The Brands: Day 5

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Day 5

I learned yesterday that we were on day 4 of treatment. I had been counting wrong, small surprise given all of the information we've been taking in. So that makes today day 5. More chemo drugs today.

The air conditioning is back on in the hospital (it was off yesterday), and Caleb wants socks. Grandma and Grandpa packed us some socks last week when they visited, so hurray, we had some! We're living out of bags and boxes, and getting used to it. We're able to do laundry here in the Ronald McDonald family room, in the hospital, and I'm adjusting to the high efficiency machine. (I always use too much soap!)

Caleb had a good night of sleep last night, although he was up at 10 to throw up. He had felt yucky earlier as well, but no throw up. After throwing up, they give him some more anti-nausea medecine and he slept through the night. He is in good spirits this morning, and a volunteer, Debbie, is playing with him. I asked for relief so I could go and take a shower, and as I was coming back, I could hear his peals of laughter coming down the halls. He's having a BLAST with Debbie. It is so wonderful to hear him be happy. I hope Debbie sticks around with us for our time here.

Here's to a good day. I hope you have one too.
J

9 comments:

d said...: So good to hear he is having a good blast for once - instead of all the blasts we heard about last week. Enjoy the good day, and may many more of them come to outweigh the crappy ones. We miss you guys, but we love seeing the blog.

spot; June 29, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Jen said...: His laughter must have been complete music to your ears. Glad he was having a great time :)

Jen; June 29, 2010 at 12:51 PM
Elzinga Family said...: Thanks for your updates Jess.
We continue to remember all of you in prayer.
I am glad there is still laughter in your days.
peace & continued joy to you all.
Carolyn; June 29, 2010 at 1:38 PM
the other Nella said...: So good to see you and Caleb, however briefly today. He was very tired but I saw a couple of lovely smiles.Praying for strengthand peace for all of you. Love, the other Nella; June 29, 2010 at 9:14 PM
Brenda said...: Praying for more laughter and thanks for volunteers at the hospital.; June 30, 2010 at 12:38 AM
Rae... said...: Hi there,
Friends of mine, Anj Colyn and Kim Schellingerhoudt told me about what was going on with you guys and asked for prayer. I have been, and will be praying for your family. Thanks for blogging so that we can walk with you on this journey and know how to pray. Blessings to you and Caleb.; June 30, 2010 at 8:42 AM
Chris Schoon said...: Tim & Jess--your whole family remains in our prayers. May God continue to sustain you, to strengthen Caleb's body, and to grant the medical team wisdom and insight in how best to fight against the leukemia.
Chris & Hennie; June 30, 2010 at 2:54 PM
anya genevieve said...: Hang tough King Caleb and stay strong! Praying that your little body will heal quickly and that your beautiful & loving soul will continue to soar to higher heights imagineable. Prayers also for the rest of the 'Royal Family' during this difficult and trying time and that God will wrap His arms around each and every one of you so that you will feel the comfort, strength, courage and peace that His loving embrace brings. lots of love and hugs, anya; June 30, 2010 at 7:05 PM
the other Nella said...: Hi Brands.I was sitting in the board room at VON this morning, looked at your mom's picture Jess, and realized it was exactly 10 yrs. today that God called her home. That certainly must be adding to the hurt today. It was also that tragedy that led to my meeting you the night before you were leaving to start your studies at Calvin.Our paths have crossed in many ways over the years and we are thankful for that. Love and prayers, the other Nella; June 30, 2010 at 9:25 PM

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What is ALL?

Caleb has ALL, a form of leukemia. From what I understand (here's the dummy's guide to leukemia), leukemia means that something has gone wrong in blood cell production.

Blood is made up of 3 main parts, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The red blood cells do things like carry oxygen and nutrients through your body. The white blood cells fight infections and keep you healthy. The platelets glue it all together. (I did say this was the dummy's guide, remember.) Bone marrow is where these cells are made and released into the blood stream.

In Caleb's leukemia, his bone marrow is producing the 3 kinds of cells, but some of the white blood cells are being made wrong. These white blood cells are not maturing, they don't perform any function, and they aren't dying off. They take up space, and made it so that Caleb's red blood cells, functioning white cells, and platelets were having a hard time doing their jobs, and the production of the blasts was taking over. This is why before we were admitted to the hospital, Caleb was tired and pale. His blood just wasn't able to do what it should do.

Chemo treatments are designed to kill back the blasts. The only way to do this has a lot of extra damage (collateral damage) as well, which we see in side effects like hair loss and need for blood transfusions. Because chemo also knocks back regular blood cells, Caleb needs blood and platelet transfusions to replace what is being lost through treatment. White blood cells cannot be transfused, which is why he has nothing to fight off infections. We can't replace those ones. When the drugs are less intense and his body can gradually go back to doing what it should be doing, white blood cell production should return. We will have to be careful for a long time, though.

Hair loss occurs because cells that are replaced often in our body, like hair, can't keep up production. The cells die off faster than they are replaced. Other fast growing/often replaced cells are in our mouths and our nails. These are all affected.

I hope my dummy's guide to leukemia makes sense. It's the way I currently understand things. People in the health care profession may cringe at my descriptions, but hopefully it's accurate enough to explain what Caleb's going through. Maybe it will help you explain it to your kids. For now, we just say we're blasting blasts.

We are the Brands

We are three kids, two parents, and one dog. And too many fish. We love our city, time in the outdoors, playing soccer, camping, and making music. Our faith is central to our lives.

On June 23, pieces of what had previously been a concerning question about our son Caleb's health came together in a diagnosis of leukemia. It all happened rather quickly, after bringing him to the ER at McMaster hospital on Monday, June 21. We're absorbing this news, and trying to learn how to cope with leukemia and a young family. Our hearts are torn, but we feel the love of many.

This blog is intended to share with our loved ones and their loved ones what is happening for Caleb and the rest of us. I must say that it is possibly as much information-giving as it is therapeutic writing. Thank you for taking the time to share with us our experience. We find strength in numbers, and in shared experiences.