Day 48

I am home!  I came home yesterday from the hospital, finishing my first round of consolidation. I did great at the hospital, no complications!   One of the side effects with this high dose is possible blindness so I have been taking milky steroid eye drops 4 times a day to keep my eyes strong.

This morning when I woke up everything was very cloudy.  I spoke to the doctor and they said that this chemo comes out through the eye duct so it can cause vision problems.  It is nothing to worry about but it sure is annoying having everything cloudy and hazy.

My levels have started to drop and I will probably be neutropenic sometime next week.  I will just go up to the hospital in Round Rock to get my blood products which will be nice and convenient.

Happy Home with my family! 

Day 44

There are so many people that have helped with food, kids, rides, mowing, emotional support, and just kind words.  Our family is so grateful for all the unmerited blessing and support.

I wanted to share a unique blessing that my friend and co-worker Lawrence Cheah, in Penang Malaysia, has been doing.  His family often feeds the poor and homeless in Penang and since I have been diagnosed they have done this in my name.

Meat Buns

Durian Cupcakes

People enjoying the gifts from Lawrence's family

Hot Potatoes

Chicken Meal

Day 44

Today I will get my second round of Chemo at 4pm and 4am.  My friend and co-worker Nate asked several questions that I will answer here in case others are wondering the same thing:

1. "Why does your hair fail out?" 
1. Chemo drugs work by killing cells that are dividing quickly, which is why they work against cancer cells. But other cells in the body, such as those in the bone marrow, the lining of the mouth and intestines, and the hair follicles, also divide quickly. So, because your hair grows fast, it is affected by the chemo.  That is also why they cannot use the loss of hair to help others who want to grow it back.  
2. "I have been on the bone marrow registry for 2 years and I have never received a call.  What do they have against Italians with big bones? "
1. Siblings are the best match for bone marrow transplants.  There needs to be a very high genetic match in order to be a donor so that the recipient body doesn't reject the new bone morrow and new immune system.  Some people don't have good matches with siblings or have any siblings, so they must get an outside match, like the bone marrow registry.  White males have the highest chance of a match on the registry but the simple truth is it is hard to be a close genetic match to a perfect stranger that is unrelated to you. 

If you have any others, feel free to ask.  

Day 43

Day off

Today was my day off for Chemo, a day for my body to recover a bit before I take the next dose tomorrow.

I am feeling good still, starting to feel a bit of the chemo but overall doing good.  I gained 3 lbs yesterday from the water weight, I tried to walk as much as possible today so hopefully it will be off tomorrow and out of my legs!

Day 42

I started day 1 of my first round of consolidation today!  I am back with all my great nurses and doctors and getting great care.  Coming to the hospital this time was so much easier than the first round.  I am feeling good and my levels are all good today, soon they will be falling again due to the chemo.

Question - What questions would people like answered?  Feel free to email, text, or comment on the blog and I can compile some questions and answer them as best I can.

Here is a picture of Wall-e working hard for me again.

The chemo I got last time was given over 24 hours.  This time it is 3 times stronger and given over 3 hours two times, 12 hours apart.  It is called Cytarabine and the dosage is called high dose ara-c.  I will get my next dose at 4am...liberals have struck again.

Day 41

I am in Remission!

  

I give praise and thanks to Jesus for this healing and how His grace has held me through this first part of my victory!   1 Chronicles 16:8-9

The head of Texas Oncology and the oncologist that has been overseeing my treatment in south Austin, called me to tell me that they have an unanimous decision that I am in full remission!  He conferred with two pathologists, multiple oncologists, hematologists, and all agreed with the result and that I should move forward to consolidation chemotherapy.

Consolidation is only 5 days in the hospital (strange to say, only 5 days) and should be much easier than the first induction phase.  I will come home and get blood transfusions in Round Rock as needed in the week or so after the treatment.  After I recover for a while to allow my bone marrow and blood to recover again, and repeat for a total of 4 treatments.  After that, they will do another biopsy and if that comes back clear, then I will be declared cured.

So I go to South Austin Hospital tomorrow to start my treatment and day 1 of this round of consolidation.  They wanted to do this first round in south Austin so they can watch me and ensure I handle this type of chemo well.  If I do well, I can do the following ones in Round Rock.  So tonight we celebrated with real restaurant food!

Day 40

I got the preliminary results from the biopsy and it did NOT show any leukemia cells in the bone marrow.  But, they don't have the full results back yet so we cannot be 100% sure that it is all clear.
Unfortunately, we don't have a date of exactly when that will be done but it should be by the end of this week.  So, not really much to report in terms of the biopsy results because the more detailed results could come back and say there is leukemia even know the first results did not.

Good news!  I am no longer neutropenic!!  I have just enough neutrophils!  No more mask unless people are sick in a dirty area.  I can eat out on a limited basis but already had a wonderful huge Mighty Fine burger!  In honor of no longer being neutropenic I am posting a picture of a neutrophil:

I engulf and destroy invading microorganisms.

Day 36

Today I had my third bone marrow biopsy but this time I was not in the hospital already so it was done as an outpatient procedure.  The doctor that did this one does prefers the needle and mallet method, as you can see from the pictures below.  In the end, I didn't care because I was passed out from my three "margaritas" they gave me.  I asked for my usual 2 and before the doctor started I raised my head up and told them loudly and clearly that I was still awake.  They remedied that for me quickly and I woke up with my wonderful wife by my side.  I have learned to be very vocal and ask for what I want during a medical procedure.  Extra blankets, warm blankets, more pillows, move this wire, extra drugs, location of shots or IVs, timing of medications, types of medications, even the tools they use.  You can really control a lot of your care, you just have to ask!  

This is a very important one.  These results need to be completely clear, not leukemia or any other abnormal cells at all.  If this is the case, then I will be in remission and I can start on the 4 sets of consolidation. That would be only 5 days in the hospital then go home for 1-2 weeks and repeat.  If not, they I might have to start over with the another induction which equals 3+ weeks in the hospital.  So, in the name of Jesus we are praying it is 100% clear to the doctors that my bone marrow is leukemia free!

Hand cranked needle to enter bone

Mallet or something similar to tap past the hard bone into the juicy marrow

I have a follow up appointment Monday with the doctor to get the results!

Day 33

Hi Everyone!  I went to see the Oncologist today and got some labs done.  My platelets are 496, White Blood is 2.0, HGB is 12.2.  So everything is still going up!  I have to wait until later today to get my neutrophils count to see if I am still neutropenic.  I have another appointment Wednesday to check labs, a biopsy Thursday at the hospital, and then follow up for the results next Monday.

My neck is much better!  I am using it more each day so I think that is helping.

I had a great weekend with the family and kids.  We bought a big bouncy water house for our stay-cation so we can play in the backyard.  A little strange playing in the water with a mask on, but you gotta do what you gotta do to have fun.

Don't laugh at my skinny butt

Day 30

Today I feel stronger and my neck is doing a little better as I use it more and more.
Not much to update right now.  Trying to eat and gain as much weight as possible while I can.

Funny thing:  The antibiotic they sent me home with is good for killing anthrax and the plague.  I guess I can add that to the list of things I don't have!  :)

Day 29

I am gaining more strength each day and learning how to live at home.  My biggest and most annoying problem right now is the vain that goes from my neck to my chest where they have the catheter to above my heart.  It is very painful when I move my neck wrong or if I am using my neck a lot.   The doctor said that it will just be like that and because I am skinny there is no room for it to move around!

I went to the clinic in Round Rock this morning and got my labs done.  Red blood up to 11.1, Platelets up to 311, and White blood cells up to 1.8!  I still don't have any neutrophils so no immune system yet.  I have another appointment on Monday and Wednesday next week as well as another biopsy next Thursday.  Based upon the results from that biopsy will dictate the next steps and the next type of chemo.

I love being at home with the family, taking a shower at in my shower and of course sleeping in my bed.

The liberals have dug deep into my brain as I still wake up at midnight and 4am!  I will work on getting them out!

Day 27

I am finally home.  It was a whirlwind of a morning as I got more red blood and then they disconnected my port and cleaned that up.  For some reason my red blood cells went down yesterday so they gave me a boost before I left.  My platelets nearly doubled to 96 as did my white blood cells to 0.8.   My neck and chest were very painful during the ride home so I took it easy for a while at the house and took an amazing nap in my recliner!  

I was able to take a walk with McKenna and Natalie to the mailbox and feel the warm sun!  It will take some adjustments but the feeling have having both kids sitting next to you on the couch is pretty much the best medicine you can buy.

The same rules from the hospital apply at the house until I get an immune system..  No kids visitors, no flowers, no outside food, no visitors with allergies or sick or been around other sick people.  I wear a mask if I leave the house and we are being very careful until we are passed this stage.

This is my new live in nurse, Natalie.  She checks on me and makes sure I am drinking my water.

Natalie taking care of Daddy.  

Day 26 Update

I am going home tomorrow!!!!  I don't know all the details yet but I will be home tomorrow! 

Day 26 Quick Post

This morning my bone marrow started to work!  My red blood cells went from 8.5 to 10.5 and my platelets went from 26 to 46.  This is the first time my blood has increased by itself since being admitted to the hospital 4 weeks ago!!  My white blood went up a little bit from 0.4 to 0.5 so everyone says now it will jump exponentially.  Exciting to see stuff start to move.

I will post another update later today once I meet with the doctors.

Day 24

Another pretty uneventful day in terms of movement.  My red blood cells seem to have stabilized right about 8 which is good.  My white blood count went down, to 0.2.  A different Oncologist came to see me today, since it is Saturday, and he said it is a good thing that it is taking a long time for the white blood cells to grow back.  That means we killed all the leukemia.

My three older brothers came up today and brought me dinner.  We had Opa's sausage, Velveeta mac-n-cheese, and green beans.  I ate my whole plate!  We watched the history of the first triple crown winner in 37 years, shaved my brother Tim's head, and then played cards against humanity.  It was really a blessing and a great distraction.  I have not laughed so hard in weeks!

Tony, David, Josh, Tim
All shaved down!  

I had a slight fever today, low 99s so I am still doing great.  Praying for God's timing for my white blood cells and to be able to go home on Monday.  I told God that I feel as if I did my job on this first round, got it all cleared out, stayed healthy so now it is time to go home.    Psalm 66:20

Day 23

No big updates today.  We got some update from the pathologist that is looking at the extra tests of my marrow and he told my oncologist that they didn't look like the ones I came in with, not the Leukemia 8,21.  Before any of the tests were done when I first arrived, he already thought my blasts looked like 8,21 and he was right.  Pretty impressive.  So if he doesn't think they look like the bad stuff I came in with then hopefully on Monday we will know for sure they are not.  At that point, I would be in remission

No movement on the WBC today, still 0.3.  I got some platelets today but didn't need red blood cells as I have stayed level for two days.  So maybe I am making some red cells already?  I got a new port needle today, with only one attempt!  It is the little things in life that make you happy!  Like only being stuck once with a 1 inch needle instead of 2 or 3 times.

My older (but smaller) brother David shaved my head today.  First we did a Mohawk

Mohawk

Then, we took it all down.  

All cleaned up

Tomorrow I have all 3 of my brothers coming up to see me, which will be a blast!!  I need to rest up for it tonight!

Day 22

I got some results from the biopsy today.  When I came in 3 weeks ago, 90% of my bone marrow was Leukemia cells, today they didn't see any in my bone marrow.  This is good news!  But, they did see something in another test that they have to do some molecular tests on so they are holding off until those results come back before saying if I am in remission or not.  One way I heard it said to me today, was it was the second best news you could have received today.

Still no white blood cells as I don't have any bone marrow based upon the biopsy.  This is good, they did a good job killing it all.  So, now are just waiting for it all to start working again.  I will be staying the rest of this week and weekend for sure.  Today is 3 weeks since I was admitted to the hospital.  It feels longer than that and shorter than that all at the same time.  

Many people have asked if there are vitamins that I can take to help make white blood cells and the doctor said my body has all the fertilizer it needs for the garden, the issue is that he put so much weed killer down it takes a while to wear off before something can grow.

Tomorrow is our 11 year wedding anniversary.  I am so proud of my wife and amazed to see how strong she is each day.  She has taken her vows seriously, in sickness and in health.  :)

Day 21

No fever last night or today!!  I got some more red blood cells today, which I love so I can actually have a conversation without sounding like a grandpa.  No movement on my white blood cells so maybe tomorrow.  It should be any day now.  

I had my biopsy today and since I have already done it I knew exactly what to ask for:  I want two margaritas and the drill.  They sometimes only give you one dose of drugs to make you loopy and last time I had to ask for more.  So today when I went in I told them right away to just start with two.  I must have flirting or talking still so they gave me another - Great!  I don't remember a thing!  I didn't even hear the drill running like last time.  And the drill is important because, then can also use some sort of a hand crank which is just ridiculous.  Results should be tomorrow or Friday.  

Picture of the drill here: 

My hair is starting to come out, so tomorrow I am just gonna buzz it off.  Frank suggested I pull an Idan for a day and do a Mohawk or a lightning bolt but I don't think I can pull it off like Idan. 

I feel better than yesterday which was better than the day before!  Praying for good results on the bone marrow (no Leukemia) , no fevers, and white blood cells to start coming forth!   

Day 20

My fever broke around 4am this morning and I didn't have another one until about 2pm.  I have had a low grade fever, mid 99's so not too bad and as of now (7pm) it has gone away again.

I feel much better today and can walk around easier.  Having a clear head is so important for my daily life, it lets me think better and have conversations more easily.  More good news, I got an egg crate on my bed...thanks to my wonderful wife and that helped by back last night.

Update on going home:  We will watch it and reevaluate at the end of the week.  But, as soon as my white blood count goes up then I should be able to go home pretty soon.  The low grade fevers might be a result from my bone marrow working hard to make cells.  Since I am still in the hospital I will get another bone marrow biopsy tomorrow morning sometime.  It is not too bad, but I am not looking forward to it or to not eating or drinking after midnight.

I got some platelets today and might need some more tomorrow before the biopsy.  Big thanks to my friends at Velocity that attempted and completed the blood drive at Velocity.  I know there were many others that knew they could not donate but wanted to as well.  Very cool to see everyone step up and help the community.  I may have said it before, but without blood products I would be dead.

Bus and people who gave or tried to give.  

Continue to pray for white blood counts to increase and no fevers.  The doctors are still very happy with my progress and think I am breezing through it.

Day 17-19

Well, I am not going home today.  I started to feel bad on Saturday night and then developed a fever on Sunday and Sunday night.  I knew I was going to get a fever, I know how it feels now.  First my mind goes, I can't sleep well, can think right, feel light headed.  Then I get super cold and have the chills.  Then the fever comes and I get real hot and start sweating and feel like I can barely move.
Thank God, this happened before I went home and that it was much less severe than the first one.
Once I get to 101 they are required to do a bunch of emergency tests like chest x-ray, blood and urine cultures (to see if my blood or urine is infected), and stronger antibiotics .  Just like last time, everything looks good so far.

Today I feel better than Sunday, I have a little more energy and not as light headed.  No fever today!  My biggest problem now is my back, it has had enough of the hospital bed after 2.5 weeks.  I am trying all sorts of things to make it better.  My port is bleeding a little bit today, that is just par for the course with this thing.

Good news- My red blood cells went up by themselves, which means my bone marrow is starting to work again.  My white blood cells are still at 0 but they expect them to jump up any day now.  The doctor wants to talk at the middle of the week to see where I stand and go from there.  God's timing is always perfect so I am patiently waiting for the day I can go home.  My brother arrives tomorrow from Boston, it will be great to have him here.


Cool thing, a 92 year old women completed a marathon to raise money for Leukemia.  Pretty amazing!  Click here for the story.

Day 16

Today I got some red blood cells, again, seems to be every other day of getting some blood product.   It helps my color and gives me a bit more breath when walking and talking.

I got a new dressing for my port today and a new needle - which I hate!  It is a one inch needle that goes into my chest, and because I am still swollen on my chest, it has always taken them at least two attempts to get it in.

Everything is still on schedule for Monday, still doing great with no fevers and no bleeding!!

Below is a great painting my son did of a rainbow for me yesterday.  I love it!

Wonderful rainbow painted by my son, Aaron.

Day 15

Today was a normal day.  I got some new platelets since my level was down to 11.  My white blood count seems to have bottomed out, which is good, because it can only go up now.

My plan is still to come home on Monday, barring anything new happening.  I am really excited about this but trying not to get my hopes up too high.  Not much changing these days, just getting the blood product as needed and continuing to get stronger each day.

Note, here is a cool link with 56 facts about blood and blood donation  Click Here

Day 13 & 14

Sorry for not posting yesterday.  I fell asleep after dinner and didn't have the energy to do it during the night.

The last two days have been good.  No fever, no bleeding!  These are my motto's I tell the nurses when they arrive on shift for me.  I don't accept any fevers or bleeding, which they love !

My white blood count seems to have leveled off at 0.4 so I'm hoping they will start the slow climb back up in the coming days.  I got new platelets Monday and new red blood cells Tuesday.  It is trending that every other day I get some sort of blood product.  Special thanks to Dina at Velocity for organizing the blood drive.  I makes me feel good to know that the blood I am using will be replaced into the system by my brave, and some scared, coworkers.

The nurses and doctors all keep saying how shocked they are on how well I am doing and they are even talking about maybe letting me go home one week early!  Praise God!
My nurse said she has never heard of anyone getting to go home that early.  Philippians 4:13
The nurses and doctors keep telling me that people have these waves where their body is up and down but I tell them I already hit my bottom so I only go up.  In sales, we never go backwards, so its the same for leukemia.
Everything needs to continue to go well during this week in order for this to happen.  Continue to pray for my bleeding to stop and no fevers.

One note, I can still have visitors now that I am neutropenic but please don't come if you are at all concerned that you are sick or have been around others that are sick.  I literally have no immune system, think HIV/AIDS if you need a reference.   It won't hurt my feelings if you have to reschedule a visit.

Finally, since I am done with my chemo for this round I can be disconnected from Wall-e for my daily "recess".  So I can walk without having to push around Wall-e and mess with all the lines connected to me.  That feels really good!

Day 12

Today they hung my last bag of chemo!!!   That doesn't really mean much they tell me, but it does to me.  Last night was good and today, no fevers and no bleeding.  I got new platelets so hopefully they last through a couple of days this time.  I am officially neutropenic today which is defined below from cancer.com

Neutropenia is an abnormally low level of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell. All white blood cells help the body fight infection. Neutrophils fight infection by destroying harmful bacteria and fungi (such as yeast) that invade the body. People who have neutropenia are at increased risk for developing serious infections because they do not have enough neutrophils to destroy harmful microorganisms that cause disease. Some degree of neutropenia occurs in about half of people with cancer who are receiving chemotherapy, and it is a common side effect in people with leukemia.

 I will likely get more red blood cells tomorrow which will help me feel better and be less out of breath.  They carry the oxygen in your blood so they are very important.  My white blood count which was so high when diagnosed is now almost zero at 0.6 thanks to the chemo.

My best friend from high school and college, Jerry, came to see me today.  It was great catching up with him.

Please continue to pray for no fevers and no bleeding.  The doctors keep telling me it will get worse, but I keep telling them "No, I will only go up from here".

Josh

Day 10 & 11

Saturday was a hard day.  I didn't sleep well at all because I had a fever and very uncomfortable.  My temp was around 101.5 and they gave me some medicine to take it down so I tried to go back to sleep.  About 3 minutes later, I almost passed out, started sweating like crazy, and was shacking.  I could barely call the nurse!  Three of them rushed in and took great care of me.  Nurses really are the ones that heal you.  The whole day my head hurt like a crazy hangover and it was difficult to walk.   They did a whole work up on me to ensure I don't have any viral or bacterial infections which came back negative.  I am now on antiviral and antibiotics continuously since I have had a fever. My spirits were down and the only thing I could do was look to Jesus to help me through.  I had no strength on my own.

Saturday night was much better. I rolled over to go to sleep around 9:30 and felt my shirt was wet so I touched it and it was blood coming from my port.  I was all down my chest and stomach so they came and cleaned me up and did my blood work at midnight instead of 4am so they could order platelets earlier.  This morning my wonderful nurse Holly cleaned it all up.  My platelets level was at 8, the normal human is 250-450 so I probably used all 8 of them to stop the bleeding.    Here is a picture by brother took before she cleaned it up.  WARNING, only click it if you want to see gross blood.  Link
My head felt much better today and my fever was very small so overall a much better day, even with the bleeding.  My perception on life is definitely changing!  :)  Each day I am praying for no more fever and no more bleeding!


My brother and sister-in-law and their son came down this weekend to give my parents a needed break from watching the kids and running around.  Thanks to them for their time and support!!

Funny note, the antiviral medicine I am on is Valtrex.  You know the STD one with all the commercials about herpes and with such happy people.  They said it is really good at getting other viruses and such but it makes me laugh each day when I take it.  

Day 9

Hello Everyone!  Another busy day at the Pucci hospital room.  I got two units of blood that helped me feel better!!  They did some more work on my port today so I figured I would educate everyone on what one is.  A week an a half ago, I had never heard of one!

From Wikipedia:

A port consists of a reservoir compartment (the portal) that has a silicone bubble for needle insertion (the septum), with an attached plastic tube (the catheter). The device is surgically inserted under the skin in the upper chest or in the arm and appears as a bump under the skin. It requires no special maintenance and is completely internal so swimming and bathing are not a problem. The catheter runs from the portal and is surgically inserted into a vein (usually the jugular vein, subclavian vein, or superior vena cava). Ideally, the catheter terminates in the superior vena cava, just upstream of the right atrium. This position allows infused agents to be spread throughout the body quickly and efficiently.

 So they can just hook up my meds and chemo every day to my port and it places it all directly into my vain above my heart.  They can also draw blood from it too, so I don't have to stuck so many times.  Today they had to change out my needle going into the port and clean up all the "oozing".  Three sticks later in my chest I am up and running again and with no "oozing".

What is in my chest

How it goes into my veins.  They entered my vein on my neck.

More

I was able to see Natalie and Aaron at the hospital chapel.  They came separately which was great so I could spend alone time with them.  It is amazing how much they have grown in just a week and a half.   One more picture below to symbolize how the Lord always has, currently is, and will forever be my strength.

Day 8

I started day 3 of my Chemo and 1 week in the hospital today.  It was a very busy day because my port into my artery was "oozing" blood since my blood doesn't have much left in it.  They cleaned me up well and gave me some platelets this afternoon to try and give me more blood clotting power.

My parent were able to come see me today which was great to see them again.
Lots of love from my Velocity family, with meals, visits, and cleaning house and such.  The outpouring of love is amazing!  You guys rock!

Special thanks to Dina!  She gave my kids a rocking day at her house. This is priceless for a Daddy missing his angels.  

Natalie with her cupcakes at Dina's

Aaron showing off his painting

It was a hard day today emotionally, thinking about the kids
Tomorrow is another day.  God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow and he will give me what I need for each day.

Day 7

My Oncologist gave me a great analogy for Leukemia so I figured I would do best to try and explain it here along with pictures. .

The normal bone marrow is like a healthy garden, full of all sorts of vegetables and making lots of different types of fruits like red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, Neutrophils, and many other cells our bodies need.

Healthy bone marrow garden with a happy lady

Lots of healthy cells from the bone marrow

Then with Leukemia your bone marrow plants lots and lots of weeds which is the white blood cells that are mutated.  So the body cannot make enough of all the other cells it needs because all it is doing it pumping out messed up white blood cells.

Bone marrow making only white blood cells (but bad ones) and a happy Leukemia lady

The Chemotherapy will destroy the garden killing everything, all the good health plants and the bad weeds.  After they do this they want my garden to come back by itself to make a healthy garden.  They will kill the entire garden a few times to ensure there are no weeds anywhere that could grow again.

Bone Marrow after Chemo.  Nothing there but ready to grow

They will do a bone marrow biopsy at the end of the Chemo see look directly into the garden and see what is growing.  Hopefully this helps to illustrate the situation better. It has helped me understand all these crazy terms.

Quick update:

• Yesterday I gained 4 lbs!!  Crazy huh?  That is from the Chemo and all the liquids they are pumping into me 24 hours a day.  
• I will get two bags of blood today because I am very anemic since my red blood count is half what it should be for a male.  This should make me feel better.  Interesting to note, they had to kill all the white blood cells in the donor blood because I don't need anymore than I have.  Like killing all the weeds in the neighbors dirt before putting it in your garden.  Donating blood is so important!  Without it, I would be dead.  
• My white blood count is dropping, as it should because of the Chemo.  
• Platelets are dropping too, so in a few days I will get some fresh ones.   
• I feel ok, tired.  Taking lots of naps and walking as much as I can.  

Day 6 update

Spooky night time Wall-e

I am watching you Josh....

Day 6

I am copying my wife's post from Facebook, she did such a good job so I don't need to do it twice!! 

My wife is amazing!!  I love her more and more each day.  

More good news! We talked with the transplant doctor today. He was very knowledgeable and gave us the most information we have received thus far. I took 3 pages of notes! So to give you the short version:
He said this is the best kind of leukemia to have. They have know about this specific type since the 70's and are still treating it the same way today as they did back then meaning that it responds to treatment well. Josh will be on chemo 24 hours a day for the next 7 days. After that, they watch for infection, do blood transfusions if necessary, etc. Day 14 they will do another bone marrow biopsy. If it comes back clean, he will be in remission. A few weeks after that, he will have consolidation which is basically another week in the hospital where they do four 30min rounds of very strong chemo over a 7 day period. If after that, he comes back clean, he will be cured! There is always a chance of relapse, and if that were to happen, that is when a bone marrow transplant would be done. But we are praying against that in the name of Jesus and say he will be cured after the induction phase. If and when he stays relapse free for 2 years, he is cured for life and the leukemia should not come back. And I asked again if we needed to worry about the kids and he said no this is not genetic, it is basically a case of bad luck.So prayer requests:
*He is having a blood transfusion tomorrow, so pray that goes well.
*There is one mutation that they are still testing for called the ckit mutation. We do NOT want this. We should know that in the next 2 to 3 days.
*That his treatment is by the book and he is leukemia free on day 14 and cured after the consolidation phase and this nasty disease will be gone forever!
*That the side effects of chemo will not be bad.
THANK YOU again for all the prayers,love, and support! It has been such a blessing and makes this situation much more bearable.

My Friend Wall-e.  He goes everywhere with me.  He loves me.  

Day 5

Wow, what a busy day .

• Last night I had a chest X-RAY - All clear
• They did a Sonogram on my heart - All clear
• This morning my WBC rose to 79.2 and my platelets dropped to 36.  HGB was low at 8.7
• Because of the low platelets they gave me some platelets that had been donated so I could have my surgery and not bleed out.  You never realize how important blood donation is until you need it yourself!  
• I had my port put in and I came out of that surgery just fine..  I have sore neck where they cut into my vain and a sore chest but otherwise I am very happy to have this new easy way to give me my medicine and take my blood.  It looks like I was in the gang fight up in Waco!  
• Then the oncologist came by and told us they really good news that I have M2 8 21 AML.  He said if you were to put a line down the middle of Leukemia, with one half being the bad kind and the other half being the good kind, mine is on the good side.  Thank you Jesus!
• He conferred  with MD Anderson in Houston, and the University of Washington in Seattle and they both did not have any investigatory drug for this subset or anything fancy they would do for the first "introduction" phase of the Chemo.  There are many phases and right now I am just starting my first.
• So based upon that for the next 3-4 weeks we will be staying in Austin.  
• If I need a bone marrow transplant I will move to MD Anderson in Houston for that.  
• I start Chemo at 10am tomorrow and will have it given to me at 10am and 10pm every day for one week, until next Tuesday. 
• Special thanks for all my family and friends for the help with the kids, food, transportation, and for making me feel loved more than I deserve!  

Hearing an Oncologist say, I have good news.  Is a great thing to hear!  

Josh

Day 4

Another fun day today and more good news: My WBC went down today!  This can happen and could go up tomorrow but everyday it goes down is better than it going up.

Tomorrow is a big day, I will get my port and all the details of how the next weeks will look.  I am excited to get started.  Platelets are low so I am praying they bounce back up before tomorrows procedure.

Asia and Europe Help - my blood is drawn around 4am CST so a prayer for me around this time would be great.  All of you will be up or ending your work days around this time.  I appreciate the help!  

My mother and father in law, David and Gina.  Such a big help with the kids and at the house with McKenna.  Thanks for all your help!!

Day 3

Great News!  Today I found out the coffee in the break room is better than at Velocity!   This is a big deal!  

Today was a fun day with my family.  My brother Tony and his family came for awhile and took care of the kids for the whole day.  My parents and McKenna's parents are both here and that is such a blessing to have them near by.  

My white blood count continues to rise but steadily and it has not jumped any of the days I have been in the hospital.  My platelets are steady as well so we need to keep them above 50 to avoid a blood transfusion on Monday.  

After Monday is done I will have a much clearer picture of the weeks to come and will be able to take visitors more easily.  

Aaron, Taren, Natalie (getting me good), Gianna

Day 2

Today I found out they draw blood at 4am everyday!  They are obviously liberals! :)
I had a bone biopsy this morning taken from my hip bone.  Immediate results confirmed AML but it will take a few more days to determine the subtype.

So for the next two days I will be hanging out in the hospital , eating as much food as possible, and having fun before the work starts on Monday.

On Monday they will do an operation to insert a port into my chest do they can give me the chemo directly into my articular veins.  By Monday they will have the full results of the biopsy and from there they can make a decision on the path forward.

The outpouring of love has been unimaginable and I am truly blessed to have such great family and friends!

View of downtown Austin from my room  

Josh

Day 1

Today I was diagnosed with AML Leukemia.

• On Monday I went to get my eyes checked and get a new glasses.  
• During the retina exam, my optometrist noticed a Roth Spot so he encouraged me to see my GP  ASAP.
• My GP doctor did great job and ran many blood tests and ultimately referred me to an Oncologist.
• I saw the oncologist immediately on Thursday and she admitted me to the hospital in south Austin.  

Those are the facts.  Facts only tell part of a story- I am strong, loved by my family and friends around the world, generally healthy, and most of all - I have a God stronger than Leukemia and in the business of healing.  

Stay with me during these next weeks as I will update everyday on my victory over Leukemia.

Josh