The Brands: T.O.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

T.O.

We've been waiting for Caleb to blog about this, but he's just been too busy being a kid to sit at the computer and blog with me. So...

My little guy in Union Station

A few weeks ago, Caleb had the chance to go with my sister Sara and two of her girls to Toronto, to meet my sister Rhoda. Rhoda is studying insects--beetles, actually--in a lab in the forestry department at the U of Toronto. We dropped Caleb off with Aunt Rhoda and her beetles at the GO bus stop in Hamilton on Thursday, Aug 4. Far from being nervous for a trip on a big bus, to a big city, without his mom, Caleb couldn't wait for us to leave him alone so he could wait for the bus with Aunt Rhoda!

Caleb got to use a microscope for the first time to check out a dog-bane beetle up close. Thrilling.

And they investigated the greenhouses too. It was a day of adventures, with a train ride, a streetcar ride, and a ride on the double-decker GO bus to St. Catharines. What a day! Hopefully he'll get a chance to give his version of the story soon.

We've been enjoying August. Cooler evenings mixed with the warm days makes for good bike-riding weather. We've had some smaller weekend camping trips, but otherwise we're hanging in at home. We're just finishing another steroids week; we're all happy about that. Steroids weeks haven't been like they used to be--week long cravings for bacon mixed with monotone conversation and grumpiness. Caleb still struggles with his emotions during steroids weeks, but its not like it used to be. He craves foods, usually potatoes and gravy, which we're more willing to oblige than when he craved bacon. We continue to take things a day at a time, as much as we can.

We recently found this picture from our camping trip--it was on Caleb's camera because it's waterproof and thus very helpful when swimming in waterfalls. We are still revelling in the good times we had at Arrowhead.

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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.