We wanted to post some new pictures but my mind lately has been surrounded by "confusion and delay". Hopefully, I can get them posted by the first of the week.
This has been a very rough week for all of us but certainly more for Bri as she endures the physical aspects of weakness and pain. She is nausated regularly and is throwing up and as a result has barely eaten in the past 11 days and is only drinking water. They are giving lots of meds to help with the nausea but it has not been eliminated. The strongest med, Ativan, causes her to sleep. She is very weak and tired. Since Tuesday, she has slept probably 20 hours out of every 24 hour day. They think it's the cumulative effect of all the chemo and the last dose given on Tuesday. Unfortunately, this round will be much harder on her. A CT scan was done yesterday to see how the pneumonia has responded. Good news is she has been fever free for 48 hours and that is a TERRIFIC sign. If a few other things fall into place she may be able to go home soon (the Hope Lodge and hopefully home a little bit).
On Thursday, We had a conversation with Dr. Heffner our hematologist/oncologist regarding treatment and care. I asked some questions that were difficult to say the least. In summary this was the last chemo treatment. If this chemo does not reduce the leukemic blasts to transplant level AND her other systems stable, there will not be a transplant. Without transplant, her leukemia is terminal. We will know the results by next Thursday. Should the chemo not work, then decisions will be made by Bri regarding quality of care and end of life options. I apologize for being so blunt and factual but it is the medical reality of where she is. We believe that you who are her family and friends who love and care about her should know.
I cannot, at this time, elaborate or reflect as it is far too overwhelming. The bottom line is we trust and believe God. We grieve and we hold onto Hope. I pray for a miracle that looks like healing for Bri here on earth. A miracle will happen that I know one way or another it will happen.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Time For Prayer
(Joshua reporting):
Brianne needs a lot of prayer right now - she's about the same, but we're facing a dire situation regarding the bone marrow transplant and the leukemia. The doctors told her on Thursday that they have about a 1 month window to do the bone marrow transplant, and if they don't do within a month, then they probably won't be able to do it. A number of factors are involved including: keeping the donor on standby for so long, the amount of chemo Brianne has had already & the side effects, and the fact that they've given her most of the chemotherapies that work for her kind of leukemia and they haven't yet worked as they wanted. So we need to pray for a miracle: that she'd go into remission, gain strength, and that they'd be able to do the bone marrow transplant. She received chemotherapy today and it's the last that she'll get until they make a decision about what will happen in the future. She won't get any more chemo over the next few weeks and it's especially important that today's dose has the desired impact of putting her into remission.
In other news for Brianne: her sharp pain in her side has gone away and the pneumonia is pretty much under control. They didn't put in the new pic-lines until yesterday, and that went without any major problems. She is still pretty sickly, tired, and fatigued. The chemo she got today made her throw-up twice and made her very nauseous. They won't let her out of the hospital for a few more days as she still has a fever and until that goes down, she'll be stuck there.
Brianne needs a lot of prayer right now - she's about the same, but we're facing a dire situation regarding the bone marrow transplant and the leukemia. The doctors told her on Thursday that they have about a 1 month window to do the bone marrow transplant, and if they don't do within a month, then they probably won't be able to do it. A number of factors are involved including: keeping the donor on standby for so long, the amount of chemo Brianne has had already & the side effects, and the fact that they've given her most of the chemotherapies that work for her kind of leukemia and they haven't yet worked as they wanted. So we need to pray for a miracle: that she'd go into remission, gain strength, and that they'd be able to do the bone marrow transplant. She received chemotherapy today and it's the last that she'll get until they make a decision about what will happen in the future. She won't get any more chemo over the next few weeks and it's especially important that today's dose has the desired impact of putting her into remission.
In other news for Brianne: her sharp pain in her side has gone away and the pneumonia is pretty much under control. They didn't put in the new pic-lines until yesterday, and that went without any major problems. She is still pretty sickly, tired, and fatigued. The chemo she got today made her throw-up twice and made her very nauseous. They won't let her out of the hospital for a few more days as she still has a fever and until that goes down, she'll be stuck there.
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