Tanner and Robert were able to come home on Monday afternoon. We were a little surprised because Tanner's counts were still at zero for his anc, but his white cells and monocycts were both looking really good so they let him come home with restrictions, they will check his blood on Thursday to see if things have changed, But it is so good to all be home!! It's nice to have home cooked meals and our own beds, the saying is true, there's no place like home!!
We are scheduled to go back to Salt Lake on Monday for clinic and a bone marrow aspiration, but that is only if his counts are up, and if they are we will admit back at Primacy's on Wednesday February 1st, if counts are not up it will be pushed back a few more days.
We are learning alot about patience through this trial, it always seems to be "we"ll wait and see how things go", so we wait...
As for bone marrow the first 7 that were contacted have been slow to respond, so the team requested another 7-9 people to come in and be checked, hopefully they will understand the importance of this to Tanner and be willing to help, we pray for that daily. They still believe that a match will be found without a problem, once again, "We'll wait and see".
We want you all to know how grateful we are for you and your continued prayers, we are sustained daily because of you, thank you!
So for right now we are enjoying being at home, and Mandy is sure happy to see Tanner!!
Thanks again
Love Kristi
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Almost home again
I cant beleive it has been this long between posts! Tanner is feeling good and just waiting for his counts to come back, maybe monday, likley tuesday, and almost for sure by Wednesday he will be home. But only for a few days. He is doing so well that his doctors dont want to slow down treatemts since he is responding so well and without major side effects. There is not really a whole lot to talk about. He has had a good week with visits from some pretty special friends. I was talking to a grandparent of a long term patient, ( there is a good chance she will never go home again) He was just needing some one to listen to him. He talked about what great people that there are in the world and I told him that indeed there were. We shared examples of how different people have impacted our lives and how sometimes we are the ones who need to accept the fact that we need to allow service so others can receive blessings of service. This led me to reflect of a visitor on Monday last week. This person had been out of town and was scheduled to arrive home last Sunday evening. I got a text asking how tanner was doing, and I responded to them and suggested they call him. 2 hours later they came to visit at the hospital. That in its self is not surprising as the the airport is close by. But turns out They missed their flight and ended up driving home. They drove by Logan and continued south and added almost 4 hours of extra drive time to their schedule.
I share this story because a I look back, I was the one who needed the visit as this was going on 4 weeks since our family had been together. That being said last night Kaley, Kristi, Tanner and myself were able to be together last night and we attended Sacrament meeting here at the hospital today before Kristi and Kaley went home.
Kristi was also able to find a 2 bedroom house to rent so we will now be able to have a bit more comfort and convenience than what we have done in the past. This is a huge relief as there is not a lot of options when it comes to short term rentals.
As always it is great to know of support and prayers on our behalf. Words cannot describe the feelings of gratitude.
Thank You
Robert
I share this story because a I look back, I was the one who needed the visit as this was going on 4 weeks since our family had been together. That being said last night Kaley, Kristi, Tanner and myself were able to be together last night and we attended Sacrament meeting here at the hospital today before Kristi and Kaley went home.
Kristi was also able to find a 2 bedroom house to rent so we will now be able to have a bit more comfort and convenience than what we have done in the past. This is a huge relief as there is not a lot of options when it comes to short term rentals.
As always it is great to know of support and prayers on our behalf. Words cannot describe the feelings of gratitude.
Thank You
Robert
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
zero day
today has been a pretty usual day here. but then again its been pretty eventful comparing to the last couple days. i guess i will start the way my day did...
i woke up about 6:30 this morning which is pretty much normal i guess, but still a little earlier than usual. not too long after waking up i immediately thought of the date. january 12th. today marks the day i would have entered the MTC to start my 2 years as a missionary. it was a little disheartening for a little bit to say the least and i thought about it for a good couple of hours. then my mom showed up ready for the day. after a little bit i asked her if she remembered that today was the day. of course she did and we talked a little bit and came to the conclusion that maybe i entered my own sort of missionary training back in the middle of november at the start of this. that maybe my mission right now is to be here. the more ive pondered this today the more it makes sense. anyway thats just some thoughts we have had about the big picture.
today was also the first day my blood counts have officially bottomed out so i havent felt all that great. the headaches, fatigue and easily upset stomach, that come with having no counts, are back. these are all pretty easily treated with tylenol and other common medicines. however the good news is being at the bottom, metaphorically and literally, it can only go uphill from here, assuming no infections or other issues arise. (knock on wood...)
the other news we got today was a pretty good idea of what the next few months will bring. our doctor overseeing me came in and was extremely pleased with how well i am coming along with recovery and holding my own through the treatments. with having no immune system whatsoever and considering the circumstances like coming in the hospital back on dec. 31st with fevers and what they were convinced was the flu, that later tured out to be most likely a random fever and a contaminant in the blood culture, RSV which apparently runs rampant in children in the winter months, and many other things that work against someone like me. its pretty uncommon that patients go without infections and unplanned illness. its not easy to explain and seems very backwards at first but since i am doing so well with it all, that makes them more inclined to do more chemo. chances are we will be here another 2 or 3 weeks and they will send us home again for 7-10 days. then when my immune system comes back and assuming its healthy as found before, another round of 8 dayish chemotherapy will begin and the same recovery cycle will follow before we get ready for the bone marrow transplant. basically, as twisted as it sounds im a prime canidate to be through all this treatment and recovery. this is because young, adult males we are told have the highest remission and recovery rate. also fortunately they are starting the process of finding a marrow donor for me. we were also informed today that roughly 7 donors have been contacted and we are waiting for preliminary tests from them to come here to be further tested. this is another reason we still have time for another month long round of chemo. these donors could be from the same state, or as far as another country. the testing and donation revolves around their convenience and schedule so essentially its going to be a few weeks to round everything up. if things go faster than that and the donation comes before we are ready, it can be frozen and stored, unlike say a kidney or heart or other organ that time is vital to. its alot to wrap your mind around but hopefully ive kind of made sense disecting everything we have learned in the last little while. (im not currently on any medication so hopefully it should make sense haha)
thats about what we know and everything thats been happening around here. the motto around here is "no news is good news" so if you dont hear for a while... its all good!
-tanner
i woke up about 6:30 this morning which is pretty much normal i guess, but still a little earlier than usual. not too long after waking up i immediately thought of the date. january 12th. today marks the day i would have entered the MTC to start my 2 years as a missionary. it was a little disheartening for a little bit to say the least and i thought about it for a good couple of hours. then my mom showed up ready for the day. after a little bit i asked her if she remembered that today was the day. of course she did and we talked a little bit and came to the conclusion that maybe i entered my own sort of missionary training back in the middle of november at the start of this. that maybe my mission right now is to be here. the more ive pondered this today the more it makes sense. anyway thats just some thoughts we have had about the big picture.
today was also the first day my blood counts have officially bottomed out so i havent felt all that great. the headaches, fatigue and easily upset stomach, that come with having no counts, are back. these are all pretty easily treated with tylenol and other common medicines. however the good news is being at the bottom, metaphorically and literally, it can only go uphill from here, assuming no infections or other issues arise. (knock on wood...)
the other news we got today was a pretty good idea of what the next few months will bring. our doctor overseeing me came in and was extremely pleased with how well i am coming along with recovery and holding my own through the treatments. with having no immune system whatsoever and considering the circumstances like coming in the hospital back on dec. 31st with fevers and what they were convinced was the flu, that later tured out to be most likely a random fever and a contaminant in the blood culture, RSV which apparently runs rampant in children in the winter months, and many other things that work against someone like me. its pretty uncommon that patients go without infections and unplanned illness. its not easy to explain and seems very backwards at first but since i am doing so well with it all, that makes them more inclined to do more chemo. chances are we will be here another 2 or 3 weeks and they will send us home again for 7-10 days. then when my immune system comes back and assuming its healthy as found before, another round of 8 dayish chemotherapy will begin and the same recovery cycle will follow before we get ready for the bone marrow transplant. basically, as twisted as it sounds im a prime canidate to be through all this treatment and recovery. this is because young, adult males we are told have the highest remission and recovery rate. also fortunately they are starting the process of finding a marrow donor for me. we were also informed today that roughly 7 donors have been contacted and we are waiting for preliminary tests from them to come here to be further tested. this is another reason we still have time for another month long round of chemo. these donors could be from the same state, or as far as another country. the testing and donation revolves around their convenience and schedule so essentially its going to be a few weeks to round everything up. if things go faster than that and the donation comes before we are ready, it can be frozen and stored, unlike say a kidney or heart or other organ that time is vital to. its alot to wrap your mind around but hopefully ive kind of made sense disecting everything we have learned in the last little while. (im not currently on any medication so hopefully it should make sense haha)
thats about what we know and everything thats been happening around here. the motto around here is "no news is good news" so if you dont hear for a while... its all good!
-tanner
Monday, January 10, 2011
round 2 finished
its been a while since i posted so i thought i would just leave a quick one. we finished round two of treatments early yesterday morning. now we just have to wait for my counts to finish dropping and then recover. im pretty sure a few transfusions are on their way here in a few days.
as you read from my dad, this round has been completely opposite of what its been in the past. ive been up, awake, eating, and even gaining a few pounds back from round one. im still on the anti nausea meds every 2 hours so that keeps everything under control. however one of them in its full dosage has an amnesia- like side effect so even though i have been awake this time, memory of the last week or is still kinda hazy...
and speaking of hazy, as in logan im sure the air here in salt lake is absolutely terrible, until today. we got a west- facing window so downtown and all of the city is a pretty good view. yesterday and today have been the first days we have been able to enjoy it. especially last night. as i was waken on the every 2 hour pee schedule, i noticed all the lights spanning across the salt lake valley, maybe we will try to get some pics while its still clear.
im sure most of you have heard our great news by now, buy for those who havent the result from my last bone marrow aspiration showed no signs of cancer! we were all very exited over that. but then again we still have a long way to go.
also as you read on the last post the entertainment/boredom issue has improved slightly over last time. thanks to many many generous people whe served our family over the holiday season and who still continue to.
well thats about it, i will get some pics up if im feeling ambitous. thanks for everything!
-tanner
as you read from my dad, this round has been completely opposite of what its been in the past. ive been up, awake, eating, and even gaining a few pounds back from round one. im still on the anti nausea meds every 2 hours so that keeps everything under control. however one of them in its full dosage has an amnesia- like side effect so even though i have been awake this time, memory of the last week or is still kinda hazy...
and speaking of hazy, as in logan im sure the air here in salt lake is absolutely terrible, until today. we got a west- facing window so downtown and all of the city is a pretty good view. yesterday and today have been the first days we have been able to enjoy it. especially last night. as i was waken on the every 2 hour pee schedule, i noticed all the lights spanning across the salt lake valley, maybe we will try to get some pics while its still clear.
im sure most of you have heard our great news by now, buy for those who havent the result from my last bone marrow aspiration showed no signs of cancer! we were all very exited over that. but then again we still have a long way to go.
also as you read on the last post the entertainment/boredom issue has improved slightly over last time. thanks to many many generous people whe served our family over the holiday season and who still continue to.
well thats about it, i will get some pics up if im feeling ambitous. thanks for everything!
-tanner
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Induction 2 finished
I arrived in salt lake about 7:30 last night (before the storm hit). In knew that Tanner had been feeling good but I was not ready for How he really was feeling. He was feeling amazingly good. He was just watching TV and eating snacks. The previous round he had lost 22 pounds that is more than 10 percent of his total body weight. Today as I type this he is playing Black Ops on his X Box and is actually playing Live On-Line. He figured out how to use his laptop to create a bridge because the x-box cannot accept "the terms of use agreement". So he is sitting here encouraging the other members of his on line team "to step it up." Right now you would never know he finished his last treatment early this morning. Last month he basically doesn't even remember the first 10 days because he was so sick. Need less to say this is great news and makes the days here much better.
I attended the branch sacrament meeting services today. They are very short but are also very spiritual. It has been a good day today not much to talk to talk about. we are planning on him being here till the end of the month.
As was talked about in sacrament meeting, Prayers are indeed answered and I thank you for all of those on his behalf!!
I attended the branch sacrament meeting services today. They are very short but are also very spiritual. It has been a good day today not much to talk to talk about. we are planning on him being here till the end of the month.
As was talked about in sacrament meeting, Prayers are indeed answered and I thank you for all of those on his behalf!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Jan 5th
Hello, just a quick update, Tanner is doing well, he is handling the chemo this round alot better than the first time. days 1-3 were a little tough but now he is eating, awake and feeling good. So happy to see him eating and no nausea.
Wednesday is Bingo day at Primary's so we played and Tanner won me a little blanket. It's yellow and white (that's why I got it). They try and do fun things here to keep the kids entertained.
that's about it for now, Thanks for your love and prayers
Kristi
Wednesday is Bingo day at Primary's so we played and Tanner won me a little blanket. It's yellow and white (that's why I got it). They try and do fun things here to keep the kids entertained.
that's about it for now, Thanks for your love and prayers
Kristi
Monday, January 3, 2011
Induction 2 Day 2
I was able to come down Sunday afternoon for a couple of days. Tanner is not feeling good, but then we expect that. When he was readmitted he had a fever as Kristi posted earlier. It is most likely caused by a type of staph infection. ( we all have staph present on our skin) they are currently treating it with a couple different antibiotics. it will be another day or 2 till they know exactly what to treat it with if it is different than what they are doing now. The side effects are the same as before body rash and fevers caused by meds(?) and all the others you would expect. The stuff he gets for nausea make him drowsy so he sleeps alot. Which is good. He does have periods of time where he is alert where he does play games on his gadgets that he was given for his birthday and Christmas (thank you). When I arrived last night I couldn't help but notice his phone ws constantly buzzing from a text. After a couple hours of this I finally ask him who he was talking to and he told me it was with Kim who is another patient down the hall. Isn't this technology we have simply amazing .
Treament is going as expected , 2 days down 6 to go.
As always we are forever gratful
Robert
P.S. They moved Tanner to a different room today not as large but now have a west view so that is good right???
Treament is going as expected , 2 days down 6 to go.
As always we are forever gratful
Robert
P.S. They moved Tanner to a different room today not as large but now have a west view so that is good right???
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year
Jan 1st 2011,
Thank you to all of you for making our Christmas the BEST one ever. We felt so loved and cared for. Tanner enjoyed his time at home, he was beyond spoiled and loved every minute of it. Thank you for remembering Kaley, I had to remind her that Christmas won't be like this every year so many presents, thank you. Thank you to Cache Valley Women's center for the gift of family pictures!
We can't begin to thank all of you for your kindness, please know of our love for each of you, and gratitude, with times of trials comes, love, support, comfort and blessings we have been blessed to have wonderful family and friends, and past and present ward members who have daily remembered us in there thoughts and prayers, thank you.
Now for the update. Tanner and I came to Primary's on Wednesday, for and echo, clinic visit and a bone marrow extraction. We got the good news on Thursday, no cancer cells were seen!!!
This means most likely one less round of chemo. We came back down yesterday for admit, and of course he had a fever, so they won't start chemo till everything has checked out ok, so he had a chest x-ray, nasal swab (nasty) and lots of blood work, so far everything is ok so we will probably start chemo today. What a great way to start the new year...
So as far as we know, we will have this round of Chemo and then the Bone Marrow Transplant. Tanner was officially a candidate on the transplant registry on Wednesday, so the search begins, but they are confident they can find him a good match.
Thanks to my Boss's for being so supportive, I am blessed to work for not just great Dr's but great people.
Happy New Year
Love to All
Kristi
Thank you to all of you for making our Christmas the BEST one ever. We felt so loved and cared for. Tanner enjoyed his time at home, he was beyond spoiled and loved every minute of it. Thank you for remembering Kaley, I had to remind her that Christmas won't be like this every year so many presents, thank you. Thank you to Cache Valley Women's center for the gift of family pictures!
We can't begin to thank all of you for your kindness, please know of our love for each of you, and gratitude, with times of trials comes, love, support, comfort and blessings we have been blessed to have wonderful family and friends, and past and present ward members who have daily remembered us in there thoughts and prayers, thank you.
Now for the update. Tanner and I came to Primary's on Wednesday, for and echo, clinic visit and a bone marrow extraction. We got the good news on Thursday, no cancer cells were seen!!!
This means most likely one less round of chemo. We came back down yesterday for admit, and of course he had a fever, so they won't start chemo till everything has checked out ok, so he had a chest x-ray, nasal swab (nasty) and lots of blood work, so far everything is ok so we will probably start chemo today. What a great way to start the new year...
So as far as we know, we will have this round of Chemo and then the Bone Marrow Transplant. Tanner was officially a candidate on the transplant registry on Wednesday, so the search begins, but they are confident they can find him a good match.
Thanks to my Boss's for being so supportive, I am blessed to work for not just great Dr's but great people.
Happy New Year
Love to All
Kristi
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