Brian Robert & LCH: Some News

Monday, March 14, 2011

Some News

Just had to share some cute pictures we have taken recently. We have lots of news to share. But first, aren't our boys adorable?! They are best buds. Super cute.

Our family has been through some pet trauma the last year. Fred and I have had two dogs since before the kids were born. Our kids are used to animals being around and love it. Well, last May our mutt (which the vet said looked like a Redbone Coonhound) killed our cat. It was pretty aggressive so we put him down. (He had started to turn on our golden and attack her too. It wasn't an isolated one time act of aggression.) Three months later Ansley found our Golden Retriever dead in the back yard. She must have died of a lonely heart because there was nothing wrong with her. (Fred teased that Hawn had the best three months of her life since Ansley was born and the dogs took back burner.) We went from two dogs and a cat to no animals in a matter of months. We have been wanting to get the kids a new golden but quite frankly they were too pricey. Fred and I prayed about it, thought about it and talked it over and over and over. Finally we decided to do it. When I called the breeder to discuss coming and picking out a pup from the litter she opened the conversation with "I'll be completely honest. We are moving in a week and I have two dogs left that I haven't sold. I have to get rid of them. I will take whatever you can give me." What a blessing!!! Every time we are patient and cover an issue in prayer God blesses us. We are happy to announce the newest addition to our family...Eva Schreiber.

Brian picked out her name (and everyone agreed) after his beloved Wall E movie. Eva is our baby Golden Retriever. We are super excited about our new girl. All four kids are eager to participate in the care and training of our new dog.

Mr. Brian had an appointment last Thursday with the Hem./Onc. doctor. It was a regularly scheduled infusion, but we had planned to address the Histio symptoms that are not going away. More info coming but as of right now we know that the doctor is going to be changing Brian's treatment. The meds he is taking are not working. Our doctor is going to contact us in a week after he has the opportunity to discuss Brian's case with one of the leading doctors in Histio research and treatment. Our doctor has e-mailed with this other doctor before. We are very thankful for the thought, time and concern our Hem/Onc doctor puts into Brian's case. Please pray as we go through these changes. What we do know is that Brian will have treatment for one full year. The clock starts over now. He will NOT have his port out by five.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Brian, BB or "B-ber"

Brian is our seven year old boy. He is the third of four children, all born in just four years. Sept 2009 Brian was diagnosed with Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. He spent seven months on Chemo and steriods. In April 2010 we had his port removed and celebrated "no more chemo!". His treatment from May forward was oral medicine on the weekends and scans/bloodwork every three months. Brian's firt set of scans/follow up with the oncologist in July were wonderful. We didn't quite make it to his second set of scans three months later in October. In late July/ early August we started noticing suspicious bumps on his scalp and a rash on his private area. On Sept 15, 2010 we took Brian to his oncologist. That appointment revealed the possibilty of more chemo. September 21 we had a biopsy that two days later revealed that Brian's LCH was back. We immediately had surgery to implant a port and in Oct 2010 started a second journey through chemotherapy and steroids for our little Brian. In March 2011 Brian's chemo drugs were changed around as his new protocal was not working. Brian was still presenting symptoms. We went back to the original combination of drugs but this time instead of being on them six months the plan was for twelve months. Brian completed his second round of chemo March 8, 2012. Even though Brian was completing treatment, we started noticing symptoms of Diabetes Insipidus in March 2012. He was diagnosed with D.I. March 22, 2012. His new diagnosis was considered a relapse for his LCH. Brian's third round (or fourth protocol depending on how you look at it) of chemo and a totally different protocol began April 2012. He had chemo five days in a row followed by a three week break for 12 months. He completed that protocol the first week of April 2013. In July of 2013 Brian had his port removed and we were over the moon excited about NO MORE CHEMO. In October of 2013 Brian had a recurrence of symptoms. He took six months of oral chemo. In April of 2014 he had another MRI. It was decided that Brian could stop treatment. By August-September 2014 he started showing symptoms again. October 2014 we are back in Houston to see what the next step will be for treatment of Brian's LCH.