Blood drive tomorrow honoring Brian.

Coming Home, We Hope

Thank you all for your many prayers. The white cells have begun to recover, but they have not changed. They are largely leukemia cells. The doctors here have no more help. Transplants require a very minimal percentage of leukemia cells. Thus, we are trying to get Brian back to Dixie Medical where he can receive life sustaining transfusions while he can survive. That isn't to say we have given up hope, but it is the next step in this journey. We hope that Brian will be able to see those he loves and has missed very soon.  He understands what is happening, and has not given up the fight nor the hope.  We pray for a miracle, not knowing of course the will of our Creator, who has not left us alone, but has comforted and guided us through this most challenging experience.

WANTED: White Blood Cell Recovery

It will be 3 weeks since the last chemo, and longer than that since Brian has had healthy white blood cells. Fungus has attacked his body, and while meds have gotten it under control, some traces still remain...in his lung.  That is what today's CT scan revealed. Ugly news. However, we are hopeful that the white blood cells will come back and put up a fight.  Earlier this week they were up to .6 for a day, but dropped clear down a couple days later to .1 . Today was .3, which is better. They say when the marrow wakes up there are fluctuations and then it takes off. Totally ready for take off.  Tonight he has to go in for another MRI, to check up on the tongue, throat and neck area to make sure nothing has grown there either. I hope there are no surprises reports from them, the lung report today was not expected and so not looking for any more disturbing news. Regardless, Brian is going to pull through this trial, and he is doing better today. He recovered this week from an allergic reaction which swelled up his tongue, then started swelling the cheeks, ran him fevers just about round the clock, and gave him a royal rash from head to toe, which still remains, but is fading as it should.  He has met his caloric intake the last 3 days now, and even though it is a liquid diet, just the fact that he has avoided TPN (IV nutrition) is a great accomplishment, which he did manage to do even when it drove him to tears for the pain. He didn't want to do the damage to his body that he had last time with the TPN, which took quite a while to recover from.  When you don't eat normally, the internal organs that usually are busy processing food and nutrients tend to die out, shrivel. He still takes extra pain meds prior to drinking his supplements but it isn't hurting to swallow as bad as it was, and he actually enjoyed a banana blended in his smoothie this morning. When he sees an ad for pizza on TV, he groans a little and says he wants to eat a whole pizza!  

He has recovered nicely from the lung surgery, also, by the way. That is good.

So, if we all can pray for those white cells to come back surely things will be looking up soon! Thanks for checking in and for your love and prayers.

Moving Out of the ICU Today

Brian has been making progress each day in the ICU.  Brian got the drain tube out from his surgery yesterday, and is doing well with breathing exercises.  He is sleeping a lot better lately, making up for a month of little sleep, and  bad sleep at that because the meds would give him nightmares again and again.  His tongue is swollen, and throat still very painful, but he manages to get liquid supplements down. Anything by mouth takes a major effort, but his mind is clear, and while he is sleepy from the meds, he "gets" it... and does what he has to do to get better.  Every day is a day closer to recovery.

This afternoon they are moving him back to the BMT unit, to a regular room. They said room 1124.  I think it has a south facing window ...more sun!

Surgery Report

Brian had his surgery this afternoon- evening.  It was about 4 hours from the time they took him in. Everything went well, I am relieved and happy to report. They were able to remove the infected lobe laparoscopically so that will make it a little easier  recovery-wise, though it will be painful. Brian went in positive and ready to get it done and move on.  Whatever his obstacles are, he is ready to take them on.  He has demonstrated the heart and soul of a champion. I am amazed by his inner strength in the face of so much adversity.

POSTPONED AGAIN!

One of the surgeons just came in...it's 5 p.m., surgery postponed again. They had such a busy day, it couldn't  be done until. 8 pm, and they felt like that would be too risky after a long day. I agree, and I just am thankful, still hoping that by divine intervention, this either won't have to happen, or at least not until everything is just right for it to go smoothly.

Horrocks Men 11/17/2013

Tim & Charlotte

Surgery Postponed For A Day

Yesterday's surgery was postponed after waiting for six hours, which actually worked out better because Robert, Brian's oldest brother, just happened to have a layover at Denver Int'l. Airport, which also had problems with flights being cancelled, so he ended up having to spend the night in Denver, not 10 minutes away, so Brian and I got to visit with him late last night. Haha That's a long sentence. If he had had the surgery, he wouldn't have felt like much of a visit, so it worked out better.

So today, fortunately or unfortunately, is the surgery at 4 pm. Yeah, I'm dreading it. Thank you for all your prayers. This is a risky surgery, especially considering Brian's immune system, but the risk is worse they say to leave the infection. Hard to take. I feel like he'll be all right, but I'll be praying. I wish he didn't have to go through so much. He s willing to do whatever it takes to get well. Hoping for the best...will keep you posted.

On a happier note, we had Brian's brother, Tim and sister, Charlotte visit us last weekend. It was great having them and they were wonderful support. On Sunday morning, we had a surprise visit from the men of the Horrocks family- Ron & sons, and grandson, Carter. When I woke Brian up to tell him he had company, he saw Carter and smiled...so happy to see his little friend.  It was good to see them all and their smiling familiar faces!

Surgery Today

Today Brian must undergo surgery to remove an infection that is not going away with any of the medicines they've been pumping into him. We wished we could avoid it, but even though there are risks involved, it is a worse risk going another three weeks with this infection which could spread throughout his body if not stopped, keeping in mind that his immune system is down due to  chemo therapy and leukemia.They are removing the upper lobe of his right lung. We were hoping and praying to avoid this, but given all the risk, just have to go there. It is expected that the other two lobes will take over the space and he will live a normal life, maybe not do the marathon. They are also going to clean up the infection in his throat. Brian says it will be all right, and is keeping a good attitude. He'll be at least a night in the ICU.  It will be painful. Just gotta take this one day at a time,  I don't like writing bad news on the blog or sharing it period.  But I know you want to know, so I decided to post this. I hope to have a good report in a couple of days.