The Brands: BLASTED!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

BLASTED!

This is the second time we've named a blog post with the title "Blasted!" The first time was July 2010, when Caleb was in the middle of hard chemo. Now, we can say it again, but this time the medicine is done! We just learned the results today from Tuesday's bone marrow aspiration: there are no more blasts in Caleb's bone marrow! Caleb is in remission! Praise God for healing!

Give thanks with us!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: Words do not suffice. Enjoy. We are celebrating with freezies here. Zoe asked the same questions you mentioned in your previous post "I bet when Haley had cancer she..." It does feel weird. We're so happy for you.
~The McCoys; August 16, 2012 at 11:40 PM
anya genevieve said...: I dont know waht to say, only Thank God and how happy I am for you all. I'm praying and thinking of you guys, and hope to see you again soon. love to all, anya; August 22, 2012 at 10:41 PM
Kevin Huinink said...: SO AWESOME to read these last few posts. HOORAY!!!!; August 28, 2012 at 11:28 PM
Rachel said...: Wonderful news! What an awesome God we serve!

Rachel Speelman; September 2, 2012 at 12:35 PM
CELESTINO ARTURO said...: But Dr. Itua, Traditional Herbal Practitioner in Africa, has cured HIV which is extracted from some rare herbs. It is highly potential to cure AIDS 100% without any residue. Dr Itua herbal medicine has already passed various blogs on how he uses his powerful herbs to heal all kinds of diseases such as. Herpes, HIV,,Cushing’s disease,Heart failure,Multiple Sclerosis,Hypertension,Colo_Rectal Cancer, Diabetes, Hepatitis,Hpv,Weak ErectionLyme Disease,Blood Cancer,Alzheimer’s disease,Bechet’s disease,Crohn’s disease,Parkinson's disease,Schizophrenia,Lung Cancer,Breast Cancer,Colo-Rectal Cancer,Blood Cancer,Prostate Cancer,siva.Fatal Familial Insomnia Factor V Leiden Mutation ,Epilepsy Dupuytren's disease,Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor Diabetes ,Coeliac disease,Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease,Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, Ataxia,Arthritis,Amyotrophic Lateral Scoliosis,Fibromyalgia,Fluoroqquinolone Toxicity,Brain Cancer,Breast Cancer,Lung Cancer,Kidney Cancer,Syndrome Fibrodysplasia Ossificans ProgresS sclerosis,Seizures,Alzheimer's disease,Adrenocortical carcinoma.Asthma,Allergic diseases.Hiv_ Aids,Herpe ,Copd,Glaucoma., Cataracts,Macular degeneration,Cardiovascular disease,Lung disease.Enlarged prostate,Osteoporosis.Alzheimer's disease,Dementia.,Wart Remover,Cold Sore, Epilepsy, also his herbal boost immune system as well. I'm telling this because he uses his herbal medicine to cure me from hepatitis B and HIV, which I have been living on for 9 months now with no side effects. Herbal Medicine is just as good when drinking it although i have to use the restroom after drinking it which I don't really care about because i just want to get the virus out of my body, I will recommend Dr Itua to anyone sick out here to contact Dr Itua with this following information.Email...drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com /
Whatsapp Or Call...+2348149277967.
He might be late to respond because he is always busy with patents, but he will surely get back to you with a positive response.; March 2, 2021 at 6:13 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.