Day 8: T+8

Showers. Are.  Miserable. 

Everyday taking a shower is his least favorite activity because he is SoOo cold by the end. 

I have been brainstorming ideas to make it better and haven't come up with anything that makes it significantly better or makes it a more enjoyable situation. Trying to go as fast as possible was my solution, which isn't really great. 

I've been asking all the nurses and doctors for ideas too. Two days ago his pulminologist came to see Eric soon after the shower experience of the day. So I asked him, and he had some great ideas! He said as soon as your done and towel off to put on a beanie and a sweatshirt. 

Today was the trial run and Eric said it helped make it not such a miserable experience. So now the shower is only a semi miserable experience. 😃 

Thank you to Rachel and Wade for the fabulous beanie! We got it just in time!  And better yet, look how cute he looks after a shower:

And because one picture is never enough:

And then we:

Check. 

That. 

BOX!!!!

Everything is going as well as we can hope. Eric's working so hard and is dedicated to doing everything he can do to make this bone marrow transplant successful. And he's doing it admist the side effects, challenges and utter fatigue it brings. I can't say enough how proud I am of Eric! I hope each one of you know how much we appreciate your thoughts and prayers in our behalf. We have been overwhelmed with the love and support. We know that we are being granted help and miracles because of it. One thing we know is that God loves us!

Jamie 

Day 7: T+7

"I'm so tired!" was Eric's comment at 12:15 today as he did his second breathing treatment of the day.  It's so true. Sheet exhaustion every hour of the day and he still does everything he's supposed to do. He's dedicated and such a hard worker! Couldn't be prouder of him. Love you, Eric!

Eric had his first blood transfusion today. It was the first but probably not the last. They check his blood counts everyday. It's expected that his counts will be low (while waiting for engraftment of the bone marrow) but the doctors don't want them to go below a certain point.  If the red blood cells go below 26 they'll give him a blood transfusion. 

Things are truckn along up here. Everyday that goes by is a day closer to where we want to be. Here's the latest video installment:

http://youtu.be/2nWIiCVq6_c

Day 6: T+6

Pray for Eric's lungs. He woke up this morning with tight lungs and labored breathing. 

His pulminologist came in and added some medicine for his inhaled breathing treatment. It's been helping Eric's lungs loosen up and improve things from this morning. 

His pulminologist came back later that day and said Eric is doing really well.  It's nice to hear the doctor say positive things. 

In other news I've divised a way to keep organized. It's hard to remember what day it is and what he's done and not done. I present to you:

Jamie

Day 5: T+5

Eric had a better night last night. Hallelujah! Not perfect, and not the best, but better than it's been for a few nights. 

Overall, I'd call today a pretty good day. He powered through all the hard things he had to do but still had time for resting and naps.

Eric's the best party animal around! 

Jamie

Day 4: T+4

One more day down! Pounding out the days one at a time waiting for Jordan's bone marrow to engraft. (We will know this is happening because Eric's blood counts start to rise when it begins to engraft). Waiting for engraftment is like waiting for Christmas as a kid. We are all so excited!!

Eric had a hard start to the day when during his first breathing treatment he got really sick to his stomach! (And if you've ever experienced being super nauseous, in my opinion it's one of the WORST feelings!) We called the nurse and then Vicki went to find her, to make things go as fast as possible. 

The nurse came in, gave Eric some medicine.  As soon as the medicine kicked in it was a lot better. 

Eric's keeping up all the hard, hard, HARD work that he needs to do. Let it be known that he's putting in the work for those bone marrow cells. He's doing his part, and now they're going to show us what they're made of! (And they are going to bring the awesome because anything that came from Jordan is awesome!)

On a random note, a perk of being sleepy and taking naps for Eric is the crazy dreams he has. Even if he's sleeping for a short amount of time.  Today in the two minutes he was asleep he dreamt he was in the Olympics as a sprinter. Hearing him recount the dream is pretty funny!

Lastly, they have a board in the hall with different saying and quotes. After I saw this one I now always tell Eric, "it's worth it!" It speaks the truth. 

Whatever our goal, the struggles along the way are always worth it. 

Jamie

Day 3: T+3

Three days out from transplant. Bone marrow transplants aren't for wimps, they are for the strongest. Eric is strong. Continue to pray for his strength and courage. He can do this!

He had another sleepless night because of medication they gave him to help get off the water weight. He's on it again this morning and we are working with the doctors to be able to do the next dose early enough so he can sleep. 

And if you've wondered what a day in the life of Eric Briggs looks I've made another video. This is a small sampling of the wonderful things that fill his waking hours. 

http://vimeo.com/85256990

Thanks for everything each one of you are doing to help support us!

(All dressed up and dominating one of his daily walks!)

Jamie

Day 2

Although a rough night of up and down to the restroom, Eric has lost 2 pounds from yesterday. Two pounds of the water weight he needs to get off and out of his body, especially his lungs. 

The doctors gave him more medication again today to help him get rid of the water weight and make his body feel better. 

In the meantime, Eric's trying out the awesome grandpa recliner:

And with blanket version:

Isn't he so cute when he sleeps? It makes hanging out with him so fun to see him rest and be in a deep slumber. 

And his fan club for the day:

It was so good to hang out with Eric today and I enjoyed my time with him. He's working so hard and I couldn't be prouder! I love you, Eric!!

Jamie

Day 1

Day 1 with new bone marrow! 

It was a rough day as Eric woke up feeling swollen and tight with fluid. It made his chest feel like they had a ton of bricks on them which made it hard to breath. 

We spoke with the doctors and got some medicine that would help relieve some of the fluid. Pray that it moves through fast. 

Although it was one of his hardest days yet, Eric didn't let that stop him from doing all the things asked of him. No matter how hard. He got out and walked, did his breathing treatments, and endured drinking LIQUID potassium. If you've never had the chance to drink liquid potassium Eric says it's the worst thing you've tasted, multiplied by a million. Liquid potassium = super grossness! Eric's a fighter! 

We love you Eric!

Eric's mom gave him a foot massage!

Jamie 

Day 0: Happy Birthday, Eric!

Happy birthday to Eric!! Today's the day! (Thursday, January 23, 2014) The day to give Eric new bone marrow and improve his immune system.

The day a patient receives their bone marrow infusion is their second birthday. So today we sing happy birthday to Eric!

The day started early for Jordan. He had to be at the hospital at 5:30 to harvest the bone marrow. It went well and the doctors described his bone marrow as "juicy" and they were pleased with the amount they were able to get. We couldn't be prouder of Jordan and his juicy bone marrow. I think his new nickname should be Juicy Jordan. :)

Jordan's bone marrow then went to be processed and will be ready this evening to be infused into Eric. (Isn't modern medicine AMAZING?!)

Eric had a busy day too. An 8:15am trip down to radiation for a 30 minute treatment of full body radiation, was his morning birthday celebration. The same radiation treatment was repeated 6 hours later. 

(Eric victoriously leaving his last radiation treatment!)

Good news is that pretreatment is finished! 

(Ringing the celebration bell!

and in video form:

watch on youtube: http://youtu.be/t5ZhwedWO8I

Tonight he received Jordan's Bone marrow cells.  It went really well and we had a great nurse who helped make everyone feel comfortable.  To sum up this part I made another video, but I'm having issues uploading it, but decided to post it on youtube.  Click on the following link:

http://youtu.be/ZwJT5Z5n-qU

We've made it to one milestone!  It's an amazing feeling to have made it to the Bone Marrow Transplant.  Please continue to pray that Eric's body will accept Jordan's Bone Marrow and Eric can be free of infection and lung problems.  Thank you again for everyone who continually support us each day!  It makes all the difference in the world!  We love you!

Jamie

Day -1

Chemo is done! Eric finished his last treatment yesterday. Today he received what's called ATG. It's a medicine that has the possibility of helping what is called graft vs. host disease (when the new, transplanted cells (Jordan's) regard Eric's body as foreign. When this happens the new cells (Jordan's) attack Eric's cells). Graft vs. host disease (GVHD) can cause many negative effects.

ATG takes 5 hours to be infused and during those hours they check his viral signs very closely. So far he's doing good. 

They also give him premedication to help prevent any of the reactions from happening. Those medications also make it easy for him to sleep. Good news is he is able to rest for five hours!

I present to you, the many ways to sleep. 

On your back and Legs up: 

On the side, with blankets.

Tomorrow is a big day! Jordan gets the bone marrow harvested in the wee hours of the morning and Eric gets transplanted that evening. Thank you, Jordan, for your willingness to give of your bone marrow to your brother! We love you and are praying that everything goes well for you tomorrow!

ATG is done and Eric didn't have any negative reactions. We couldn't be happier about that. 

Jamie

Day -2

Better sleep for night two and Eric is armed for today's battle. He has been working really hard to do all the things to keep his body as healthy as possible. We are sure proud of him! 

And, a selfie for the day.

Day -3

Sleep in the hospital is practically impossible. If you've ever had a stay one you know either the 'comfortable' bed or people checking in on you keep you awake. Eric had one of these nights. Sleepless nights require Nappers during the day:

Vicki is camped outside to keep unnecessary intruders away, while I get to watch this handsome man sleep. 

Pray that Eric may be able to sleep well at night and get some naps during the day. Sleep is an important part of helping heal the body. 

Day -4

9am admit to the hospital. All the weeks of talking to doctors and preparation are done. Now begins the journey. Eric thinks that the 9am admit was too early considering we sat in the room for an hour before things really got going.  I have to agree with him.

The day started out slowly. It was nice to be able to get settled in and then talk to the nurse and doctors. Today they call 'Day -4' or four days to transplant (transplant being on Thursday evening). 

He received his first dose of chemotherapy this afternoon.  Eric is working hard to do all that he can to make this successful.  Thanks for your continued love and support as well as those who joined in fasting for Eric.

For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy a little video documenting the first steps of this journey.
(This was all my idea, and Eric was nice to participate.  Love that husband of mine!)

Until next time, 

Jamie 

Changes

As is common in the medical world, changes are always happening.  We met with the transplant doctors yesterday and there was a slight change in the schedule.  Instead of being admitted to the hospital on Wednesday (tomorrow), it has been changed to Sunday.  The change is because of a different preparative regimen that was decided upon after receiving some added input from a doctor who specializes in immune deficiency bone marrow transplants.  Instead of the seven day preparative regimen it has changed to a four day one.  Eric will receive chemotherapy treatments as well as some full body radiation prior to the bone marrow infusion.

Thursday evening will be the day of the bone marrow infusion from Jordan (his brother).  From there it's a waiting game for engraftment, when the white cells rise to a certain point.

We have had a few people ask about an address to send cards.  I will be able to post the address for the hospital on Sunday after he's admitted.  Until then send them to our home address.

If you would like to join us, we are having a fast on Sunday for Eric.

We would like to express our thanks for all the phone calls and text messages we've already received as we've been preparing for this.  There is nothing better than feeling loved and supported by so many.

Jamie Briggs

At the Beginning

The beginning of Eric's bone marrow transplant (BMT) starts this coming Wednesday, January 15th, 2014. It has been a journey to get to this point and we want to thank each and every one of our family and friends for their love and support. We couldn't have done it without your help, and know that we will continue to be supported through you. We thought it best to start a blog as a central place for information for family and friends.

To prepare for the hospital I got to give Eric a haircut. Check it out:

Before: 

After:

Jamie Briggs