blessings in our life, and we appreciate every one of them.
Love to you all,
Marilyn
Rev.
John E. Meeks
Pastor
Andrew Price Memorial United Methodist Church
2846 Lebanon Pike
Nashville, TN 37214
O
615-882-2321
C 615-681-3592
email: j.meeks@apmumc.net
Greetings to all... John has been home from the hospital a little over a week, and things are going well.
We did some running around today (Lowe's, Home Depot, and his office) and are back home. Last night he trimmed
some bushes in front of the house. He hasn't taken a nap since Friday, his appetite returned about three days ago, and
he seems to be getting stronger each day. I cannot tell you how thankful we both are to have this period of respite
at home. Last Wednesday we met with the oncologist and found out that his only hope for a cure is a bone marrow
transplant. His sister and two brothers will be tested, but if one of them is not a match, we will have to go to the
national registry. Since the whole process takes about six months, including recovery time, he told the church yesterday
that he will be going on disability leave as of September 1. Their excitement at having him back turned to dismay with
his announcement, but we both feel that it is not fair to the church for him to try to continue serving as pastor when he
would be out so much during consolidation therapy and totally unable to work during the transplant and its aftermath.
His last sermon will be this Sunday. We have loved serving at Andrew Price Memorial and have many friends there, but
APM needs a full-time pastor to guide it as it seeks to be the Body of Christ in the Donelson community. The next big
thing, which I have mentioned before, is the bone marrow biopsy scheduled for next Monday (8/16). If it is clear, John
will be hospitalized for the first of his consolidation treatments. Those will be for 5 days, followed by three weeks
"off," then 5 more days of in-hospital treatment, followed by three weeks off. That will continue until preparations
for the transplant begin. That could be soon--maybe as early as September if a sibling is a match--or several months
down the road. Thanks again for your continued prayers, Marilyn Rev. John E. Meeks Pastor Andrew
Price Memorial United Methodist Church 2846 Lebanon Pike Nashville, TN 37214 O 615-882-2321 C 615-681-3592 email:
j.meeks@apmumc.net
We got good news today, July 7, 2010. The echocardiogram he had yesterday afternoon showed
John's heart function is back up to 49% and his "wall" is moving like it should. Apparently, with some kinds of heart
damage, the wall of the heart has places that remain stiff and don't "beat," but his is working like it should. I will
say, though, that if you want to get the attention of the medical staff, just say you're having some pressure in your chest!
We have seen 6-7 different cardiologists since that episode on Saturday evening, and from what the doc said this morning,
they intend to keep following him as an outpatient.
He's on his last bag of chemo and will finish about 6:30 tonight.
Then it's just a waiting game until the next biopsy, about a week from now, which will tell us how effective the 2nd round
of chemo has been.
Still no nausea, but he does have a buzz cut now.
Blessings,
Marilyn
Rev. John E. Meeks
Pastor
Andrew
Price Memorial United Methodist Church
2846 Lebanon Pike
Nashville, TN 37214
O 615-882-2321
C 615-681-3592
email:
j.meeks@apmumc.net
Vanderbilt University Hospital
c/o Mr. John Meeks
1211 Medical Center Drive, Room 11010
Nashville, TN 37232.
Cell number 615-681-3592
I just received an email from Mrs. Marilyn that John was diagnosed with acute mylogenous leukemia
on June 17th and entered Vanderbilt hospital to begin chemotherapy the next
day. He had gone in for a routine blood test because of a condition
he has had for several years and the next morning the doctor called him to come in for a bone marrow
biopsy. Within an hour the doctor had given them the diagnosis and arranged for John to be admitted
to the hospital. He will be in for 4-6 weeks and then have four months of follow-up treatment--5 days each month.
Hopefully, that will put him into remission.
The good news according to Mrs. Marilyn is that John is not nauseated from the treatment, nor has
he lost his hair--two things we were told would happen. As the doctor says, though, this is a marathon and we are only
at mile 4-5. John has begun to feel achey and his appetite has waned (if you can imagine that!). This is
normal at this point in the treatment. The purpose of the chemo is to kill off his red and white blood
cells and his platelets, then hope his marrow makes good stuff to replace them. They will give him red cells and platelets from other people, but
he has to make his own white
cells. While his white count is down so low (basically 0), he will be very vulnerable to infection.
John is
scheduled for another bone marrow biopsy on Thursday to see how well the chemo worked. If he still has blast (cancer) cells, they will
tweak the chemicals a little to better match the genetics of his particular blast cells, and he will go through another round.
They did the genetics test the day he was diagnosed, but the results didn't come back for five days, so this first round was
the standard protocol given to everyone. According the the booklet on AML we were given, it is pretty common for patients
to have to go through the second round of chemo.
Mrs. Marilyn is making up a list of people to get updates on his condition,
and I ask her to put me on the list. Then I will forward the info on to the 35th group and you to keep updated on the
website. Please put updates on the website and ask for all those that can to put John in their prayers. Also include
Mrs. Marilyn in their prayers for strength in helping John through this hurddle.
Respectfully,
Rick Lee
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