Saturday and Sunday I went to the hospital each morning to get my Neupogen (corrected spelling) shot to stir up the stem cells in my system. Patty and Amanda met Cara on Saturday at the bridal fair and then on Sunday we took Amanda to the airport so she could fly back to Vegas. We took a ride out to the south end of the valley after we dropped her off. The visibility was pretty lousy because of the fog and haze that covered the valley since we made it up here. I had some minor side effects from the Neupogen on Saturday and then even less on Sunday - a little bone pain in my lower back, but not bad, I felt pretty good. On the weekends and after hours I go to the nurse's station and they take me through a back door into the BMT clinic where they give me the shots, the Neupogen is actually in two different shots, one in each arm.
Now comes Monday, it was kind of a Military day - hurry up and a lot of waiting to get things done. I got the Neupogen this morning around 8:00 am but had to get some labs done and wait for the white cell count to make sure it is in range. It was, so they gave me the shot, then I came back and picked up Patty and went back to the hospital to check in with Radiology to get my Central line or port placed today. So we checked in and sat there for about a half hour, then they came and got us and took us to the preparation/recovery room where they took vitals and got me ready to go. They must have been backed up because we waited to go in for the procedure for quite a while. As I understand it, they do the placement using a x-ray or sona-gram method that lets them see where and how the tubes are going in to make sure they don't get too close to the heart or they don't rip through the veins. I think I have actually 3 lines in me since that is how many connections are on my chest. I think I went through it pretty good, but feel like I've been beat up a little bit today. After I got out of the procedure, we had to stay in recovery for about an hour, then Patty brought me back to the condo.
At six o'clock pm we had to go back to the hospital to get the first of my Mozobil shots, I think it's another drug that helps stir up the the stem cells. Hope it works, we'll start to find out tomorrow as tomorrow morning after I get the Neupogen, I start the Apheresis process where they hook me up to the machine that takes my blood out, spins it around, keeps the stem cells and puts everything back into me, that's why I had to have more than one line put in the Central Line. Each day they will test the blood to see how many stem cells I donated and then make a determination if I need to have the Mozobil.
We'll let you know later in the week how I weathering the treatments, I hope they go well.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
1/28/2011 Back in Salt Lake, The Treatment Begins
We left Vegas Wednesday afternoon, Amanda came with us to help get us up here and get us settled, she's going to fly back Sunday afternoon, we were happy to have her, she did a lot of driving and really helped us, thanks to Ryan for agreeing for her to come. It was pretty traumatic on her after having to leave the girls in Ryan's care. We should have taken some pictures of the packing job we had to do to get everything inside the Sante Fe for the trip, it was full.
We spent Wednesday night in Coral Canyon with Bruce and Cara, that was good, then I got up and went to my hearing doctor for an appointment, then we left around 10:30 and went out to say hello and good bye to mom and dad, they were down in Hurricane, then we hit the road. We also had the time to stop and say hi to Kim in Provo and got to see new baby Jessie, and Daniella. It was good to see Kim and her new baby, Jessie is a very good baby and still sleeps a lot but is growing and gaining the weight she needs to be doing right now. Kim looks really good after her pregnancy.
We met the real estate guy in the Gateway again and then went to the condo to sign the papers and to get the condo turned over to us. The girls spent the night putting things away and then we watched some TV and went to bed in preparation for our appointment this morning at LDS Hospital BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) Clinic which is on the 8th floor of the hospital.
We got up this morning and left for the hospital, we found a Burger King on the ride there to get a little food in ll of our bellies. We checked in to the BMT and they took some more of my blood then we waited to meet with Dr. Hoda and with Cindy Nordling, my patient coordinator. Dr Hoda talked to us for quite a while and answered many of our questions about the timing and schedule of things that will be happening over the next couple of months. We went over my blood numbers and they were all very good, they all moved closer to where the doctors wanted them to be. It was a good meeting/appointment with him and we came away with more answers that we hadn't had before. Then we went back to the waiting room and spent some time talking to some other patients that have different cancers, it was interesting and a little weird to talk to them, but it was good and got to hear about other peoples experiences with their issues and with LDS Hospital. After my medicine came up to the floor they called me back and gave me the first day's shot of Nuepregen (not sure of spelling) which is the medicine that stirs up the stem cells and gets them to start heading out into the blood stream so we can start collecting them next week. I'll have the same shots on both Saturday and Sunday and again Monday morning, then on Monday Jan 31st they will do a little more to me, I'll talk about it later.
Then we went to Wally World to do some shopping and came back to the condo to eat lunch and relax and rest, I am very grateful for all the help and work that Patty and Amanda do for me every day and everything they (especially Patty) will be doing for me during the next few weeks.
We spent Wednesday night in Coral Canyon with Bruce and Cara, that was good, then I got up and went to my hearing doctor for an appointment, then we left around 10:30 and went out to say hello and good bye to mom and dad, they were down in Hurricane, then we hit the road. We also had the time to stop and say hi to Kim in Provo and got to see new baby Jessie, and Daniella. It was good to see Kim and her new baby, Jessie is a very good baby and still sleeps a lot but is growing and gaining the weight she needs to be doing right now. Kim looks really good after her pregnancy.
We met the real estate guy in the Gateway again and then went to the condo to sign the papers and to get the condo turned over to us. The girls spent the night putting things away and then we watched some TV and went to bed in preparation for our appointment this morning at LDS Hospital BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) Clinic which is on the 8th floor of the hospital.
We got up this morning and left for the hospital, we found a Burger King on the ride there to get a little food in ll of our bellies. We checked in to the BMT and they took some more of my blood then we waited to meet with Dr. Hoda and with Cindy Nordling, my patient coordinator. Dr Hoda talked to us for quite a while and answered many of our questions about the timing and schedule of things that will be happening over the next couple of months. We went over my blood numbers and they were all very good, they all moved closer to where the doctors wanted them to be. It was a good meeting/appointment with him and we came away with more answers that we hadn't had before. Then we went back to the waiting room and spent some time talking to some other patients that have different cancers, it was interesting and a little weird to talk to them, but it was good and got to hear about other peoples experiences with their issues and with LDS Hospital. After my medicine came up to the floor they called me back and gave me the first day's shot of Nuepregen (not sure of spelling) which is the medicine that stirs up the stem cells and gets them to start heading out into the blood stream so we can start collecting them next week. I'll have the same shots on both Saturday and Sunday and again Monday morning, then on Monday Jan 31st they will do a little more to me, I'll talk about it later.
Then we went to Wally World to do some shopping and came back to the condo to eat lunch and relax and rest, I am very grateful for all the help and work that Patty and Amanda do for me every day and everything they (especially Patty) will be doing for me during the next few weeks.
Monday, January 24, 2011
1/24/2011 Back from Salt Lake Tests
We left for Salt Lake last Wednesday as I said in my previous blog. My meeting lasted a little longer than I had thought so by the time we got something to eat, we didn't leave Vegas until about 2:00, then we drove to Salt Lake, actually Bountiful, which is just north of Salt Lake since that is where we got our hotel room for the weekend. We used Hotwire to book the room since the rooms in Salt Lake all seemed to be either booked or much more expensive than they were last time we were in Salt Lake, it was a Country Inn and Suites and was a pretty nice place and served us well. In addition, 5th West in Bountiful is full of places to eat so that worked out well also.
We went to the LDS Hospital Thursday morning as we were suppose to and they began the first day of testing which included lots of blood tests, updating my information, an EKG and echo cardiogram and finished the day with a bone and bone marrow biopsy. We started about 11:00 am and got out around 5:00 pm. Then on Friday we went back for a couple more tests which included a pulmonary breathing test and some chest ex rays which didn't take much more than about an hour on Friday. This paragraph is short, but it was a pretty full day and a half of tests to get ready for the next step.
We then went back to our room for a while and then went down to the Gateway plaza to eat and wait around to look at places to stay while we are in Salt Lake. We ended up renting a furnished condo that is on the 10th floor of a building that backs up to the Gateway Plaza. It is completely furnished and includes utilities, TV and Internet and should be a good secure place for Patty to stay when she will be by herself when I am in my inpatient stage of treatment. We will meet the rental agent there about 6:30 this Thursday evening to get the keys and move in.
This Friday Jan. 28th I begin the next stage of treatment which will be the injection of medicine twice a day to get my stem cells stirred up and cycling through my blood system, then after about 4 to 6 days of that, they will begin the collection process which will separate the stem cells from my blood in a dialysis process and save them to be put back into me later in the inpatient part of the treatment.
Amanda is going up with us this week to help us get situated and ready to go for the processes, she will probably come up several times which will be good for Patty, especially while I am inpatient. I don't know what else to talk about at this time, I think I'm ready to proceed, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous for the different stages of the treatments that I will be having.
We went to the LDS Hospital Thursday morning as we were suppose to and they began the first day of testing which included lots of blood tests, updating my information, an EKG and echo cardiogram and finished the day with a bone and bone marrow biopsy. We started about 11:00 am and got out around 5:00 pm. Then on Friday we went back for a couple more tests which included a pulmonary breathing test and some chest ex rays which didn't take much more than about an hour on Friday. This paragraph is short, but it was a pretty full day and a half of tests to get ready for the next step.
We then went back to our room for a while and then went down to the Gateway plaza to eat and wait around to look at places to stay while we are in Salt Lake. We ended up renting a furnished condo that is on the 10th floor of a building that backs up to the Gateway Plaza. It is completely furnished and includes utilities, TV and Internet and should be a good secure place for Patty to stay when she will be by herself when I am in my inpatient stage of treatment. We will meet the rental agent there about 6:30 this Thursday evening to get the keys and move in.
This Friday Jan. 28th I begin the next stage of treatment which will be the injection of medicine twice a day to get my stem cells stirred up and cycling through my blood system, then after about 4 to 6 days of that, they will begin the collection process which will separate the stem cells from my blood in a dialysis process and save them to be put back into me later in the inpatient part of the treatment.
Amanda is going up with us this week to help us get situated and ready to go for the processes, she will probably come up several times which will be good for Patty, especially while I am inpatient. I don't know what else to talk about at this time, I think I'm ready to proceed, but I have to admit I'm a little nervous for the different stages of the treatments that I will be having.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
1/17/2011 The Next Step in our Journey
We found out last week that I'm heading for Salt Lake to begin the transplant treatment. We will be leaving this week to go to Salt Lake for a couple of days of tests this Thursday and Friday to confirm that everything is where the LDS Hospital doctors want them to be, then if everything stays on schedule we'll leave next Thursday Jan 27th to begin the collection process on the 28th.
I will be out patient for the first 7 - 10 days while they give my body the medicine to stir up the stem cells out of the bones so they can harvest them using a dialisis type machine to save them to put back into me later. Then I will be admitted for about 4 weeks to get heavy duty chemotherapy to knock out everything they can get, probably won't be fun, then after that they put my stem cells that they harvested back into me and we wait for them to grow and get me feeling better. When that happens and gets to the level they want, I go out patient again but have to stay in Salt Lake close to the hospital in case of complications or problems. That should be another 2 - 3 weeks. All told they said to expect to be in Salt Lake for about 8 weeks, we've heard of people doing it in less than that, but it doesn't really matter to us.
I've made it sound pretty simple, I'm sure it's a might more involved that I've put down here, but we'll have to keep you informed. Patty might be doing some of the blogs while I'm under the heave chemo, but we'll have to see how it affects me. I was hoping to go during a little warmer time of year so that Patty wouldn't be so trapped between the hospital and the place we will be renting during our stay. My immune system will be taking a huge hit, so we have to turn into bubble boy for a few weeks, otherwise we may have tried to impose on family during our time up there. We have to get somewhere that is self contained and can't share any common areas because of health issues.
I've got a meeting this Wednesday morning, after that we'll be hitting the road to head for Salt Lake and plan on returning this Saturday, then we'll see what they say and exactly when they will schedule us for the return trip. We'll keep everyone informed as soon as we know more.
I'm glad we're moving forward, can't say I'm excited about it, more like a little nervous, but looking forward to moving things forward towards remission. I finished my last Revlimid and Lovenox this weekend and am suffering through what might be my last Dex steroid Monday night/Tuesday morning of sleep problems tonight - thus the middle of the night blog, it's still Monday night for me even though this is posting early Tuesday morning. We're enjoying some good weather here in Vegas and hope to take some of it with us so it's maybe not quite as cold up there as it has been. We know January and February are always cold but we're really not looking forward to freezing our hind ends off for the next couple of months. We'll share more later.
I will be out patient for the first 7 - 10 days while they give my body the medicine to stir up the stem cells out of the bones so they can harvest them using a dialisis type machine to save them to put back into me later. Then I will be admitted for about 4 weeks to get heavy duty chemotherapy to knock out everything they can get, probably won't be fun, then after that they put my stem cells that they harvested back into me and we wait for them to grow and get me feeling better. When that happens and gets to the level they want, I go out patient again but have to stay in Salt Lake close to the hospital in case of complications or problems. That should be another 2 - 3 weeks. All told they said to expect to be in Salt Lake for about 8 weeks, we've heard of people doing it in less than that, but it doesn't really matter to us.
I've made it sound pretty simple, I'm sure it's a might more involved that I've put down here, but we'll have to keep you informed. Patty might be doing some of the blogs while I'm under the heave chemo, but we'll have to see how it affects me. I was hoping to go during a little warmer time of year so that Patty wouldn't be so trapped between the hospital and the place we will be renting during our stay. My immune system will be taking a huge hit, so we have to turn into bubble boy for a few weeks, otherwise we may have tried to impose on family during our time up there. We have to get somewhere that is self contained and can't share any common areas because of health issues.
I've got a meeting this Wednesday morning, after that we'll be hitting the road to head for Salt Lake and plan on returning this Saturday, then we'll see what they say and exactly when they will schedule us for the return trip. We'll keep everyone informed as soon as we know more.
I'm glad we're moving forward, can't say I'm excited about it, more like a little nervous, but looking forward to moving things forward towards remission. I finished my last Revlimid and Lovenox this weekend and am suffering through what might be my last Dex steroid Monday night/Tuesday morning of sleep problems tonight - thus the middle of the night blog, it's still Monday night for me even though this is posting early Tuesday morning. We're enjoying some good weather here in Vegas and hope to take some of it with us so it's maybe not quite as cold up there as it has been. We know January and February are always cold but we're really not looking forward to freezing our hind ends off for the next couple of months. We'll share more later.
Monday, January 10, 2011
1/10/2011 Just Checking In
Not too much going on, just decided to write a few words tonight. We are getting ready to head for St. George this Thursday and Friday to talk with Dr. Te about the last blood test results that I mentioned in the last blog. I also will be getting another Arida bone treatment to keep up with that part of the treatment protocol.
On Thursday I have a followup appointment with the hearing doctor to look at how my hearing aids are doing, they sure seem to be helping me hear a lot of sounds and voices that I have been missing for years to that is good. They are the type that fit behind my ears and run a small tube into the ear with the speaker so very few people even know they are there. I am getting pretty used to having things in my ears so I'm able to keep them in for nearly all the day.
We are almost done with our Holiday Season but have one more event this week before we can put it to rest for the year. It's Patty's birthday on Wednesday January 12th and we are going to take her out for her birthday dinner as soon as she decides where she wants to eat.
I'll try to make another post next week after we talk to Dr. Te to let everyone know any updates to any possible schedule we might have, until then we hope every one's new year is going well.
On Thursday I have a followup appointment with the hearing doctor to look at how my hearing aids are doing, they sure seem to be helping me hear a lot of sounds and voices that I have been missing for years to that is good. They are the type that fit behind my ears and run a small tube into the ear with the speaker so very few people even know they are there. I am getting pretty used to having things in my ears so I'm able to keep them in for nearly all the day.
We are almost done with our Holiday Season but have one more event this week before we can put it to rest for the year. It's Patty's birthday on Wednesday January 12th and we are going to take her out for her birthday dinner as soon as she decides where she wants to eat.
I'll try to make another post next week after we talk to Dr. Te to let everyone know any updates to any possible schedule we might have, until then we hope every one's new year is going well.
Monday, January 3, 2011
1/3/2011 Happy New Year
Happy New Year to everyone, hope you had a great Christmas and Holiday Season and didn't freeze to death. We had a great time with family and friends and really enjoyed ourselves. We enjoyed the yearly Dalton Family Christmas party that was held at mom and dad's house on New Year's Day. We were just counting and figured there were around 31 guests at the party with our Josh and Kim, Daniel, Daniella and new Jessie Rebecca being the only ones not in attendance, although I should up the count to 32 because Ralph came down and visited us for a quite a while. Here's to wishing all of you a great 2011, 2010 was a real up and down year for us, we had our challenges but we had some very good things (like Ryan and Amanda) happen to us this past year, we were very blessed in very many ways.
My next appointments are on the 13th and 14th of January but we got the numbers from the blood test taken on the 16th of December. The numbers are still moving in the right directions only maybe not as quickly as they used to, but moving just the same. The main number that was 1.45 last month dropped to 1.35 which was a slower drop but good anyway. And the IGG numbers that were 2100+ last month dropped to 2005 which again is a drop but a smaller one. We will talk to Dr. Te on January 14th to go over in detail. The good news is that my Kidneys are still working very well and the other test numbers are all good.
I am the second week of Round 6 of my Revlimid. I should also probably give an update on my hearing devices. On Dec. 30th we went to the Hearing Doctor and got fitted with hearing aids, I showed them to some of you at the Dalton party but not everyone. They are working very well and although it is taking some time to get use to having things in my ears all the time, I am starting to get use to them and use to hearing sounds that I haven't heard for years.
Again we wish all of you a Happy New Years for 2011 and hope good things for all of you in the coming year. As we find out new things, we'll keep you posted.
My next appointments are on the 13th and 14th of January but we got the numbers from the blood test taken on the 16th of December. The numbers are still moving in the right directions only maybe not as quickly as they used to, but moving just the same. The main number that was 1.45 last month dropped to 1.35 which was a slower drop but good anyway. And the IGG numbers that were 2100+ last month dropped to 2005 which again is a drop but a smaller one. We will talk to Dr. Te on January 14th to go over in detail. The good news is that my Kidneys are still working very well and the other test numbers are all good.
I am the second week of Round 6 of my Revlimid. I should also probably give an update on my hearing devices. On Dec. 30th we went to the Hearing Doctor and got fitted with hearing aids, I showed them to some of you at the Dalton party but not everyone. They are working very well and although it is taking some time to get use to having things in my ears all the time, I am starting to get use to them and use to hearing sounds that I haven't heard for years.
Again we wish all of you a Happy New Years for 2011 and hope good things for all of you in the coming year. As we find out new things, we'll keep you posted.
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