How Things Stand

I'm running out of titles for these posts. You can only use update, status, or condition so many times. The thesaurus references "how things stand" as another way of saying "status" so that is the title of today's post.

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Bryan is feeling great! The transfusion made a big difference in his energy level and the chemo poison seems to be on its way out.

When I say Bryan is feeling great, it is relative. He is nowhere near normal, but so much better than last week. Feeling great means he isn't in bed all day and he has energy to take a shower and get dressed, but small tasks still exhaust him. (We do expect and notice every day is an improvement--we're enjoying the month of October free of chemo!)

He had his blood drawn today (without too much trouble, only 3 tries). His white blood cell and platelet counts are VERY low. They told him to be careful (no bumping into things) and to wash his hands all the time (to prevent infection).

We return to the hospital on Thursday for more blood work (they think he might need a platelet transfusion) and a cardiology appointment. (Our daughter also has 3 physical therapy appointments, our liver transplant child needs his blood drawn, and all of us except Bryan need our flu shots this week! I'm so glad our family keeps these medical institutions in business!)

Chemo Pumpkin

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A friend sent me some pictures of creative pumpkins. I just couldn't resist posting this one.

Transfusion Yesterday

After the nurses struggled to draw Bryan's blood, they finally obtained enough to run a few tests and determine that he needed a transfusion (but they couldn't place the IV at the same time as they drew the blood so he had to endure 4 pokes for the blood draw & 3 deep pokes for the IV placement later).

He ended up receiving two units of blood. I didn't realize how long this process would take--we spent the majority of the day at the hospital . (Actually, Bryan did. I left after 3 hours because I had one of the twins with me and needed to be home to take care of our other kids. Bryan stayed an additional 4 hours after I left. My sister-in-law, Lori, lives near the hospital and was able to bring Bryan home around 8:00 last night.) The great nurses in the infusion room stayed late to complete both units so we wouldn't have to return to the hospital again today.

Bryan hasn't noticed a difference yet--he is still off balance and light headed, but we're told that he should feel MUCH better by tonight/tomorrow morning.

Arndt Update

Bryan has been in bed for a few days. He is pretty sick. Normal chemo sick, nothing special. :) Yesterday he repeated outloud, "Just a few more days. Just a few more days. Just a few more days." I expect him to start feeling better tomorrow afternoon/night.

Tomorrow. We return to the hospital for labs. They keep expecting him to need a transfusion. The nurse told Bryan to have them place an IV when they draw blood just in case the labs come back showing that he needs a transfusion (it will save him a poke). If he does need a transfusion, we'll spend some time at the hospital tomorrow. If not, it will be a quick visit.

Monday's Double Doctor Duty. Bryan and our daughter had appointments at the same time so Bryan's mom transported Bryan and one of the twins to the hospital for Bryan's Neulasta injection (a medication used to boost white blood cell production). I took our daughter and the other twin to see a specialist for our daughter's ankle. With new x-rays they were able to determine that she did fracture the fibular growth plate along with a grade II ankle sprain. She is still on crutches and out of soccer for the season. (And the four of us who remain uninjured and healthy are growing tired of "fetching" EVERYTHING for the two patients, but we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them still! Remember when I wrote that nursing wasn't my chosen profession...it has obviously chosen me.)

Thought for the day

“The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.” ~ Helen Keller

D-O-N-E DONE!!!

Bryan's last treatment is OVER! WOOHOO!!!!!!! (An exclamation point for every completed treatment!) He was "unplugged" this morning at 3:28. We're now just waiting for him to be officially discharged. (They are going to pull his PICC line soon. He beeps the nurse every 10 minutes or so--just to remind her that he's ready to go HOME!)

He is still feeling well. The hiccups are gone and the nausea is still under control. This is the best he has felt while receiving a treatment. We are braced for a bad week, but hoping for a better outcome than the prior weeks following the inpatient chemo treatments.

~ One of the nurses made this snowman yesterday (it used to have a stethoscope) ~

~ Bryan is soooooo ready to go home. He's lying in bed with his shoes on. ~

~ The final infusion ~

~ Bryan's room (donated by Hyrum Smith, founder of FranklinCovey--where JoLayna worked for 11 years) ~

~ A late night walk in the hallway (in our 2 day old hospital clothes) ~

Hospital Report #2/Snow in Utah

~ Bryan says he's "walking away from cancer." ~

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Bryan is feeling remarkably well (relatively speaking). He slept for 12 hours last night and his nausea is under control. (The main side effect is a major case of hiccups!)

The hematologist this weekend is a hockey fan from New York. He & Bryan have a lot to talk about when he visits (like the "original 6" hockey teams & the blue line & "taking it left and then right" & other stuff I'm fairly clueless about).

It is cold and rainy around the valley--we're on the mountain and it is snowing! (I love the beginning of every season and am so excited to bundle up in my warm clothes.)

Bryan's Video: