I just posed about my AML post treatment (Catching Up: AML). Since I had not posted since September, I have some catching up to do. I'll step back a bit and start when I left the hospital.
After I was released from the hospital July 2nd. I was on the golf course with the Wicks' July 4th. (I wrote about that before) The following weekend we were in the Hills for our Grann reunion. It was great to see everyone and for the extended family to see how well I was doing.
I flew from Rapid City to Kansas City that sunday for our IDEA conference. It's one of my biggest shows of the year and though it is work, it's with a great bunch of people and tends to be a lot of fun. Though Andy hates hearing about my trips if there is any "fun" involved.
After Kansas City, the next weekend we loaded up the kids and headed down to Omaha to the zoo. It was a great weekend (HOT). We had only planned on going on Saturday, but on our out of town Sunday morning, we decided to spend a few more hours there seeing the things we missed.
Then schools starts. Alivia and Nevaeh are in school. Nevaeh was much more excited about it then Alivia.
Over Labor Day, we had our Mexico vacation. It has been on my to do list for quite some time to post about that. I'll do so shortly, but there is so much to tell. It was a great time and a necessary escape. Unfortunately we got word that Grandpa Dick had passed while on vacation. My parents, who were with us, had to hurry home. Andy and I finished the vacation as planned, but had flight problems on the way home. In the end, we had to fly into Omaha and rent a car, drive all night so that we would make it back for the funeral. Visits to the farm are a lot different without him.
Life returned to "normal" after our trip. The kids were in school. I started traveling quite a bit for work. Except for trips to the doctor for checkups, things were pretty much back to pre AML days. All is good.
The weather this fall has been unusually dry. No snow at all. A brown Christmas. Christmas was so different this year since we did not go to the farm. But we had friends, family and a pretty awesome prime rib. So all was good.
On Dec 26th, my niece, Ava was born. So the year, full of ups and downs seems to be ending on a high note. It is amazing how all the hospital stays seem so long ago... On to the new year.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Catching up: AML
I have done a poor job keeping up my blog since my treatments ended. I am finiding that there are fellow AMLers out there reading this. So I can promise you I will do a better job keeping this up in the new year. There is much to tell, but I'll give you the abbreviated version.
First I'll bring you up to speed on my AML.
My last treatment ended July 2nd. My 3 month and 6 month checkup showed that my counts were good and that I was still in remission. They were only doing blood tests and watching my counts, but I'm told they should be able to tell if my cancer comes back through monitoring my blood work.
At my 3 month visit, my bloodwork showed that one of my antibodies were low (borderline). This is to be expected with all the chemo. My immune system needs, and will continue to need a bit of a boost. To address this, I was started on monthly IVIG treatments. I think I will wrote a separate blog post about the actual IVIG treatment, but it is a blood product like platelets and hemoglobin. I did 2 of those treatments. At my 6 month checkup, my blood work showed that I no longer need additional IVIG treatments.
On thanksgiving I woke with what I thought was a rash on my side. It got significantly worse and painful throughout the day. Turns out I had a shingles. It was a first for me. I had never seen them or seen anyone with them before. Shingles is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus which lies dormant in our nerve endings. It can happen to about anyone and is more common in people that have suppressed immune systems. My breakout was fairly small, on my side and thigh, but very painful. It is very important that you see your doctor and begin treatment as soon as possible if you have shingles. If left to run its course, the pain can linger even after the sores are gone. For me, most of the pain and sores are gone (4 weeks later).
At my 6 month checkup, the doctor suggested we do a bone marrow biopsy. Since I had met my out of pocket and deductible for the year, it seemed to make sense. A bone marrow biopsy consists of the doctors sticking a needle into the hip bone to extract bone marrow. I had three prior to this one. Even though they are painful, the experience is generally not too bad. This time, however, the doctor struggled to get any bone marrow. They sent me to radiology where they could use one of the imaging machines to see what they were doing. The good news is that they gave me anesthesia at that point. I would highly recommend this approach to anyone getting bone marrow biopsy. Now that I’ve had it done this way once… I should be able to use that as an excuse for any future biopsies.
I will put my bone marrow results in a future post. For now, I have been feeling well. Energy has been good. Work has been good. The holidays with family have been great. It does seem, however, that the new year will have some new adventures in store for me.
First I'll bring you up to speed on my AML.
My last treatment ended July 2nd. My 3 month and 6 month checkup showed that my counts were good and that I was still in remission. They were only doing blood tests and watching my counts, but I'm told they should be able to tell if my cancer comes back through monitoring my blood work.
At my 3 month visit, my bloodwork showed that one of my antibodies were low (borderline). This is to be expected with all the chemo. My immune system needs, and will continue to need a bit of a boost. To address this, I was started on monthly IVIG treatments. I think I will wrote a separate blog post about the actual IVIG treatment, but it is a blood product like platelets and hemoglobin. I did 2 of those treatments. At my 6 month checkup, my blood work showed that I no longer need additional IVIG treatments.
On thanksgiving I woke with what I thought was a rash on my side. It got significantly worse and painful throughout the day. Turns out I had a shingles. It was a first for me. I had never seen them or seen anyone with them before. Shingles is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus which lies dormant in our nerve endings. It can happen to about anyone and is more common in people that have suppressed immune systems. My breakout was fairly small, on my side and thigh, but very painful. It is very important that you see your doctor and begin treatment as soon as possible if you have shingles. If left to run its course, the pain can linger even after the sores are gone. For me, most of the pain and sores are gone (4 weeks later).
At my 6 month checkup, the doctor suggested we do a bone marrow biopsy. Since I had met my out of pocket and deductible for the year, it seemed to make sense. A bone marrow biopsy consists of the doctors sticking a needle into the hip bone to extract bone marrow. I had three prior to this one. Even though they are painful, the experience is generally not too bad. This time, however, the doctor struggled to get any bone marrow. They sent me to radiology where they could use one of the imaging machines to see what they were doing. The good news is that they gave me anesthesia at that point. I would highly recommend this approach to anyone getting bone marrow biopsy. Now that I’ve had it done this way once… I should be able to use that as an excuse for any future biopsies.
I will put my bone marrow results in a future post. For now, I have been feeling well. Energy has been good. Work has been good. The holidays with family have been great. It does seem, however, that the new year will have some new adventures in store for me.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Off to Mexico
| Ok, so I have been doing a really poor job about writing. The good news is that since i have been out of the hospital, things have been going pretty well. With the exception of a few eye infections, I have not been sick. Work has been super busy and I have been traveling a fair amount. All good news so far. I think everyone again for the prayers... so far so good. My next checkup is the end of September. Nevaeh (5) has started school... she's so excited to go every day. Liv (7), no so much. Jonah(9 mo) will be walking soon. Layla (2) pretty much runs the house. | |
Off to Mexico Now on to the fun stuff... First... turn on your sound and hit play on the video to the right. It's been almost exactly a year since I got sick. (Labor Day 2010) On Saturday... we're off to Mexico. We've been planning this since March to celebrate the end of my treatments. Saturday at 7:45 am we leave Sioux Falls... just over 6 hours later, we'll be in Cancun. (if everything is on time). Check out the tab above for more info... If you want to see what we are up to, you can check my photo\video site during the trip: http://unacervezaporfavor.shutterfly.com/ I hope to post things as we go. For now, It's just a few pics of the resort. Andy & I, my Mom & Dad and 3 friends from work are going. Mom & Dad are quite nervous. It should be quote an experience for all of us. We are staying at Secrets Maroma Beach resort south of Cancun. It's an all-inclusive place. We've charted a boat for fishing and an excursion to Chichen Itza. Andy & I have basically been packed for over a week. While we are gone, Andrea's grandparents (Lovern and Wayne) are watching the kids. For those in my family reading this, Lovern reminds me so much of Grandma Carol. The kids are good hands. Lovern and Wayne have been a huge help to us this last year. | |
Friday, July 8, 2011
Life after AML- Week 1, Family Time
So you should all know from my last post, that I completed my last round of treatment Saturday, July 2nd. It has been a busy week.
It started with the Board family reunion the following Sunday in Carpenter. Nice crowd. Good food. Though it seems that each year more and more people are leaving right after lunch. It was a hot day... Andy and I played a little kickball with the kids. Fireworks that night. Liv and Veah, would pick them out and I would light them. Managed to get through the night only starting one child on fire... all around a success.
Monday the fourth of July started with 13 of us doing nine holes of golf in Clark. This has become a tradition that I look forward to every year. Definately was not going to miss it, even if I had been in the hospital less then 48 hours earlier. This year it was Royal, Gordon, Ray, Kirby, Scott, Wade, Brenda, Mike, Barry, Barret, Terry, Dylan, and myself. It ended up being one of my best rounds of golf and though I was a little aprehensive about whether or not I would be able to walk that much, I had no problems. Everyone congregated back at the farm for lunch. The kids played in the water all afternoon.
I was back to work on Tuesday... really starting to get busy. Went to a few softball games to watch the daughter of our new friends Brad and Cindy play ball.
Now we are off to the Grann family reunion in the Black Hills. We are staying at Placerville church camp again. Sunday I leave from rapid city for Kansas city. I have a big convention next week. Andy and the kids are staying with her mom most of the week to enjoy the hills a little more.
In other news... I am writing this on my new Samsung Galaxy Tab .... it is so much better then Jessica's iPad. I love new technology... especially when work pays for it..
Saturday, July 2, 2011
AML: Goodbye Sanford Hospital... May we never meet again
I am happy to say that I am being released today. The Neupogen shots did the trick. I went from an ANC of 20 to 1020 in just two days. White count jumped from .5 to 2.4.
There has been a fair amount of discomfort from the shots. The bone pain is to be expected. Yesterday it was mainly in my legs and shoulders. Today it is mainly in my back and hips. The discomfort is manageable with Tylonol. But it is giving me flashbacks to the pain that started us on this path last September. Though this discomfort is no where as intense as that night in September.
i am eager to get home today because of the holiday weekend. Board reunion (My Grandma's family) is tomorrow. This had always been my favorite reunion growing up. We'd eat, visit and then the softball marathon would begin. We would usually play until it was too dark to see the ball. Monday is our traditional 4th of July gathering. Some of the group normally goes golfing in Clark, so I am hoping to join them. Might not be the wisest thing to do, but its time to start getting back to normal. My body needs to realize its time to get back in shape.
So this chapter is done. 9 months/6 rounds of chemo. I don't have a follow up appointment for 3 months. I imagine they will all miss me here. The care at Sanford has been great and I am fortuate that my treatment could happen so close to home. Even the view from my room has been much better this time. Everything is green.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
AML: Round 6 - Day 23, Neupogen
So yesterday we saw a slight "flicker" in my ANC counts. If you recall, ANC is my ability to fight infections and is once of the earlier indicators that I am starting to recover. Yesterday I went from and ANC of 0, to an ANC of 8 today. I need to be at least 500 before the think about letting me go home.
Yesterday my platelets were low (12,000) as was my hemoglobin (8.7). Since I was potentially looking at needing both platelets and red blood in the same day, I asked if we could do one of them a day early. When I get blood products, I have to be attached to blood pressure monitors. Red blood takes about 6 hours. Platelets about 3. It's a long day if I have to get both.
So I got 2 units of red blood yesterday. Today, my platelets actually increased on their own from 12,000 to 17,000. This is a very good sign as platelets tend to recover the fastest. SO today all my blood counts increased slightly.
Still, I'm looking at maybe 4-5 more days in here. The doctors know of my desire to be out of here before the 4th. So they have elected to give me a Neupogen shot. This shot will stimulate my bone marrow stem cells to grow faster. I am told it will make a big difference in how fast my white counts recover. It should cut a few days off this trip.
So I got my shot this afternoon, they give it under the skin on my belly. Not a big deal at all. They said I may experience some bone pain as it starts working. We'll see. Hopefully I'll see some movement as soon as tomorrow.
Thanks for all your prayers. They are working. If you don't mind, I'd ask you to direct your prayers to a fellow AML patient. He's just a little guy, 2 years old, his name is Davis. I met him a few months ago on his first round of chemo. He mother used to work at Daktronics with me. He has since had a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, Davis is already relapsing. He has had a much tougher road then I. His little body has struggled to handle the treatment. The family needs a miracle, so please add them (JoAnn & Jeff, and brothers Jasper & Andy) to your prayers.
Yesterday my platelets were low (12,000) as was my hemoglobin (8.7). Since I was potentially looking at needing both platelets and red blood in the same day, I asked if we could do one of them a day early. When I get blood products, I have to be attached to blood pressure monitors. Red blood takes about 6 hours. Platelets about 3. It's a long day if I have to get both.
So I got 2 units of red blood yesterday. Today, my platelets actually increased on their own from 12,000 to 17,000. This is a very good sign as platelets tend to recover the fastest. SO today all my blood counts increased slightly.
Still, I'm looking at maybe 4-5 more days in here. The doctors know of my desire to be out of here before the 4th. So they have elected to give me a Neupogen shot. This shot will stimulate my bone marrow stem cells to grow faster. I am told it will make a big difference in how fast my white counts recover. It should cut a few days off this trip.
So I got my shot this afternoon, they give it under the skin on my belly. Not a big deal at all. They said I may experience some bone pain as it starts working. We'll see. Hopefully I'll see some movement as soon as tomorrow.
Thanks for all your prayers. They are working. If you don't mind, I'd ask you to direct your prayers to a fellow AML patient. He's just a little guy, 2 years old, his name is Davis. I met him a few months ago on his first round of chemo. He mother used to work at Daktronics with me. He has since had a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, Davis is already relapsing. He has had a much tougher road then I. His little body has struggled to handle the treatment. The family needs a miracle, so please add them (JoAnn & Jeff, and brothers Jasper & Andy) to your prayers.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
AML: Round 6 - Day 16
I am done with week 2 of my final round of chemo.
My blood counts bottomed on day 14. This is very consistant with all 4 rounds of my consolidation chemo. I received platelets on Tuesday (day 14) and hemoglobin today (day 16).
I have felt fine the whole time. Cough has gone away. So now we are just waiting. I hope to be out of here in just over a week, before the 4th of July.
I've been getting strong antibiotics most of the time. Levaquin and Vancomycin. So I have hope hope I won't get sick this time. The doctor started antibiotics a lot earlier this time quite earlier then other times.
Overall this time is going fine. I am working remotely so my days pass quickly. Andrea is able to come visit fairly often. Still, I am itching to be done and move on. Everything up until now has just been focused on getting to the next treatment. Now we actually get to move on.
As always, thanks for the good vibes and prayers... it's all working.
My blood counts bottomed on day 14. This is very consistant with all 4 rounds of my consolidation chemo. I received platelets on Tuesday (day 14) and hemoglobin today (day 16).
I have felt fine the whole time. Cough has gone away. So now we are just waiting. I hope to be out of here in just over a week, before the 4th of July.
I've been getting strong antibiotics most of the time. Levaquin and Vancomycin. So I have hope hope I won't get sick this time. The doctor started antibiotics a lot earlier this time quite earlier then other times.
Overall this time is going fine. I am working remotely so my days pass quickly. Andrea is able to come visit fairly often. Still, I am itching to be done and move on. Everything up until now has just been focused on getting to the next treatment. Now we actually get to move on.
As always, thanks for the good vibes and prayers... it's all working.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)