I wish I had something good to tell everyone tonight...but pretty much today was the same as yesterday. Brett's throat is really hurting today, and it's been told to us many times that it's going to get worse before it gets better. He's on morphine now because the pain is pretty bad and he's doesn't want to swallow. You'd think somewhere in the wide world of medicine they'd have treatment for this mucositis but all they can do is try to control the pain. So that's what we're trying to do... get the pain undercontrol
Other than that his counts are still going down, we are counting the days until we see the first increase in them and the first sign of engrafment. That will be a great day!
Brett's also not talking a lot, and if you've sent an email ...he hasn't even checked that in days. I'm trying read his mind and figure out what he's thinking. I want him to be in the best frame of mind he can be in right now. I know the emails would be great for him to read because I know you are all sending best wishes and encouragement. So that will be my mission for tomorrow.
Time to get back to the room.
peace, love and happiness until tomorrow!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
DAY +2
Day + 2 and things are good.
I want to start by thanking Kim and Claudia for posting the photos for me. I couldn't do it from here so they helped me out. Sorry they are so small but I took them with my cell phone.
Today the challenge of walking 10 laps around the unit was met!!! Thank goodness. He did it... and half of it without persuasion. He's so tired and weak that he'd really like to just stay in bed. Of course we cannot let that happen. We know the more he lays in bed and does not get exercise the weaker he's going to get. His white blood cells are pretty much non-existent now, so he's extremely susceptible to so much that he needs to really be careful. The exercising is going to make him stronger so he can fight off whatever illness might try to invade his body...and moving around helps the new cells move and will encourage the en-graftment. So basically we've been really trying to encourage him to get moving. Was it my nagging or was it the very cute young nurse telling him she had confidence that he could get 10 laps in today????
The mucositis in his mouth (it's like thrush) is starting to take over so he really doesn't want to even swallow sometimes. Eating is really tough, so he's drinking Ensure right now. Unfortunately, they keep telling us this is going to continue to get worse until his counts go up...so we're looking at 8 to 12 more days of mucositis. DANG!
I'm so proud of him. His physical strength is low but his spirit is high! He has so much courage that he continues to amaze me all the time. He's a true inspiration!!
peace, love and happiness until tomorrow
I want to start by thanking Kim and Claudia for posting the photos for me. I couldn't do it from here so they helped me out. Sorry they are so small but I took them with my cell phone.
Today the challenge of walking 10 laps around the unit was met!!! Thank goodness. He did it... and half of it without persuasion. He's so tired and weak that he'd really like to just stay in bed. Of course we cannot let that happen. We know the more he lays in bed and does not get exercise the weaker he's going to get. His white blood cells are pretty much non-existent now, so he's extremely susceptible to so much that he needs to really be careful. The exercising is going to make him stronger so he can fight off whatever illness might try to invade his body...and moving around helps the new cells move and will encourage the en-graftment. So basically we've been really trying to encourage him to get moving. Was it my nagging or was it the very cute young nurse telling him she had confidence that he could get 10 laps in today????
The mucositis in his mouth (it's like thrush) is starting to take over so he really doesn't want to even swallow sometimes. Eating is really tough, so he's drinking Ensure right now. Unfortunately, they keep telling us this is going to continue to get worse until his counts go up...so we're looking at 8 to 12 more days of mucositis. DANG!
I'm so proud of him. His physical strength is low but his spirit is high! He has so much courage that he continues to amaze me all the time. He's a true inspiration!!
peace, love and happiness until tomorrow
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Transplant in photos...
First day here...already planning escape.
Last trip to radiation.
Getting chemo Saturday before transplant.
Red bag is filled with Tyler's stem cells.
Machine taking out the blood and spinning out the cells.
Tyler giving the "goods."
Bag of Tyler's stem cells.
Brett getting stem cells.
Mission complete!DAY +1
Wednesday, Day +1 in this adventure.
All is going well. Brett is doing really good...feeling tired and weak still from the chemo. Lightheaded when he stands up so getting him to walk around or sit in a chair is a little bit of a challenge. But his spirits are pretty good. He's making jokes when he's awake and giving the nurses a hard time.
It's going to be a long road until he gets his energy back and it breaks my heart alittle bit everytime he looks at me with those blue eyes ... almost as if he's asking me to get him out of here.
So today I've decided I have to get tough. He needs to get out of here and back on that bike as soon as possible! He seems to be giving in a little bit to this weakness and I dont' feel good thing. Not that I can blame him... trust me he has reason to be feeling crappy. But it's just not like him not to have a little more fight. So I'm gonna do some of the fighting for him. He jokingly said he was going to kick me out of the room when I was nagging him too much about going for a walk. But I'm not scared.. I think I can take him!
Everything else is good. Jim and Sherry were here again today. OH Sherry was concerned that you all thought that they abandoned Brett yesterday during the transplant because I didn't mention them in my posting. I figured you all would just know that they were here too... but just in case I thought I'd better clear the air.
Our sister in law Christine sent me an email today about a conversation she had with our nephew Isak. Isak and Brett seem to have a very special bond. When they are together you can't seem to tear them apart. I that I thought I'd share the email...she wrote
" I was telling Isak about Brett tonight and I said 'Uncle Brett is sick, he's in the hospital' He had a sad look on his face so I said 'but Uncle Tyler helped him today by giving him new blood to make him better'. He got all excited and said ' can I do that too?'
The giving must run in the genes!!!
peace, love and happiness until tomorrow!!
All is going well. Brett is doing really good...feeling tired and weak still from the chemo. Lightheaded when he stands up so getting him to walk around or sit in a chair is a little bit of a challenge. But his spirits are pretty good. He's making jokes when he's awake and giving the nurses a hard time.
It's going to be a long road until he gets his energy back and it breaks my heart alittle bit everytime he looks at me with those blue eyes ... almost as if he's asking me to get him out of here.
So today I've decided I have to get tough. He needs to get out of here and back on that bike as soon as possible! He seems to be giving in a little bit to this weakness and I dont' feel good thing. Not that I can blame him... trust me he has reason to be feeling crappy. But it's just not like him not to have a little more fight. So I'm gonna do some of the fighting for him. He jokingly said he was going to kick me out of the room when I was nagging him too much about going for a walk. But I'm not scared.. I think I can take him!
Everything else is good. Jim and Sherry were here again today. OH Sherry was concerned that you all thought that they abandoned Brett yesterday during the transplant because I didn't mention them in my posting. I figured you all would just know that they were here too... but just in case I thought I'd better clear the air.
Our sister in law Christine sent me an email today about a conversation she had with our nephew Isak. Isak and Brett seem to have a very special bond. When they are together you can't seem to tear them apart. I that I thought I'd share the email...she wrote
" I was telling Isak about Brett tonight and I said 'Uncle Brett is sick, he's in the hospital' He had a sad look on his face so I said 'but Uncle Tyler helped him today by giving him new blood to make him better'. He got all excited and said ' can I do that too?'
The giving must run in the genes!!!
peace, love and happiness until tomorrow!!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
DAY 0 !
Well, the transplant is complete. Brett's doing fine. I can't tell you the relief I feel now that his part is over. We have a road ahead of us, but we made it over the first bump.
Tyler did awesome today. It all started at 7:30 this morning. He was hooked up to the pheresis machine that did the work of drawing the blood out of one arm, spinning out the stem cells and putting the remaining blood back in to Tyler's other arm. It took a little over 5 hours...if my brain is calculating correctly.
Than a few hours later at 4pm a bag of stem cells arrived at Brett's door. They hooked up the bag to his hickman cathater - which is like a permanent iv line in Brett's chest. And we watched...
it took about 1/2 an hour and Brett was done. The cells ran into the line like a regular bag of fluid... Brett had no reaction what so ever. He just sat there - watching a soccer game on tv with Tyler. Brett told Tyler that as soon as the cells arrived in the room the soccer game just appeared on the TV!!!
Tyler had no side effects, at least that is what he is telling us. He is having some stiffness in his knee, which is already injured. The nurse told him that the shots could be aggrivating his knee a little bit more than usual. His platelet count is a little low... the doctor says the pheresis machine chews up the platelets so those don't get replenished back with the rest of the blood, so Tyler has to be carefull not to get injured in the next week. No contact sports or weight lifting ... which if you know Tyler is a huge request. He loves to exercise!! He's in great shape which helped so much today.
We can never really express our gratitude to Tyler for giving this fabulous gift. When Brett and I started dating I think Tyler was 8. So I've gotten the privilage of being able to watch Tyler grow in to this amazing man. He jumped into this ready for anything. Able to bring a baby into this world in one week and help save Brett the next. Thank you Tyler, we love you
Thank you Alanna for everything and for sitting in the hospital all day...waiting....
and yes, thank you Quinn for bringing a little sunshine into our day.
Alanna's mom was here too to help watch the baby while the whole thing happened. And God love her... she was willing to sit in the car with the baby if the baby wasn't going to be allowed up on the hospital floor. Thank goodness for the family room so she didn't have to do that!
Thanks Claud and Hank for being here- we love you guys.
Well, I need to get back to Brett. I cannot begin to thank you all for the prayers, emails, text and all the love that was sent to us. The net was there to catch him today!! I witnessed it!
I'll blog again tomorrow -
peace, love and happiness
Tyler did awesome today. It all started at 7:30 this morning. He was hooked up to the pheresis machine that did the work of drawing the blood out of one arm, spinning out the stem cells and putting the remaining blood back in to Tyler's other arm. It took a little over 5 hours...if my brain is calculating correctly.
Than a few hours later at 4pm a bag of stem cells arrived at Brett's door. They hooked up the bag to his hickman cathater - which is like a permanent iv line in Brett's chest. And we watched...
it took about 1/2 an hour and Brett was done. The cells ran into the line like a regular bag of fluid... Brett had no reaction what so ever. He just sat there - watching a soccer game on tv with Tyler. Brett told Tyler that as soon as the cells arrived in the room the soccer game just appeared on the TV!!!
Tyler had no side effects, at least that is what he is telling us. He is having some stiffness in his knee, which is already injured. The nurse told him that the shots could be aggrivating his knee a little bit more than usual. His platelet count is a little low... the doctor says the pheresis machine chews up the platelets so those don't get replenished back with the rest of the blood, so Tyler has to be carefull not to get injured in the next week. No contact sports or weight lifting ... which if you know Tyler is a huge request. He loves to exercise!! He's in great shape which helped so much today.
We can never really express our gratitude to Tyler for giving this fabulous gift. When Brett and I started dating I think Tyler was 8. So I've gotten the privilage of being able to watch Tyler grow in to this amazing man. He jumped into this ready for anything. Able to bring a baby into this world in one week and help save Brett the next. Thank you Tyler, we love you
Thank you Alanna for everything and for sitting in the hospital all day...waiting....
and yes, thank you Quinn for bringing a little sunshine into our day.
Alanna's mom was here too to help watch the baby while the whole thing happened. And God love her... she was willing to sit in the car with the baby if the baby wasn't going to be allowed up on the hospital floor. Thank goodness for the family room so she didn't have to do that!
Thanks Claud and Hank for being here- we love you guys.
Well, I need to get back to Brett. I cannot begin to thank you all for the prayers, emails, text and all the love that was sent to us. The net was there to catch him today!! I witnessed it!
I'll blog again tomorrow -
peace, love and happiness
Monday, April 26, 2010
DAY -1
Day-1...
I've been thinking all day about what I might blog tonight, which is why I'm so late posting.
I wanted to write something inspirational, confident and aw inspiring. But I got nothin'
Nothin' but the same ol' thing. So bare with me
Brett spent the day just like yesterday... headache, and getting sick to his stomach. He did a lot of sleeping and stayed pretty quiet all day. I went back home to get more things that we needed and do a few errands. I thought it would feel good to get out and have a task to do. But it was horrible. All I could think about was Brett. OH, he was in good hands... Jim and Sherry stayed with him, and our favorite nurse Nathan was taking good care of him. But all I could do was think about him and wonder if he was ok. Than on the way back to the hospital... it hit me. Tomorrow is THE DAY.
The past few days have been occupied with damp clothes, puke buckets, sips of water and trips to the bathroom. All of which have kept my mind other places than transplant day. Maybe that was part of God's plan... keep us both busy so we don't worry. I could think of other things that Brett would rather be doing to be kept busy but I try to find the best in this whole thing. Just like i try to convince myself that him getting sick all day is just getting that chemo drug out of his system a little quicker.
I tried to convince myself we are ready for this. I told myself Brett can do anything!! He really can... anything he puts his mind to he figures out a plan and executes it. Sometimes with too much thought behind it but he gets it done! And he's good at it... he's pretty much good at anything he tries. So why would this be any different?
He's spent a lot of time planning this, trying to find out all he could be for starting this process. I know he didn't get all of the answers he wanted. But I told him in one of our conversations about "why", that if they could tell him why he's gotten cancer 3 times in his life, someone would have a cure for cancer. Sometimes there just isn't an answer. You just has to have a little faith, he has to give a little bit of the control up to someone else, he has to trust. So tomorrow he's taking the risk, he's taking the leap, ... so I'm praying that the net will be there to catch him!
Transplant day starts early. Tyler has to be here for check in at 7:30... than the whole process starts. I promise to keep you all posted as much as I can. Tyler says he's feeling good and is ready for tomorrow. Please Pray for strength, peace, wellness and courage. Pray that the doctors and nurses have all the knowledge and confidence they need. And please give a little thanks that we have been given this amazing opportunity!!!!
PEACE and LOVE
I've been thinking all day about what I might blog tonight, which is why I'm so late posting.
I wanted to write something inspirational, confident and aw inspiring. But I got nothin'
Nothin' but the same ol' thing. So bare with me
Brett spent the day just like yesterday... headache, and getting sick to his stomach. He did a lot of sleeping and stayed pretty quiet all day. I went back home to get more things that we needed and do a few errands. I thought it would feel good to get out and have a task to do. But it was horrible. All I could think about was Brett. OH, he was in good hands... Jim and Sherry stayed with him, and our favorite nurse Nathan was taking good care of him. But all I could do was think about him and wonder if he was ok. Than on the way back to the hospital... it hit me. Tomorrow is THE DAY.
The past few days have been occupied with damp clothes, puke buckets, sips of water and trips to the bathroom. All of which have kept my mind other places than transplant day. Maybe that was part of God's plan... keep us both busy so we don't worry. I could think of other things that Brett would rather be doing to be kept busy but I try to find the best in this whole thing. Just like i try to convince myself that him getting sick all day is just getting that chemo drug out of his system a little quicker.
I tried to convince myself we are ready for this. I told myself Brett can do anything!! He really can... anything he puts his mind to he figures out a plan and executes it. Sometimes with too much thought behind it but he gets it done! And he's good at it... he's pretty much good at anything he tries. So why would this be any different?
He's spent a lot of time planning this, trying to find out all he could be for starting this process. I know he didn't get all of the answers he wanted. But I told him in one of our conversations about "why", that if they could tell him why he's gotten cancer 3 times in his life, someone would have a cure for cancer. Sometimes there just isn't an answer. You just has to have a little faith, he has to give a little bit of the control up to someone else, he has to trust. So tomorrow he's taking the risk, he's taking the leap, ... so I'm praying that the net will be there to catch him!
Transplant day starts early. Tyler has to be here for check in at 7:30... than the whole process starts. I promise to keep you all posted as much as I can. Tyler says he's feeling good and is ready for tomorrow. Please Pray for strength, peace, wellness and courage. Pray that the doctors and nurses have all the knowledge and confidence they need. And please give a little thanks that we have been given this amazing opportunity!!!!
PEACE and LOVE
Sunday, April 25, 2010
DAY - 2
Day - 2 almost complete.
Brett's still having "effects" of the chemo from yesterday. Still getting sick but less often than yesterday. He's probably going to be feeling pretty bad for a few days.
His parents are here. Jim & Sherry arrived late morning ... their visit with Brett was pretty limited since he kept falling asleep on them. Oh well, it's good to have them here.
Tomorrow (monday) is another rest day for him. Nothing planned treatmentwise other than the daily regimin of antibiotic,antifungal, etc etc etc. Hopefully, he will be feeling well enough to get up and walk a little bit.
So hard to see him like this but I know this too will pass. I just wish there was more that I could do to help him through this.I know he's sick of me asking him if he needs anything, or if he feels like he can drink something, or try to eat a cracker....but he's stuck with me naggin him!
I need to get back to the room, it's time for bed! Well, almost time.
Blog ya tomorrow!
Brett's still having "effects" of the chemo from yesterday. Still getting sick but less often than yesterday. He's probably going to be feeling pretty bad for a few days.
His parents are here. Jim & Sherry arrived late morning ... their visit with Brett was pretty limited since he kept falling asleep on them. Oh well, it's good to have them here.
Tomorrow (monday) is another rest day for him. Nothing planned treatmentwise other than the daily regimin of antibiotic,antifungal, etc etc etc. Hopefully, he will be feeling well enough to get up and walk a little bit.
So hard to see him like this but I know this too will pass. I just wish there was more that I could do to help him through this.I know he's sick of me asking him if he needs anything, or if he feels like he can drink something, or try to eat a cracker....but he's stuck with me naggin him!
I need to get back to the room, it's time for bed! Well, almost time.
Blog ya tomorrow!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
DAY -3
Today is Saturday... Day -3 and counting, also known as chemo day!! And boy was it. The
4 hours of chemo hit him pretty hard. Headache than some nausea. I wish I could tell you that's where it stopped but oh no, he went all out. However, as he got his 3rd dose of ativan to help with the nausea he asked me if I wanted to blog. I told him I could do i later, than he asked if I wanted to use his laptop instead of going to the family room to use that computer.
He told me I could be more descriptive if I blogged from here. I asked if he wanted me to post something for him... his reply is as follows (sorry in advance for those with weak stomaches)
You can put something like....
"as i type away on the blog, I hear the splatter on the floor as Brett is unable to beat back the fountain of vomit." I asked what else he wanted to say and he said I could take it from there.
Does that tell you anything? The guy can't lift his head off the pillow without being sick but he wants me to post that?....hmmmm humor still intack!
Apparently, the way he's responding today is to be expected. Nothing to worry about. If we could get his headache under control I think the nausea would be relieved. But there's only so much they want to try for now. Counts are on the way down so pain meds like motrin are a no no. I ventured down to the deepths of this ancient building to find the smallest cafeteria ever. Of course it was closed at 6:30pm but I was sent on a mission to get him the ol' standby for upset stomaches- Vernors. Thank God for vending machines! Hopefully when he can get some of that down with some crackers he'll be on his way to feeling good again.
We've had communication with Tyler a few times today... and he says all is still going well for him.
I'd better go the ativan is really kicking in. He's now asking the nurse assistant about his tattos.
" so brad, tell us about your tattos." this could get interesting.
4 hours of chemo hit him pretty hard. Headache than some nausea. I wish I could tell you that's where it stopped but oh no, he went all out. However, as he got his 3rd dose of ativan to help with the nausea he asked me if I wanted to blog. I told him I could do i later, than he asked if I wanted to use his laptop instead of going to the family room to use that computer.
He told me I could be more descriptive if I blogged from here. I asked if he wanted me to post something for him... his reply is as follows (sorry in advance for those with weak stomaches)
You can put something like....
"as i type away on the blog, I hear the splatter on the floor as Brett is unable to beat back the fountain of vomit." I asked what else he wanted to say and he said I could take it from there.
Does that tell you anything? The guy can't lift his head off the pillow without being sick but he wants me to post that?....hmmmm humor still intack!
Apparently, the way he's responding today is to be expected. Nothing to worry about. If we could get his headache under control I think the nausea would be relieved. But there's only so much they want to try for now. Counts are on the way down so pain meds like motrin are a no no. I ventured down to the deepths of this ancient building to find the smallest cafeteria ever. Of course it was closed at 6:30pm but I was sent on a mission to get him the ol' standby for upset stomaches- Vernors. Thank God for vending machines! Hopefully when he can get some of that down with some crackers he'll be on his way to feeling good again.
We've had communication with Tyler a few times today... and he says all is still going well for him.
I'd better go the ativan is really kicking in. He's now asking the nurse assistant about his tattos.
" so brad, tell us about your tattos." this could get interesting.
Friday, April 23, 2010
DAY -4
Well, RADIATION COMPLETE...
one phase done!
He's doing great! No side effects so far. He just amazes me! Dr Abidi (the attending doc) said he's doing superb!!
And of course today's last trip to the ROC...(radiation oncology center) was the smoothest, fastest trip of them all. Some trips took up to 3 hours, most of which was waiting for transport to pick him up. Today though was the perfect ending!
Tomorrow is chemo day. VP-16 or aka Etoposide is the drug they will use. It will be infused over 4 hours, along with 4 - 1 liter bags of saline. All the fluid will help flush out the chemo to protect his organs ... but hopefully not make Brett float away!
Brett's room has started a transition today... posters, pictures, words of inspiration, signs are now hanging all over the room! Thanks Claudia, Mary Sue, Ashleigh, Stefeni, Anthony, Bubba and everyone else who are in the photos. His room looks a little brighter now! I'm a little concerned about how happy he was to get the poster with photos of Shania Twain, Megan Fox and the Almay cosmetic model on it. Yes, I'm a little jealous! But I'll get over it
We got a quick text from Tyler today, saying the first shots went A-OK. Also good news! Good work Tyler!
I should go... it's getting late and we are not sure what time his treatment will start tomorrow. They say they start it in the morning... how early is anyone's guess.
I will post update tomorrow. Keep the prayers coming, they are obviously working.
here's the address if anyone wants to send him an old fashion note or card... or picture!
Brett Robinson
Harper University Hospital
10 Webber North BMT Unit Room 10210
3990 John R
Detroit MI 48201
Love you all!!!
one phase done!
He's doing great! No side effects so far. He just amazes me! Dr Abidi (the attending doc) said he's doing superb!!
And of course today's last trip to the ROC...(radiation oncology center) was the smoothest, fastest trip of them all. Some trips took up to 3 hours, most of which was waiting for transport to pick him up. Today though was the perfect ending!
Tomorrow is chemo day. VP-16 or aka Etoposide is the drug they will use. It will be infused over 4 hours, along with 4 - 1 liter bags of saline. All the fluid will help flush out the chemo to protect his organs ... but hopefully not make Brett float away!
Brett's room has started a transition today... posters, pictures, words of inspiration, signs are now hanging all over the room! Thanks Claudia, Mary Sue, Ashleigh, Stefeni, Anthony, Bubba and everyone else who are in the photos. His room looks a little brighter now! I'm a little concerned about how happy he was to get the poster with photos of Shania Twain, Megan Fox and the Almay cosmetic model on it. Yes, I'm a little jealous! But I'll get over it
We got a quick text from Tyler today, saying the first shots went A-OK. Also good news! Good work Tyler!
I should go... it's getting late and we are not sure what time his treatment will start tomorrow. They say they start it in the morning... how early is anyone's guess.
I will post update tomorrow. Keep the prayers coming, they are obviously working.
here's the address if anyone wants to send him an old fashion note or card... or picture!
Brett Robinson
Harper University Hospital
10 Webber North BMT Unit Room 10210
3990 John R
Detroit MI 48201
Love you all!!!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Day -5
It's Thursday already, I cannot believe it. Day -5
If today is thursday than that means tomorrow is Friday!
Brett's down for his last treatment for today and since tomorrow is Friday that means he only has 2 more radiation treatments!!!
He's doing great. It's almost like there's nothing going on. His counts have dropped only slightly so we questioned them today thinking they should be lower. The nurse reassured us that they will drop in time, not to worry! The drop in his white blood cells, and red blood cells and platelets are normal and all signs that the radiation and eventually the chemo, which he gets on Saturday is working to kill his bone marrow to make "room" for Tyler's cells.
Everyone knows that Tyler is his donor, right? Considered a great match! It was a battle for a while. Travis was a match first but Travis has a different blood type... so Tyler was tested. Tyler had the same number of "matches" as Travis. Unheard of right... how many people can say they have two almost perfect matches, not to mention in one family of only 5??? So the contest to see which brother wins continued with another blood test to dive a little deeper. 2nd blood testing came back that both brothers still had same number of matches again... however, Tyler has the same blood type so he wins!!
Everyone also knows that Tyler and his wife Alanna just had their first baby right? A week ago yesterday beautiful little Quinn Nora came into this CRAZY world!! We got to see her on Sunday and she is such a gift! Her timing was perfect for us... just what we needed before starting this- well, i guess we'll call it an adventure. I cannot tell you what holding her felt like, my heart filled and my soul felt renewed. Her peacefulness and obliviousness made me and I think Brett, forget about the stress and fear that has followed us for the past few months. She's a blessing in more ways than she'll ever know.
Back to Tyler... he starts his part of the "process" tomorrow. Unfortunately, he has to start giving himself shots 3 times a day for 4 days to boost all his cells. We pray this goes easily for him and the only issue he has is the inconvenience of finding time to do the shots inbetween diaper changes.
I guess that's it for today!
Thanks again for all the support....
If today is thursday than that means tomorrow is Friday!
Brett's down for his last treatment for today and since tomorrow is Friday that means he only has 2 more radiation treatments!!!
He's doing great. It's almost like there's nothing going on. His counts have dropped only slightly so we questioned them today thinking they should be lower. The nurse reassured us that they will drop in time, not to worry! The drop in his white blood cells, and red blood cells and platelets are normal and all signs that the radiation and eventually the chemo, which he gets on Saturday is working to kill his bone marrow to make "room" for Tyler's cells.
Everyone knows that Tyler is his donor, right? Considered a great match! It was a battle for a while. Travis was a match first but Travis has a different blood type... so Tyler was tested. Tyler had the same number of "matches" as Travis. Unheard of right... how many people can say they have two almost perfect matches, not to mention in one family of only 5??? So the contest to see which brother wins continued with another blood test to dive a little deeper. 2nd blood testing came back that both brothers still had same number of matches again... however, Tyler has the same blood type so he wins!!
Everyone also knows that Tyler and his wife Alanna just had their first baby right? A week ago yesterday beautiful little Quinn Nora came into this CRAZY world!! We got to see her on Sunday and she is such a gift! Her timing was perfect for us... just what we needed before starting this- well, i guess we'll call it an adventure. I cannot tell you what holding her felt like, my heart filled and my soul felt renewed. Her peacefulness and obliviousness made me and I think Brett, forget about the stress and fear that has followed us for the past few months. She's a blessing in more ways than she'll ever know.
Back to Tyler... he starts his part of the "process" tomorrow. Unfortunately, he has to start giving himself shots 3 times a day for 4 days to boost all his cells. We pray this goes easily for him and the only issue he has is the inconvenience of finding time to do the shots inbetween diaper changes.
I guess that's it for today!
Thanks again for all the support....
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Day - 6
Day - 6 and he's doing really well.
2nd full day of radiation complete... radiation half over!!
He's sleeping right now from the Benadryl. He had a strange muscle spasm in his jaw tonight... yes little Claudia his jaw! Apparently it's very common to have muscle spasms when you take compazine (which is for nausea). They stopped the benadryl which they usually give with the compazine, earlier today because it was knocking him out for 12 hours at a time. Well, we find out now that it keeps you from having spasms... hmmmm guess i should not have worried about so much sleep. The spasm only lasted a few minutes but was a little uncomfortable.
I just want everyone to know I actually BEAT Brett in a card game!!! a card game called Yahtzee Hands Down. Ok so he's drugged up and I took advantage but it's never happened before. Told him I was going to post that for sure tonight!
I spent a few hours this afternoon while Brett was in radiation, sitting on a bench, in the sunshine in front the most beautiful dogwood tree in bloom i've ever seen. Spring is good I thought, a time for new life! Fitting for this time in our life...
But sometimes when I sit and have too much time to myself, I think too much. I begin to worry about this whole crazy adventure we're going through. I guess the best part about coming from a large family is that you don't usually have to much time alone. Anyway, after a few moments of letting my mind get away from me, I remember who I'm worrying about. Brett! Superman as Patty his nurse sometimes refers to him, Lansing's own Lance Armstrong as Dr Williams has referred to him to other patients as. He rebounds like no other! His endurance, his strength and his willpower have gotten him this far! What is there to worry about ? Right? So I took a few deep breathes filled with the frangrance of the dogwood tree, said my prayers and called my sister to get my mind on something else!!!!
2nd full day of radiation complete... radiation half over!!
He's sleeping right now from the Benadryl. He had a strange muscle spasm in his jaw tonight... yes little Claudia his jaw! Apparently it's very common to have muscle spasms when you take compazine (which is for nausea). They stopped the benadryl which they usually give with the compazine, earlier today because it was knocking him out for 12 hours at a time. Well, we find out now that it keeps you from having spasms... hmmmm guess i should not have worried about so much sleep. The spasm only lasted a few minutes but was a little uncomfortable.
I just want everyone to know I actually BEAT Brett in a card game!!! a card game called Yahtzee Hands Down. Ok so he's drugged up and I took advantage but it's never happened before. Told him I was going to post that for sure tonight!
I spent a few hours this afternoon while Brett was in radiation, sitting on a bench, in the sunshine in front the most beautiful dogwood tree in bloom i've ever seen. Spring is good I thought, a time for new life! Fitting for this time in our life...
But sometimes when I sit and have too much time to myself, I think too much. I begin to worry about this whole crazy adventure we're going through. I guess the best part about coming from a large family is that you don't usually have to much time alone. Anyway, after a few moments of letting my mind get away from me, I remember who I'm worrying about. Brett! Superman as Patty his nurse sometimes refers to him, Lansing's own Lance Armstrong as Dr Williams has referred to him to other patients as. He rebounds like no other! His endurance, his strength and his willpower have gotten him this far! What is there to worry about ? Right? So I took a few deep breathes filled with the frangrance of the dogwood tree, said my prayers and called my sister to get my mind on something else!!!!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
DAY -7
Hello Everyone!
Wow the first time to create a blog... how simple
Well today is day -7. Yes as in minus 7. The count down begins, 7 days to transplant (which is considered day 0) Not much to report as of yet. Today was his first day of radiation and he did very well his first round. I'm writing now while he's down for his next treatment. He's very tired from the Benadryl and lack of sleep so he slept most of the day away.
A goal the nurse has set for him is to walk at least 10 laps around the unit each day... first thing he noticed was the stationary bike in the hallway! Yeap, he asked if he could use that instead. A cyclist through and through!
The nurses have been amazing so far. They really know their stuff and have brushed up on Brett's history better than some of the doctors. They are knowledgable to all of his questions, which is a huge plus. They are also extremely polite! Nathan - his nurse last night even thanked him for his urine sample!
I will keep this post short so I don't bore you all with too much info
Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement
Love
Amy Jo
Wow the first time to create a blog... how simple
Well today is day -7. Yes as in minus 7. The count down begins, 7 days to transplant (which is considered day 0) Not much to report as of yet. Today was his first day of radiation and he did very well his first round. I'm writing now while he's down for his next treatment. He's very tired from the Benadryl and lack of sleep so he slept most of the day away.
A goal the nurse has set for him is to walk at least 10 laps around the unit each day... first thing he noticed was the stationary bike in the hallway! Yeap, he asked if he could use that instead. A cyclist through and through!
The nurses have been amazing so far. They really know their stuff and have brushed up on Brett's history better than some of the doctors. They are knowledgable to all of his questions, which is a huge plus. They are also extremely polite! Nathan - his nurse last night even thanked him for his urine sample!
I will keep this post short so I don't bore you all with too much info
Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement
Love
Amy Jo
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