The initial diagnosis was Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. His blood counts were good today and he is scheduled to start Chemo on Wednesday in Denver. He will most likely be in the hospital for several weeks.
This morning Dad was having trouble getting out of bed due to low blood pressure and was taken to the emergency room in Rawlins. He was given fluids and stabilized and then life-flighted to Denver. I will keep you posted as further information becomes available.
Dad is safely admitted to Presbeterian Saint Luke's Hospital in Denver after an ambulance/plane/helicopter ride. He is having some chest pain that may be caused by the cancer building up in his sternum. He is stable but being held in an isolation room for a few days to make sure he didn't bring any bugs with him. Mom, Marion, Kirsti, John & Shonda, and Darrin & Jenny are all down in Denver with Dad. They will be doing blood work on him tonight so we should have more news by morning. There is an entire team of doctors and interns working on the case and looking at the biopsy report. He is in good hands and greatful for all your support.
I have been urged to leave an update as I was at the hospital with Lee yesterday and have been in touch with Jeri this morning. So here goes. After an exciting and busy afternoon and evening yesterday, filled with poking, prodding, and the same questions repeated 15 times, Lee is much more comfortable this morning. He is on some long-acting pain meds which have helped him immensely. Jeri said he is up today, sitting in the chair reading the newspaper, and has even ridden the exercise bike that is in his room! She says he looks really good today.
That having been said, I will give you a few things that I learned yesterday. The first thing they did was put him in "isolation" because he has been in a different hospital being exposed to other germs. They want to keep other diseases from entering the "Bone Marrow Transplant" unit where his room is right now. They have been culturing his blood, and as soon as they know he is "non-toxic" they will remove the isolation requirements. It is interesting to visit Lee because you have to wash your hands before you enter the hallway. Then you pick up a yellow gown right outside his door and put it on. When you get into the room you put on a pair of blue "exam" gloves. They are a little sweaty. When you leave his room (even if it's only for a minute), you take off the gloves, throw them away, and put the gown in the hamper. I think Lee is quite entertained watching the fashion show!
They also took him to x-ray, and were talking about putting in a line, which I assume was all accomplished after I left the hospital. The doctor was trying to track down all of his test results, as the bone marrow biopsy has its initial results and then they do some additional high-tech cellular studies. Once all of that information is put together by the "team," they will issue a final plan.
Presbyterian St. Luke's is a "teaching" hospital, so he is inundated with students, interns, and anyone else who gets to ask questions. Lee was very up-beat and wants everyone to know he appreciates the thoughts and prayers. He is working on getting his laptop set up, and the hospital has an IT team that will help him. Lee and Jeri plan on getting involved with the blog at that time.
To call Lee, you have to go through the main switchboard (303-839-6000) and ask for his room. They will tell you they can put you through to the nurse's station, and then when they answer, they transfer you to his room.
If you need help in Denver, just call me! 303-932-8794. You can also e-mail me: richardsateam@q.com or richardsateam@gmail.com.
The doctors laid out a course of treatment today based on recomendations found on uptodate.com (a medical database). You can go there if you want the details of the treatment under "treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia in adults" and then hyperCVAD. Basically it is a 2 week course of a coctail of 5 chemotherapy agents, plus some other drugs to help with the side effects. I think they are taking very good care of him. He is in for a rough couple of weeks though. I'm not sure what the visiting situation will be. I do know that the hospital said that if you are sick, you can't come. It is just too big of a risk for everyone on the floor, not just Dad. I don't put much faith in statistics but a study showed a 92% rate of complete remission with this treatment with an 85% treatment survival rate. After two weeks they will look at the blood and determine the next course and factors that will effect his chances for relapse. Generally it is about 35-40% at 5 years. Pretty good news. Dad is in good spirits and thinking of watching movies and playing games. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. It has ment a great deal.
I talked to Dad this morning and he sounded good. He had his first round of chemo last night and says it made him sweat a little but gave him more energy. He hasn't slept real good but should get a nap this afternoon. He is not having any side effects from the chemo yet and was eating breakfast so I think things are going pretty well. They are treating him with fliuds, diaretics, gout drugs, pain meds, and anti nausea medication on top of the chemo, so considering all that he is doing great.
I just read all the messages and Ican feel so much love and concern from all of you. Thank you for commenting on the blog and thanks Mark for setting this up for us.
Lee's first Chemo Therapy was last night at 9. He did have a slight fever and when he was sweating that was the fever breaking. That symptom was caused by unrelated desease not the chemo. So he did have a little bug but the antibiotics he is taking took care of it. He also felt sort of high like you feel from too much caffine. This morning he is very well, feeling fine. He looks great. The Dr. said he was a star patient, gorgeous, wonderful. Of course all of us know that already. He has started the second treatment now. He is taking a shower and riding the bike in his room and plans to go on a tour of his floor this afternoon. He can do stuff even while the chemo is being administered if he just pulls his pole along. There is a lot of equipment hanging on the iv pole so it is not really easy. We are feeling very loved and cheerful. Our children are bending over backwards helping us. Today they have rented an apartment for us so we can have a home away from home...it is beautiful. I think Lee will be in the hospital about four weeks then he can spend some time at the apartment...we will see how it goes. So many of you have worked hard on this project and have donated you own things as well as time and money. It is wonderful. Words cannot express our appreciation. We are also very proud of you for your thoughtfulness, industry and ability to pull off such a project. You are amazing. I am not on the right place on the blog to see Vivian's questions and I can't remember. I will try to answer them later.
Lee will have his computer hooked up soon and then he will also write. He is excited to do it.
We can feel the benefit of all you're prayers and fasting on our behalf. I know the power is real. We have more blessings than we can count at his time. We should not be amazed but we are. We love you all.
We are at the hospital with Dad today getting ready to have lunch in the common room. He is no longer in isolation which means visitors don't have to wear masks and gowns, but if Dad leaves his room he has to wear a mask. He is done with the chemo for a few days and has had no side effects. His blood counts looked great this morning. The blasts are now unmeasureable and the white count is down to 4200. With the count down that far the hope is that the bone marrow will start to produce good cells which will strengthen his immune system. The breakdown of all the cancer cells is causing a little acidosis, but the docs are getting that all balanced out. We got mom moved into her appartment with lots and lots of help from Darrin and Jen and John and Shonda and Marion and Perry and the boys. It was great to see everyone yesterday and Mom loves the place. The equipment that was installed in Mom's bathroom worked out great she said. It has been invaluable for her to have a home away from home that is safe and accessable. I don't remember the address and stuff, but she will have a land line phone and a mail box so we can write letters and call. Dad got moved to a semi-permanent room in the cancer wing #3208
A big thank you for all the love, help, support, and prayers. Big thanks to Darrin and Jen for their effort this weekend. Without their swift and intuitive action it would not have been possible to accomplish what we did this weekend. Although he is nearly an old man(nearly 8 years my elder), I've never once been able to out work him. We all greatly apreciate and are humbled by the sacrifices you have made. I hope the pain and fatigue are small in comparison to the blessings you will recieve for your efforts.
Ok, off my soap box now and down to business. We are working on an account at Bank of the West where anyone will be able to make anonymous donations/deposits in behalf of Lee and Jeri. The monies in the account will be used for the apartment rent, utilities, food, and travel expenses. The account will be set up so most of the bills will be automatically withdrawn as needed. Jen will act as a clerk in that she will make sure any payments get made on time. (Thanks Jen) She will act under the direction of the siblings on how the money will be dispersed. Others will be added as signers to the account as needed. Once the account is set up, donors will be able to make deposits at any Bank of the West branch. Stay tuned for more info on making deposits.
We understand that accountability is very important, and account statements may be furnished upon request.
Lee and Jeri's immediate family are using this account to transfer money to make the lease payments. Donations are not expected, but greatly apreciated. We have every hope that Dad will be closer to home within a few weeks. But we wish to be prepared for 6 months of travel and rent. Any additional accumulation will be passed on to Mom and Dad.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call myself at (307)324-2529 or any of the siblings. This is our home number but we transfer it to our cell phones when we are away.
Once again, we so apreciate the outpouring of love and will never forget this time of closeness.
Ooops ... John actually wrote that, but feel free to take out any pent up rage on her. j/k
We love you all. I forgot to mention that we will be traveling to Denver on Wednesday. The doctors have suggested that we bring lots of cards, letters, pictures, etc. to hang on the wall. Letters and pictures from the grandchildren are especially precious. The only thing they suggested is that we steer clear of live flowers or potted plants. If anyone has any of this kind of thing to send up let us know and we'll make the delivery if you'd like.
Letters and cards can also be mailed to:
Jeri Russell City Gate Apartments 2890 Brighton Blvd. #355 Denver, CO 80216
I don't think the phone will be up and working until Tuesday, but we'll get it posted when we get it.
We have opened up an account at the Bank of the West and the name on the account is the "Russell Family Account". Anyone interested in making donations/deposits can do that at any Branch office of Bank of the West by simply telling them the account name. If anyone has further questions don't hesitate to contact us at (307)780-8356 or (307)747-2837 and our email address is russellcp_c@bvea.net. We do ask that if you make donations that you write "donation" on the deposit slip. I talked with Dad this morning and they were planning to do a Spinal Tap to find any cancer cells that might be hiding out sometime today. He was in good spirits in spite of the late night cheese sandwich he ate. He expressed his deep felt appreciation for all the concern and prayers on his behalf. We are all so thankful for the prayers on our behalf. We have felt the spirit so strongly and have been prompted in the many things that we have done in the last week. We sure love and appreciate you all, Darrin & Jen
FYI... I was just going through the family list of names and email addresses. Our daughter, Sheri Schoel was wondering why she hadn't gotten any emails so I checked and her email address was slightly incorrect. (Only one "l" in her last name. It should be; schoel2999@msn.com...So FYI would you please change that on your lists everybody. Thanks! Vivian
Mom and Dad have been having a little trouble getting logged on here but wanted me to let you all know that they are trying and will get it figured out. They are very grateful for all the love and support. Mom said she felt like she was at a family reunion when she was reading it. Dad is doing well. He has received 2 shots of chemo intrathecally (in the spine like an epidural) and the tests show no leukemia in the central nervous system. He got an infusion of red blood cells yesterday and that has made him stronger. He did have 2 evenings of nausea but that has passed and even the hiccups have gone away. He is scheduled to start regeneration therapy to start rebuilding healthy bone marrow tomorrow and will have another bone biopsy in a week to see how it is going. They tested him for the Philidelphia chromosome mutation which is a bad thing to have, but so far they can't find it in Dad, so that is really good news. Hopefully I will have Mom and Dad up and running tomorrow.
I have been spending the last several days with Mom and Dad in Denver. I am thrilled to see Dad with my own eyes. I was at home worrying that maybe he wasn't doing as well as the reports, after all, how do go through agressive chemotherapy with only the hiccups?
Dad looks great! He does have some ugly bruising on his arms from various treatments as the low platelet counts lead to bruising. He still has hair, but may lose it in the next few weeks. He did tell me that the hair is not serious as there is not much to lose, but he does not want to lose his eyebrows:) It has been super fun to sit and visit.
Mom's apartment is comfortable and well furnished. We have the capability to cook most anything with plenty of pots and pans. The beds are comfortable and the air conditioning welcome. We have spent some time each day cleaning and cleaning again. Not obssesively, but in anticipation of the possibility that Dad will be able to spend some time in the apartment.
Dad's treatment is not heavy duty chemo right now, but he does require frequent monitoring. Every morning they do his blood work and then he gets something in his IV to balance him out. He has needed some insulin as the steroids he is taking has led to high blood sugar, however, it is very managable. Today Dad needed some phosphate (I think). They came in about 7:00 am and hooked him up to the IV with a tiny bag of the medicine. He assumed it would be just a few minutes. However, the medicine has to be administered very slowly and there was a disfunction with the IV and he had to be hooked up for almost 10 hours today. He is currently doing laps around the ward with Mom to work out the kinks. Tomorrow he will ask more questions and be sure to get his shower before he allows them to hook him up.
Mom and Dad appreciate all of the phone calls and visits. We have a schedule of who is planning to stay with Mom when: June 18th- Mom goes home to Rawlins with Thayne and Cherilyn. June 21st- Dawn will pick her up and bring her back to Denver and stay. June 25th- Cherilyn flies back to Denver to stay until the 30th. John and Shonda will stay the 30th into the 4th of July weekend.
We are cautiously optimistic that Dad will at some point be released and could stay at the apartment. The doctor's are not giving any indication as to when that could happen. We, however, feel like he is doing super and that it could happen.
Please be flexible in your visiting plans. If Dad should be able to leave the hospital, he will still be under many restrictions and will be vulnerable to germs for a long time. If Dad is in the apartment we will need to limit the number of people staying there, but it will be important to have a driver and caregiver besides Mom. We will work things out as we go.
I am out of things to write, but if anyone posts questions that I can answer I will be happy to. Love, Cherilyn
Good Morning from Denver. This is the first time I have been at the hospital in the morning. What a busy place. Today is day 14 of the initial chemo treatment and really consisted only of a blend of steroids today to encourage new blood growth. The steroids increase Dad's blood sugar levels so he is back on insulin today. The white blood cell count is unchanged today and is still so minimal it is called 0. However, the doctor mentioned that at some point Dad may qualify for a bone marrow transplant. This is good news because they consider him young enough and well enough to be a good candidate.
As I understand it, the next 14 days will be about getting blood levels up- we need healthy growth. If Dad gets stable enough then he could go to the apartment for part of this rest period but is a day by day process. Even though it would be nice to have a change of scenery, he is not anxious to go anywhere before he is really ready.
After the resting period, there will be another, very aggressive chemo treatment, probably 14 days.
The best news of the day- Dad got an e-mail from the City. Employees have donated 400+ hours of leave time so far- that's 2 1/2 months of paid leave for him. The tears flowed this morning as Dad said "How can I pay that back?"
I know that we cannot ever pay back all that we've been blessed with, but I hope that somehow we can convey to them how much their sacrifice means for us and our Dad.
Dad also had platelets this morning. He has to have a dose of benadryl with each platelet IV and it makes him sleepy. He is planning on a nap this afternoon.
Thayne and I will take Mom to Rawlins this afternoon for a couple of days. She will come back with Dawn on Saturday.
So...I went in for a visit yesterday, and I am fairly certain Lee is faking this whole thing for the attention! No one who is as sick as they say he is is ever in that good of a mood, or looks so healthy! I had a great time just chatting and catching up. For those of you who are worried about Lee's mental health you can stop. He is a s mentally well as he's ever been! :) In all seriousness Lee really is taking all things well. He seems more concerned about finding out what is going on with everyone else than he is about his own condition. I am truly grateful to all those who are doing so much for him. PS-If you go in and he is napping, word on the street is that he likes to be woken up by way of the "wet willy", but if anyone asks you didn't hear that from me!
I talked to Dad on the phone tonight and he is doing ok. His white blood cell count was 10 yesterday and 50 today and so far no sign of cancer. He is losing his hair and of course is a little self conscious. I told him I was going to shave my head just because I have a good excuse to do it. I its not much of a journey from where I am now to bald anyway. He has had more stomach discomfort and nausea this week. He has no appetite and has no energy. His blood sugar levels continue to be high but are coming down to normal. He is on a lot of antibiotics and has been running a low-grade fever. He just still has no immune system to fight off the slightest infection yet. Hopefully that will improve over the coming days and weeks. He will most likely require more courses of chemo but we don't know what or when yet. He continues to have a good attitude and is more concerned about all of us then of himself. Mom is still happy in the apartment and doesn't like being away from Dad. Dawn is with her now in Denver.
Dad was released from the hospital today and he decided to go home to Rawlins to take care of a few things. His white cells and his platelets were up high enough they let him out. Dad said the worst part of being in the hospital was the food and they wouldn't let him bring in anything that wasn't in a factory sealed package. He is still pretty vulnerable in terms of getting sick. He will be at home untill Sunday, he has a bone biopsy on Monday and will probably start phase B of the chemo by Thursday. He got over the nausea and the fever he had and if he can stay away from hospital food for a few days he should be a new man.
I saw Mom & Dad in Rawlins on Saturday and they seem to be thriving at home. Dad is eating better on mom's cooking than he was on hospital food. He still gets tired fairly quickly but is learning his limits and hopefully not overdoing it. His biopsy had to be postponed until next week because the place was booked. They will likely return to Denver on Saturday or so and he should be readmitted about Thursday of next week.
Dad is back in Denver now and the air conditioner in the apartment got fixed. He had his 2nd biopsy on Monday. His doctor said he is making great progress. His initial molecular count was 70% and now it is only 8% and still no presence of the philadelphia chromosome. The goal is to get to 0% and then do a bone marrow transplant. One donor match has been found and others are still pending. The Dr. said the prognosis is good and we are going for the cure. That is great news with this type of cancer but we are a long way from the end.
They gave us a longer chemo schedule this time so it might be easier to plan. The first 14 (or so) day treatment was the first of part A. He will start the first of part B tomorrow and I guess it is pretty heavy duty stuff with lots of side effects. He will do that for 2 days and have a few days recovery time and should be out of the hospital before Cher leaves next week. He will then go in for checks every Mon, Wed, and Friday until he is "back to normal." He then will get a month off to go back home. After that it starts over with the second session of the part A chemo for about 2 weeks, some time off, then the second session of part B chemo. If all goes well the bone marrow transplant will happen after that in October some time. After the biopsy he will again have no immunity and be weak so he will be hospitalized or at least in care for 100 days. It will take months for him to recover after the transplant before he can go back to work. Every one is pretty positive and there is a timeline framework now at least in theory. Thanks again to everyone that has helped with this whole ordeal. Dad spends his time worrying about us instead of himself. He is concerned about finances and resources for the whole family and wants us to make sure we are looking out for our families and ourselves. I hope this information helps and I will continue to update it as new info becomes available.
Dad is back at the apartment but his chemo continues to work on him. The Doctors won't let him stray to far from the hospital yet. He recieved 3 units of blood stuff (not sure if it was platelets of what) on Monday. He has been feeling pretty good in the mornings and crummy in the afternoon. They have transfered most of thier lives down to Denver and are planning for the long haul. I think they are getting thier mail forwarded there too. No word yet on when the next batch will start.
I tried to get all the posts to show up on the front page but they get pushed to the back. I talked to Dad last night and he is doing better than earlier this week. He was having the same symptoms, just getting worse with the accumulation of the chemo effects. He was in pretty good spirits and said he had a doctors appt today and would find out if round #4 would start on Wed or Friday this week. I plan on spending the weekend with Mom as Dad will likely be in the hospital. The DNC is in Denver this week witch will make driving there a nightmare. I suggested they stay home as much as possible. Dad did say the days get long and he really appreaciates phone calls. He says we are welcome to visit any time but not to feel obligated. I got the feeling that shorter visits in smaller groups are better for them given their physical and emotional limitations, but they do miss us and want to see us. Dad was having quite a bit of pain from the regenerating bone marrow and blood cells but the doctor got him some medicine for it and it has helped a lot. He still is very concerned for all of us and for our financial health as a family. He is addimate that we all (himself included) preserve means to provide for our families in the future and that this illness is only temporary. He remains greatful for all of the support that has come in many forms.
23 comments:
The initial diagnosis was Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. His blood counts were good today and he is scheduled to start Chemo on Wednesday in Denver. He will most likely be in the hospital for several weeks.
This morning Dad was having trouble getting out of bed due to low blood pressure and was taken to the emergency room in Rawlins. He was given fluids and stabilized and then life-flighted to Denver. I will keep you posted as further information becomes available.
Dad is safely admitted to Presbeterian Saint Luke's Hospital in Denver after an ambulance/plane/helicopter ride. He is having some chest pain that may be caused by the cancer building up in his sternum. He is stable but being held in an isolation room for a few days to make sure he didn't bring any bugs with him. Mom, Marion, Kirsti, John & Shonda, and Darrin & Jenny are all down in Denver with Dad. They will be doing blood work on him tonight so we should have more news by morning. There is an entire team of doctors and interns working on the case and looking at the biopsy report. He is in good hands and greatful for all your support.
I have been urged to leave an update as I was at the hospital with Lee yesterday and have been in touch with Jeri this morning. So here goes. After an exciting and busy afternoon and evening yesterday, filled with poking, prodding, and the same questions repeated 15 times, Lee is much more comfortable this morning. He is on some long-acting pain meds which have helped him immensely. Jeri said he is up today, sitting in the chair reading the newspaper, and has even ridden the exercise bike that is in his room! She says he looks really good today.
That having been said, I will give you a few things that I learned yesterday. The first thing they did was put him in "isolation" because he has been in a different hospital being exposed to other germs. They want to keep other diseases from entering the "Bone Marrow Transplant" unit where his room is right now. They have been culturing his blood, and as soon as they know he is "non-toxic" they will remove the isolation requirements. It is interesting to visit Lee because you have to wash your hands before you enter the hallway. Then you pick up a yellow gown right outside his door and put it on. When you get into the room you put on a pair of blue "exam" gloves. They are a little sweaty. When you leave his room (even if it's only for a minute), you take off the gloves, throw them away, and put the gown in the hamper. I think Lee is quite entertained watching the fashion show!
They also took him to x-ray, and were talking about putting in a line, which I assume was all accomplished after I left the hospital. The doctor was trying to track down all of his test results, as the bone marrow biopsy has its initial results and then they do some additional high-tech cellular studies. Once all of that information is put together by the "team," they will issue a final plan.
Presbyterian St. Luke's is a "teaching" hospital, so he is inundated with students, interns, and anyone else who gets to ask questions. Lee was very up-beat and wants everyone to know he appreciates the thoughts and prayers. He is working on getting his laptop set up, and the hospital has an IT team that will help him. Lee and Jeri plan on getting involved with the blog at that time.
To call Lee, you have to go through the main switchboard (303-839-6000) and ask for his room. They will tell you they can put you through to the nurse's station, and then when they answer, they transfer you to his room.
If you need help in Denver, just call me! 303-932-8794. You can also e-mail me: richardsateam@q.com or richardsateam@gmail.com.
The doctors laid out a course of treatment today based on recomendations found on uptodate.com (a medical database). You can go there if you want the details of the treatment under "treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia in adults" and then hyperCVAD. Basically it is a 2 week course of a coctail of 5 chemotherapy agents, plus some other drugs to help with the side effects. I think they are taking very good care of him. He is in for a rough couple of weeks though. I'm not sure what the visiting situation will be. I do know that the hospital said that if you are sick, you can't come. It is just too big of a risk for everyone on the floor, not just Dad.
I don't put much faith in statistics but a study showed a 92% rate of complete remission with this treatment with an 85% treatment survival rate. After two weeks they will look at the blood and determine the next course and factors that will effect his chances for relapse. Generally it is about 35-40% at 5 years. Pretty good news. Dad is in good spirits and thinking of watching movies and playing games. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. It has ment a great deal.
I talked to Dad this morning and he sounded good. He had his first round of chemo last night and says it made him sweat a little but gave him more energy. He hasn't slept real good but should get a nap this afternoon. He is not having any side effects from the chemo yet and was eating breakfast so I think things are going pretty well. They are treating him with fliuds, diaretics, gout drugs, pain meds, and anti nausea medication on top of the chemo, so considering all that he is doing great.
I just read all the messages and Ican feel so much love and concern from all of you. Thank you for commenting on the blog and thanks Mark for setting this up for us.
Lee's first Chemo Therapy was last night at 9. He did have a slight fever and when he was sweating that was the fever breaking. That symptom was caused by unrelated desease not the chemo. So he did have a little bug but the antibiotics he is taking took care of it. He also felt sort of high like you feel from too much caffine. This morning he is very well, feeling fine. He looks great. The Dr. said he was a star patient, gorgeous, wonderful. Of course all of us know that already.
He has started the second treatment now. He is taking a shower and riding the bike in his room and plans to go on a tour of his floor this afternoon. He can do stuff even while the chemo is being administered if he just pulls his pole along. There is a lot of equipment hanging on the iv pole so it is not really easy.
We are feeling very loved and cheerful. Our children are bending over backwards helping us. Today they have rented an apartment for us so we can have a home away from home...it is beautiful. I think Lee will be in the hospital about four weeks then he can spend some time at the apartment...we will see how it goes. So many of you have worked hard on this project and have donated you own things as well as time and money. It is wonderful.
Words cannot express our appreciation. We are also very proud of you for your thoughtfulness, industry and ability to pull off such a project. You are amazing. I am not on the right place on the blog to see Vivian's questions and I can't remember. I will try to answer them later.
Lee will have his computer hooked up soon and then he will also write. He is excited to do it.
We can feel the benefit of all you're prayers and fasting on our behalf. I know the power is real. We have more blessings than we can count at his time. We should not be amazed but we are. We love you all.
We are at the hospital with Dad today getting ready to have lunch in the common room. He is no longer in isolation which means visitors don't have to wear masks and gowns, but if Dad leaves his room he has to wear a mask. He is done with the chemo for a few days and has had no side effects. His blood counts looked great this morning. The blasts are now unmeasureable and the white count is down to 4200. With the count down that far the hope is that the bone marrow will start to produce good cells which will strengthen his immune system. The breakdown of all the cancer cells is causing a little acidosis, but the docs are getting that all balanced out. We got mom moved into her appartment with lots and lots of help from Darrin and Jen and John and Shonda and Marion and Perry and the boys. It was great to see everyone yesterday and Mom loves the place. The equipment that was installed in Mom's bathroom worked out great she said. It has been invaluable for her to have a home away from home that is safe and accessable. I don't remember the address and stuff, but she will have a land line phone and a mail box so we can write letters and call. Dad got moved to a semi-permanent room in the cancer wing #3208
Lee's direct phone number at the hospital is 303-839-6208. This number takes you directly into his room.
Hi everybody!
A big thank you for all the love, help, support, and prayers. Big thanks to Darrin and Jen for their effort this weekend. Without their swift and intuitive action it would not have been possible to accomplish what we did this weekend. Although he is nearly an old man(nearly 8 years my elder), I've never once been able to out work him. We all greatly apreciate and are humbled by the sacrifices you have made. I hope the pain and fatigue are small in comparison to the blessings you will recieve for your efforts.
Ok, off my soap box now and down to business. We are working on an account at Bank of the West where anyone will be able to make anonymous donations/deposits in behalf of Lee and Jeri. The monies in the account will be used for the apartment rent, utilities, food, and travel expenses. The account will be set up so most of the bills will be automatically withdrawn as needed. Jen will act as a clerk in that she will make sure any payments get made on time. (Thanks Jen) She will act under the direction of the siblings on how the money will be dispersed. Others will be added as signers to the account as needed. Once the account is set up, donors will be able to make deposits at any Bank of the West branch. Stay tuned for more info on making deposits.
We understand that accountability is very important, and account statements may be furnished upon request.
Lee and Jeri's immediate family are using this account to transfer money to make the lease payments. Donations are not expected, but greatly apreciated. We have every hope that Dad will be closer to home within a few weeks. But we wish to be prepared for 6 months of travel and rent. Any additional accumulation will be passed on to Mom and Dad.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call myself at (307)324-2529 or any of the siblings. This is our home number but we transfer it to our cell phones when we are away.
Once again, we so apreciate the outpouring of love and will never forget this time of closeness.
Ooops ... John actually wrote that, but feel free to take out any pent up rage on her. j/k
We love you all. I forgot to mention that we will be traveling to Denver on Wednesday. The doctors have suggested that we bring lots of cards, letters, pictures, etc. to hang on the wall. Letters and pictures from the grandchildren are especially precious. The only thing they suggested is that we steer clear of live flowers or potted plants. If anyone has any of this kind of thing to send up let us know and we'll make the delivery if you'd like.
Letters and cards can also be mailed to:
Jeri Russell
City Gate Apartments
2890 Brighton Blvd. #355
Denver, CO 80216
I don't think the phone will be up and working until Tuesday, but we'll get it posted when we get it.
Hope to see you all soon-
John R.
We have opened up an account at the Bank of the West and the name on the account is the "Russell Family Account". Anyone interested in making donations/deposits can do that at any Branch office of Bank of the West by simply telling them the account name. If anyone has further questions don't hesitate to contact us at (307)780-8356 or (307)747-2837 and our email address is russellcp_c@bvea.net. We do ask that if you make donations that you write "donation" on the deposit slip.
I talked with Dad this morning and they were planning to do a Spinal Tap to find any cancer cells that might be hiding out sometime today. He was in good spirits in spite of the late night cheese sandwich he ate. He expressed his deep felt appreciation for all the concern and prayers on his behalf.
We are all so thankful for the prayers on our behalf. We have felt the spirit so strongly and have been prompted in the many things that we have done in the last week.
We sure love and appreciate you all,
Darrin & Jen
FYI...
I was just going through the family list of names and email addresses. Our daughter, Sheri Schoel was wondering why she hadn't gotten any emails so I checked and her email address was slightly incorrect. (Only one "l" in her last name. It should be;
schoel2999@msn.com...So FYI would you please change that on your lists everybody. Thanks! Vivian
Mom and Dad have been having a little trouble getting logged on here but wanted me to let you all know that they are trying and will get it figured out. They are very grateful for all the love and support. Mom said she felt like she was at a family reunion when she was reading it.
Dad is doing well. He has received 2 shots of chemo intrathecally (in the spine like an epidural) and the tests show no leukemia in the central nervous system. He got an infusion of red blood cells yesterday and that has made him stronger. He did have 2 evenings of nausea but that has passed and even the hiccups have gone away. He is scheduled to start regeneration therapy to start rebuilding healthy bone marrow tomorrow and will have another bone biopsy in a week to see how it is going. They tested him for the Philidelphia chromosome mutation which is a bad thing to have, but so far they can't find it in Dad, so that is really good news. Hopefully I will have Mom and Dad up and running tomorrow.
Dear Family,
I have been spending the last several days with Mom and Dad in Denver. I am thrilled to see Dad with my own eyes. I was at home worrying that maybe he wasn't doing as well as the reports, after all, how do go through agressive chemotherapy with only the hiccups?
Dad looks great! He does have some ugly bruising on his arms from various treatments as the low platelet counts lead to bruising. He still has hair, but may lose it in the next few weeks. He did tell me that the hair is not serious as there is not much to lose, but he does not want to lose his eyebrows:)
It has been super fun to sit and visit.
Mom's apartment is comfortable and well furnished. We have the capability to cook most anything with plenty of pots and pans. The beds are comfortable and the air conditioning welcome. We have spent some time each day cleaning and cleaning again. Not obssesively, but in anticipation of the possibility that Dad will be able to spend some time in the apartment.
Dad's treatment is not heavy duty chemo right now, but he does require frequent monitoring. Every morning they do his blood work and then he gets something in his IV to balance him out. He has needed some insulin as the steroids he is taking has led to high blood sugar, however, it is very managable. Today Dad needed some phosphate (I think). They came in about 7:00 am and hooked him up to the IV with a tiny bag of the medicine. He assumed it would be just a few minutes. However, the medicine has to be administered very slowly and there was a disfunction with the IV and he had to be hooked up for almost 10 hours today. He is currently doing laps around the ward with Mom to work out the kinks. Tomorrow he will ask more questions and be sure to get his shower before he allows them to hook him up.
Mom and Dad appreciate all of the phone calls and visits. We have a schedule of who is planning to stay with Mom when:
June 18th- Mom goes home to Rawlins with Thayne and Cherilyn.
June 21st- Dawn will pick her up and bring her back to Denver and stay.
June 25th- Cherilyn flies back to Denver to stay until the 30th.
John and Shonda will stay the 30th into the 4th of July weekend.
We are cautiously optimistic that Dad will at some point be released and could stay at the apartment. The doctor's are not giving any indication as to when that could happen. We, however, feel like he is doing super and that it could happen.
Please be flexible in your visiting plans. If Dad should be able to leave the hospital, he will still be under many restrictions and will be vulnerable to germs for a long time. If Dad is in the apartment we will need to limit the number of people staying there, but it will be important to have a driver and caregiver besides Mom. We will work things out as we go.
I am out of things to write, but if anyone posts questions that I can answer I will be happy to. Love, Cherilyn
Good Morning from Denver. This is the first time I have been at the hospital in the morning. What a busy place. Today is day 14 of the initial chemo treatment and really consisted only of a blend of steroids today to encourage new blood growth. The steroids increase Dad's blood sugar levels so he is back on insulin today. The white blood cell count is unchanged today and is still so minimal it is called 0. However, the doctor mentioned that at some point Dad may qualify for a bone marrow transplant. This is good news because they consider him young enough and well enough to be a good candidate.
As I understand it, the next 14 days will be about getting blood levels up- we need healthy growth. If Dad gets stable enough then he could go to the apartment for part of this rest period but is a day by day process. Even though it would be nice to have a change of scenery, he is not anxious to go anywhere before he is really ready.
After the resting period, there will be another, very aggressive chemo treatment, probably 14 days.
The best news of the day- Dad got an e-mail from the City. Employees have donated 400+ hours of leave time so far- that's 2 1/2 months of paid leave for him. The tears flowed this morning as Dad said "How can I pay that back?"
I know that we cannot ever pay back all that we've been blessed with, but I hope that somehow we can convey to them how much their sacrifice means for us and our Dad.
Dad also had platelets this morning. He has to have a dose of benadryl with each platelet IV and it makes him sleepy. He is planning on a nap this afternoon.
Thayne and I will take Mom to Rawlins this afternoon for a couple of days. She will come back with Dawn on Saturday.
Love, Cherilyn
So...I went in for a visit yesterday, and I am fairly certain Lee is faking this whole thing for the attention! No one who is as sick as they say he is is ever in that good of a mood, or looks so healthy! I had a great time just chatting and catching up. For those of you who are worried about Lee's mental health you can stop. He is a s mentally well as he's ever been! :) In all seriousness Lee really is taking all things well. He seems more concerned about finding out what is going on with everyone else than he is about his own condition. I am truly grateful to all those who are doing so much for him. PS-If you go in and he is napping, word on the street is that he likes to be woken up by way of the "wet willy", but if anyone asks you didn't hear that from me!
I talked to Dad on the phone tonight and he is doing ok. His white blood cell count was 10 yesterday and 50 today and so far no sign of cancer. He is losing his hair and of course is a little self conscious. I told him I was going to shave my head just because I have a good excuse to do it. I its not much of a journey from where I am now to bald anyway. He has had more stomach discomfort and nausea this week. He has no appetite and has no energy. His blood sugar levels continue to be high but are coming down to normal. He is on a lot of antibiotics and has been running a low-grade fever. He just still has no immune system to fight off the slightest infection yet. Hopefully that will improve over the coming days and weeks. He will most likely require more courses of chemo but we don't know what or when yet. He continues to have a good attitude and is more concerned about all of us then of himself. Mom is still happy in the apartment and doesn't like being away from Dad. Dawn is with her now in Denver.
Dad was released from the hospital today and he decided to go home to Rawlins to take care of a few things. His white cells and his platelets were up high enough they let him out. Dad said the worst part of being in the hospital was the food and they wouldn't let him bring in anything that wasn't in a factory sealed package. He is still pretty vulnerable in terms of getting sick. He will be at home untill Sunday, he has a bone biopsy on Monday and will probably start phase B of the chemo by Thursday. He got over the nausea and the fever he had and if he can stay away from hospital food for a few days he should be a new man.
I saw Mom & Dad in Rawlins on Saturday and they seem to be thriving at home. Dad is eating better on mom's cooking than he was on hospital food. He still gets tired fairly quickly but is learning his limits and hopefully not overdoing it. His biopsy had to be postponed until next week because the place was booked. They will likely return to Denver on Saturday or so and he should be readmitted about Thursday of next week.
Dad is back in Denver now and the air conditioner in the apartment got fixed. He had his 2nd biopsy on Monday. His doctor said he is making great progress. His initial molecular count was 70% and now it is only 8% and still no presence of the philadelphia chromosome. The goal is to get to 0% and then do a bone marrow transplant. One donor match has been found and others are still pending. The Dr. said the prognosis is good and we are going for the cure. That is great news with this type of cancer but we are a long way from the end.
They gave us a longer chemo schedule this time so it might be easier to plan. The first 14 (or so) day treatment was the first of part A. He will start the first of part B tomorrow and I guess it is pretty heavy duty stuff with lots of side effects. He will do that for 2 days and have a few days recovery time and should be out of the hospital before Cher leaves next week. He will then go in for checks every Mon, Wed, and Friday until he is "back to normal." He then will get a month off to go back home.
After that it starts over with the second session of the part A chemo for about 2 weeks, some time off, then the second session of part B chemo. If all goes well the bone marrow transplant will happen after that in October some time. After the biopsy he will again have no immunity and be weak so he will be hospitalized or at least in care for 100 days. It will take months for him to recover after the transplant before he can go back to work.
Every one is pretty positive and there is a timeline framework now at least in theory. Thanks again to everyone that has helped with this whole ordeal. Dad spends his time worrying about us instead of himself. He is concerned about finances and resources for the whole family and wants us to make sure we are looking out for our families and ourselves. I hope this information helps and I will continue to update it as new info becomes available.
Dad is back at the apartment but his chemo continues to work on him. The Doctors won't let him stray to far from the hospital yet. He recieved 3 units of blood stuff (not sure if it was platelets of what) on Monday. He has been feeling pretty good in the mornings and crummy in the afternoon. They have transfered most of thier lives down to Denver and are planning for the long haul. I think they are getting thier mail forwarded there too. No word yet on when the next batch will start.
I tried to get all the posts to show up on the front page but they get pushed to the back. I talked to Dad last night and he is doing better than earlier this week. He was having the same symptoms, just getting worse with the accumulation of the chemo effects. He was in pretty good spirits and said he had a doctors appt today and would find out if round #4 would start on Wed or Friday this week. I plan on spending the weekend with Mom as Dad will likely be in the hospital. The DNC is in Denver this week witch will make driving there a nightmare. I suggested they stay home as much as possible. Dad did say the days get long and he really appreaciates phone calls. He says we are welcome to visit any time but not to feel obligated. I got the feeling that shorter visits in smaller groups are better for them given their physical and emotional limitations, but they do miss us and want to see us. Dad was having quite a bit of pain from the regenerating bone marrow and blood cells but the doctor got him some medicine for it and it has helped a lot. He still is very concerned for all of us and for our financial health as a family. He is addimate that we all (himself included) preserve means to provide for our families in the future and that this illness is only temporary. He remains greatful for all of the support that has come in many forms.
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