April 9, 2009

Good news. Steve will have another 2 week reprieve from chemo to allow time to rest AND the doctor said that he is half-way through his treatment. He is feeling pretty good about that and he knows he can handle the second half of treatment.

March 26, 2009

Steve will be back home today after this most recent treatment. And for now, he will be continueing chemo therapy. If a donor can be found, he is a good candidate for stem-cell transplant. On Saturday there will be lots of people at his house to tear off the siding so it can be replaced - should be a good time anyway. Will try to update the blog after that when I have a chance to talk to Steve.

March 16, 2009

Steve stopped by Brian's Cabinets today. He has been feeling pretty good, even cleaned his garage. He seem to tolerate the last round of treatment pretty well and will be home for another week before the next chemo treatments.

Look for the ext update 3/24

March 2, 2009

After two weeks off treatment, Steve is back in the hospital for the week for his next chemo treatments. He had a good weekend - Mindi and him saw two movies on Saturday and they made it to church on Sunday. That's a good way to start his next week. He is in room 420 (another small room) so he can only have one visitor at a time in there.

Will update the blog later in the week when we know how Steve is feeling and when he will be released from the hospital.

February 25, 2009

Steve has had a good week - no chemo. The infection in his system is about gone and he has been feeling well. His Dad and step-mom have been here visiting and helping out with transportation to & from appointments. Steve has also gained back a few pounds. All good news. He will most likely be back in the hospital next week for another chemo round (4 days I think) but at least he had about 2 weeks off.

Next update will be 3/1 or 3/2

idiocy must be genetic : )

feb 14,2009

happy valentines day everyone,its a great day for love!!!!!!!!
feeling pretty good today

love steve

mark and sue really brightened up my day by giveing me this guitar!!!! thanks guys

February 7, 2009

Steve was released from the hospital on Friday 2/6 after 4 days of intensive chemo. He is very weak and tired but holding his own. He met with a doctor from OSHU on Friday regarding future stem cell transplant. All of this is part of normal treatment.

He should be at home for the next couple of weeks before the next round of chemo. If you want to visit, call first because he is so tired. Keep the good thoughts coming.

February 3, 2009

Steve went back into the hospital on Monday 2/2 for his next round of treatments and will be there until Friday. He is holding up pretty well, considering. He will meet with a doctor from OHSU on Friday so that doctor can review his case. Steve had another biopsy last Wednesday - the results showed no cancer cells in his bone marrow. This means that he is responding well to the initial treatments. This is very good news.
Chemo makes him tired and sick and he has lost some weight. We try to keep our visits short and call before to make sure he is up for company.

My hair finally fell out.

Thank you, derek for giving me my mustache back!

: )

hi everybody,thanks for all your love & support. I'm still fighting this 1 day at a time, I get overwhelmed if I let myself think about the war, instead of the daily battle. I saw my doctor today, and he's real optimistic about beating this war. So here is a little about my war. wed. the 28th I'll be having another bone marrow test to see how the chemo is doing in my bones. they're giving me a rest for the remaining of this week. then I'll be checking in the hospital again for another 4 to 5 days for more chemo treatments.this rollercoaster ride could last up to 4 to 6 months.that's why I dont like talking about the war, I will beat this but I have to go day by day. this is interesting, for those who want to know what I look like without a mustache, including my wife,1/2 of it just fell off in my hands. I'm losing my hair pretty fast right now,but it will grow back.I was hoping to keep my mustache.as far as my daily battle goes my legs hurt enough to where I have a hard time sleeping. Doc gave me new pain pills for my legs,will try tonight. I wont write another blog like this one, to depressing,but now you know my war. the next one might be sugar coated, but like mary says, just a spoonfull of sugar helps the medicene go down, LOVE STEVE

January 26, 2009

Steve was released from the hospital on Friday and has been feeling a bit better. The chemo, blood and platelets will be on-going.

January 21, 2009 pm

We visited with Steve in the hospital today. He is feeling better and his temperature is lower but he is still very tired. He appreciates everyone wanting to stop in and see him but because he is still Neutropenic, (suseptible to virus, bactieria, etc) it will be best to just call for now. He will be in this state for a while longer. We will let everyone know when this stage is over.

January 21, 2009

Steve has been very tired and is continueing chemo. The out-patient treatments are 2 or more days per week. They are also trying to build up his blood, at which time he will spend 4 days in the hospital receiving more chemo.

On Tuesday after treatment, Steve's temperature spiked and he is now in the hospital where they can monitor him. He must have no fever for a 24 hour period before he can be released.

1-18-2009 from steve

hi everyone, fri was a long day for me...it started with getting platelets at 8:30 which took about 2 hrs,and then a lumbar puncture at 1:00, and then at 2:40 i was seeing the doc again. the first lumbar puncture showed no leukemia in my spinal fluid,but they are shooting my up with chemo in my spine just as a preventitive measure..when i had my appt on fri they of course took blood to see if i needed a transfusion. i did, and so sat i was back in the hospital in the infusion room getting 2 units of blood.this took about 5 hrs but well worth it because i needed it. sat night mark and sue came and brought over some pizza...we had a good visit. it is now sunday morning and i am getting ready to take a shower...be back when i don't stink no more ha ha :) all clean!
today is a day off for me from the pokes and prods...darn i guess i'll have to watch a football game:) i wanted to get the word out about giving blood, because it is saving my life and if you donate you could save a life too. thanks to brians cabinets and the center where my wife works...cants say thank you enough for your love and support. mindy has been 10 feet tall during all of this,i sure love that woman. she will be going back to work on monday and my daughter cass will be moving in to help take care of me. i am in good hands. i feel good except for fighting exhaustion. thanks again for all the love and support.......steve

January 16, 2009

Steve had his second lumbar puncture today. He needed platelets before that but all went well. He spent most of the day between the hospital and the doctor's office. After the doctor had the results of his blood test, he scheduled Steve for a transfusion for Saturday. We should have more information later on Saturday after that.

January 13, 2009

Steve was released from the hospital today and got home about 2:30 pm. He and Mindi are both glad to be home and are looking forward to some rest and good sleep. Steve will be seeing his doctor daily now and will have his second lumbar puncture treatment on Friday. After Friday and further tests, we should know what the future treatments will be.

Steve is exhausted and has asked that no one come to visit for the next week or so until he is feeling better. For the next 4 to five days, Steve will be feeling the worst from treatments so far. He is also still in a neutropenic state (which means susceptible to viruses and bacteria). If he gets sick and his temperature exceeds 100 degrees, he will have to go back to the hospital.

Steve and Mindi both appreciate all of your love and support through this trying time. Please keep in mind that they both need some rest. Before you visit, call to see if they are ready for visitors (or write a comment on this blog) for the next week.

Thank you
Sister Sue

January 12, 2009

Steve had his 5th chemo treatment today and also had his first lumbar puncture, which went well. He is started feeling the effects of treatment and is exhausted. He will have the second lumbar puncture (this is chemo injected into the base of the spine and circulates through the brain) on Friday. He is to be on his back for 4 to 5 hours after this treatment. He has been holding up pretty well and feels fine so far, just tired.

thank you

I just wanted to thank everybody for their love and support. it's been real overwhelming with how many people that have come foward and that has been helping even my family dealing with this. I cant thank you enough for your love and support. Latest news, my doctor is real optimistic about my progress.I'm going home tuesday with my port in my chest.Which starts my outpatient treatment. Again, thank you

Love Steve.

January 10, 2009

The test results are back and Steve does not have the resistant chromosome (philadelphia). This is great news!! It also means that they will do intense chemo for the next 4 days and then the best news......he will be released from the hospital but will be continueing out-patient treatment. We don't know how long for that yet but we all keep the good thoughts and hope for the best.

Steve looked better today but still a bit tired. Keep praying.

Today has been a very tiring day. I have had my surgery done, and now have a port in my chest. I have alot of vistors, but sometimes it can get over whelming. But there are other places through out the hospital where you can hangout, if you would like.

January 8, 2008

The biopsy results show this to be ALL (Acute lymphoblastic leukemia). This is the more treated type so that is good news. They will continue with the oral chemo therapy until the results of his chromosome test come back.
At this time, if you have the sniffles or any other illness, it is not recommended that you go into his room as his immune system is in a compromised state.

They are not inserting the port today because of low platlet and giving him blood. Surgery will be on Friday. The chromosome test is to look for some chromosomes that are resistant to certain treatments.

January 7, 2009

Steve has been diagnosed with an acute leukemia and is in the hospital and starting chemo. on 1/9 they will insert a port in his chest for more chemo. We are all hoping that this leukemia is very treatable. When the doctor gets the biobsy results on Thursday or Friday, there will be additional information on his treatment.