March 28 Update

Dad seems to be doing his best to check the box on every single chemo - related complication. At the moment he's dealing with a stomach issue that hasn't allowed him to eat in a week. Thankfully, the doctors have decided to go with TPN - Total Parenteral Nutrition.

It provides your body with nutrition such as protein, sugar, vitamins, minerals, and sometimes fat (lipids). TPN is used when you are unable to eat or cannot get enough nutrition from the foods you eat. TPN always goes into your vein (blood vessel) through an intravenous (in-truh-V-nus) (IV) line.

While this is obviously not the ideal way to receive nutrients, it's necessary and we hope it will help Dad regain some strength and energy. The TPN is temporary until the gastro-intestinal doctors determine his belly and intestines are well enough for food - hopefully in a few days.

Obviously, the GI issues have delayed transfer to Dodd for medical rehab, but that remains the goal on the horizon. Dad remains is decent spirits (despite the Ohio State loss), but he's still pretty wiped out and exhausted.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Bone Marrow Results

We were all VERY anxious to hear the results of Dad's first post-chemo bone marrow biopsy. The biopsy shows 6% leukemia cells, which is obviously not the complete remission we were hoping for, but there was some positive news. The bone marrow is functioning because there were also platelets, white blood cells and other "good" things as well.

The plan is to transfer Dad to Dodd Hall for medical rehabilitation. The goal of the rehab is to get Dad as strong as possible so he can go home. The combination of being very ill, intense chemotherapy and his preexisting mobility issues (from foot surgeries) have left him in a condition that he needs therapy to regain some of his independence and mobility. We're excited that he's going to such a great program, even if it is referred to as "boot camp."

In 2 to 3 weeks when Dad is stronger and feeling better, they will perform another Bone Marrow Biopsy to compare and see how / if the leukemia is spreading. Future treatment will depend on that biopsy and how well Dad is recovering.

The best news of the day is that Dad was able to go outside for a bit - for the first time in 6 weeks since being admitted to the hospital. It's a beautiful day today, a far cry from the ice storm at the end of January.

Big Day!

As I write, the doctors are removing a sample of Dad's bone marrow for a biopsy. We should have results Friday. Fingers crossed for good news. So nerve wracking...

We Have Counts!

After some pretty depressing updates, I finally have some good news to share! Dad's daily blood tests indicated he is coming out of nadir and his body is creating the normal, necessary blood cells! We have blood counts! Obviously, the numbers are incredibly low, but the great part is that his body created white blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelets on his own without transfusions! And, where there were zeros there are now numbers. Go Dad!

We have been cautioned not to get too excited or ahead of ourselves, but it is nice to have some good news to share after a rough couple weeks.

Dad is returning to dialysis today as he's still in kidney failure. His confusion returned after not having dialysis for several days, but the goofiness was a little less alarming since it was cleared up so quickly after previous dialysis treatments. And, if there's any indication of the fact that Dad is doing much better it's this: he's annoyed at the timing of dialysis because it may interfere with watching the Buckeyes tournament game today. :)

March 8 Update

Dad has now had several sessions of dialysis, and it has helped quite a bit. It has obviously done the job his kidneys currently can't and has rid his body of all the chemicals and drugs causing extreme confusion and general drugged-upped-ness. It has also rid his body of lots of water weight which helps him to feel a little more comfortable.

What is NOT comfortable, however, is diverticulitis - a condition of the intestines that Dad likely had before AML / chemo but is now quite painful. Dad had a contrast scan yesterday to check his belly and intestines and that's how the diverticulitis was diagnosed. He's on antibiotics to help, but has been unable to eat anything for the past two days.

We knew the risk of infection was extremely high, and Dad has suffered a few infections. First, his Groshon port had to be removed because it was infected. It was a convenient way to give him antibiotics but wasn't being used since he finished his chemo. Now he's back to the good ol' arm IVs for medication.

And, yet another complication - pneumonia. What was a dry cough over the weekend turned nasty and has been diagnosed as pneumonia. Again, like the diverticulitis, the positive news is that it can be treated with antibiotics.

I'll continue to update as his condition changes. Thanks for your continued support.

March 4 Update

After some back and forth between Dad's Oncologists and Nephrologists, dialysis was started this afternoon. The hope is obviously that it will improve his kidney function, but that the process will decrease his fluid retention and level of confusion.

I mentioned the other day, it was obvious his hair was falling out so Mike shaved Dad's head yesterday.

Dad is in nadir - the point when his blood cells are their lowest point after chemo. We're told it lasts about a week.

This is a very difficult time in the treatment. Pretty much sucks. A lot. All we can do is hope and pray that it gets better for Dad very soon.

Good Taste

Despite all that's going on and not feeling like eating at all, Dad is being a Champ about lunch. Whether he wants to or not, he eats at least half of whatever I serve him. He has started to be able to name things he thinks his body could handle and that would taste good to his changing senses. Yesterday, he wanted pasta salad with mayonnaise-y dressing and a white meat chicken sandwich. Today he wanted a meatball sub with baseball sized meatballs, sliced, on soft bread with melted provolone. And tomorrow he's requested ham & bean soup.

Dude has some good taste in food, even during chemo.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good: Dad had an echocardiogram yesterday to compare to an echo he had when first admitted to the hospital. Chemo can be very toxic to the heart so they compared the pre-chemo echo with the test yesterday. Yesterday's echo showed no damage from the chemo and that his heart is functioning in the same ranges as before.

The Bad: Dad's kidney functions continue to deteriorate. (But, as one nurse said yesterday, "Kidney function comes back" so better to have kidney complications than heart complications.) They are adjusting his medications - stopping some, changing and lowering others - because his body isn't metabolizing the drugs as it should. He's acting quite loopy and confused and one theory is that his body isn't breaking down the pain killers he's so that, in effect, he's super drugged up. Add to that the fact that dad finds the lights in the hospital uncomfortable so he's wearing sunglasses. He looks a bit like Charlie Sheen - wearing sunglasses indoors and acting loopy.

The bone marrow biopsy originally planned for today has been postponed. If the biopsy was revealed leukemia they would recommend additional chemo, but he's not well enough for another course now so there's no point in the biopsy at this point.

The Ugly: The water / fluid retention is so bad that dad's feet and legs are horribly swollen. It looks extremely uncomfortable. We really hope they figure out some way to release the fluids so he can regain some mobility and level of comfort.

And, The Anticipated: We're entering the hat phase as dad is very clearly losing his hair.