Update...

Well is has been a crazy few days we are at the hospital again Eric is very low and is getting 2 units of red blood cell transfusion and 2 bags of platelets. We will not be done with all his transfusions until 1am. This is the routine his nurse comes in every morning and then every other day he goes back into the hospital for the transfusions he needs.

His Nupeogenic level is still critical but it did go up at least to 1.6 over the weekend but now he is back down again to 1.1, we are still needing to wear the mask everywhere but Eric hates wearing it so he was caught a few days not having it on however the doctor got after him on that so he is now back to following the rules and wearing it everywhere.

The doctor said just think of it as your underwear, you have to wear it! Eric loved that! NO other recent updates on his donor other than tomorrow is the big day and we are expecting a call on the exact date to fly out for the transplant in the next week. I will keep everyone posted....keep Eric in your prayers we feel the Lord's constant support!

Update....

Sorry I have not updated for a few days, it has been busy. Eric has been back and forth in the hospital, his hospice nurse comes in daily. We have heard that they have 3 bone marrow donor matches for Eric and two out of the three came in last week to get their physical clearance to be his donor.

Exciting I hope we get a call soon this week letting us know his exact transplant date, it should be anytime within the next two weeks we would leave to Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center. Eric has been eating a little better but not much he really likes Popsicles and ensure drinks that is pretty much it for him. It helps with his mouth sores and his throat.

He is pretty weak, sleeps alot but we are glad to have him home for a little bit before we have to leave to Texas. The kids really enjoy their Dad home and are so much more happier than the weeks before, I hope they will do OK when we leave to Texas they seemed to have had a really hard time when we were gone to St. Marks for that week, that was at least in state.

The Lord continues to bless us with simple little miracles or doors open when a problem rises, I know he hears our prayers and is aware of Eric's pain and helps us get through this. I do not know what I would do without my relationship and belief in the Lord I am not sure how anyone can manage without the knowledge and blessings it brings us.

It is not always easy but I definately know I am not alone, none of us are. I am thankful for everyday, every minute, every second I get to be with Eric and my children. They are my life and bring me such joy and happiness. I am so lucky to have them!

It's a little hard and different this week becasue usually we would be preparing for the 24th Bountiful parade to see our daughter in it- she is a Woods Cross High School Cheerleader followed by fun activities going with family to the fireworks and then packing and preparing for Bear Lake a family tradition but unfortunately this year we won't be able to do all that. It's home bound for us but at least our kids get to go still with the family it just won't be the same...But hey here is to hope and looking forward to next year, that we will be able to have Eric cured , healthly and back doing all our fun family traditions and memories....

Hospital Again...

It's back to the hospital for us again! We are at the hospital cause Eric is needing another platelets transfusion and 2 units of Red Blood transfusions......His CBC came back and counts are low part of Eric's regular routine we are getting blood transfusions at least every other day- sometimes daily.

Hope after this Eric can come home and sleep he is tired....

Up and Down Days...

So the last few days pretty much have been caring for Eric trying to see if he can try to eat something besides for ensure drinks. Went to the doctor's office today he said Eric is doing OK, he still has no immune system no signs of rebuilding but that was expected.

No recent news on his donor we sit and wait for the phone to ring praying they tell us the donor has been matched and confirmed. Up and Down in emotions I think today is harder day...I don't know sometimes you wonder if things are going to turn out, if Eric's body can endure more, if the kids are going to be okay, does anyone care, does the Lord hear our prayers?

I know he does, it's just hard some days...it is hard to not feel alone and isolated when you are sheltered away from the outside world so much and stuck in hibernation. A piece of advice if I may.....tell the ones you love everyday how much you love them! Hold them, spend time with them, don't have regrets and never forget that family is truly all you have---nothing else matters!

I am so proud of Eric, he never says he is tired or that he wants to give up all he does is worry about me or the kids. How we feel or how we are doing, what a honor it is to be his wife and I am so blessed to have him as my eternal companion. I will forever spend the rest of my life thanking the Lord for allowing me to be with him. Goodnight......

Home with a nurse...

Sorry I did not get a chance to update this yesterday we had a crazy busy day. They let me bring Eric home with a home health care nurse who comes in daily to care for him. They have a heart monitor on him watching him very close. With the blood pressure medicine his blood pressure has improved 128/88 better....He still is not eating but he has started to eat Ensure drinks so that is good for nutrition.

He has some mouth sores as well as his throat hurts and is hard to talk from the TEE scope procedure they did on him. So now we wait constant daily monitoring him with the home health care nurse until we get the call to fly to Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center when his donor is ready.

He has no immune system they say he is not even 1% so he has to wear a mask every where. If anyone comes sees him they need to wash up good, wear a mask and not come if they or anyone in their family have been or feel sick. Eric is at great risk right now for anything......We are glad we were able to bring him home for now, the kids missed him. His spirits are better when he is home around his family! He slept better last night however fear of his heart rate he still needs the Ambien in order to get some sleep.....We will keep everyone posted when we have new information to share but for now we are praying his donor will be firmed up and medically cleared so we can get Eric's transplant.We love you all!

Day 6 of Chemo....

Well alot to update.... they performed the TEE test on Eric's heart and found out that his heart looks pretty good no damage on his heart, no infection and no leaky valve-that was great news! However still his heart rate is only staying in the 40's.

Today is his last day on the chemo for now they want to try to get his heart rate up so I could possibly take him home even though he has no immune system right now they feel he is better at home in a quarantined environment instead of the hospital with other sick people.

They are setting him up with a home nurse that will come in everyday to help me and monitor his heart rate as well as CBC blood counts, pic line, flushes etc. We are hoping after we talk to the cardiologist late this morning we can find out if at all possible to go home with a heart monitor as well.

Just an update then from here we will be daily monitored with his nurse and drugs while his donor is being prepared which they have found 3 good match donors for Eric!!! So they will get all the tests they need on them to be cleared to be Eric's donor which then they will take 2 of them and prepare them for donor drugs and will only use one however keeping the other person on the back burner so in case we end up needing them in Texas.

We are just waiting for the donor to cleared and ready for the bone marrow transplant which can be at least a week to two from now so any day we could be going to Texas for the bone marrow transplant.

Then when we get out there while they are giving his donor the shots to prepare for the transplant Eric will again go through even more chemo pretty high dose with full body radiation then he would start the actual transplant. So it's for now a HURRY UP AND WAIT situation....everyday day brings new challenges and new hurdles but we know the Lord hears our prayers and his carrying us through this.

Please keep Eric in your prayers and pray that not only does his heart rate go up so he doesn't need a pace maker but also that he can stay clear of any infections and sickness to his immune system but most of all that his donor will be firmed up soon and cleared to start the transplant!
We love you all and our blessed to have your love and support!

Day 5 of Chemo.....

Well today is Day 5 of chemo and Eric had a better night some what. He was able to get some sleep despite not wanting to lay down scared of his heart rate dropping even lower. They put him on oxygen through the night and also gave him a sleeping pill Ambien so he could get some sleep.

They still have him hooked up and are monitoring his heart rate constantly, he has still been running in the 40's on his heart rate and his blood pressure is still very high 153/ 103 however this morning he was showing a 73 once on his heart rate and 118/88 on his blood pressure right before his morning shower.

Quickly though he is back down to the 40's....We just had the cardiologist come in she told us we have a problem that Eric's echo came back showing that he possibly has a infection/ damage to his heart valve and heart. They are concerned and are taking him down within the hour for a TEE Test Trans Esophageal Echo, a scope down his throat to get a closer look at his heart and heart valves....We will keep everyone posted.....

Day 4 of Chemo...

Well today is Saturday day 4 of chemo.... Eric's night went much like the night before. He has the heart monitor on with he cardiologist monitoring him constantly we were told that they do not want to see him go into the 30's or they will need to do emergency surgery and place a pace maker in.

Eric didn't dare lay down to sleep and is scared from his heart so he laid awake sitting up right trying to stay awake all night, watching a movie. He was able to keep himself awake until 2am and then fell asleep, needed rest. Eric's heart rate has started to now be in the 30's at 38 so the guy watching his heart rate on the monitor called the cardiologist.

She stated that Eric now is in then 30's what they don't want however she is trying to avoid having to place a pace maker in not only due to the fact of a pace maker and his current condition and that stopping his transplant but also the concern he would not make through a surgery with his platelets so low.

For now she says she will have him go do a Echo Cardio on his heart and will evaluate it and be back in to discuss the options....Eric won't eat still it's been 2 days, a dietician came in and talked to him about he needs to eat, they trying to come up with protein drinks and ideas to eat. I hope he will eat something soon but he doesn't feel good this morning - nausea and feels like he is going to throw up.

Praying that his heart rate will improve and we prevent the pace maker....He had a blessing last night, that helped his spirits...the Lord is aware of his pains and struggles. He will help us through this!

3rd Day of Chemo....A turn of events

I don't even know where to begin....I guess I should back up to 3am after the doctor and nurses evaluating Eric's heart rate actually has decreased even more now he is in the 40's on his heart rate and his blood pressure went back down for part of the day but now is back up again to 149/90.

Eric's doctor is very concerned and doesn't know why his heart rate and blood pressure took this turn, he did not want to get a cardiologist involved due to possibly making him be removed from the transplant list if they felt he had a heart problem that developed now but at this point had no choice.

We meet with the cardiologist doctor and Eric was placed on a heart monitor which records and watches every beat and rhythm his heart does. The doctor said Eric might have to have a pace maker put in if he goes into the 30's on his heart rate......I can not believe this! What possibly more could happen?

Please everyone pray for Eric, pray that his blood pressure goes down and his heart rate will go up and he will not end up needing a pace maker........

Middle of the night....

It's 3am ..the middle of night. Eric has been up since 2am he can't breathe, he feels like his chest is constricted. Nurses come and take his vitals and monitor him, they are worried his blood pressure is high 151/94- he should be at least 120/90 and his heart rate is extremely low he is running only 48 rate when he has been is running 70.

It's 3:15am now and they have called Eric's doctor, they are very concerned so they have taken Eric now for a EKG and chest X-ray. I asked the nurse what they are looking for and she wouldn't really go into detail she just said his heart rate is extremely low and they are concerned so now they are monitoring him every 15 minutes.

I asked her what they will do if he doesn't get his heart rate up and his blood pressure down she explained they would need to transfer him to the Progressive Care Unit a type of ICU to give him meds and monitor him more closely.

Sleepless night I can't sleep with all this going on... I am up awake sitting by his bed side saying a prayer he will be alright, please let his heart rate come up and his blood pressure come down.

I will keep you posted.......

Eric's 2nd day of chemo

Well day 2 of chemo and Eric had a really rough night.... he has been running 102 fevers all through the night with the nurses coming in every hour to monitor him and take his vitals. Due to the fevers being so high and consistent they had to call his doctor at 2am, the doctor wanted more tests on Eric to check everything out so all through the night Eric had lab tech's and nurses taking vitals of blood to run the tests. Then the riggers/ chills started up again with the night sweats. More demerol for Eric which stopped the chills, due to that drug finally able to get some rest and fell asleep at 4am until 7:30am when the doctor came in to talk to us.

A long with the chills and high fever, Eric has had more nausea, vomiting and a really bad headache.He won't eat... has not since yesterday morning. Due to the headache and the fevers his doctor is concerned he might have bleeding on his brain. They stop all chemo and transfusions and take him down to get a CT on his brain....waiting on that result before we can move forward today.Pray he has no bleeding on his brain....

Good news Eric just came back from his CT and negative for bleeding on his brain...sigh of relief. No bleeding so now off we go to start today's 8 hours of chemo, just as a precaution though his doctor now is also going to run through his pic line antibiotics to prevent any future problems.They also are giving Eric morphine for the pain and headaches. Eric's spirit today is good, but really weak and tired..not much rest for him last night but today we will see if we can get him some more rest through the day and maybe to eat something. We love all of you and please continue to keep Eric in your prayers!

1St Day Chemo...

Our story will come soon I promise. I just haven't gotten around to getting it posted.I have a Biography for everyone to read. Just so you can get to know Eric and us a little better. For those of you that know us, you know all to well the hard road we've faced. This cancer has been apart of us for the last six years. This blog is really for all of us. For my husband and his bravery. For me, and my hope. For our kids who will live without us at home for awhile...we love you, and miss you tons. For all those who know, love, and care for Eric, this is your chance to walk beside us as we begin our fight.

Today is 7/8/09 and Eric's second day in the hospital. First day started out with Eric needing 2 platelet transfusions and 2 red cell blood transfusions because he is so low on his blood counts, they also wanted to do surgery to place a pic line in him for his chemo he will leave in now all the time. For surgery they usually want your platelets at least 15 however Eric was 9 so they needed these transfusions in order to do the surgery and prevent him from bleeding internally. First hurdle down ....or so we thought.

Today they started the chemo and within 30 minutes Eric started having side effects vomiting, nausea, the chills or as they call them RIGGERS....wow here we go, right? Grabbing the throw up bucket, chills,and the nurses giving Eric as fast as they can demerol a drug to calm him down and stop the chills. I look over at him and I am in awe of his bravery, what a wonderful person he is and a strong fighter. Prayers, prayers is what we need and the sweet peace of a moments rest for Eric so he can close his eyes and forget the pain for a few moments.

Eric will get through this, we all will get through this. The Lord will give him strength with every step... the hope and will is there we just need to hold on.......Hang on Eric everything will be okay!

A smile for you all...I mean come on would Eric give you anything else!

A Picture says a thousand words...