The Brands: Monday morning

Monday, November 29, 2010

Monday morning

We haven't given a thorough update in a while. We're enjoying the fact that nothing unusual is going on right now. We finished steroids week last week. The Monday was difficult, because Caleb experienced a lot of leg pain through the night and day. His body was responding to the lack of steroid in his system. Stereo-oids, he calls them. I had to keep him with me during what is usually my time with the girls, gymnastics class, but Uncle Johan stepped in and went to gymnastics with the girls. That was a fun treat for them. It's important to me that they feel special. We are thankful for the support from many friends that is making gymnastics a possibility for our girls.

Tuesday morning I held my breath and prayed through the quiet of the morning, wondering if Caleb would wake up in good spirits or not. He was his usual self once again, shouting and singing the morning in. That renewed life for Caleb renews my energy and tells me that we can keep going. Stereo-oids drag him down, but once they're done, we put them behind us and enjoy what we have now. We had two ordinary clinic trips last week. They're still monitoring his clotting factor as we continue with leg needles, which requires them to take blood once a week, but Caleb is adjusting to this as well. We are thankful for "ametop" cream which numbs the area being poked. Caleb talks a lot more about his zuchinia and his pokes; I love hearing him tell friends and family members about what happens for him. It tells me that he is processing his experience in good ways.

Yesterday we were at our church, New Hope. Tim was playing bass (his first time playing again since Caleb's been sick). Caleb joined Tim up at the front with his guitar, tucked right in with the band. He had brought his own music sheets (dot-to-dots that he printed at home) and had his pick tucked into his strings. He strummed and sang his heart out. Indescribable joy for all of us present that morning. Thank God for the life of children.

Here are more family pictures. Part of our "photo shoot" with Jen and Tim included going to Jen's dad's barn and visiting the auction animals there. I was transported back to my days as a child, visiting my uncle Case's dairy barn. Cows can be very scary! Our kids were intrigued and scared, the girls more than Caleb. I wish that somehow we could keep goats or sheep in the city...

Tim and Aleah

Caleb tried to pet the goat while the goat tried to eat his sleeve.

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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.