Last Day in Houston

Today is my last full day in Houston. I’m catching the first flight out on Monday morning, after spending the last week here. It’s been an eye opening experience, let me tell you. Living with someone who is undergoing chemotherapy is a tough thing to experience. Going through the treatment is an awful thing.

Lars is constantly fatigued. He has a tough time just walking from the apartment to the car. One of the drugs that he’s taking is causing a nasty rash, which has now spread across his entire body. He vomits constantly.

And through it all, he manages to maintain his sense of humor. It’s good to see him laugh, because there isn’t much to laugh about these days for him. Cancer is a horrible thing. Everyone has heard it, but to see its effects in action is just awful. It’s certainly changed his life.

Houston is also a pretty boring place. We went to see the Battle of San Jacinto monument a couple of days ago, but other than that, there isn’t much to do in Houston. Lots of refineries and dreary weather. Not the best place to motivate you while you’re sick.

Monica’s mom and sister flew the kids down on Friday night, which has provided a little boost for both of them. They are very cute kids who have had their lives turned upside down as well. This is something the whole family is battling.

He got some good news on Saturday night, when the hospital called to tell him that his white counts are down. So there are signs that the drugs may be doing what they’re supposed to do. He’ll know more on Monday. Think positive.

Greetings from Houston

It's Friday, but this is the first day I've bothered to check into the blog. I'm here in Houston visiting my friend Lars, who's battling Leukemia. He's part of a clinical trial to see if an experimental drug will move him into remission so that he can have a bone marrow transplant. He's been down here since early February and is getting a bit frustrated.

The last batch of treatment didn't get the job done, so he's now working with the folks at the University of Texas - M. C. Anderson Cancer Center. If they can get his white cell count down to a certain level, he can have the translplant. THey've had a donor lined up for a couple months, so it's just a matter of getting his counts down.

Since I arrived on Monday, his schedule has consisted of:

Monday: clinical checkup
Tuesday: Took 2 units of blood and 1 unit of platelets (7 hours to complete)
Wednesday: day off from the hospital
Thursday: clinical checkup + 1 unit of platelets
Friday: day off

We (Lars, his wife Monica and I) drove down the to the gulf and spent an hour at the Battle of Jacinto memorial, which is the place where Sam Houston defeated Santa Ana in the 1800's. There is an obelisk that's taller than the Washington Monument in D.C. there.

Lars has had a rough go of it. He is easily fatigued during this latest round of treatment, so got him back to his apartment after our field trip. He's a thousand miles from home, away from his children, in a strange place. It's something I couldn't wish on my worst enemy, but it's something one of my best friends is enduring.

Monica's mom and sister are flying their two kids down tonight, so they'll hopefully provide some change of pace for the two of them.

I'm flying home on Monday morning, so I have a couple of days to lend a little more moral support.

Off to Houston

It's been a while since I've posted last. Busy busy busy. That's all I can say about the past few weeks. I'll be busier starting March 19th, as I'll be headed to Houston to spend some time with Lars. He's in Texas to see a specialist for his Leukemia. Seems the doctors in Ohio either weren't equipped to deal with his form of Leukemia or they needed to send him to a doctor with more advanced skills in treating the disease.

It's not clear. I've tried nt to prod, so I have bits and pieces of the story.

I just hope I'll be able to bring a little distraction to his fight. I can't imagine what he's going through, but I suspect it's wearing on him. He's been sick for so long now. When I spoke to him earlier tonight, he was putting on a good face, but he's getting frustrated.

I know he just wants to get on with his life. So I'll try to catch up with him. I haven't done much of that since he left California. More to come from Texas.