Tough Day

The effects of chemo are taking a toll on Brian today. I am hoping he can avoid the ICU tonight. If you can remember Brian again in your prayers, it would be much appreciated.  He's hanging in there, and spirits are good.

We Have A Donor Match!

Today we had a visit from Brian's transplant doctor, Dr. Pulsipher, who told us that Brian's sister, Charlotte, is a match for his bone marrow transplant.  We all wondered who it might be, but hoping and praying at least someone would be the match among the siblings. So we're thankful and that's one less concern. All his siblings were willing and were tested, and we love them all so much anyway and thank them so much. The next step is to get the counts back up (time) and get another bone marrow test to see if it is far enough in remission. Brian is in good spirits, has lost some weight, but it is not noticeable.Hopefully he will get his appetite back in a few days. Thanks for checking on Brian!

Good News

Yesterday we got the pathology report, and the leukemia is still AML. This means that the surviving cancer cells that have come back have not mutated during the previous chemotherapies. If it had, it would have been tougher to get rid of. The second thing we learned is that the current chemo is working very well. Whereas Monday's labs showed 67% cancer cells (blasts) in the white blood cells, today's labs showed only 7%, Last night was the 5th and final chemo for a while, and considering it targets the bone marrow first, and those percentages, the outlook is very good.  Brian still was not eating for the most part, but managed a little Boost and a few strawberries.  He was guarding the edge of nausea much of the day and night. Considering what he just went through, I think he did a super great job! He slept through the night as well as one can with all the interruptions, and maybe by tomorrow he'll dare to try eating a little more. Yesterday 4 football players from the Utah Blaze paid Brian a visit and that was nice. He enjoyed talking a little football with them. Randy and Dennis are heading up this morning, so that will be fun, too. Thanks for checking up on Brian!

Better Today

After enduring the first three days here mostly uncomfortable, with fevers and neck pain from surgery for the central line - but thankfully sleepy, today Brian is showing improvement by staying awake, watching TV, playing games on an ipad and even taking a little nourishment! Two more nights of chemo and done for a while.  We will know if one of his siblings is a match by Thursday, and we found out that our insurance will cover the transplant at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, but not here...same doctor either place.  Just glad we have insurance that covers this.

Thanks for checking on Brian. :)

One Day of Hospital / Night of Chemo Done

Brian entered the hospital yesterday for surgery to put in a new central line (easy access to bloodstream without turning him into a pincushion), bone marrow aspirate and LP( lumbar puncture) a spinal fluid test for cancer, more platelets,  etc., and into a room for the prep for transplant.  The chemo drugs went in one after another about all night, till 5 am.  At present, he is comfortable and sleeping and that is good.  The anesthesia gave him a headache, but it seems to be gone today.  I feel that he is in good hands here at Primary, and they know and care about Brian. We were here not long ago, just checked out in February. So that's this morning's report.  Not an easy afternoon nor night, but it could have been far worse. Now he sleeping hard zzzzzzzz...

Yesterday was Brian's 3 month mark.  He has done so well, it was wonderful, like he was his normal healthy happy self. However,  in the last week or two, things have been going a bit downhill, but we were hoping that it wasn't serious. He had an appointment Thursday (June 6) in Salt Lake with the doctors anyway, so  we were anxious to see what was up.  So, it is with sadness that I have to report to you that the Leukemia has returned.  While the white and red blood cell counts were still good,  the platelets were down to 11 (down from 70, 90 and 120 on previous monthly checks).  They gave him a transfusion and set an appointment to return inpatient on Monday, June 10, for the first chemotherapy in preparation for a bone marrow transplant.  This is the option.  His siblings (6 of them) will have blood samples sent to the hospital and evaluated to see if any match 10 of 10 things they match up.  Hopefully, we will find that for him.  This experience will take fewer months but be more intense.  It is well - scary. You have been a great support through all of this, and I hope you will unite with us again in your faith and prayers in Brian's behalf.  Thank you all.

Off and Going

Brian is feeling so much better these days. Went back to Salt Lake last week for the final bone marrow, spinal fluid and heart tests and visit with the doctors. Even stayed the night in SLC so he could get the central pick line removed (aka Broviac) from his chest, a quick surgery. He loves having that out, as much as it was a great blessing when he needed it for meds and fluids in and out, the freedom without it and being nearly back to his old self is pretty fun actually!
He has gone now with Dennis (brother) and Mike (buddy) to visit his grandpa in California, something he has dreamed about doing while laying in bed the last few months. They are enjoying spring on the ranch and being spoiled by two very spry octogenarians, Grandpa and Peg. While Brian still has to be on guard as far as germ protection, he doesn't ordinarily need to wear a mask, and is taking in the sunshine and fresh air. Toward the end of the week, they are headed to the coast to see if the ocean is still there. Good times. :)

Finally over the hill.  Today got the blood tests back and things are up!  So now there isn't the big worry about him catching something and getting super sick from it.  In a week or so, he should be back to normal.  Ooh, that's a nice sounding word!  He is very anxious to get on with his life, especially the "play" part... and we have a couple of trips to Salt Lake before we're done with most of this.  There will be blood tests for years but that's not a big deal.  Hopefully the tests results from this Thursday will be very positive. That's what we're hoping for.  They'll check for cancer and also heart damage (from the chemo - a possible side effect which I hope he never gets.)

Slowly Recovering

We knew that the final round of chemo was a heavy hitter, and we are seeing the proof of it. I am so thankful they don't do 7 rounds of chemo any more, because I think Brian would have been one of the statistics. The good news is that he's doing well, but it is a remarkably slower recovery compared to previous count recovery periods. He feels good, sometimes a bit light headed, but nothing serious . He is able to do a lot of things, but his ANC (frontline immune system defenses-nutriphil cells in the blood) is still at 200, no change in 3 days, unlike before when it was 800 by now, and the risk from infection was lower. His platelets are way low, also which at this point before were way higher, so he's getting a transfusion today to get those up...and decrease bleeding risks. He's been given lots of platelets before in the course of his treatments, but not this late in the game. So, for what it's worth, I'm going to be pushing his nutrition even harder in the next week or so. I am so thankful he is doing well and the treatments are over!

Still Improving

2 days later and Brian is still improving. So glad and thankful! No headaches or fever yesterday or today.