The Brands: ER

Monday, August 2, 2010

ER

We had a suprise trip to the ER today. We're home again tonight, so no worries there. This afternoon Caleb had a nosebleed and I had a hard time getting it to stop. That's one of the things we're to watch for, and so we had to make a trip to the hospital. Because it's a holiday, there's no clinic, so we had to go to the ER. While in the waiting room at the ER, Caleb's nosebleed stopped (of course) and that put our minds at ease. We still had to go through a poke to check his blood counts and coagulation (blood clotting ability). Everything looks fine for him. His nosebleed was caused by, you guessed it, nose picking. Hopefully this is the lesson he needs.

It was an exhausting day, so very much not what we had wanted to be doing. We were on our way to LaSalle park in Burlington when this happened, and needless to say, we did not have the family time we were expecting. Everything went really well, we're so glad we're home, but that wasn't how we wanted to spend our time. On the way home from the hospital, with Nella and Aleah back with us in the van, Nella said, "Now we go to the plashad (splashpad) Mommy?" What could I say? We stopped at Gage park on the way home, and all three kids ran and jumped and giggled and got soaked. Thank God for a nicer ending to the day. We pray for a good night of sleep for all.

J

2 comments:

anya genevieve said...: Glad to hear that Caleb is ok and that his counts are still ok. Sucks when your day takes such a drastic turn eh? its good though that the kids got to have fun and play at Gage. did i ever tell you how adorable the picture of Nella on the trampoline is?? She truly looks as if she's flying through the air, as if she's made only of air! a little faerie, a little angel she is ;) continuing prayers, anya; August 3, 2010 at 2:23 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm sorry to hear you didn't have the family time you expected. We are happy to hear Caleb is okay. At least your day ended on a good note. We pray you have a better day tomorrow. Take care.; August 3, 2010 at 9:18 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.