AML: Just a Little Patience...

Today finds me feeling fine, as usual, but my counts have not made any significant gains. After recovering so quickly last time, I expected to have the same reaction. Especially if you consider that I have not been sick at all this time. Of my 4 rounds, this is already my longest stay in the hospital.

I have not been provided with any explanation of why my counts have been at the bottom for so long this time. At best this is just a normal reaction (for me), at worst we have caused permanent damage to my bone marrow.

Here are a few things that are different this time compared to my prior treatments:

• I have not gotten sick – my body has not had to try to fight an infection
• My doc started me on antibiotics, antifungals, and antivirals even though I had no infections.
• I was taken off of the IV fluids after the chemo. I had been connected to IVs the whole time in prior treatments.

Many AML patients get something called a Neupogen shot to stimulate the growth of white blood cells. My doctor won’t give it to me as long as I am not fighting infections. He is more content waiting it out than I. My issue, however, is not just white blood cells; my hemoglobin and platelets are not recovering either. The good news is that things really aren’t falling, they just are not gaining.

So once again I have been presented with a test of patience. I struggle with this one the most…

Round 4: Week 3 update

So far so good. This round has gone well. My stomach was a little upset when getting the chemo, but here we are at day 21 and I have not had any fevers or any other side effects.

My counts bottomed out a week ago and have stayed there. There was a slight increase in my ANC a few days ago, but it went back to 0 the following day. It is still at 0. My blood count recovery isn’t happening as fast as last time, or near as fast as I would like. I am told that this is not unusual. The cumulative effects of chemo can increase recovery time. With my counts low, I don’t leave the room much.

I have received platelets twice and I believe I will be getting my second red blood transfusion today. I get Benadryl with each transfusion which will probably put me to sleep this time. I don’t mind the nap, but it makes getting to sleep at night very difficult.

My intent is to return to work (Daktronics) at the end of the week. Of course I need my counts to cooperate so I can get out of here. It usually takes about 3 days once I see some movement in my ANC for the count to be high enough to go home. I am looking forward to getting back that part of my life.

Time has passed fairly quickly mainly due to the visitors that help break up the days. The pastors from our church visit each week. This illness has provided me an opportunity to get to know them. I am thankful for that. Andrea has been able to see me most days. I am far less worried about having visitors then I had been during prior treatments.

We continue to plan our Mexico vacation (in September). Right now we are trying to line up more people to go. It’s so far away, but I know the summer will pass quickly.

I have two more treatments (mid April & the end of May). So I am almost 2/3 done with this. Hopefully that will be the end, but we’ll have to see what comes.

Thanks to all who continue to pray for us.

Cheap Medicine: Bedtime Stories

Mr Brown is telling his son a bed-time story.
"Once upon a time there was a white bunny....."
"Jeez..dad it's boring,what about science fiction?"
"Ok,Ok" Mr Brown said. "Once upon a time there was a bunny who got onto a spacecraft and...."
"Dad, a little more grown up!"
"Do you promise me not to tell your mom?" asked Mr Brown.
" I swear!"
"Ok", "Once upon a time there was a naked bunny......"

Growing Up: Family Outings

Today finds me feeling good. So much so that the doctors removed me from my IV machine. As long as I drink enough, they will grant me my freedom from the device. I estimate I have just over a week left until I am out of here.

One of my friends commented on a post and reminded me of the outings we did when I was growing up. I thought it would make a great topic to write about. As I reflect on how I was raised, there are a great many things I count as blessings. Growing up with a close extended family is one of them...

A little background...

My Mom and Dad grew up near the tiny, rural community of Carpenter, SD (wiki). It happened that as my parents started a family, as did many of their cousins and friends that lived near by. So I grew up with a core group of families (Wick's, Opsahls, Ficks, and cousin Granns) with kids almost exactly the same age.

I have a lot of memories of growing up with this crew, many of which center on the camping an fishing trips we'd take together. The state parks near Lake Ponsitte and Lake Pelican were frequent camping locations. The area in eastern South Dakota had a lot of fishing options.

Camping was fairly typical; sleeping in tents and cooking over a campfire. Ok, I don't remember much cooking over campfires, but I do remember plenty of sandwiches, snacks and pans of bars.

Here are a few memories related to these outings.

• The Leeches:
  I don't remember many specific memories from when I was real little, but I do recall this one quite vividly. Not sure how old I was; probably around 8 or 9. Our group of families was looking for a place for the men to fish and us young'ns to play in the water. There was a small lake called Lake Dudley fairly close. We were all excited when we got there to find the water totally clear (unusual for SD in the summer) and we settled in for a good afternoon of swimming and fishing. Now, I should mention you probably never saw a sweeter bunch of kids then our crew. Evidently the leeches in the water agreed, because we were covered. I believe swimming was done for the day and we ended up fishing at Lake Byron.
• Bullheads:

  When fishing, of course the intent was to get nice sized walleye, perch or crappie for frying. As a kid, I recall having the most fun catching bullheads and bluegill. If you could get into them, you'd end with a bucket off bullheads to fry. It's been years since I've eaten a bullhead.

• Killing of Staums Dam:
  When I was around 12, the Game, Fish and Parks killed off all the fish in nearby Staums dam. I believe the effort was to kill off the junk fish and then repopulate with bass and better stock. I am not sure how they did it, but I believe chemicals were added that would essentially suffocate the fish, leaving them safe for eating. It became an event. I recall us collecting nearly 100 fish that day. I've got picture at home of this, I'll try to add some time.
  
• Water Skiing:
  As we got older, we thought we'd give water skiing a try. I think cousin Jeremy took to it the fastest, but over time, we all got the hang of it and fun was had by all.
  
• Sandworks
  Cousin Jeremy was generally the architect of the sand castles and related sand construction as we played on the beach between swimming sessions. He could spend hours constructing and building water ways...only to have his younger sister Teresa play the role of Godzilla and destroy his hard work. Whether he was done with it or not.
  
• Stop spitting out the window!
  OK, this one was later in life when my generation was of legal age to enjoy adult beverages. I don't want to provide specifics should someone become embarrassed, but those that were there know what happened. Ask me about it sometime and I may tell you the story.

I'll add more storys if anyone can help jog my memory. Since we're now in Sioux Falls, it will take more effort to provide these experiences for our kids as often as we did them when we were young. I hope we will all take the opportunity when we can.

Don't forget we're looking for others to join us in Mexico (More info).

Join us in Mexico?

Andrea an I are planning a trip for our 10 year anniversary. We are putting out the invite in case anyone is interested in joining us. Family... friends... acquaintances... whoever.

Here are the details (View Vacation Page) as we plan our trip to Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun.

AML: What's for Dinner?

I continue to do well with my 4th chemo treatment. I am feeling good and I have not had any significant side effects. I felt a little inspired by my luch today, so I figured I'd write some more about food.

When my whole adventure with AML started, I dropped just over 40 pounds. Once we got everything under control, my appetite returned.

It would have been nice to keep those pounds off, but it's not in my genetics. I have regained most of those 40 back. It might have been the holidays, but I primarily blame the quality of the food here at Sanford Hospital.

I've mentioned it in prior posts, but thought I would elaborate should anyone fine themselves in the hospital for an extended stay.

I have 2 menus I can order from every day. Sanford features something called Dakota Dining. It's kind of a "made to order" menu. I can also order what I want from the cafeteria menu. Dakota Dining menu items are always available (like eating at a restaurant) while the cafeteria specials change every day, providing some variety.

I am not going to list everything but here a few of my favorites:
Breakfast: Omelets (I go with cheese, ham and onions), biscuts and gravy, pancakes, waffles, french toast, fresh fruit, ham, canadian bacon, sausage, bacon

Lunch or dinner: Grilled Salmon, grilled pork tenderloin, BBQ ribs, Tanka dog (a hotdog made with buffalo), Lasagna, Pot Roast, Lemon pepper cod, potato crusted tilapia, chicken ceaser pasta salad

I can choose from a variety of soups each day. Chicken gumbo and chicken tortilla are my favorites. I can also order from the deli to build my own sandwiches (roast beef, swiss on white) or from the grill where I can order burgers, chicken, hot dogs and fries.

Then there are desserts: cheese cake brownie, apple pie (w/ ice cream), french silk pie, sherbets. I can also order fruit smoothies, milk shakes or malts when ever I want.

This is just a sampleing... my favorites. The only issue I run into is that the carriers they use to transport the food can result in some items loosing their crispiness (Ex: fries, waffles).

The care here is excellent, and the quality of food just one thing that helps make these extended stays bareable.

Thanks to all that have been following along. I have struggled to come up with ideas to write about, so let me know if anyone out there has questions. Take care...

Cheap Medicine: Family Outings

The memories of my family outings are still a source of strength to me.

I remember we'd all pile into the car- I forgot what kind it was- and drive and drive. I'm not sure where we'd go, but I think there were some trees there. The smell of something was strong as we played whatever sport we played. I remember a bigger, older guy we called "Dad". We'd eat some stuff, or not, and then I think we went home.

I guess some things never leave you. -- Jack Handy