The good news first: The doctor today said that Eric has done "phenomenally well". She also reminded us that starting today his white blood cell count should start to increase and in a few days he would have his current phase behind him.
The bad news is that he is feeling pretty crummy. He has finally started to develop the mouth sores that plague most chemo patients. We had hoped to be among the lucky few who never develop them, but at least Eric's didn't start up until just a few days before they start to diminish because of the rising white blood cell count. Some people have mouth sores for a couple of weeks. Ouch!
Eric's mouth was bothering him so much he didn't even care that his hair finally started falling out today and that this evening he threw up everything he had eaten for the past few hours. Normally either of those two events would have been troubling to him.
The odd thing was that after throwing up, Eric started feeling better and more at peace with the whole process. We know it is temporary. We know that Eric has had fewer side effects than the majority of cancer patients And we know that the bad part is almost over. I think Eric was tired of feeling crummy all day, and after he threw up he just kind of said to himself, "Enough with the feeling crummy. I am just going to mellow out, get some sleep, and I will feel better in the morning."
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
What now?
Eric has been in the hospital for two weeks now, and the minimum length of time we were quoted was four weeks, so we could be halfway done! Or not, since the maximum length of time we were quoted was six weeks. So what is Eric still doing in the hospital if he received the stem cells almost a week ago?
We are now playing a waiting game. There are two things that the doctors are waiting for before Eric can be released. First, the chemotherapy caused his blood counts to crash because it killed his bone marrow. Now the donor stem cells are slowly starting to produce new bone marrow. It will take awhile before the new bone marrow multiplies enough to make sufficient blood cells to keep Eric going. In particular, the doctors worry about his immune system because of the lack of white blood cells. They can give him whole blood to raise his hematocrit, and they can give him platelets, but they can't give him a transfusion of white blood cells. So we have to wait until his immune system is strong enough for Eric to survive in our germ filled home.
The other thing we are waiting for is to see if Eric develops something called Host Versus Graft Disease. This is what happens if the body starts to reject the stem cell transplant. Acute HVGD will show up in the next few weeks. Chronic HVGD can occur anytime in the next few years. HVGD can be mild and easily treated or it can be serious and very difficult to treat. Eric is checked out thoroughly multiple times a day so they can detect the very first symptoms of anything going wrong.
Amazingly, Eric is doing great. He hasn't even lost his hair yet. He is off of all pain medication and they are reducing his anti-nausea medications. So far he hasn't developed any mouth sores, which are common, or rashes, or significant diarrhea. Instead, he is gaining strength and stamina. Eric's goal is to walk 25 minutes, three times a day. It used to take him five laps around the hospital floor to walk for 25 minutes. He has had to up it to six laps to walk 25 minutes, and in the near future it will be seven laps to make 25 minutes.
We have a pretty good routine going. I am able to spend most of my time at the hospital, but still get the things done at home that are needed. Neither of us has gone crazy from the sensory deprivation of a fairly small hospital room. Eric is sick of the hospital food, but since nothing tastes good right now, that is to be expected. I try to sneak in treats to him on a regular basis. Tomorrow I am sneaking in a TV dinner because that is what he is craving at the moment. Wish me luck!
We are now playing a waiting game. There are two things that the doctors are waiting for before Eric can be released. First, the chemotherapy caused his blood counts to crash because it killed his bone marrow. Now the donor stem cells are slowly starting to produce new bone marrow. It will take awhile before the new bone marrow multiplies enough to make sufficient blood cells to keep Eric going. In particular, the doctors worry about his immune system because of the lack of white blood cells. They can give him whole blood to raise his hematocrit, and they can give him platelets, but they can't give him a transfusion of white blood cells. So we have to wait until his immune system is strong enough for Eric to survive in our germ filled home.
The other thing we are waiting for is to see if Eric develops something called Host Versus Graft Disease. This is what happens if the body starts to reject the stem cell transplant. Acute HVGD will show up in the next few weeks. Chronic HVGD can occur anytime in the next few years. HVGD can be mild and easily treated or it can be serious and very difficult to treat. Eric is checked out thoroughly multiple times a day so they can detect the very first symptoms of anything going wrong.
Amazingly, Eric is doing great. He hasn't even lost his hair yet. He is off of all pain medication and they are reducing his anti-nausea medications. So far he hasn't developed any mouth sores, which are common, or rashes, or significant diarrhea. Instead, he is gaining strength and stamina. Eric's goal is to walk 25 minutes, three times a day. It used to take him five laps around the hospital floor to walk for 25 minutes. He has had to up it to six laps to walk 25 minutes, and in the near future it will be seven laps to make 25 minutes.
We have a pretty good routine going. I am able to spend most of my time at the hospital, but still get the things done at home that are needed. Neither of us has gone crazy from the sensory deprivation of a fairly small hospital room. Eric is sick of the hospital food, but since nothing tastes good right now, that is to be expected. I try to sneak in treats to him on a regular basis. Tomorrow I am sneaking in a TV dinner because that is what he is craving at the moment. Wish me luck!
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Don't blink or you will miss it
There is a lot of hype about the day a bone marrow cancer patient receives his bone marrow transplant. It is called "Day 0" and "your second birth day". Prior to the big day the patient has a round of very aggressive chemotherapy to kill all the cancer cells, which pretty much kills all their bone marrow cells also. With the aggressive chemo comes a lot of other aggressive drugs to protect your body from the chemo. At times Eric's IV pole has looked like an over-decorated Christmas tree with numerous IV bags and pumps taking up every available inch.
Yesterday, Day 0, his second birthday day, Eric didn't have a moment to himself. In preparation for the bone marrow transplant he had even more pills to swallow, IV bags to be hung, injections into his central line to be given, vital signs to be taken. Every time Eric tried to take a nap something new needed to be done or his IVs would start beeping. It was a long day.
Finally, after all the build up, at 6:00 p.m. the Red Cross representative came in with a large box that contained Eric's bone marrow transplant. He very non-dramatically pulled out two small IV bags partially filled with bright red blood. Our nurse hooked one up to Eric's IV and in 10 minutes it was gone. He hooked up the next one and it disappeared just as fast. It was all over before 6:30!
That's it? It all happened so quickly that it was a bit anticlimactic. I don't know why they call it a bone marrow transplant because it is not bone marrow and it isn't a transplant. It is stem cells dripping from an IV bag, which makes it an infusion. It was so unremarkable that Eric could have easily slept through it.
And yet, because of something that seemed pretty small and unremarkable, something barely noticed amid all the other medical interventions and interruptions going on that day, Eric's life has been changed. The bone marrow transplant team make no promises, but if things go well Eric has a fifty percent chance of being cancer free in five years. There will be some ups and downs along the way, but Eric's life has been extended. Pretty amazing.
Eric said it reminded him of the various scriptures where we are told that things that may seem small to us are the means the Lord uses to accomplish amazing things. Two of my favorites are:
Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 16:29 . . . And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.
Doctrine and Covenants 64:33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
Yesterday, Day 0, his second birthday day, Eric didn't have a moment to himself. In preparation for the bone marrow transplant he had even more pills to swallow, IV bags to be hung, injections into his central line to be given, vital signs to be taken. Every time Eric tried to take a nap something new needed to be done or his IVs would start beeping. It was a long day.
Finally, after all the build up, at 6:00 p.m. the Red Cross representative came in with a large box that contained Eric's bone marrow transplant. He very non-dramatically pulled out two small IV bags partially filled with bright red blood. Our nurse hooked one up to Eric's IV and in 10 minutes it was gone. He hooked up the next one and it disappeared just as fast. It was all over before 6:30!
That's it? It all happened so quickly that it was a bit anticlimactic. I don't know why they call it a bone marrow transplant because it is not bone marrow and it isn't a transplant. It is stem cells dripping from an IV bag, which makes it an infusion. It was so unremarkable that Eric could have easily slept through it.
And yet, because of something that seemed pretty small and unremarkable, something barely noticed amid all the other medical interventions and interruptions going on that day, Eric's life has been changed. The bone marrow transplant team make no promises, but if things go well Eric has a fifty percent chance of being cancer free in five years. There will be some ups and downs along the way, but Eric's life has been extended. Pretty amazing.
Eric said it reminded him of the various scriptures where we are told that things that may seem small to us are the means the Lord uses to accomplish amazing things. Two of my favorites are:
Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 16:29 . . . And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.
Doctrine and Covenants 64:33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Happy Birth Day
Eric's mother, Joyce Olson, passed away almost a year ago. She was an amazing woman. I don't have room to list all of her qualities, but one that was very important to me was her generosity. From the moment I met her she welcomed me into her home, her family, her life. I never felt like an outsider, or even an in-law, but was always treated as a daughter. Joyce had the ability to make everyone feel comfortable because she was so generous with her time, her attention, her love.
Eric is one of eight siblings. One sibling has had cancer and was ineligible to be a stem cell donor for Eric. Five were tested at LDS hospital within a few days of each other, and it was assumed that several would be partial matches. With a partial match they could manipulate the blood to make it compatible with Eric's blood. Not the best solution, but a manipulated partial match is better than no match. To everyone's surprise none of the five were even close to being partial matches. That left Debbie, who was out of state and having a hard time getting her cheek swab accepted by the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) clinic because of some bureaucratic mix ups. They finally received her swab and were shocked to find out she was a perfect match. So Eric isn't even close to partially matching five of his siblings, but is a perfect match with one sibling.
The interesting thing about Debbie is that of the five daughters of Joyce Olson, she is the only one who bears her name. Debra Joyce. And Debbie is just like her namesake in her generosity. Debbie has a million and one wonderful things that she does to help others, but she took a break from them all so that she could be Eric's stem cell donor. It has been expensive, time consuming, and hard on her physically. And yet Debbie has cheerfully gone through a very tough few days and tried to laugh it off to make us feel better about it. She doesn't want us to feel bad about how hard it has been on her or know how much it has inconvenienced her.
The BMT unit calls today, the day Eric received Debbie's stem cells, "Day 0". They also call it the "second birth day" for stem cell recipients. That is because it is the day they have another chance at life. Almost 60 years ago Joyce Olson gave birth to Eric. And today her daughter, Debra Joyce, gave Eric his second chance. Giving birth is hard, something to be endured through the pain, but with the promise of a great reward afterward. Eric and I are so grateful for the generosity of the women in the Olson family who have now given him two opportunities to live.
Eric is one of eight siblings. One sibling has had cancer and was ineligible to be a stem cell donor for Eric. Five were tested at LDS hospital within a few days of each other, and it was assumed that several would be partial matches. With a partial match they could manipulate the blood to make it compatible with Eric's blood. Not the best solution, but a manipulated partial match is better than no match. To everyone's surprise none of the five were even close to being partial matches. That left Debbie, who was out of state and having a hard time getting her cheek swab accepted by the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) clinic because of some bureaucratic mix ups. They finally received her swab and were shocked to find out she was a perfect match. So Eric isn't even close to partially matching five of his siblings, but is a perfect match with one sibling.
The interesting thing about Debbie is that of the five daughters of Joyce Olson, she is the only one who bears her name. Debra Joyce. And Debbie is just like her namesake in her generosity. Debbie has a million and one wonderful things that she does to help others, but she took a break from them all so that she could be Eric's stem cell donor. It has been expensive, time consuming, and hard on her physically. And yet Debbie has cheerfully gone through a very tough few days and tried to laugh it off to make us feel better about it. She doesn't want us to feel bad about how hard it has been on her or know how much it has inconvenienced her.
The BMT unit calls today, the day Eric received Debbie's stem cells, "Day 0". They also call it the "second birth day" for stem cell recipients. That is because it is the day they have another chance at life. Almost 60 years ago Joyce Olson gave birth to Eric. And today her daughter, Debra Joyce, gave Eric his second chance. Giving birth is hard, something to be endured through the pain, but with the promise of a great reward afterward. Eric and I are so grateful for the generosity of the women in the Olson family who have now given him two opportunities to live.
Monday, August 26, 2013
A small insight
In the New Testament there are examples of feet washing--either someone washing the Savior's feet, or Him washing the feet of his disciples. I have usually heard these verses taught with the theme of repentance, humility, or service, depending upon who was doing the washing. The person teaching the lesson almost always points out that only servants, the lowest of the low, wash feet.
I have always thought there was a certain "ugh" factor to washing feet. Feet are smelly, dirty, and fairly ugly. No wonder only servants wash feet, and if anyone else chose to wash feet, they were doing it to prove a point. It was distasteful and demeaning to them, but they would swallow their pride and do something for the greater good and to set an example.
Once Eric's cancer kept him at home, he started wearing flip flops instead of shoes and socks. His feet quickly dried out and his heels began to crack. One day Eric asked me if I would rub some lotion on his heels because he was in too much pain to bend far enough to put the lotion on himself. I said sure, and several times a day I would rub either lotion or vaseline onto Eric's feet.
Last night at the hospital Eric told me that the nicest thing about his cancer has been me "playing around" with his feet. It hit me that I didn't resent it all, and it wasn't distasteful to me. I actually enjoyed it and would also rub lotion on his legs that were so dry and tired and painful. I suddenly realized that I have been missing the point of the New Testament stories of washing feet. The woman washed the Savior's feet because she loved him. The Savior washed his disciples' feet because He loved them. It wasn't distasteful, or demeaning, or something to be endured in order to make a point and set an example. It was a gift freely given.
I have always thought there was a certain "ugh" factor to washing feet. Feet are smelly, dirty, and fairly ugly. No wonder only servants wash feet, and if anyone else chose to wash feet, they were doing it to prove a point. It was distasteful and demeaning to them, but they would swallow their pride and do something for the greater good and to set an example.
Once Eric's cancer kept him at home, he started wearing flip flops instead of shoes and socks. His feet quickly dried out and his heels began to crack. One day Eric asked me if I would rub some lotion on his heels because he was in too much pain to bend far enough to put the lotion on himself. I said sure, and several times a day I would rub either lotion or vaseline onto Eric's feet.
Last night at the hospital Eric told me that the nicest thing about his cancer has been me "playing around" with his feet. It hit me that I didn't resent it all, and it wasn't distasteful to me. I actually enjoyed it and would also rub lotion on his legs that were so dry and tired and painful. I suddenly realized that I have been missing the point of the New Testament stories of washing feet. The woman washed the Savior's feet because she loved him. The Savior washed his disciples' feet because He loved them. It wasn't distasteful, or demeaning, or something to be endured in order to make a point and set an example. It was a gift freely given.
One week down, just a few more to go
A week ago Eric was admitted to LDS hospital. Since then he has received five doses of aggressive chemotherapy, with the last one administered early Sunday morning. He is now done with chemo. Today and tomorrow there are not any scheduled medical events. Wednesday Eric receives his stem cell transplant from his sister Debbie, who started receiving daily injections to stimulate stem cell growth in her blood on Saturday.
Eric is doing great. The anti-nausea drugs are really helping. He is still walking his laps three times a day and is taking care of all of his daily needs on his own. I have been so impressed with how well he has done!
Thank you for your prayers!
Eric is doing great. The anti-nausea drugs are really helping. He is still walking his laps three times a day and is taking care of all of his daily needs on his own. I have been so impressed with how well he has done!
Thank you for your prayers!
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