Smiles, hugs, and kisses

Hi everyone this is Tayvia. This is a picture of me and my mommy. I just want everyone to know how great my mommy is. My mommy is so good at taking care of our family. My daddy and I are so lucky to have her. I know she doesn’t get much time to herself or sleep much. But she sure is good at giving us lots of smiles, hugs, and kisses.

                                                                    All my love, Tayvia

Eric's fight video

I have been working on a little video about our story and Eric's fight against cancer with one of Eric's high school classmates. He is a videographer and offered to put something together to help us raise money for Eric's medical costs. He did an amazing job putting it together and I think it turned out really nice. We don't want you to feel pressured at all. Even if you post a link of Facebook, Twitter etc that would help. Here is a link to the video.
http://www.indiegogo.com/ericstheman/

Help Eric Fight Cancer from Brandon Orton on Vimeo.

Thanks for the support.

Radiation Day 8, Physical Therapy and a little date (Friday, Dec 28, 2012)

     We discovered that one of the drugs that Eric is taking is causing a bit of insomnia which explains why he isn't sleeping very well. The plan is to wean him off of it anyway so hopefully within the next few days/week Eric can get a full nights rest. It would be especially nice if he can start sleeping better before the next round of chemo. 

     A common side affect of both chemotherapy and radiation is hair loss. We have seen a drastic change today with this. Eric's head has been red and itchy. Yesterday I was rubbing lotion on it to help with that. When I took my hand away it was covered in black hair. Then this morning when Eric was showering he said that chunks came out. 

     Here is his new look. For some reason mainly the black hairs are falling out. When his hair grows back in- if it comes back white/gray he will look something like this....

     Physical therapy went well today. They had him warm his shoulder up again, do this arm bike exercise again. Then they had him try to dribble with his left arm. Eric said he was a bit uncoordinated at it lol The physical therapist wants Eric to practice dribbling with his left arm this weekend and play with Tayvia. :)

     Eric has been wanting to go to the movies for the past few days. Today my parents came over to watch Tayvia while we snuck away for a little date to the movies. If you know Eric you know he is a big LOTR fan so naturally his choice was to see The Hobbit. We had a good time and enjoyed the movie!

Christmas, Radiation Day 7, PT, and Chemo (12-26-12)

I'm back! I wanted to take a mini vacation from blogging to enjoy my time with Eric and family over Christmas. If I told you that it was so nice to have him home for Christmas that would be an understatement! I think both of our families enjoyed seeing him as well at the festivities.

**Update: I don't want to go without mentioning something incredibly nice Eric's college friends did for us. We could not have had a temporal Christmas without their generosity  It was so fun to have gifts under our tree. At this point that part of Christmas was on the back burner so for someone to help us in that way was incredibly kind.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Eric had Day 7 of Radiation. Nothing too new there. Eric seems to be loosing a little bit of hair, more than normal, and it looks a little thin on top but nothing too bad. His forehead is sometimes red and has started to itch a little.

Warming up his shoulder

After radiation we met with a physical therapist. He wanted to know Erics history and why he needed physical therapy. After getting to know Erics needs he put a heating pad on Eric's left shoulder and arm to warm it up and get it ready for mild exercise. He had Eric do the bike for arms. Each day Eric gets a little more motion and movement back in his arm and fingers. Even three days ago Eric couldn't lift his arm very high, but now he can lift it above his head.

Right after PT we waited to meet with Dr. Chandramouli, the oncologist, to talk about Eric's first round of chemo. While we waited they accessed Eric's "port" to draw some blood and get it ready for his final chemo treatment of the first round. We were thinking that they were just going to skip the last treatment, but I guess they can put it off as needed.

As we were waiting in the exam room the door was open and Dr. Difiore walked past then came back in to say hi. He was one of the doctors that did "rounds" while Eric was in the hospital. Dr. Difiore was so nice. He remembered our names and was so glad to see us doing better.

Dr. Chandramouli came in a short time later and expressed how glad he was that he admitted Eric to the hospital for the first round of chemo. Obviously we are too, but wished that it wasn't as crazy as it turned out to be. Dr. Chandramouli was also glad that Eric is doing better and was able to be home for Christmas. The only thing we asked was what we could do to help Eric sleep at night. Eric is still only sleeping a couple hours at a time-- he is still on "hospital schedule." Dr. Chandramouli told us a few different things to try and if those didn't work he can prescribe something stronger. We didn't really have any other questions for him other than when would we start the next round. The next round of chemo will be after finishing radiation treatments (ends Jan 3rd), so the next round of chemotherapy will start Jan 7th.

Eric finally received the last dose of chemotherapy today and is now officially done with the first round of chemo. :) It didn't take too long. This drug only takes 10 minutes to administer. It is the prep and clean up work that takes the most time. It was interesting sitting next in a room full of other people hooked up to I.V.'s receiving chemo treatments. I wondered what cancer everyone else had. A dad of one of the girls being treated handed out suckers. That was nice of him.

Taking a quick nap while receiving chemo. He was excited to get a "warm" blanket!

After we got home Eric wasn't feeling too well. He had the chills and soon had a fever. The doctors have told us that if the temp reached 100.4 to call them and that he would be put on an antibiotic because. They want to make sure to fight infections fast. When I checked Eric's temperature it was 101.1 so I got on the phone with the on-call doctor and got Eric an antibiotic. Hopefully that antibiotic gets the job done and Eric doesn't get sick.

Hospital Experience Part 1

The Monday before entering the hospital was the day of the removal of the first tumor.  My heart rate was nearly 150 bpm for most of the day and anethesiologist was nervous to put me under.  We ended up doing consious sedation in order to get her done.  Overall, it was relatively painless and bought me a few days without pain.  On Wednesday, I had extreme interior pain mostly in the lungs that took me to an instacare.  After seeing the number of tumors in my lungs, it was no surprise why I had the pain.  Later in the day is when we met the Oncologist who was very avid about putting me immediately in the hospital and starting treatment immediately.  I was actually excited to go to the hospital.

The first few days in the hospital really weren't too bad.  I got visitors, drugs, and chemo which I don't remember reacting much with my body.   At that point, I thought this hospital visit would be even easier than expected.  Friends and family definitely came through, although at this point I didn't realize just how much it would mean to me.  Chemo seemed easier than expected and home was coming Tuesday December 11.

Well Monday I began to feel more discomfort and pain.  Figured it was mostly laying in bed and the effects of Chemo.  It gradually got worse and I know I began to breakdown mentally.  I haven't cried too much in front of Justine, but tears were streaming and she knew I needed her.  She quickly made sure I had constant visitation and support from family and friends.  By Tuesday things got so painful and uncomfortable that I began to have the negative thoughts to whether this was a battle I wanted to be a part of.  They would give me drugs that i swear would work about 2 minutes.  I really only remember until about 3 pm on Tuesday before I too sedated to remember.  I had some good visitors that day, but I don't think I was a good host to them.

After Tuesday, the next day that I can really remember was Friday mostly in the afternoon.  I know Justine and my family really came through on decisions and meeting with doctors for a plan for me.  Justine says I don't need to remember those dark days with the torn spleen and such...I am glad I don't either.  What I know of those days I basically learned through the blog.

I woke up with a breathing tube down my throat, feeding tube through my nose and cords every which way monitoring my health.  I was very confused about what had happened and how long I'd been in the hospital.  Communication was a pill and I was always hot.  One of the most memorable things will be all the cold wash cloths I demanded on my feet and head. Communicating by pointing to individual letters was also fun.  Although all this had happened, I was much more positive and strong mentally at this stage in the hospital..  I think i'll rest now, but next time I'll describe the ICU experience more in depth. P.S the dates and times provided by Justine are more accurate, this is just how I remember things.

Discharge!!! (Friday, Dec 21, 2012)

     Welcome back home my love. After 15 days in the hospital I think that he deserves it! I got to the hospital right in time. About ten minutes after I got there the gal from radiation came up to get Eric and wheel him off to radiation. I was able to go with them over to the Huntsman Cancer Center where they do it. It was so fun to walk down the long underground hall way, through a few elevators, then through a building, and finally the Huntsman Cancer Center. I kept thinking any time now they will tell me, "okay, you can wait in here and we will come get you when we are done." But nope! They let me come back, see where Eric lays on a bed under the big machine. They put the special mask on him. We left the room and I got to go into the control room and watch them operate the radiation. After the treatment we talked to Dr. Hunter, the Radiology Oncologist, about how Eric's treatment is going, and to ask any questions that we had before Eric got discharged.
     The rest of the morning seemed to drag on forever! We thought he would be coming home today so he was up and ready to go. We talked to the nurse, doctor, and physical therapy. The physical therapist had to make sure Eric had good balance before going home. It was amazing. Everything that he tested Eric on seemed so simple and easy but I guess if you haven't been on your feet in some time the exercises maybe tricky to do or require more concentration like side step, walking backwards, going up and down stairs. The best advice that we got from the physical therapist was to not dwell on what Eric could do a month ago or a year ago (Uncle Rico moments). Know what he is capable of today and and can improve on today, and tomorrow he will be even better! Don't get discouraged, just keep fighting and he will get through it!
     After all of those treatments we had to wait for some vaccinations and discharge paperwork, then we were good to go. We waited. and waited. and waited. aaaannnnndddd waited some more. Eric even walked out to the nurses station to see what was up and we waited an hour more. Eric's friend Chris was our lucky charm. When he came up to see Eric, just minutes later the nurse came in with what we needed to finally go home. Yippee!
     On our way home we stopped by Cold Stone for a treat! When I pulled in the drive way Eric practically jumped out of the car and ran to the front door. Tayvia was asleep so we went next door to Eric's parent's to give Eric a hair cut and a shower. Their main bath has a bench and detachable shower head that made it easier for Eric to shower.
     Showering took a lot out of Eric. The rest of the day he mainly just rested in our downstairs watching t.v. and visiting with a few people. Eric's sister Laura made some delicious soup and her mother-in-law made some amazing homemade bread for our dinner. I couldn't believe that Eric ate his whole meal! It may have been because I told him he had to in order to eat a sweet roll that a neighbor brought by. ;)
     Thank you Heavenly Father for looking out for Eric while he was in the hospital. Thank you for all of your prayers. I know they helped us through those difficult 15 days. We made it through this first round of chemo! With one round down we know that the next 3 rounds of chemo Eric will kick butt!

Radiation Day 6 (Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012)

     Last night Eric and his friend Davis watched the Count of Monte Cristo. I called to see if Eric wanted to Facetime for a minute since I wasn't going back for an evening visit like I usually do. He turned Tayvia and I down....alas we just went to bed and got some much needed rest.
     Eric's sister Laura stayed with Eric again for part of the night and her husband Adam took over sleepover duties. They said that Eric didn't get as much sleep. He didn't want a sleeping pill so he wasn't saying funny things again.

From Eric's niece Kate

     Eric's sister Jenny was able to hang out with him for most of the day today, and then I was there this evening. Radiation went well this morning. They gave Eric a schedule for treatments after he is discharged. Eric will get weekends off to recover as well as Christmas off. Eric didn't do much physical therapy today. The physical therapist stopped by while I was there but Eric was sleeping so they said that they would come back in the morning to work with him.
     Eric had a lot of fun visitors today. I know he really likes seeing people. I know that Eric was hoping to come home today but he needed a couple blood transfusions. Every time he is getting blood I look at the bag and think. Whoever you are that donated that blood...Thank you. Bless your heart. You are helping my husband stay alive and healthy.

Radiation Day 5 (Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012)

     They took Eric to radiation early this morning again. It doesn't take long anymore now that Eric can ride in a wheel chair instead of squishing in small elevators on a gurney with team of nurses and hoses. We had a pretty relaxing morning. One thing that I do every time I visit Eric is give him hand and feet massages. He says it's his favorite and helps relax him.
     Eric's kidney's are doing great. Liver is alright. Bilirubin is 4.8 when it should be 1 or less. His body is just working hard to absorb blood in his abdomen and from his arm. That picture where his arm is purple was actually I.V. infiltration where when they give medicine through the I.V. and it escapes the vein into the body. Well the body is working to absorb that too. Eric's red blood cell count is half what it should be so he may need another blood transfusion.. He is also higher risk to get sick so they also don't want him be discharged today but maybe tomorrow or the next day.
     When Eric was admitted this his HCG level was in the millions. It's now down to just of 500,000 which is awesome that its going down! His body is getting better.
     Eric had day 16 of chemo today. Officially done with round one of chemo. And I think I misunderstood yesterday. Eric can come home soon but will need to go to physical therapy everyday. He said that he would rather do outpatient than doing inpatient PT and  staying in the hospital any longer than necessary.
     This is a cute note from Eric's niece Madalyn:

     I love the last line. I hope so too.  A friend posted this on my Facebook.

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as the expectation of something tomorrow."
- Orison Swett Marden

Eric's first blog post

     Well this is my first blog post.  I don't know the tricks of the trade, but I will do my best to tell the main facts first.  

     I started noticing individual symptoms near the first of November.  First I noticed a slight change in appetite. I had a hard time eating local favorites like Chick-fil-A and Crown Burger.  I was still okay eating Justine's delicious meals, but it gradually got more difficult.  

     The second sign appeared at work.  I simply had a hard time concentrating and I even took Advil/ibuprofen which I have never taken in my life.  I then noticed my energy levels decreasing rapidly like during the remodel of our house, dog walks, and simply laying down all the time.  

     Also, I started losing interest in about everything I liked to do before hand.  I don't believe any one symptom would have led me to understand the seriousness of the testicular cancer but there was definitely rapid degeneration over about a 3 week period. 

     I believe it was around November 14 I first noticed a growth on my teste.  I thought it could be a hernia or even kidney stones do to some pain I had.  November 20 is when they did an ultrasound but didn't conclude the seriousness of the problem.  November 29 we got the testicle out and the following Monday went to the cancer specialists of Utah.  I entered the hospital Thursday December 6.  The doctors found tumor in my lungs, lymph nodes, liver, kidneys and brain. 

     My next posts will detail more about feeling support and hospital experiences.  Thanks for the support! -Eric 

Radiation Day 4 (Tuesday, Dec 18, 2012)

Radiation went well this morning. Afterwords Eric just had to wait until a room was available for him to move on up....people. HE MOVED UP!!! yay! Back to the 9th floor he went. The view from his room is of the parking lot instead of the mountains :( That's ok. He is out of the ICU folks. And it allows me to look out...oh yea! That's where I parked. You know you have visited the hospital too many times (a couple times a day) when you walk out of the hospital and wander because you have no clue where your car is. lol


  Eric's sister Laura and her family came up from Texas for the Holidays. Last night Laura and her husband Adam took turns being with Eric. Seems as though they had a good time seeing him. I guess that Eric was pretty funny on his medicine that helps him sleep. While he was part awake and part sleeping he was saying some pretty funny things. Among them he told Adam, "nice job Maytag". This morning I went and saw Eric for about an hour and left shortly after his brother Paul arrived to stay with him for most of the day. It was nice to have a morning with my Tayvia. We played and ran a few errands.

Soon after I got up to the hospital this evening to see Eric the physical therapist came by to do a few exercises with him. Eric was able to go on a walk with the help of a walker. I should've taken a picture. It had a special attachment for his left arm to rest on. He is slowly able to move that arm again- small jerky movements but he isn't able to move his fingers much yet. Good signs though that the radiation is working. Half way through our walk we stopped at some chairs by big windows to rest. The physical therapist also did some arm, shoulder, and neck exercises with him. Eric said it felt good to practice range of motion and work out a few knots in his muscles. The physical therapist is impressed that Eric can walk around so well. We took a wheel chair along with us (my job was to push it!) in case he got tired but he never needed it!

I was also there this evening when the oncologist came by. He said that Eric's kidney and liver functions were doing much better. He would like to do Day 16 of his first round of chemo which is tomorrow. Now that he is off of the oxygen he feels it would be good to get the Bleomycin and officially be done with Round 1 of chemo. As the physical therapist was walking out the door the oncologist asked her what she thought Eric needed to do to be discharged from the hospital, and where she stood as far as physical therapy goes. The PT recommended that Eric go to an out-patient facility to continue getting treatment on his upper left body. They also discussed the possibility of Eric being discharged from the hospital and admitted to the 12th floor of the big IMC building where they have an in-patient physical therapy program. Hopefully we will know tomorrow which he will be doing. Either way it means that he won't be home for Christmas. When the doctor said this I could tell that Eric was a little bummed. I am too, but you just have to put it in the big perspective of things. He does need to build up strength and learn how to use his arm again as radiation does its thing and blasts those metastasis that are in his brain affecting his ability to use his left arm and fingers. Maybe he can at least come home for a couple hours on Christmas? We shall see.

Not only was it a good day because get was able to get out of the ICU where no one under 12 is allowed, but Eric was able to see his daughter. He has missed her! I could tell that he was emotional seeing his little girl again. He had the biggest smile on his face and was holding back tears. I just held her while she stood on his bed. She squawked at him. They played patty cake. She also LOVED playing with his wrist ban. I'm pretty sure it meant "dad it's time for you to get out of this place and come home with me :)"

My aunt Char works for Southwest Airlines. About a week ago she texted my mom that she had a couple stand-by passes that any of Eric's family could use to come see Eric. She said that it wasn't much but she wanted to help. So I put Char in touch with Eric's sister Jenny who lives back east, so Jenny was able to fly out with her two kids this morning. That was such an answer to prayer because there was no other way Jenny would have been able to come out to see Eric whom she is really close with. Thank you Char!   

ICU Day 8 (Monday, Dec 17, 2012)

     Another good day for Eric! His brother in law Clint stayed with him last night. He said that Eric was a little restless. This morning they gave Eric the green light to start eating food! So off Clint went to get him a smoothie.
     Eric's good buddy Andrew stayed with him most of the day. They took Eric off to radiation around 9:45 which is quite a bit earlier then they normally have been. When he got back one of the first things that he asked Andrew was when I was going to come see him. Finally by 12:40 Tayvia went over to the Holman's to play with cousins that came into town for the Holidays. Then I was on my way to see him for a couple hours. Boy those two had a good time together reminiscing about the good ol' college days. I wont go into any details haha, boys...
     This morning during rounds the doctors discussed possibly taking Eric off of the feeding tube. Now that Eric is okay to eat food there is no need for him to have the feeding tube. Well, after lunch Eric coughed up some mucous like he has been.\, and he started to throw up...out came the feeding tube. That's one way to get it out- not the funnest way he said though.
     Eric is always so sweet. Whenever I leave he gives me this puppy dog face and doesn't want me to go. I would stay if I could but I have the babe to look after, who at the moment is teething...can't wait till that phase is over.

One of Eric's co-workers is a cyclist and met Lance Armstrong in person some years ago. Lance gave him a LiveSTRONG band which he has treasured and kept safe in the wrapper all this time. Eric's co-worker heard about Eric's fight with the same cancer that Lance battled and decided to give the special band to Eric.

     A guy named Brandon Orton that Eric went to high school with, and still plays basketball with sometimes, got in contact with me. He is a videographer and had a really cool idea. He wanted to put together a video about our story, get it out there, and help raise money toward medical costs. I thought that this was a great idea so he came over to our house today to film it. I was so nervous but I think I did ok. After the video, playing with Tayvia, and eating I headed back up to the hospital were my man anxiously awaited my return.
     Eric and I had an enjoyable evening just the two of us! We talked. Looked at pictures. Read some blog posts.  He did get a little emotional looking at pictures of Tayvia and reading your comments on here. He likes to see what I write about everything. Eric doesn't remember Tuesday- Friday of last week so he wondered what happened. It's probably a good thing that he doesn't remember....wheres MY forgetful medicine. lol The last thing Eric remembers from Tuesday is his friend Sammy visiting him. Later when Eric was able to write to communicate he wrote this:

ICU Day 7 (Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012)

Last night Eric got his first sponge bath hehehe They also shaved off his awesome beard that he had going. Eric's brother stayed with him at the hospital. I ended up making a schedule of people that can help stay with him so that I can get some rest at home and take care of Ms Tayvia plus everyone gets to see him more often. win win!

From the second(ish) night that Eric was in the ICU they were having a hard time getting an I.V. started in his right arm. After a few tries they finally got one on the other arm. Somehow during those attempts they must have hit an artery. oops! Normally you would get a nice looking bruise but being that Eric is on chemo it magnifies things.

This morning when the doctors came in to talk to us and give us an update on how Eric is doing we received some good news! They said that Eric would be able to get off of the ventilator today! YAY! We even got a fist pump out of Eric on that one. His "peep" level was down to 5 and Oxygen at 40 which were the qualifications to being freed. They said that removing the ventilator would probably happen after his trip for radiation treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Center. They also wanted to get another CT Scan of his brain to make sure that things had calmed down which they did!

3:00pm Update from Justine
The breathing tube is out! hip hip hooray!!!

Eric had to breath through the cpap for a couple hours before going to the regular oxygen tubes.

With the help of a physical therapist Eric was able to get out of the hospital bed and into a chair for a little bit. When he first sat up and dangled his legs over the edge he had to sit for a minute due to dizziness but he made it over. It wasn't long before Eric was quite tired and was helped back into bed.

Using oxygen and a feeding tube.

Justine's co-workers brought this awesome poster showing their love and support!

Eric loved the poster collage of Tayvia today. Justine's mom thought that since he hadn't seen her in almost a week he was probably missing her. All of the nurses and hospital staff just loved looking at it. 

ICU Day 6 (Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012)

11:30 pm
     Well, I had a good afternoon & evening with Eric. We watched Elf and a segment on the shooting in Connecticut - what a tragedy! Took a nap together...well at the same time. :) It was much needed! The Respiratory Therapists are going to let Eric continue using the ventilator in the CPAP mode. Usually at night they have increased the oxygen and pressure on the ventilator so that it helps him more and he can rest better. But Eric's lungs are doing better so they want to see how he will do on his own for a longer period of time. Baby steps toward getting him off the machine and out of the ICU!
     I think the one thing that has bothered him the most about being on the ventilator is that his mouth is so dry. All he can do right now is wet his mouth and lips with a small sponge swab. And with the feeding tube Eric never feels hungry, but I know that he will be very excited to drink something again.

6:30pm Update

Justine’s dad John:
How did Eric’s radiation therapy go today? Any updates?

Justine:
I may get more of an update at seven when he gets a new nurse. Fine I think. It makes his stomach upset. They are hopeful that he only needs the breathing tube for another day. Once that's out he will move out of ICU hopefully. His color looks a ton better today! iPad app is awesome (“Touch Voice” app gives Eric better way to communicate than spelling words on a chart of letters).

A Poem from Marrie

This is a FB message from my sister-in-law Marrie Ross:

You are wonderful and strong my sweet sister. I wrote this for you guys.
Marrie


Justine

My body is weak.
Few words can I speak.
Know your touch I feel.

Right here by my side.
Companions this ride.
Imperfections heal.

The thoughts in my mind,
Emotions I find,
Are hard to express.

But you know my heart,
Yours clear from the start.
So darling don't stress.

Forever are we.
Let come what may be.
Tender hands I hold.

This life's not the end,
My eternal friend.
Testimony bold.

Close by me please stay,
All night and All day.
You radiate strength.

The future's unsure,
But we can endure,
No matter the length.

Love,
Your Husband

Hottie Holman Love

Hello everyone this is Justine’s mom Kathy.  I've been wanting to write this entry for a few days now.  I am calling this entry the Hottie Holman Love.   It has been so touching to witness the deep love Justine and Eric have for each other.  I wanted to share a few things I've seen or been told by Justine.  One time I walked into the hospital room and there was Justine snuggled in next to Eric's hospital bed watching a movie. Justine mentioned to me how important it was for her to go up every night to read scriptures with Eric.  After a very difficult night for Eric, Justine stayed all day with him. She attended to Eric's needs all day long.  Eric told her all day.  "I am so glad your here"  "thanks for staying with me"  "I love you" "your doing a good job." .  At the hospital they are constantly holding hands.  They do the 1-2-3 squeeze. (I love you) Even these past few days with Eric being sedated, Justine still holds his hand and gives it three squeezes.  And whispers to Eric, I love you.  Today during her visit with Eric she was pretty excited,  one of the first things Eric did was take her hand and squeezed it three times.  Mind you he is still in the ICU, on a breathing machine, and heavily medicated.  But Eric knew Justine was there and the first thing he did was tell his sweet wife his loves her. Amazing!   I am a firm believer in the healing power of LOVE!  I can see it when Justine holds Eric’s hand, looks in his eyes and strokes his hair,  it has a calming effect on Eric.  I know the love between Justine and Eric is spiritual, powerful, and eternal and it will see them through this.  As a family we are grateful beyond words for everyone’s out pouring of LOVE for this sweet family.  They feel it.  So thank you!

ICU Day 5 (Friday, Dec. 14, 2012)

6:00pm Update
     Eric had a ct scan and radiation on his brain. The nurse reported that it went well and he did good. He will need radiation treatment every day for 2 weeks.

3:00pm Update from Justine:
     We finally have wind on what the plan is for the metastasis in Eric's brain. It's amazing 5 doctors talked to each other to come up with the best way to go about this. The ICU doc, Oncologist, Radiologist Oncologist, Neuro Oncologist, Neuro Surgeon. The surgeon said that it's too risky to operate. One of the bigger metastasis that's in the right side of the brain controlling his left side is sitting right in between the cortex controlling his motor skills and the other is his sensory. This particular one is sitting right on the motor skills cortex which would explain why Eric's ability to move his left arm has decreased over the past three days and yet he can still feel you touch his left arm because the metastasis isn't affecting the sensory part.
 They don't want to damage Eric's ability to use his left arm. Dr. Hunter (I believe, its hard to keep them all straight) the Radiologist Oncologist came by who works in the Huntsman Cancer Center and discussed what radiation is, does, side affects, etc and it sounds like they want to get a ct scan of their own to form a plan as far as radiation treatment goes. They will hopefully get going today and Eric will get radiation treatment everyday for two weeks.

2:00pm Update from Justine:
     Dr Difiore (oncologist) came by. Today is his last day of his rounds and it will be someone else this weekend. Going to up the steroid to help with brain swelling. Hoped that I was getting sleep. I told him I have people helping. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't overwhelmed with visitors. Eric is so tired and needs his rest. Just let him know of people's support. No chemo on day 9. Bleomycin and oxygen are not friends. Can cause lung disease and fibrosis. Since Eric is on the ventilator its not a good idea to give him Bleomycin until the next round. I would guess that they will skip day 16 too. Also it’s a myth that sugar feeds cancer like crazy. Won't make any difference if he cuts out sugar or not. There has been no scientific study done.

Note: Ideally one round or cycle of Eric's chemotherapy treatment includes days 1-5, 9, and 16. So far Eric has finished 1-5 of this cycle.

1:00pm Update from Justine:
     They are not going to extubate him today (remove breathing tube). They will keep trying to progress in that direction but the cancer tumors in his lungs are being affected by the chemo and bleeding so its best to keep tubes in for atleast another day.

Team Eric!

Ok this time the baby really is asleep. I should probably be a sleep also but ya know. My heart is so full right now!

First: I'm so thankful to my dad for helping me keep this blog up to date lately! Hopefully I can find time here and there to post updates also. And for all of your comments. They are so uplifting.

Second: So grateful for all of the support that we are receiving through this trying time! We are so blessed with amazing neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family, etc. the list goes on. I dont want to list everything that all of you have done for us. Just know that we can't get through this without you and we will be forever grateful for your support. Even to those that we don't know who read this blog. Thank you for taking the time to get to know what we are going through.

Third: As mentioned previously Eric was much more alert today. It melted my heart when he looked at me. Squeezed my hand three times(more than once). Mouthed I love you. It was so good to have my Eric back! It helped make up for the first couple of nerve wracking days that were spent in the ICU.

Fourth: So thankful for modern medicine. I'm just amazed at all of the different doctors that come together, form a plan, and the things that they can do to help Eric get better. He is one sick boy. It's hard to see him like this but he is getting the care he needs to. 

Anyway, just a few thoughts before I head to bed. Yikes it's late! I was hoping to hear what the results were on a couple things that they were going to do on Eric tonight. Seems like they like to do things during late hours. I guess that you will be updated on that tomorrow. 

xoxo Justine

Chemo. Round 1. Day 5. (Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012)

1:00pm Update from Justine:
     Oncologist came by. Believe Eric is curable still. I guess Lance Armstrong's cancer in his brain just went away. Didn't need radiation or surgery. Will just prevent seizures and watch Eric. Re-evaluate things after the twelve weeks unless something comes up and they need to sooner. Getting chemo today. Will need day nine (chemo) while in the hospital. Hopefully by then E will be moved upstairs again.
     Dr Gibson on ICU floor said they would like more liquid to clear off/out of his lungs before extubating him (removing breathing tube). He is doing ok on his own so that's good. Seems more alert- looked at me a couple times, squeezed my hands, and is more used to all the tubes. He is a good patient and being strong getting through these rough days.
     Got feeding tube yesterday. They didn't get it as far down into the small intestine like they want. Bowls maybe in the way but they are giving him an Ensure type drink and meds through it.

10:30am Text from Justine:
     Stable. Trying to breath on his own but may not get off machine right away. Still monitoring him. Staff doing rounds and discussing patients. We will see what they say. He is fairly alert. Squeezed my hand three times (I-love-you) a few times on his own. I told him I got my hair done and he looked at me.

Chemo. Round 1. Day 4. (12/12/12)

Justine:
     I have a quick moment to give an update tonight. Eric's dad is with him tonight and I just got the baby down (sorta) and have a quick moment to update you on today. From early this morning until this evening I was able to stay with Eric at the hospital. Luckily nothing too exciting happened. When I used to tell people that I didn't do much that day when they asked it seemed a bit of a drab answer but now I'm telling you- be grateful for a none eventful day!
     Oops! I spoke too soon, Tayvia just woke up. My dad will finish this update.

John:
     Talking directly to Dr. Chandramouli the oncologist today was a big help for Justine. It is clear that he is paying very close attention to Eric's health, meeting in person or talking on the phone with the other oncologists multiple times times per day to discuss Eric's condition and treatments. Eric will likely remain in the hospital for another 10 to 14 days Dr. Chandramouli said.
     It is important to note that Eric is stable. The many treatments are helping to move Eric in the right direction and the chemotherapy is doing its job. We are learning that the side affects Eric is experiencing are to be expected. Today a big step in the right direction was that Eric was able to receive his fourth of this round of five chemo treatments.
     Thank you again for the outpouring of love and support of Eric and Justine. We are looking forward to seeing Eric return home in the next couple of weeks to recoup before his next round of chemotherapy treatments. In the mean time we will take things one day at a time and prepare to celebrate with you, our Saviors birth on December 25th.

ICU Day 3 (Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012)

12:00pm Text update from Justine:
     Eric was put back on the breathing machine an hour ago. They take blood and test him every 2 hours to see how well he breaths in his own. While  he is on the ventilator they keep him a little sedated and pain meds going so he is comfortable. He is able to write if he needs to say something. Talk of starting chemo tonight. No feeding tube yet but will prob start that soon.

10:45am Justine just sent this text:
     They are testing him the next hour to see if he can breath in his own with the tube in. If it all looks ok they may take it off today and do a cpap (“continuous positive airway pressure” breathing machine).


9:00am Update from Justine’s dad
     Some good things to report this morning. Gayle stayed the night in ICU with Eric while Justine stayed home catching up on needed sleep and taking care of Tayvia. Gayle came home this morning pleased with the care Eric is getting and stated that progress was made during the night. Gayle reported that Eric’s blood pressure and heart rate had dropped to better levels. Indications so far are that last night’s spleen procedure may have been successful (keeping a close eye on that). Eric’s first day on a ventilator will be an adjustment but he is alert and aware of what is going on. Eric may get some type of feeding tube today for sustaining his energy. Justine will be at the hospital with Eric today.

ICU Day 2 (Tues, Dec. 11, 2012)

(Update from Justine's dad)

     A lot has happened today with Eric's care. Throughout the day today they monitored Eric’s blood levels closely. When his blood levels continued declining it was obvious that yesterday’s embolism of the spleen was not successful in stopping the hemorrhaging. The continued hemorrhaging caused the liver to be overworked and Eric had some symptoms of jaundice. Eric and Justine were advised this afternoon that a surgery was likely necessary to “strangle” or “clamp off” the entire spleen. However Eric was too high risk for surgery so the interventional radiologist did another embolism on the spleen.

     This afternoon Eric suffered another seizure, which is not uncommon with mild brain swelling and does not cause brain damage. Eric’s breathing has been labored and his heart rate has been high so the decision was made to put him on a ventilator this evening. The ventilator is stabilizing Eric and will also protect his airway if more seizures occur.  

Personal note from Justine’s dad John:

     Before this evening’s procedures began, Justine called and asked for priesthood blessings for her and Eric. Gayle, Paul, and myself were able to give Eric and Justine blessings of comfort, love, and healing. Eric was mindful and grateful and thanked us. I know that the Lord knows what this family is going through.  That he will be with Justine and Eric during this difficult trial.  I know there are many prayers offered in Eric’s behalf that brings great comfort.

Torn Spleen

8:00am update from Justine's dad:
     Still in ICU of course. Watching and hoping that the embolism stopped the bleeding spleen and allows it to heal on its own. The family asks that no visitors come to see Eric until further notice. Eric needs time to rest and recover from all of the treatments that he's receiving. Please contact Justine directly to find out when Eric has recovered enough for visits. Thank you for understanding and for all of your love and concern. Eric does read this blog and messages when he feels up to it so be sure to post your encouragement here. :)

1:10am text update from Justine:
     They are going to try the angi embolism. The spleen may heal on its own and stop bleeding...hopefully or if it doesn't they will remove it. This is probably caused by the cancer.

12:30am text update from Justine:
     Doctors just came in to tell us results of scan. The spleen is torn open and bleeding in his abdomen. Likely to have surgery sometime tonight to have it removed and clean things up. I'll bet he has been suffering with pain like what I had when I had the ulcer and hole in my small intestine. No bueno!
     Going to see if embolism is an option. That’s where they launch something in his artery to clog the bleeding. It maybe a better route since he is on chemo. The body should absorb the excess in his abdomen.

ICU (Monday, Dec. 10, 2012)

(Update from Justine's dad.)


10:00pm Text from Justine:
     They are trying to figure out why Eric's abdomen still bothers him. They also wonder where the blood transfusions are going because his levels are still low. Trying to get a bigger I v in for the contrast to do a scan of his abdomen.


8:00pm Update:
     Eric needed three pints of blood today to keep his blood count up. Chemo takes a toll on the blood cells. A good reminder to donate blood if you are able.
     Justine was at Eric's side most of the day holding his hand. She's an important medicine for Eric too. She's staying the night in the hospital leaving Tayvia at home with Grandma Ross.

2:40pm Update:
     No blood clots. CT scans look ok. Changing antibiotic. Holding off on chemo today. Keeping Eric in ICU until tomorrow.

11:00am Update:
     Eric's dad Gayle stayed with him last night and was a big help to Eric. Eric's day today started with a seizure at 3am. Eric has been moved to the ICU. Got some pain meds finally and is off for scans on his head and chest, then an ultrasound on his legs to check for blood clots. Will update again later today.

   

Chemo. Round 1. Day 3. (Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012)

(Update from Justine's dad.)

     A bit of a difficult Sunday morning for Eric. Eric had a mild seizure during the night, which at first he thought was just his arm shaking because of chemo, but soon found out it was a seizure likely caused by the cancer causing brain swelling. Any more seizures and he may need another MRI (brain scan) and anti-seizure meds. Until then another oral anti-inflammatory medicine was prescribed for evening (already getting an anti-inflammatory via IV in the morning).
     Day three of chemo is often when the treatments start to be felt. Eric was fatigued and achy but received that day's doses of chemo through the "port" no problem.
     The Holman's LDS ward held a special fast today for Eric. It was very touching to hear from Gayle the outpouring of prayers and love toward Eric and Justine. A bishopric member brought a poinsettia by the house from Saturday's ward christmas party and offered kind words of encouragement.

Family members visited Eric in the hospital to bring "home cooked" food and be a strength to Eric. Justine is on a mission to be Eric's "rock" and be sure he gets all of the treatments and nutritious foods he needs to fight this disease (Russ is all over the nutrition side too!). Eric and Justine are still reading the scriptures together every night and praying together. They sure feel the prayers and concern from their family and loved ones.

Chemo. Round 1. Day 2. (Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012)

(Update from Justine's dad.)

     This might be a short entry. But Eric was eating well and in good spirits Saturday. He had good visits from Justine, Tayvia, and Tayvia's grand parents (Holman's & Ross's). A couple of Eric's friends stopped by and had some laughs with him too.
     The chemo treatments went well. Lots of IV fluids flowing keeping Eric hydrated. Dry hospital french toast for breakfast? Nada. Eric went for the cereal instead. Missing home cooked food. Thanks so much for the nice cards and flowers for Eric.

Chemo. Round 1. Day 1.(Friday, Dec. 7, 2012)

      We were up pretty early. Nurses and techs were in and out taking Eric's vitals and blood for daily lab tests. Luckily Boy Meets World was on to keep us entertained. lol I was able to help Eric take a shower this morning. It was time!
     It takes a little bit for the pharmacy to get the chemo drugs ready so the nurses do a few things in the mean time. They give him I.V. fluids for 2 hours which help his kidneys flush things out. While that was going the nurse had to access the port (CVAD) so that they could start an I.V. there too. He was a little nervous but did fine. They were pretty quick and it seemed painless. He got some medicine for nausea (a long lasting drug) and one for achiness. They sort of give him those because they don't want him to be uncomfortable later on after the chemo starts to work.
     Before Eric went to the Oncologist and stuff his dad Gayle went to Cuba with a humanitarian group. It was a hard decision for him to go but Eric encouraged him to. After finding out how serious things were with Eric, Gayle decided to come back early to be here in case Eric needed anything. They have enjoyed going on a few walks around the hospital floor together.
     It was very interesting when the nurses started chemo. Two nurses had to verify the patient and the drugs. The nurse administering the drugs had to suit up and put thick gloves on. For Eric's treatment he is going to have three chemo drugs: Cisplatin, Etoposide, and Bleomycin. The first two drugs he will have days 1-5 and the third he gets days 2, 9, and 16.
     Dr. Nibbly who is a partner of Dr. Chandramouli came by to share the results from the MRI done on Eric's brain. He said that it looked like the rest of his body. Small white dots everywhere. So the cancer has spread there too. We had a feeling it was because Eric had headaches and some confusion one night. Treatment wont change.
     I went home to see Miss Tayvia for a while, then took her to see Eric for a visit. I could tell that Eric liked seeing Tayvia. She likes to jump on his bed and look out the big window.

     Eric had lots of visitors which is fine. Probably best to keep visits short and sweet though (1 hour) Eric needs to make sure that he rests. All of the medicines sure wipe him out sometimes.
     Eric went on another good walk with Adam from work. I think this really helped Eric's spirits. Not that they were down but they joked around like they usually do at the office. Some guys from work also went in together on a game for the play station. This will be so nice for Eric to play with them to help pass time.
     Eric's brother Russ also stopped by. Russ got Eric some really great books. One was on nutrition. We have been told a few times to make sure that Eric is eating healthy so that book is great. Nutrition is something that Eric can control so we need to do our best. My mom busted him and confiscated the cheese wiz that he requested. Russ said that in the book it talks about not eating things that will out live you. So the cheese wiz had to go.
     We have had visits from our Bishop a few times that have been really good. Our Stake President also stopped by last night. We are touched that our names are on the temple prayer roll, and we feel the blessings of everyone's fasting and prayers. It really helps Eric and I to stay strong and keep our faith and hope going.

IMC (Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012)

     The first day(12/6) in the hospital was pretty boring. We checked in at 8. Susan came along to help carry things and get him settled into his room. She left around noon then came back later to check on him again.  Eric's vitals were so good! Blood pressure now at 128/86 and heart rate 95.
     They brought him some orange juice and crackers which he only had a tiny bit of when they told him that he cant eat or drink anything for 6 hours. Would have been nice to know so that he didn't have to go without eating during the night then all day but what can you do. Now we know to ask about that kind of stuff so he doesn't have to go without eating longer than necessary. It was a long day of talking to a few people that came in and out (Social Worker, Billing gal, Oncologist PA etc).  I stayed with him most of the day. Around 3:30 it was time for Tayvia to take a nap again so I took her home. Eric was supposed to be taken back around then to have the procedure to get a Central Venous Access Device (CVAD). You can click on that to read about what it is and does exactly.  They took him back at 5 and it took about 2 hours maybe 2 1/2.
     I wasn't planning on staying with Eric at night during his stay at the hospital but earlier in the day he asked if I was going to so I thought that I better at least for the first night. Fridays my mom usually watches Tayvia so she said that she would stay at my house and watch her the next day. My mom has been dying to put Tayvia to bed while Eric and I were away ever since she was born.  Not the most romantic first night way from the baby but it was good to spend time together nonetheless. I haven't slept that good in 7 months and I think Eric liked having me stay with him at the hospital.
    After the CVAD was put in the nurse gave me a voucher so that I was able to go to the cafeteria to get Eric something to eat. We didn't ever think that the MRI people were coming because they were taking so long but at 11:30 pm they whisked him away. It didn't take long and we should know the results soon.

The Verdict is in. (Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012)

     The Oncologist we are seeing is Dr. Nitin B. Chandramouli MD at the Cancer Specialists of Utah. We really like him. He was very personable, explained things well, and is going to be very proactive and aggressive with treatment which is what we want and need.
     Eric was officially diagnosed with Testicular Cancer today. He has Non-Seminomatous Germ Cell Tumors. (NSGCT) It is Stage III C. Eric is high risk due to how far the cancer has spread. Dr. Chandramouli went over Eric's health history. His vitals were similar to what they have been. Blood pressure 138/86, pulse at 128, and he has now lost 30 lbs. Dr. Chandramouli showed us Eric's CT Scan results which indicate that the cancer has spread quite a bit to many lymph nodes in his abdomen and other organs including spleen, liver, kidneys, lungs etc. Eric needs a MRI of the brain to see if it has gone there as well.
     Because Eric is a high risk patient it was highly recommended that he be hospitalized at IMC for a week so that they can do other tests (Brain MRI etc) and monitor him through the first week of the first round of chemotherapy. Sometimes within the first week of treatment the chemo attacks the tumors rapidly which is a good and bad thing. Good that the tumors are gone fast, but bad because it can release too many toxins and electrolytes into the body and are harmful to the body. By staying in the hospital doctors and nurses can monitor all of this, keep Eric hydrated, and keep everything under control. Eric and I believe that he will be more comfortable at the hospital (recovering from surgery at home has not been easy) and he will receive better care.
     Eric will receive 4, 3 week cycles of chemotherapy (BEP) which is 12 weeks total.  After that he will have tests and scans done to see if the cancer is gone or more extensive treatment is needed. There is a very long list of side effects from doing chemotherapy, but hopefully things wont be too uncomfortable for him, and in the end he will get better.
     It was not easy to hear any of this today. Our main goal is to get Eric better and healthy. We have to stay optimistic, hold onto hope, and put our faith in the Lord because we can and will get through this one day at a time.