March 31st

Dad had another bone marrow biopsy today.  It was a little more difficult this time around because the P.A. had a hard time getting it after several tries so they got a different P.A. that was able to get it.  Dad was pretty sore the rest of the day.

Tuesday March 29th

The doctors have been concerned with his breathing so have been running some tests and found out that he has 2 blood clots in his lungs and 2 in his legs.  He is already on blood thinners so they are going to increase the amount to treat the blood clots.  His spirits are still good he is looking really old and I think that is the hardest thing is to see him like that.  Especially since he has hardly ever been sick at all his whole life and always running :)  I was talking with someone last night joking that he still has probably 1 years worth of sick pay from work since he never used it.  Once again thank you for your prayers.

Plateletes are up

We found out that one of the reasons he has been fevering so much lately is because his platelets have been sky rocketing.  Like from 16 to 125 and now in the 300's!  Wahoo!

Auntie Ed is the match!!

We just found out that Dad's sister Edris is a donor match for the bone marrow transplant!  Wahoo!! :)  Also,  Pops blood is still clean of leukemia so hopefully they will do another bone marrow test soon to find out if those protective cells are being broken down so the chemo can reach the bone marrow.

March 22nd

He was supposed to come home tomorrow but has another infection.  He has a fever of 102*.  Mike was up there this afternoon to pick up Mom so was able to give him a blessing so that's good.  He wants to come home so bad because he misses the family but it's better that they keep him to monitor him through these infections.  Thank you again for your prayers on his behalf and for my mothers strength to endure this with him :)

Not good test results, thank you for your prayers and faith! March 12,2011

He had another bone marrow test to see how the week of intense chemo affected the Leukemia and the results showed it has done absolutely nothing because this type of cancer is so resistant that it has cells that are built up around it to protect it.  They will have to treat him immediately due to it being so aggressive.  The Dr. said that if they were to do another intensive chemo treatment at his age, he wouldn't make it.  He said it would be extremely tough for a 33 year old.  And of course if they do no treatment he would not make it past 1 month.  The other option is to do a less intense chemo treatment that is specifically for this type to break down those cells and actually changes the DNA so it can do that.  The treatments will be once a day for 7 days and then he will recover for 3 weeks and they would like to do 3 - 4 treatments so this will take up to 4 months.  He started his first treatment yesterday.  He will only be in the hospital for this treatment and then maybe 1 or 2 weeks of recovery and then will do the rest out-patient.  The statistics of this less intense chemo treatment for his type of cancer is a 49% chance of full remission but we have all felt at peace and with that blessing that he will fully recover.  Then once the cancer is in remission he can have the bone marrow transplant.  When we saw him yesterday he is still of course with out doubt and full of faith that he will fully recover, he said he will definitely be in that 49% :)  This has been such a humbling experience and we are so grateful for the Lord's blessing of peace and comfort to know that he will recover stronger than ever like he promised in the blessing he received 3 days after he was admitted into the hospital.  Our family fasted today and participated in an endowment session at the Oaker Mountain temple and that was so sweet to feel the peace again and love of our Heavenly Father for our Dad and Mom and all of us.  The tender mercies of the Lord :)  Thank you all for your ongoing faith and prayers on his behalf.  He is of course the one who keeps us strong, along with Mom, with their un-wavering faith and optimism :)  He has enjoyed seeing all of his wonderful friends and family but is very tired, along with Mom, so if you do visit please just stay for 10-15 minutes :)

Update March 5th

The results from the DNA test came back today, which was a big surprise, since the doctor had said it would take 2 weeks (which it only took 1 week). This is another sign of how the Lord is blessing dad because it allows the doctor's to know the severity and know the next course of action to take. The results that were sent to the doctor showed a long list of abnormalities in the DNA chromosomes. So he will have to have a bone marrow transplant. As soon as we know more about the bone marrow transplant we will let you know.

March 4th

Today, Friday, is Dad's last day of chemo for this first treatment. We all went up to celebrate with him. He said he has no pain and feels so blessed for that. He was actually looking stronger today with more energy than he's had since he started the chemo treatment. He wants everyone to know how grateful he is for all the prayers and fasts on his behalf. He expressed how he can feel the strength from those prayers and fasts.