Support from all angles

Brad has been blessed with great family and friends.  He has had lots of visitors which makes the time go by.  The Wilsons...

 Etah bah (Aaron)...and the donor

 Sean Bookout...old friend

 Joe cool...

 Cathie N and me...

 Aaron and me...(Brad and I love this one of Aaron, he looks like a fluffy marshmallow)

Brad is staying busy at the hospital considering he can't leave the 3rd floor wing that he is in.  He walks the halls, he rides the stationary bike three times a day and yesterday he took up origami which he is quite good at.  When I left him yesterday he had already whipped up 5 of them.

His room only has a few decorations as we do not want him to get too cozy there.  If all looks well, he will be discharged on Friday.  Sam drew the rainbow trout and also colored a leprechaun as a joke. 

This beautiful piece of art work was done by Robyn Balli.  A gift for Brad to take home and a goal for him to be back on the river sooner than later!!

He continually amazes me with his positive attitude.  Joan, our bone marrow coordinator, has told Brad that because of his great attitude he will do great through all of this.  Many BMT patients resist and have lots of anger or sadness associated with their disease which can slow down their healing.   But not my Bradley, he faces each challenge with confidence and hope.

Facetime with Brad at night for family prayer.  

Saturday clean up and Day one...hospital check in

On Saturday, the day before Brad it admitted to hospital I had angels come to my house and sanitize and clean the heck out of our house preparatory to Brad coming home.  There are BMT cleaning guidelines we have to follow for his recovery.  Very important!! NO dust bunnies and sanitize everything!!! My helpers were, my mom, Rebecca Tice, Cathie Nicholson, Codi Carlson, Gail Berkey, Marilyn Valentine and Stephanie Dix...Not to mention all the dinners that were brought in today from the women in my ward.  How blessed we are.  

Here is Marilyn cleaning the master bedroom-the dustiest room of them all...notice no curtains?  They have to be taken down and washed!  No DUST!!

 My wonderful Mom who hasn't stopped serving me and my family.

 Cathie Nicholson wiping dust off the books and book shelf!

Rebecca Tice wiping down the stairs and boy did she do a number on our kitchen!  Whew!  Even  cleaned behind the stove and fridge.  NO DUST!! 

Checked into the hospital...Finally!  A bit surreal and intimidating to head to the BMT floor but once we got settled in it felt fine.  Brad loved his chest catheter.  All blood draws and chemo done through them!  No more pokes from needles!!  He had chemo today and mostly just rested, read, listened to music, etc.  He always manages a smile, like this cute one.  

His room is BIG,   

But the view is the pits.

This is the garb we have to wear while in Brad's room.  Standard BMT procedure.  Anyone who enters the patients rooms has to wear this.  (I was going to photoshop the wrinkles off my brow but figured what the heck, I've earned them.)  

 My everything...

 

Should I make a disclaimer at this point?

The disclaimer being that those who are squeamish may not want to view this post...No blood,  just wild, weird stuff.  Today,  Joe and I woke up bright and early to take Brad to the hospital to get his catheter placement.  This is a common procedure prior to a bone marrow transplant.  It's purpose is to help with the chemotherapy and blood transplant so as not to have to poke Brad every time he needs an IV.  (I wish I would of counted how many times Brad has been poked since the beginning of his disease.)  They are also called a port and they are helpful for both the patient and the docs/nurses.   We didn't know quite what to expect (remember this is all new to us!) so when Brad finally revealed it to us we were freaked out.  It's huge.  This is Brad before the procedure just catching a few moments of sleep.

Joe waiting patiently, and lovingly taking Brad's photo that he later posted on Facebook.

While we were waiting I took a photo of his leg.  This is his old rash that has come back again!!  Once he got off the clinical trial (IPI-145) it came back! ARRGGH!!  Dr. Muffly said keeping a photo journal of his rashes is a great idea.   Rashes are Brad's nemesis!

 Georgia, the sweet transporter who I believe was in her 80's pushed Bradley to the OR

Here is the big "ironing board" table they laid him on.  Hard and cold.  

Easy procedure.  Brad said "a piece of cake compared to the bone marrow biopsy" Now back in recovery where he reveals the catheter! If you look closely you can see the incision on his neck and then the tube under his skin that goes down to catheter.  They used xrays and ultrasounds to direct the tubes to the correct vein, the largest vein below the heart called the superior vena cava.

 And if you touch it, like Joe is doing here, you can feel the tube under his skin!

Still, all smiles...(and yes, that is a tattoo of my signature "Elizabeth" over his heart which he got many moons ago) 

And, of course, they always ask Brad if he needs a wheelchair to leave and he says, "Nope, I'm good."   and off he goes.  Super hero.

Earlier this week we met with the psychology department to participate in a 3 year research study on the caregiver (me). They needed 50 strands of hair from the both of us to measure the stress level we are under.  The study is to show that if the caregiver is under to much stress then the recovery of the patient is not as good.  They want to be able to help caregivers handle the stress involved when a love one is sick.  I hope to help those down the road that may have to deal with a huge life changing event like leukemia. 

50 strands from Brad that they caught in an envelope...

...and 50 strands from my rat's nest

                                         

And last, but certainly not least, two of our favorite people...Brad's oncologist Dr. Lori Muffly on the left and Joan McGee, our RN/Bone Marrow Coordinator on the right.   On their lap, pages of consent forms!!   Wonderful ladies!!

Bone Marrow Biopsy #2

Today was 3 hours of meetings and bone marrow biospy at 1:00

I didn't want to take photos of any of the bone marrow procedure.  It was hard to watch!  But I did manage to catch a photo of the bottom half of the drill they used on Brad.  

 Last night I was munching on a bag of peanut M & M's and I found this.  I showed Samantha and she took this photo.  We collect heart shaped rocks, but never have we come across a heart shaped M & M! Felt it was fitting with all the garbage we are going through to find a little surprise message of "love".

The rash and then some...

I figured I better start as far back as I can remember. So, here goes.  It all started with a rash that no one, and I mean no one, in the dermatological field could figure out.  Biopsies were done with no sign of cancer in them.  Until Brad gave blood.  That was the day we found out he had CLL, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.  A chronic disease of the blood that is slow moving.  The diagnosis was "Not to worry.  It will just be a watch and wait treatment and we will see you every 6 months to make sure you are ok.  Your life will most likely not be affected by this disease."

The rash would go away and then come back and Brad battled this rash for many months.  The fall of 2012 Brad was admitted to University of Colorado Hospital.  He had pneumonia.  He was in the hospital for 10 days and one night he spent in the ICU from a bad reaction to a bronchioscopy (when they put a tube down his throat)  His heart rate went up and he spiked a fever.  I will never forget that evening because I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for Sam to get out of dance and Brad text me a very vague message that said, "Going to ICU... see if Rick Balli and Ken Kearns can give me a blessing"  I called Ken Kearns immediately and he and Rick were not available so he sent others.  I rushed to the hospital with Rebecca Tice and when we arrived Mark Taylor and Mike Alvidrez were already there and had administered a priesthood blessing to him.  This is when his oncologist,  Dr. Pollyea,  decided that it was time to start a chemotherapy treatment.  So, Brad was given his first chemotherapy treatment in the hospital.  It was a standard 6 month FCR chemo treatment for CLL. 

This one is not funny...notice Brad...

Brad gets stir crazy, so he tried to walk around when he could.  

We signed up as a family for the Light the Night Walk in Washington Park for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Unfortunately, Brad could not be there as he was in the hospital. 

Cathie was there, volunteering! 

 Grandpa Mark, Grandma Jean and my brother Mike all came to support!

 As well as the Tice family! 

 Mikes balloon went flat.  

 When Brad was released from the hospital, we had to bring him home with an oxygen tank and we had to monitor him.  Samantha created this dry erase board like they do in the hospital to keep track.

He continued his next 5 treatments at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center where he had Dr. Rifkin as his oncologist.

 You have to label anything you put in fridge.  B Rad.  

Getting vitals taken.  This particular appointment Brad was not feeling good.  You can tell by his body language.  My poor baby. 

This was a photo text that I got from Brad while he was at work.  For some reason, he was developing this swollen rash on his face when the cold air hit it.  It also happened on his arms which we discovered when he leaned onto a cold wall and his arm broke out in a rash.  The rash eventually goes away but it takes awhile. Brad continued to work through this horrible side effect.  This happened about 3 or 4 times and it was terribly uncomfortable for him.  Of course, he did make the best of the situation and joked to us that he continued to talk to subs on the job site looking like this!  

It's now September 2013 and its our 2nd year attending the Light the Night walk.  This year Brad gets to join us!  And he gets to carry his white balloon which symbolizes SURVIVOR!!  

 This year we were joined by Grandpa Mark and Grandma Jean, of course! 

 Sammy Singer came with us too

 And then we joined up with Cathie and her son Ryan!!

 One of Brad's greatest support systems are his kids! 

Check this out...can you guess what this is?  It's the "needle"  they used for Brad's first bone marrow biospy.  They did it with no sedation and Brad said it was one of the worst procedures he's ever had.  Straight through the back of the hip bone.  He went by himself too and then went to work afterwards!  

November 2013-Surgery.  Brad's new oncologist is Dr. Muffly from the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute and we really like her!  She needed to get a biopsy on one of Brad's lymph nodes under his armpit because they were getting bigger.  She needed to see if the cancer was in the lymph nodes.  The biopsy came back negative for cancer in the lymph nodes.   We checked in at 4:00 so it was a late night.  Brad did great!!

 Always positive, my Brad. 

This hat was to keep him warm since the OR gets cold.  He is prepped and ready to go.  

Recovery room, a little out of it

 Nanny tells me to always give Brad what he wants to eat when he is not feeling well.  Believe it or not, we stopped at Wendy's on the way home.  Brad is superman, I swear.  Does he even look like he just had surgery?!  By now it is about 7:00 pm and little did we know what was waiting for us when we got home...

 ...Joe got his mission call!!! Adelaide Australia! Joe and the girls waited until we got home to open it.  A wonderful, magical night despite Brad's surgery.

 This is a few days after surgery and he is healing well.  The painful face is fake.  He handled the pain well and is a tough guy.  

Here we go with another round of chemo.  This time to prepare him for a bone marrow transplant.  Seems the golden standard of chemotherapy for CLL (the FCR he had in 2012) did not do it's job, or Brad's cancer fought harder.  Whatever the reason, Brad's disease is progressing.  So, now we are with The Colorado Blood Cancer Institute and his oncologist is Dr. Muffly.  They specialize in leukemia and lymphoma.  A great place.  We like it!

I remember the first time Brad got chemotherapy the nurse who administered it wore this gown.  We asked why, and she said "If the chemo bag were to break open and get on her it would burn her skin."  And this is what they put into Brad's body!!

Another round...no fun and takes hours...

and takes lots of drugs to get him through it...

 After chemo, out he comes like it's a regular day. What I have learned through this experience is you never know what is going on in a persons life.  I am sure no one who sees Brad on a day like this thinks that he has just spent the last 7 hours in chemotherapy.  Always be kind to everyone, because you just don't know what they are going through.

On this day, when I went to pick Brad up, I brought Emily with me to surprise him.  

Here is another rash that showed up on Brad's legs and feet.  Doctors think it has to do with being on his feet all day at work...it slowly went down but never quite disappeared.

We held a LOVE, HOPE and STRENGTH sponsored bone marrow drive in honor of Brad at our church on Dec. 28th.  We collected over 60 bone marrow donors and it was a huge success.  These photos are not in any particular order.  

I'm swiping my cheeks to donate my marrow! Easy as that! 

 This is Cathie and her friend Desiree Wathcher, who lost her baby girl to leukemia.  She works with LOVE, HOPE and STRENGTH.   Such a sweet lady with alot of heart. I hope to work with her again some day!

 Aaron and Brad....most likely Brad's future donor!!!  We learned a few days after this drive that 3 out of 4 of Brad's siblings were a match!   That's Aaron, Lesa and Derek! A miracle from Heavenly Father, no doubt.  

 More of the LOVE, HOPE and STRENGTH gals.

 Camille Armitstead

 Nick Tice

 The Armistead family

 Bryce and Becky Jackman

 Me and my Cathie!

 The Carlsons

 Jamie Judd, Sarah McKenna, Megan Acker, Andrea Flinders, The MacFarlanes...

 Josh, Jake, Joe and Sam working the bake sale!

 The Jacksons

 The Basaks

 Olivia Wilson helped all day with Sam

 Emily and Sam adding another table for all the goodies that were donated for the bake sale. Our friends, family, ward family, etc are awesome!!! 

These next few photos are just all part of the experience...long, long, hospitals hallways that I get lost in. Presbyterian St Lukes Hospital is old and it is a maze.  This day I went to cafeteria and I could not find my way back to Brad for awhile.   The clinic he goes to is The Colorado Blood Cancer Institute and it is connected to Pres/St. Lukes...it's just finding that "bridge" where they connect that gets me confused. 

Brad's lab results with lots of numbers and lots of abbreviated words that we don't know...but we are learning.  He gets these every week which means he has to go to the lab and get poked with another needle for blood draws.  

 This is our local Kaiser Pharmacy where I sit and wait for prescriptions to be filled.  It always feels really infectious here and I try hard not to touch anything for fear of carrying it home to Brad!

A sweet message came in the mail during Brad's chemo from Derek and Kris' family.  Love the support. 

This has become our regular "selfie" that we take each time Brad goes into the clinic for chemo.  So far, each time we have been there they tell us there is a "flu outbreak" in the hospital and we need to wear them.  Nice. 

Brad's last IV for chemo was a painful one in his wrist.  He thought his nurse was going higher but she didn't.  I saw it in his face as she put this one in.  It hurt.  His poor veins are taking their toll. 

 I often wonder what he is thinking as he sits there so patiently.  I love this man.

 This is yet another stop at the hospital on a Saturday morning.  This time Skyridge for a blood transfusion.  We freaked out when we first heard he needed this.  But, he is nuetropenic, which means his white blood cell count is low and he is anemic which means his red blood cell count is low.  He felt weak, nauseous and yucky so this was to help him feel better.  2 pints of blood for his RBC and a nuepogin shot for his WBC.  He felt a little better but not a ton, which we later learned is to be expected.  Joan, his bone marrow nurse told us he might even need another transfusion to help him.  Look at the smile on his face.  This took 4 hours and he insisted that I leave him behind and go to our niece, Jamie's, baby shower.

A care package arrived yesterday from Aaron and Meg's family.  "Box of Sunshine".  A great pick me up during a lousy week.  

Our last appointment for chemotherapy treatment before he gets admitted to hospital for transplant in 3-4 weeks.