Dec 27

Ernie’s Journey
THIS IS A JOURNAL OF ERNIE BRADY WHILE GOING THRU TREATMENT OF AML (Acute Mylegenous Leukemia)
I AM UNABLE TO HAVE VISITORS AT THIS TIME DUE TO THE LOW BLOOD COUNTS SO ANY CORRESPONDENCE CAN BE THRU THIS BLOG OR THE INCLUDED EMAIL SITE. I WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BUT MIGHT NOT GET BACK TO YOU RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE I WILL BE FEELING DIFFERENTLY ON DIFFERENT DAYS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!!!
Dec 15- A Panorama City Kaiser doctor called about 9:30 PM and said that I needed to get to an urgent care as soon as possible in the morning for another blood sample. He said that all my blood counts were low. I didn’t get too worried, not much was known.
Dec. 16- Got to Kaiser Lancaster at 7am and went to the lab but the doctor hadn’t put the order in the computer so we had to go to urgent care. We waited at urgent care a couple of hours and then the nurse sped things up for us and ordered the blood test and got us an appointment with Dr Lee. We then went to the lab and continued on to our appointment with Dr. Lee. He read the test but called the hemotolgist Dr Medina to confer and said they would be in touch with us but we had to go to the pharmacy to pick up some neupogen for building my white counts up. This is a shot you have to give yourself so I did for 3 days. It was 2pm by the time we got home. It was a long tedious day and although we didn’t get any definite diagnosis, we were both a little worried. It is a great assurance to know that when I pass from this life I will definitely be in heaven (1 John 5:13), but the thought of missing out on parts of my childrens lives and of not getting to see my grandkids grow up saddens me. God's promises are pretty cool though, and I will be together some day with all of my family and friends who have given their lives to God. He just might have some work left for me here on earth!"I LIFT UP MY EYES TO THE HILLS, WHERE DOES MY HELP COME FROM? MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD, THE MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH"
Dec19- I saw my primary care doctor, Dr Jain and she had me go to the lab again for more testing, and made an appointment for the following day for the bone marrow test and biopsy. This didn’t sound good!
Dec 20- Went to K aiser Lancaster for the bone marrow test with Dr. Girey. I had heard that this test hurts very much but my doctor did a great job and the only pain I felt was from the initial needle stick from the local anesthetic. I’m going to ask that he do all my marrow tests!!! Still not sure what’s going on.
Dec 21- Went to Kaiser Pan City for a spleen/liver test. This test wasn’t bad, they injected me with 2 different liquids about 15 minutes apart and then about 15 minutes later they took several different angles of my liver and spleen. Got home at 10:30am and called Dr. Medina (per instructions from Dr. Girey) and Dr. Medina told me I had Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and that they were trying to get me a bed at Kaiser PC. Although we were worried and knew that this had been possible, I was still shocked when they told me this. Debby and I both cried. They called back about an hour later and said they had a bed for me and I was to go to Kaiser PC immediately. Got to Kaiser and was put in a bed pretty much immediately. They started an IV and gave me some meds. We were told that I had to go to surgery to have a catheter installed but they couldn’t do it within 8 hours of eating and I had just eaten at noon, so that meant they couldn’t do it until 8pm at the earliest. We sat/laid around until Deb had to go home. They took me to surgery at 11:30pm to install a Hickman catheter and got back to bed about 12:40. I told the nurse that I was thirsty and hungry so she said if I could wait til 1am they were having a potluck and she would get me some real food! It was real and it was really good!!! Went to sleep as soon as I was done eating. They also drew blood for testing It was a full day but anytime I tried to speak with someone about my condition, it was very tough so I just had Deb do it."YOUR WORD IS A LAMP TO MY FEET, AND A LIGHT FOR MY PATH"
Dec 22- They moved me to the 6th floor where they do the Chemo therapy, gave me a transfusion and put me on anti-nausea (compazine) meds. Drew blood for testing and put me on a low-microbial diet, which means I can’t have any fresh fruit or vegetables that might have bacteria on it.
Dec 23- They came in about 9am and began giving me pre-meds that are necessary to begin the Chemo. (Adavan for anxiety/ Something for nausea/ A steroid/ All intravenously) This took about 20 minutes and then they began Chemo. First they pushed about 2 inches of Daunorubicin thru a syringe about the roundness of a dime. This took about 10 minutes and didn’t hurt. The other Chemo (Cytosine Arabinoside) was hung by the IV and was to continuously drip 24 hours a day for 7 days. This didn’t hurt either. My son Brian and his family got here about 4pm and it was really good to see them!
Dec 24- We repeated the Chemo session exactly like the day before. Debby and Brian came down early and Deb left for the airport to pick up my daughter Dana and her family. It was really good to see them too! Brian and Dave went to IN and OUT for burgers. The nurse had to nuke mine for 30 seconds to make sure the grilled onions were completely cooked but it still tasted pretty good! I had really been anxious about what Chemo would be like but so far it hasn’t been bad at all.
Dec 25- I called the house about 5am and Deb and Dana were up getting things ready for everyone to open presents. They called back when they were ready and put the speaker phone on so I could hear everyone opening gifts and talk to them all. This was pretty hard cause I missed them all very much! The doctor came in and said that my lowest point would be 7 days after the final day of Chemo, which will be Jan 5th. They have given me a lot of literature and booklets on Leukemia, Chemo, catheters, etc and have been telling me what to expect. Some symptoms might be nausea/ high fevers/ sores in mouth and throat/ infection/ swelling, etc. These are all maybes because everyone reacts differently to Chemo. They said my hair will definitely fall out so all my do-rags will really come in handy! (LOL) Deb is spending the night and I’m happy about that!!!
Dec 26- Deb did spend the night and helped me get a great night’s sleep! (Hope she did!) We just hung around until they were getting ready to give me my pre-meds before Chemo. Faye (nurse) disconnected me from my tubes and taped plastic over the spots where they went into my body to prepare for a shower. Debby then cut my hair (not shaved yet!!!) and I took a shower, which felt really good! Deb is finding out how to get any stress time off to care for me. I’ll be having two more transfusions today and am moving to another room. Aunt Sue is coming today.
Dec 27- Got Chemo again. Mike called when I was having a really bad time and prayed for me quite a while. Thanks, Mike, it really helped!!! Dave and Dana came down in the morning and Deb & Sue came later. I never know when I'll have a tough moment so if I'm on the phone with anyone and don't speak for a while I'm not ignoring you, I just can't speak right then. My appetite is not what it used to be but I still try to eat everything so I can keep up my strength. My family has been incredible in keeping me encouraged and strong. Thank you guys!!!Feelings of regret for times in my life when I hurt others or let others down are getting stronger and deeper. Its so true that you can't take those times back, so you young ones, "DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!!" I rest on the fact that God has forgiven me but Satan can remind you of those times and make it tough on you."I CAN DO ALL THINGS IN CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME"