Things are looking better!

Well I said things can change quickly and they have. Sunday was a really bad day with the fevers so high and his heart rate was really high as well, they almost put him in ICU. His brother Kerry gave him a really nice blessing and he was calmer through the night. On Monday, he still got a couple of high fevers, but his heart rate wasn't as fast. They kept him on Tylenol and then put a fan in his room and some ice bags around his body. The doctors came in and told us that it is probably going to get better as his counts go up. Around 5:30 he had some Tylenol and then in about a half an hour he was feeling pretty good. I had brought up some lasagne that someone in our ward had made for my lunch, and he really wanted some. We shared and that was the first time that he had eaten dinner, he said that it tasted really good. He ate some canned mandarin oranges and a popsicle. He was really acting so much better, it was great to have him back.
Tuesday, I called him and he sounded a little better as well. I came up after work and he was doing really good, they said his fevers had stayed down most of the day, so when I got here, I asked him if he wanted to walk, he said that he would do it. He also drank a boost drink yesterday, and then he had one today. They said that is good because they have nutrients and calories. They are counting every calorie that he eats. I talked to the PA today, and she said his numbers are coming up pretty good. They said today they are at 300, when the nutifil gets to around 500 and the fevers stop they will think about letting him come home, so keep praying that everything works well in the next week or so! I just want to thank everyone for the fasting, prayers and concern. I know that Heavenly Father has heard all of our prayers and taking care of him and helping the doctors know what to do for him. Thank you again.

Transplant

I think I forgot to put this into one of the blogs, we had just been so concerned with the fevers. Last Monday, we asked for the coordinator Rachel, and she came in. Kurt was worried about the donors and if they matched. She did tell us that none of his siblings matched. Kurt was down a bit, but I told him that now they would look for someone in their 20's and that he could live a lot longer with some young cells in him. This would just delay his procedure a little while longer. They did a preliminary search when he first came in, and found a possible 218 donors. Now what they do is narrow that search down the to top 5 or 6, and try to locate them. This is what takes a long time, because the registry is world wide, and some people may have moved and not given a forwarding address. Once they locate them, they have them do a blood test, and it takes about a week to find out. So we are just waiting and hopefully it won't take too long.

This is the worst roller coaster ride I've ever been on!

Wow how things can change. He was doing great yesterday until around 2:30 and then he started to get the shakes again and his fever climbed again. It kept going up and then it would come down. I guess it did it again all through the night. I came up around 1:00 pm on Sunday, and he was doing better, then he had to go have a chest x-ray and then he got the shakes again, and the high fever of about 105. I am having a hard time watching him go through this, and I know that it is extremely hard for him to go through. Hopefully a better day is coming!

The fever finally broke!

Well I called Kurt yesterday morning and he told me that the fever had broke. I was so estatic. I came up that afternoon and he was doing really well. He was talking more to me, and then he went for a walk. He hadn't done that in 8 days. It was so good to see him be more of himself. Then he ate some dinner. It was my birthday that day, and he said that I wanted this for my present, so he gave it to me. But now today, I came up, and he was doing even better, he was on the computer, and it was great to see him this way. But then he got up to go to the bathroom, and I went to get him something, and when I came back he was shaking again. I told the nurse, and they took his temp, and it had started going up again. Now where just trying to find out why. I will get back to this and keep you posted. They gave him some demoral to help with the shaking, so most of the day is has just been sleeping. They keep coming in and checking his fever, and it goes up and down, but he seems comfortable right now. I will stay most of the night again and help him. This is going to be very frustrating and long to get him better. I think we will learn the virture of patience. They did give us some encouraging news today, that his nutrifil (and I'm sure I'm not spelling any of the medical words right) was slowing going up, in order for him to go home his count needs to be 500 and his today were 32, a little ways to go, but at least it's better than 0. We are so grateful for small things now a days!

What a horrible week!

Wow what a week! I don't even know where to start. Last Friday we got the news that Kurt's marrow was clean, but he still had this high fever. They decided to check his blood and see if there were any infections, but couldn't find any. He still had the fever on Saturday and just slept all day and didn't eat or talk, and then again on Sunday, but they found a stomach infection and started a different anti-biotic. Then he still had the fever on Monday Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They did a CT scan and a MRI on Monday, then on Tuesday they did a Lombard puncture. On Wednesday, they let him rest, but then he got the fever really bad and it went to 105 the last night and Wednesday. They ran another test to check his oxygen level and if it had gone higher they would of put him in the ICU. So I had a hard time leaving him, but they said they would call me if he changed. On Thursday, they were going to do another test and sedate him and go down through his esophagus and check his heart valves to see if there was any infections. Then when I got here, they took him to do another ultrasound of his stomach, and then another chest x-ray. I think they have looked at every part inside his body. Today they still don't know why he has the high fever, but they did give him a shot that is suppose to help his white blood cells start working, so they can see if that will take care of the fevers. From all of the tests they did today, they still don't know what it is. It is very confusing, and Kurt is getting frustrated. Hopefully something will start to work and he can feel better again.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers and concern. We feel the prayers on our behalf, and know that one day this will all be over and he will be his self again.

First Hurdle

Kurt had a bone marrow biopsy done yesterday the 19th. He also got a fever yesterday. The doctor says that is normal with leukemia. They did the test in the afternoon, and by that night he was tired from the procedure and also not feeling too good with the fever. I went up in the afternoon, and he was pretty tired. Ryan, Cher, and the kids came up that night but didn't stay too long either. He was nervous about the results that we would get the next day. This will tell us if he needs more induction chemo or just wait for two weeks and let the blood counts go up.
Today, the 20th, he still has the fever, and it got pretty high. He is not feeling good at all. Around 4:00 the nurse came in and gave him more tylenol, and he said at least his marrow was clean, and I said "what!" He said Oh didn't the doctors come in an tell you. I said no. A minute later Dr. Ash came in and told us the good news. The marrow was clean, the chemo had killed the cancer cells. But he still has the high fever and feels miserable. We will find out next Monday or Tuesday if any of his siblings are a match for the marrow transplant. If they are they will keep Kurt there for another couple of weeks, and then he will get to come home for a week. If one of them matches the next week they will start right away on the transplant. If not, they will have to go to the registry and find a match. So he would have to do consolidation chemo for another 4 weeks until they find a match. He would be able to come home that week, go back for a week, come home for a week, and then go back for a week. Dr. Ash said she sees a little light at the end of the tunnel, but it will be a long winding road to get there.
Anyway we were very excited for this good news, but keep praying for him, that he will get rid of this fever.

All of the grandkids are having a hard time not being able to see and hug their grandpa. Hopefully soon, they will get to.

Avery

Kelli told me a story the other day, that 3 yr. old Avery said. They were walking on a road, and walked over a grate that had running water below. Avery said "Look mom there is some water, and Kelli responded yes, and Avery asked if we drink that water, and Kelli said no that water is gross!" Avery looked at her and said "Mom did grandpa drink this water and it made him sick?"
She had to laugh and tell her no. It makes you wonder sometimes what is going on in their minds!

The Next Step

Well we have now ended the first round of treatment. Kurt actually did okay, a little nausea and a few sores in his mouth, and being tired. The doctor said he is one of their better eaters. He never was a picky eater, but he is getting tired of the up-chuck chuckarama style of food! So now he has gotten smart, he orders grilled cheese sandwiches, and the other night he ordered a hamburger, he said that was the best meal he has had in long time!
The doctor came in on Thursday the 12th, and told us that they had the result of this chromosone test, we're still not sure about all of this medical talk, but they said due to his age his chromosones showed unfavorable, so chemo alone would probably not be the best to cure this. He told us that he would do better with a bone marrow transplant. Needless to say we were not very happy, but what can you do. Now they are looking for a donor, they first look at his siblings, because they would be the best match. Then if they don't match they will go to an unrelated donor from the registry. They are starting this right away, because sometimes it takes awhile to find one. So if anyone wants to help they just have to get on the registry. So next week they will still do another bone marrow biopsy, and then depending on the results, they will either do more extensive chemo or wait for 1-2 weeks and see if his blood counts go up. He will probably get a little break and be able to come home for a bit, but then back to the hospital. For the bone marrow he will be in the hospital another 4-6 weeks, and then need 24/7 care for another couple of months. We are a little scared but very hopeful!
Yesterday he had a visit from a guy from Loa that had gone through this a year and 1/2 ago. He said that looking back it went by fast and was worth it, because he is now doing well. It gave us a lot of hope and was good to know someone had done it.

The Shocking News!

On Monday March 2, 2009 I got an appointment for Kurt to go to the doctor that morning at 11:30 am. He was told that he probably had a infection in the lining of his lungs, and to take a couple of days off work. By the time he got home there was a message to call the doctor back right away. He called and was told that his blood counts were extremely low, and that he should get to a hospital right away. The doctor called a specialist who called us and told us to check into the hospital and that he would perform a bone marrow biopsy that next morning. We were is shock and were very worried, because the specialist had mentioned Leukemia. We went right away to the hospital and Kurt didn't feel to bad that night.
A couple of weeks ago, he had some bruising that he didn't know where they came from, and then the next week he was out of breath when he would do anything. He also said that he didn't feel right, but was not that sick. I being the worrier decided that he should go to the doctor.
On Tuesday morning they performed the procedure, and while Kurt was still in there, the doctor came out to me and said that he really thought Kurt had acute Leukemia, but that he wasn't 100% sure and hoped that he was wrong. We waited in the room all day and around 4:00 another specialist came in and said that it was acute Leukemia, and that they needed to transport him to LDS hospital that night. He was taken by ambulance, and I drove up there. He was checked into a small boring room, and told that he would be there for about a month for the first treatment. They did tell us that we could decorate his room any way we liked. At that point we couldn't think of any kind of decorating, we were just so overwhelmed by how fast things had gone. I stayed with Kurt that night, and ended up getting sick all night, we still don't know if it was everything that was going on, or if I was sick with the flu. It was scary, because I didn't feel like going home that late, but I knew that I might get him very sick, because the leukemia destroyed his immune system. The next day they sent me home because I was achy and still wasn't feeling good. That was pretty hard. I stayed home for awhile and then Kelli came up with me in the afternoon, because the Doctors were coming in to talk to all of us.

They came in and explained many things to us. I can't remember everything, but they were going to check everything out and then start the chemo the next day or two. I went home to sleep that night, I woke up at 2:30 am and just started to pray, when I was done the phone rang and it was the hospital. I wasn't worried, but after talking to the nurse I began to shake. She told me that Kurt had passed out and fallen in the bathroom, and now they had him in ICU. She told me that she had a hard time waking him up and that ICU could watch him better. Needless to say, I was very worried and couldn't get back to sleep for a couple of hours.

The next morning I still wasn't feeling well and they told me not to come in, I went into a break down. I stayed home for awhile and then felt better and took my temp and it was normal. When I got there around 12:00 he was still in ICU, but they were going to take him back to the bone marrow unit soon. They said he was doing better. So all that day, I wore the mask and gloves so I didn't spread anything to him.

Kurt on what he likes to call his "Deathbed." He is just joking around but it is pretty funny when he says it. He is just taking it day by day. One day he was up riding his stationary bike jamming out to Natasha Beddingfield, and the other day he just wanted to cover his face. Just two more days of the chemo left for this first treatment though, Yeah! March 10, 2009