The transplant began around 1pm and was finished by 3pm. Six small bags of fluid and I’m hopefully a new man (or woman since the stem cells were from my sister) I’m running a little of a fever but not too bad. I’ve already been up walking around the ward here but must admit, it wore me out very quickly.
Now I rest and walk, walk, walk. I’ll begin nuepogen shots in about a week to try and stimulate the cells I got from Cheryl to grow. Until then, I just need to be sure and not get infected.
Thanks again to everyone. We’re on the other side now and heading toward recovery!
Brad, Tami and Katie
December 30th, 2008 at 05:15pm
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We are just waiting on the cells to get in here and we’ll begin. Thank you to everyone that has had a part in getting this far. Cheryl, thanks for the cells. You have given me the greatest gift you could give. To everyone else that has helped in so many other ways…financially, prayer, support….thank you.
I’ll post more after it is complete sometime this afternoon. (along with pictures)
Brad
December 30th, 2008 at 09:21am
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Hi there….Tami here! Brad asked me to post since he is feeling the post chemo yucks right now. He was surprised that the two new chemos he had this time didn’t really get to him…that is until he was no longer receiving them then BAM! But he managed to make it through the day though without too much drama. The Cowboys didn’t help how he felt as he was so happy with their playing that he was found to be taking a nap during most of the first half. Now the big ugly beast we are dealing with is Brad’s undiagnosed ADHD. Man….we are only on the 5th day in out of a possible 30+ and he is getting really jumpy about this joint. It doesn’t help that he has a corner room which in some fancy hotels means great views out of corner windows and such….at this fancy hotels it means less windows and more walls in the corners which makes it a very closed in room. Too bad they don’t have an upgrade room-ha!! I think if he just pretends we are on a cruise across the ocean and couldn’t pay for an outside stateroom that he will be just fine! NOT. He doesn’t want to concentrate on playing his games on the computer. He doesn’t want to read which shouldn’t suprise most of you. He doesn’t want to eat. We found out the ancient TVs here dont have the plugs needed for hooking up his new Wii which Katie and I gave him for B-day and Christmas. We thought that would give him something active to do while in jail for 30 days….so much for that plan. He has had a few visitors-my oldest brother and the music teacher from our school came by just so happened at the same time to visit on Friday. Then on Sat. Katie’s sorrority lil sister’s dad came by! He has a friend who just happens to be having a stem cell transplant on Monday. Small world! I think visitors don’t really like being in a mask and gloves so much….it is hard to breathe. I found out I don’t have to wear them until his numbers really go down since he is used to being around my germs on a daily basis. Weird thing is that his numbers are going up right now. I think they are suspecting what is about to happen and they are making as many babies as they can since Tuesday is the day that their “earth” will stand still. Hopefully the next day of waiting will go by smoothly!!
December 28th, 2008 at 09:20pm
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So this time it wasn’t actually me. I was sitting in my hospital bed with the cleaning lady mopping the floor. Tami and Katie walked in and Tami decided, for the first time in years, to actually run. There is one chair in my room that is so much more comfortable than the other. Tami and Katie usually try to beat each other to the chair. Anyway, back to Tami coming into my room and deciding to RUN around the corner of my bed to get to the chair first. Now there is a lady in my room with a wet mop…that should have been her first hint. As Tami rounded my bed, her shoes were suddenly the height of my head as I sat in the hospital bed. Not just one shoe, but two. It was followed by a rather large thump (her back hitting the floor) and then a klank (as her head hit the rolling tray by my bed).
The nurses came to the door to see what was going on. We couldn’t stop laughing. The cleaning lady was scared to death that Tami was hurt…but we couldn’t stop laughing. Tami says she is already hurting and that was only five minutes ago. I should be helping her take care of her pain but for some reason I feel it is much more important to blog about it first.
Anyway, Tami and Katie are heading out to the airport for Katie to fly back to Dallas and get back to work. Tami will be back later and I think she is actually going to try and stay here tonight. Maybe that will help me sleep. Last night it was 4:30 am before I finally fell asleep. The doctor came by today and said we are finally going to add back my sleeping meds that for some reason they have kept from me the first three nights. I would think that getting them, in combination with not sleeping many hours so far, will allow me to have a great night’s sleep tonight.
I’ve met several new friends here that are patients. They are all very upbeat and friendly (except the moaner next door) and the nurses are great. I have one that I think is a very good nurse but her accent makes it really hard to understand her so I have to have her repeat things several times but we finally get together before she puts any meds in.
Enough for now. Hope everyone has a great day and maybe for today you should say an extra prayer for Tami….she’s going to feel it tomorrow!
December 26th, 2008 at 01:09pm
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It’s been a good day. I didn’t sleep much last night, but the day has been a very good Christmas. I’ve been able to spend part of the day with Tami and Katie…we even had a little tree and a few presents to exchange in my room. I do miss spending the day with the rest of the family though. That’s been a little of a bummer but I know we’ll make up for it next year…as I hope to for our 25th anniversary. I’m sure spending it in a hospital room isn’t what Tami or I would have dreamed that day would be like.
I need to post my walking totals to keep me motivated. They are all about the walking here to avoid pneumonia. Five laps around this level is a mile. I did nine laps yesterday and just finished my 10th for today. I don’t do two miles at home but here it seems to go by pretty quickly when you have nothing else to do all day.
There is a man next door to me that spends most of his day yelling for the nurses to “Help Me” which is getting annoying. I don’t know where to feel sorry for him or go inform him that if he needs a private nurse to attend to his every need, he needs to hire one and go home. As long as his wife is here (I don’t know them but I assure you SHE needs prayers) he is quiet but as soon as she leaves, he starts in with the loud moans for help.
I seemed to handle the chemo today just fine. I’m not sure if two more days of this will cause a problem but so far so good. I know the not feeling good will come, it’s just going to be a matter of degrees. Shaylor set a good example for me last year so buddy, I plan on following in your footsteps.
God is good! Brad
December 25th, 2008 at 07:07pm
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The way they count days around here is all based on the actual day of the transplant. Since that is six days away, today is minus 6 and counting. I had a full 9 hours of Rituxin today. I’ve had this many times but never seen a bag as big as what I got today. I’m finished until tomorrow and the chemo begins at 8am.
Tami and Katie showed up this afternoon bringing in a wheel chair that had a small Christmas tree and some presents. They set up things in the corner of my room and so we’ll be celebrating that tomorrow after I finish the 8am chemo. It only lasts about an hour and then I get four hours off before they do the next drug.
I hope everyone has a great Christmas.
Brad, Tami and Katie
December 24th, 2008 at 11:44pm
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Room G1163 That is my new home for the next month or so. It looks like this might actually happen this time. I begin the first meds tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 9 am so I’ll even get to sleep most of tonight. Last year, they started everything around midnight and you were up all night with them checking your vitals. New stem cells are still on target for a week from today (December 30th)
My most recent blood work showed platelets still rising but white cells dropped from 3.2 to 2.2 Not sure why but they didn’t seem worried. They did bring in the dreaded lung device that you have to blow in to try and help keep pneumonia away but….if you walk a lot, you don’t have to use it. Take a wild guess which method I’ll take?
Tami and I can’t thank everyone enough for all that you do. Prayer, finances, food, etc…it’s just been incredible. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones.
Brad, Tami and Katie
December 23rd, 2008 at 08:09pm
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We made it through our doctor appts yesterday and were to have started the Rituxin IV at 2pm. I didn’t get out of the doctor until after 2:30 and the orders hadn’t even been written for the Rituxin yet. I knew we were in for a long night. The Rituxin is a drug that has to start slowly and then been increased in rate every so often to make sure you aren’t having problems with it. It normally takes around 4 hours but can take up to 7 for me. The orders didn’t even get to the clinic until after 5pm. I was called back around 6 and we got out of there a little after 10:30 last night.
We did get a bit of good news. At my last reporting, my platelets still hadn’t come back to their normal levels. Last year they would recover in 10 days or so. This time it has been over 3 weeks and they were still in the 50,000 range last week. Today I was told they were 118,000. Looks like my body can still recover, although at a slower pace.
The business meeting I was dreading isn’t until Tuesday. I simply had the wrong day in my head.
Once we pack up this morning, we’ll head back for Irving. Monday morning we’ll be heading to my dad’s house (with katie) and enjoy a few hours visit with family there before heading on down to Houston Monday night. Tuesday is a busy day and then I’ll be admitted that night to begin the pre-transplant chemo.
God is good.
Brad
December 18th, 2008 at 08:15am
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I had my last two tests late yesterday. My EKG and Lung Function test both showed normal. The only thing now that can stop us is an infection. I just have to be very careful between now and next Tuesday.
I am a little nervous about a meeting tomorrow with the business office. That sounds like “show me the money” so we’ll see what they have to say. I also meet with the transplant team to sign off on the final papers and have my final pre-admit meeting with the transplant doctor. I have my first Rituxin IV tomorrow afternoon and then we are clear until next Tuesday.
Thank you for all of your support and prayers. Things seem to finally be coming together and we feel comfortable that the time is here.
Brad
December 16th, 2008 at 11:06pm
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Thanks Mark…I should have posted the address. We counted out 100 days from transplant and that is April 9th. Until then, you can send mail to us at:
Brad or Tami Williams
11991 South Main St
Box 25
Houston, TX 77035
We’ve been told it MUST say “Box 25″…not unit 25, lot 25, po box 25 or anything else like that. It has to just say “box 25″ to get to us. We’ve already moved our stuff in and have the key to the box so we should be good to go.
Katie has been able to take off a few days from work and will go back down with us on Dec 22nd and we’ll fly her back on Dec 26th to get back to work. We had been worried we would be apart on Christmas but it all worked out. We hope you all have a great Christmas!
Brad
December 14th, 2008 at 03:49pm
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For some reason, my body almost takes that as a challenge. Just over a month ago, it was “we’re on track, as long as the cancer hadn’t come back”….it had. This time it is infection. As long as I don’t get sick with some type of infection, we are good to go. I have more test and meetings Monday, December 15th through Wednesday, December 17th. Wednesday I’ll begin the Rituxin again. I’m off Thursday (18th) through the next Monday (22nd) . I’ll be admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, December 23rd to begin the next chemo and my transplant will be on Tuesday, December 30th. Some of you that know us well know that December 23rd is a special day for us. This year, not only will that be the day I’m admitted to the hospital to try and begin my cure for this disease, that happens to be the exact day of our 25th wedding anniversary. What a way to celebrate. Not exactly what we had been planning for the last few years but an exciting day non the less.
I won’t have to do the PET scans again which is something I was worried about. The PET scans were what caught the cancer last month when the CT’s showed me being clear. This time they knew where the mass was and so they knew exactly where to look. The official report actually used a word my doctor hadn’t seen on radiology reports before. It stated that they could only find a “sliver” of the mass. That’s good. Anything less than 1cm and they don’t worry about it. From what I was told, medically “sliver” is way below 1cm. Something new to teach my kids next year but I’m not sure where to put “sliver” on the metric chart.
I’m a little sore from the bone marrow aspiration they snuck in on me today so I think I’ll take a Tylenol and go to bed soon. I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend and I’ll post again Monday after my tests.
Brad
December 12th, 2008 at 08:52pm
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That’s right. We arrived in Houston this afternoon to very cold weather and just before dark it began to snow. No, it doesn’t quite look like what we remember when living in Evergreen, Colorado but it is white and cold.
We are in our new home for the next four months. We’ve rented a trailer at an RV park in Houston that is only about 4 miles from the hospital. It’s not huge but it will work for what we need. The park has a little lake/pond in the middle with a walking trail around it that will hopefully be calling our names for exercise….but not in 32 degree weather. We rec’d a call today from our stem cell coordinator who said that we have to do all of the tests again since it has been more than 30 days since they were last done. That means heart tests, lung tests, PET scans and yep…bone marrow again. Right now they have that set up without sedation but I can assure you that will be taken care of first thing in the morning.
December 10th, 2008 at 10:39pm
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It just can’t be easy, can it? I rec’d a call today stating that due to the holiday schedules, we’ll have to push things back a little again. From what it sounds like now, we will still be heading back to Houston tomorrow (Wednesday the 10th) for appts on Thursday and Friday. I MIGHT have more tests on Monday/Tuesday (yet to be determined) and then should start with Rituxin (a drug that I’ve had many times before) on Wednesday. I won’t go in to the hospital until the next Tuesday, December 23rd (which just happens to be our 25th wedding anniversay) to begin my chemo and then the transplant would be December 30th. Since we’ll probably have four or five days in between a couple of these visits, we’ll probably come back home again a couple of more times before going into the hospital.
Somehow I’m beginning to think that things will probably change again between now and then so just stay tuned for more details.
December 9th, 2008 at 04:31pm
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I just rec’d an email from my doctor. The mass is gone and the official report shows no cancer! We’ll be heading back down on Wednesday morning for appts on Thursday and Friday. I’ll be admitted on Friday night (usually around 8pm) and begin 5 days of chemo followed by 2 days of rest. I’ll get Cheryl’s stem cells the next Friday (December 19th).
That is a weight off of my shoulders. Now, let’s get this thing started. Here’s to a new immune system!
Brad
December 5th, 2008 at 08:20pm
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I had my blood work done today and found that the white cells are hanging in there. Last year, after 7 or 8 Nuepogen shots my white cells would jump to 30,000 or so. This time, I’ve had 13 shots and my white cells are just over 5,000. My platelets came down a little to 58,000. I asked about why I’m not bouncing back like i did last year and was told by two different people that my bone marrow has not recovered from all of the chemo I’ve been doing over the last two years (I’ve actually been on some type of chemo for more time than I’ve been off of it) and we can’t expect it to bounce back. Obviously from the way I’ve felt this time, my bone marrow isn’t the only thing that isn’t bouncing back like I did last year.
We do the restaging tomorrow to see if the cancer is gone. I hope i’m wrong but for th e first time since this entire cancer thing started I don’t think I’ve had the positive results I’m hoping for. I’m hopeful it is all gone, but i just don’t feel it is. If it is, great. I’ll be admitted next Friday and will being the transplant process. If not, we’ll do another round of chemo and then retest again in three weeks
Good news. We are headed back to Irving tomorrow after my CT scans as I don’t have any appts for 5 days. Bad news. My cultures are back from then having to cut open the infections on my hands. They were positive for MRSA staph infection. They’ve given me more meds to get rid of it but if it is there next week when I’m admitted for the transplant, they put you in isolation. YUCK. The meds they’ve given me supposedly will take care of it in five days for good so we’ll see. Anyway, that takes any hope away from me going up to school to visit.
Enough for now. I’m feeling a little better than I had been and if I can just get some sleep, I’ll feel even better. so…of to bed I go. Thanks for everyone’s prayers. We know God is in control and He has a plan. I, personally, would rather have a plan that involved living in the tropics but He’s the boss so I’ll guess we’ll go with His plan.
Brad and Tami
December 3rd, 2008 at 01:25pm
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The transplant began around 1pm and was finished by 3pm. Six small bags of fluid and I’m hopefully a new man (or woman since the stem cells were from my sister) I’m running a little of a fever but not too bad. I’ve already been up walking around the ward here but must admit, it wore me out very quickly. 