The Brands: We're back at the hostibull

Monday, July 12, 2010

We're back at the hostibull

This morning Caleb began to run a fever just after breakfast. It was a slow climb up to fever temp, and I was on the phone with the doc here. We came to the hospital around 10:30, and they admitted us just after lunch today. Caleb's temp was going up and down, but now it seems locked in at "high". They've started him on antibiotics, and have taken blood to uncover the source of the problem. Hopefully it's something simple. My prayer is that it's not the portacath. I don't yet know what it would mean if it was, but I just don't want this portacath to be giving us any more trouble. For now we will rest; Caleb is tired. He's been a trouper once again. He is so tough, it hurts. Please pray for this temperature to come down, for a speedy recovery, and that his treatments tomorrow will not be delayed. The earliest we could return home is 48 hours, but we're not counting on that. If it happens that would be wonderful. Caleb is not very happy to be here, and so I'm not too happy about it either. We are making the best of it, as we must. We are in the best place we could be right now, and I'm thankful that I'm no longer the one monitoring his temperature. His encouraging artwork is back up on the wall, with a few new additions. We're just about to dig in to some pizza from Mike's Miracles' movie night. I am hopeful for a good evening and good rest for both of us.

J

4 comments:

Unknown said...: Thinking about you and Caleb and your entire family. Words don't seem adequate. My love goes out to you and all of your loved ones.; July 12, 2010 at 7:47 PM
d said...: Up and down, up and down... so goes the roller coaster. Hope you get some sleep tonight, and we really hope the fever goes far away. Glad you are close to great health care, but sad that it has to be this way again.

spot, mle, and little spot; July 12, 2010 at 9:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Blah, I'm sorry, I was hoping you'd get a longer stint at home before he spiked. Zoe had a line infection once and it meant 2 weeks in the hosipital to complete an IV course of antibiotics. The second week we got to go home in the afternoon between doses though. The Dr's told me that most fevers aren't centre line related though, so hopefully it'll just be one of those mysterious spikes and you can go home soon!
Funny all the similarities. They do pizza night here in Calgary on Wednesdays. It was a small consolation for being in on a wednesday when you got free pizza that tasted much better than the cafeteria. I'm glad you guys get that too! You are in my thoughts and prayers and I'll hopefully be able to talk to you soon.
~Elly; July 13, 2010 at 10:40 AM
anya genevieve said...: "For I know the plans I have for you" says the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

"Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches on the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all." Emily Dickinson

prayer & blessings, anya; July 13, 2010 at 3:08 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.