Trick or Treat

So Eric is still feeling awful, I thought maybe we would do something fun ( & a little bit cheesy, just play along). To help Eric's spirits I thought we would post fun or sweet stories we have about Eric, you can either post them on the comments section or email them to me rkings2991@aol.com . I will copy and paste them from the comments section because there are some people that cannot access the comments section. So I will start things off:

You might not know this but Eric is a kickass bingo player (yes there is such a thing), I'm serious the ninety year old ladies shake in their support hose when they see him coming. But it hasn't always been that way, when Eric first went with us for his first biannual Las Vegas trip he thought we were pretty girly. We started his first day off with bingo & Celine Dion, he was pretty much going crazy (he text messaged through the entire concert). So the next day he was bored to tears, that is until that afternoon when he hit the cash ball for around $1400.00. Since then he has hit several coveralls, jumbo consolation's, and just normal bingo's, one time when we went we each came home with 4x's the amount we took...I told you kickass...

Ok it's your turn!!

Here's some comments...

Two things come to mind when I think of Eric. I remember when Lorie would bring him to church when he was little. I remember his sweet face sitting next to her and wondering how a boy his age could be so good in church! And I love it when Eric really laughs! When he laughs, it makes everyone around him laugh harder! Terry and Lorie's antics are some of the things that can really get him going! Such comedians in the family!Well, Eric, our family is praying for you. We know how strong you are and only wish we had the words to bring you comfort. But, please know that we love you and care about you and want you to get better! Keep strong, buddy, and hang in there!Love, The Pilgreen's

One of my favorite things about Eric is his love of treats. Again we were in Vegas and we were walking by the bakery that always has an array of lavish treats, there happened to be black and white cookies the size of your head mind you that seemed to catch Eric's eye, well that is all it took and because Eric was so busy staring lovingly at the black and white cookies he didn't see the steps in front of him and fell on his face, I always knew it would be the love of treats that would bring him to his knees!! Love ya Eric!Love-Hailey

From the Marcus family:

I remember when I was taller or just as tall as Eric...lol! (Not just the expression)..but Eric does "Stand tall above the crowd" one way he stands out is that despite his grandeur he comes down to all levels....especially to the level of kids....and all kids are naturally drawn to him and we all know why.... he is a very tall teddy bear! So naturally a lot of my memories are watching him connect and play with children. Watching in amusement, to see how many little monkeys he can handle clinging to his limbs and still be able to gracefully;steadily walk around. I know you feel weak Eric, let the strength of family and especially the humility of children which you share; strengthen you! Amy M.

Not great

Eric is still not feeling well, weak, jittery, nauseated, generally not well. By about the 6th day last treatment he started to feel better, that would be tomorrow, so let's all hope!! I didn't want to jinx it but did anything notice anything special about yesterday? It was a Sunday & Eric didn't have an E.R. or urgent care visit!! Woohoo!! This has to be good right, we knew he would eventually get a Sunday at home! But seriously Eric I hope you're feeling better soon...

Still not feeling great

Eric's feeling weak, tired, & nauseated. Last time he had these symptoms he thought all of these were side effects from the shot he was taking, this time around he's realizing that chemo can have some nasty side effects of it's own. He even turned down going out for breakfast this morning (bacon people, he's turning down bacon!). Most likely he will feel better in a few days, this too will pass, but at this time he needs your love, support, & prayers! Thanks!

Feeling blah

He says he can't describe it, he just doesn't feel "well". He's resting which is good, trying to eat and drink and feeling blah, well blah is better than yuck so we'll take it, for now blah is fine by me.

2 down 6 more to go...

Chemo went well, Eric did great!! They used the port for the first time, the blood flow was good, and all of his labs look good. The doctor did a physical exam on Eric and she said that the lymph nodes in his neck are getting "softer" and have dramatically gone down. This is wonderful news, it means the chemo is doing it's job. Right now he doesn't have to do anymore shots, unless he gets an infection or there is a problem on his next set of lab work. So maybe he can just rest and relax for the next 2 weeks. Also I am nagging again flu shots...have you gotten yours? So far Mom, Dad, KT, the grandparents, Hailey, Brayden, Kenzie, Corden, & I have gotten ours...check in did you all get yours?

Port is in...again

So after a looonnngg day at Huntsman's Eric is now the proud owner (once again) of a port-a-cath. They will access this port tomorrow when they do his chemo. Eric is doing well, just tired. Good luck tomorrow Eric!

Green eyeshadow

Green toenail polish

This is our cousin Kimber

Scope done

The urologist said his bladder looks good, there was some scar tissue & inflammation. But nothing to be concerned about. He can still continue with chemo (Thursday) and get the port put in tomorrow. Here are some more fun green pics for your enjoyment, thanks Kimber!!!

Appointment tomorrow

Eric has an appointment tomorrow with a urologist at LDS hospital. More than likely they will do a scope on his bladder, he has been having blood in his urine (I know to much info) for a little over a week, but no bacteria so they are trying to determine the cause. He is still scheduled for the port on Wednesday and chemo on Thursday, but that all could change depending on what the scope shows...I'll keep you updated!

Another kidney stone...or worse?

Well today is Sunday, can anyone tell me what that means? Yes Eric is not feeling well, I don't know what it is with him & Sundays! He has spent most of them (since his diagnosis) in the hospital or E.R. you can read the previous posts if you don't believe me. Anyway he hasn't been feeling good all weekend, all of our nagging about fluids has paid off, he has been drinking the 64 oz. requirement, in fact he drank that amount alone in cranberry juice yesterday to try to take care of the pain he's been having. But it's not helping, in fact he's feeling worse, so today he's going to try to go to an urgent care instead, they may very well send him back to the E.R. but we'll see how it goes.

More shots...this time for you

Now that Eric is finished with his shots I need to remind you about a shot that you all need, your flu shot. Eric will not be getting the flu shot, even if he did the chemo would just destroy it anyway, so I am here to nag you to get yours! If you interact with Eric at all (or even if you don't), you need to have your flu shot. The flu is very difficult to fight off with no immune system. My family will be getting ours on Monday, Hailey, mom, dad, & KT already have theirs...so it's your turn! It's important to note that the flu mist vaccine is different from the flu shot. The flu mist (the nasal spray version of the vaccine) contains the live flu virus, if you get this version please stay away from Eric for 2 weeks following as he can get the flu from this version. Eric has an appt. with the radiologists today to come up with a plan for his radiation following the chemo. He's doing well, but if I must say he needs to drink more fluids, drink Eric drink!! (Eat too!)

Finished with the shots, & a good day!

Eric had a very good day today! He slept well last night, ate lunch out in the sun, and went for a drive with mom. She also took him to dinner and he had a milkshake!! He finished the shots tonight, lets hope he doesn't ever have to do those again. :0/ He's tired, but definitely in better spirits than he's been all week. I know that all of your positive thoughts, and prayers have helped, keep them coming!!

Green Rocks!!

This is what I'm talking about!!! Thanks Amy & Tricia!! You rock too!!

1 down...

Thanks for all of the great comments...he took one shot, he's got one more to go tomorrow night...the side effects from these shots last about 48 hours...come on Eric one more!!!

Your help is needed...

Hi I have a huge request...Eric is having a really rough time. These shots that he has to take are pretty awful. They make him very jittery, he hurts, he's nauseated, he has more sores in his mouth. He only has 2 more shots, one tonight, and one tomorrow. We need to get him through these shots, they are used to boost his white blood cell count. They need to get this number high before they put his port back in, if his white blood cell count isn't high enough and he gets an infection from the port then his immune system will have a difficult time fighting it. So here is the part where I need your help, maybe, just maybe if you all could rally together & post some positive comments here maybe he will feel better. So now I will turn it over to you...Come on Eric only 2 more shots!!!!!! We love you!!

feeling yucky...

Eric's been feeling yucky, this is mostly due to the Nupagin shots he has to do for the next few days. Nupagin is a medication that boosts your white blood cell count, they are trying to boost his count so that they can put his port back in next week. This medication makes you feel yucky, flu like. He definitely doesn't like it. He hasn't been eating a lot, his mom made him some tapioca pudding like he requested, so hopefully after these shots are done (Wed.) he'll start feeling better...

kidney stones & mouth sores

Well Eric spent yet another Sunday in the E.R., this is like a regular thing lately. He has a kidney stone (they think). He is home now trying to eat, and rest. The chemo can have some nasty things one of which is mouth sores. The reason for this is the chemo attacks and kills fast duplicating cells (that is the whole point to kill the immature leukocytes that are duplicating at an unnatural rate) , the inner lining of your mouth is constantly sloughing off and replenishing itself. We hope you're feeling better soon Eric!

I found this postcard on PostSecret it reminded me of Eric. Obviously he's not a "she" he's a "he" but you get the idea...

Mean & Green (his hair anyway)

Yep he did it, he dyed his hair green. The docs said it will probably fall out within 2 weeks...maybe he'll have green hair forever! :0) So I have a challenge for all of you, lime green is the support color for lymphoma, so let's see your green!! You don't have to be as extreme as Eric because after all it's not your hair that's falling out, but let's see how creative you can be, it doesn't have to be your hair, it can be anything, a bracelet, a ribbon, ect. Show me your green pictures, & with your permission I'll post them here!!

He's feeling pretty good

I just checked in with Eric, he's doing pretty good today yay!! He says he just tired, so hopefully things will just get better from here!! Eric has decided to dye his hair lime green today (the color of the lymphoma ribbon). I promise I'll post the picture when he's done!

And the fight is on...

Eric is officially fighting lymphoma! About an hour ago Eric started Chemo. He had quite a lengthy visit with Dr. Gilbert beforehand. They will be reinserting the port-a-cath on the 22nd, he will have another Chemo treatment on the 23rd. He will also be meeting with the radiologists from St. Marks at the end of the month to set up his plan for radiation treatments. Dr. Gilbert looked at the open wound for the infected port (which as you know has since been removed) she said it looks good. Eric has been told he WILL lose all of his hair within two weeks. So far he is tolerating all of the chemo meds ok (they were worried about Eric's asthma as one of the drugs can cause breathing problems.) I will add to this post later tonight with more details. The doctors said 1/3 of chemo patients experience NO effects (nausea, exhaustion) from the drugs...let's hope Eric is part of this 1/3.

quickly...

Tomorrow is a big day, I know your prayers are appreciated. I will update as soon as I know anything. We went to the pumpkin patch & corn maze tonight...it was fun, I'll post pics when I can.

Quiet is good...

I know it's been quiet around here...but for us quiet is a good thing. Eric saw the surgeon for a follow-up yesterday, they have left the incision open to let it heal from the inside out. The surgeon hopes that this will prevent it from getting infected again. But there are some concerns that it may become reinfected once Eric starts chemo. We definitely don't want this, infections are much harder to fight when chemo is destroying your immune system. Dr. Gilbert will be evaluating this on Thursday, but as things stand now Eric will be getting chemo on Thursday. If she decides she doesn't want to risk the infection that could change. We went to Red Lobster, endless shrimp is a good thing (according to Eric), but the question stands is it better than bacon?

I get by with a little help from my friends...

I forgot to post yesterday they have found the culprit of Eric's infection...surprise it was the port, they cultured it & he had a staph infection (no so fantastic on a port leading to your heart). But all is well it seems the infection is making it's exit, so now Eric can focus on the next big thing Chemo. Dr. Gilbert does not want to wait to start the chemo so on Thursday she will be evaluating him, if everything looks good then the chemo is a go. Eric had a quiet uneventful day today. Home health came & changed his bandage and taught Hailey (sis) to pack his wound it seems there are some concerns about insurance covering the home health care each day so Hailey may be helping out if that's a problem. Oh I'm glad I just have to deal with loose teeth, and mosquito bites :0)

Yay!!

Eric is on his way home! He will have home health care, they will be helping change the bandage, packing the wound, and basically just watch it to make sure everything looks 0key-dokey. He has an appointment with Dr. Gilbert (his oncologist at Huntsman's) on Thursday, she will be determining if he can start his chemotherapy or if he needs to wait for this incision to heal completely.

waiting...

I know you've all been checking the blog all day, you're thinking where is she, did she forget us. No I didn't I was just holding out hoping to post a "good" post for a change...alas no Eric is still in the "slammer" we thought he might be coming home today, well we thought that because the surgeon gave us hope. But nope it looks like Eric will spend at least one last night in the hospital. They have decided that Eric is allergic to the adhesive in the bandages so they are using a different type of bandage. He's doing well, but they just want to make sure he is infection free, we want this too so we'll hope (again) that tomorrow he'll get to go home, without this nasty infection.