The Brands: Day by day

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Day by day

We are still home. This is great news and we can hardly believe it. Thank you for your prayers; they are being answered in wonderful ways! It's Tim's birthday today, and we're enjoying a quiet day at home. We have been "on our own" since Thursday night, and thanks to rain yesterday, Tim and I were home together yesterday. Today Oma and Opa will visit for Tim's birthday, and I'm sure they'll love to see Caleb at home too. Our days are falling into routine. Caleb is struggling less with meds, and because he's able to move around here at home, his legs/knees don't bother him as much. There are definitely still tough moments, but we are still overwhelmingly blessed.

The kids enjoy a picnic snack. Caleb is not very interested in playing outside these days, but I used his love of food to lure him outdoors.

This is our outdoor rooftop garden (tomatoes & zucchini) that has been lovingly watered by friends while we've been gone. This afternoon I learned that with our neighbour's help, Opa was also able to water these plants -- by standing on the roof.

While picnicking outside, we spotted our first zucchini! What a treat! Caleb is asking for zucchini and cheese soup. Yum! (??)

And Aleah found the tank we had been keeping tadpoles in (up until a few weeks ago). It makes a good kid tank too. :)

I hope that you have a good Saturday too. Thank you for your prayers for our strength and Caleb's health. Please keep his body in your prayers as he continues with chemo. We'll go in on Tuesday again. In a few weeks they'll have a better idea just how tough this leukemia will be to beat. You can pray about that.

J

4 comments:

Eric and Marya said...: We're glad to see that Caleb is doing well at home. We pray for him and your family every day. We wish you strength and courage in your battle. The pictures are great!!
Marya; July 10, 2010 at 1:40 PM
Anonymous said...: So thrilled you could all be home for Tim's birthday...that was our prayer! God is good! Continued strength for you all!
Peter and Cheryl Karsten; July 10, 2010 at 10:23 PM
Unknown said...: As you continue to post on your blog and encourage so many, many more than the number that answer or comment on it, are also encouraged. "God will supply all our needs" Phil 4:7
Enjoy your Sunday and the soccer game.
I Vos; July 11, 2010 at 7:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Caleb and the rest of you are very much in my daily prayers. Wishing you much love and strength... Helen T.; July 11, 2010 at 4:02 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.