Anemia, Dehydration, and Board Games

Post by all children:
Dad is in week 3 of his Revlimid treatment. The way this drug works is 3 active weeks and 1 inactive week where he takes a break. This cycle will continue 3 more times before it is completed. Then he will begin preparation for the Stem Cell Transplant.

As of this week, Dad has experienced the typical side effects of the oral chemo. He has been nauseated, tired, weak, and feeling a loss of appetite. His appointment with onclogist, Dr. E., on Thursday resulted in the latest diagnosis of anemia. This is not uncommon with this form of cancer. In order to treat that, Dad takes regular iron supplements.

The most common question we get is asking how he is feeling. Each day is different. He will have a really good day and a really bad day back-to-back. On good days, he moves around better and enjoys getting out to go to work. On bad days, he stays in his recliner or in bed more. This past week he had a really good day on Wednesday. He described it as the best he has had since the diagnosis. Thursday was not as great.

On Friday he went to work in West. He was out of the house for about 5 hours. That night our whole family was together for dinner and fun. Dad stayed fairly active through the gathering. Tim grilled steaks, potatoes, veggies, and lobster. Val, Kim, and Kaylee played outside. Paula prepared the kitchen, and Dad visited with his friend, John, for awhile inside. After dinner we relaxed and visited for awhile.

Kaylee while playing board games

Saturday was, again, not as good of a day for him. He said he didn't really feel up to moving around as much, even within the house. By the evening, he was feeling extremely fatigued and dizzy. That night Paula contacted the doc and they said to bring him in to the ER. He was admitted for the night with low blood pressure and dehydration. The goal is to keep him drinking lots of water and Gatorade while keeping active with all oral treatments. His kidney function needs to maintain good status!!!

On Sunday, Tim and Val met with Nancy Goodnight for a late breakfast. Nancy is actively involved with the national donor registry, Be The Match. Her focus is to grow the registry, inform the public, and coordinate events and donor drives. She is also a courier for the area and transports marrow, stem cells, etc when a match is found. Nancy was very informative and discussed many options for drives and events. We will provide information on these as they develop. Currently, there will be one on May 11 at First Woodway Baptist Church.  This drive will offer the opportunity for folks to sign up for the registry.  It has been scheduled for some time and Dad's name will be added as a possible local candidate for a transplant.

At this time we do not know whether he will need a donor for the transplant or if he will be able to have an autologous transplant where he uses some of his own healthy blood cells.  We discussed with Nancy what we, as a family, would like to do - which is help promote awareness of folks like Dad who need transplants to greatly improve their quality of life and in some cases prolong life significantly.  Even if he does not need a donor, someone in a similar situation somewhere else will.  If he does need a donor, finding a match can be a very difficult process.  The more people on the registry, the more likely anyone who needs a transplant is to find a match.

We continue to thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers and support.  It really means a lot to us and to Dad and he needs all of the encouragement and positive support he can get as he gets further into the treatment process.  We all feel blessed and fortunate to have such a great group of friends and family to rely on for support.  Again, we will provide more updates regularly and will post information about drives or events that develop to promote awareness and to grow the registry!