Dale's blog

Monday, December 17, 2007

Dale is now on maintnenace chemotherapy which consists of iv chemotherapy twice a month and pills every night for the month of December. The leukemia is still present in his marrow and blood. He was not able to get into remssion from the induction protocol last month. It was a long shot since the chemotherapy regimen was fairly light for a three time relapse. He had about 7% left in the marrow. The peripheral blood shows 12% blasts. Normally, you should not see any in the blood. Despite all that, Dale continues his studies and manages to play golf , basketball and occasionaly go to hula. His last ANC was 1200, Hgb-8.3 and Platelets 77,000. The platelets went up as high as 109,000 but with the start of the maintenance (6-MP) the platelets have dropped . Highlights for the past few weeks have been playing in a golf tournament at Malibu Country Club,going to see the Christmas Story at the Chrystal Cathedral with the Chong family, and going to see the UCLA Bruin basketball game and watching his favorite player Josh Shipp in action. The golf tournament was planned especially for Dale. There were 10 teams consisting of adults and kids. Dale and his golf teacher/friend Ryan traveled around playing 1 or 2 holes with each team. At the end of a long day, he told me it was one of the best days of his life. Dale was not feeling well the day before and the weather was questionable but on Saturday morning he woke up to blue skies and a lot of sunshine. He did not complain of any nausea or fatigue. He was running around the course with a big smile on his face all day. Uncle Kirk was able to get a cart cover to keep the wind out and a small heater to keep him warm. Although, I think Auntie Shari was riding in that cart more than Dale during the last 2 holes. Just as well, because it gave Dale a chance to drive with me in my cart. I was scared but he had fun. Luckily we did not damage the course or run into anything. Dale is now going to school for about an hour and a half every day. He loves going to school and seeing his friends for this makes him feel somewhat normal. Dale mentioned to me yesterday that he made a basket during his game and it sounded like the whole gym cheered for him. He also mentioned how good it made him feel when his whole team gave him "high fives" . As you can see, Dale continues to hold his own for now. Thank you for the prayers that keep Dale going. Wishing you all a blessed holiday season.....

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Dale's Golf Tournament At Malibu Contry Club
December 8, 2007

"Just grip it and rip it!"

haha one...two...three....seven?!?

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Day 30 of induction protocol

Dale managed to get by this week without a transfusion of any kind. Last week he required both blood and platelets. If you were donor number 8132754 , thank you for your platelets. On Friday, Nov. 9th Dale's platelets were 32,000. The doctor told Dale he probably didn't need a transfusion just yet but since there was a long weekend coming up he gave him the option of getting one. Dale told his doctor " Someone came all the way up here to donate platelets for me so I don't want it to go to waste" The nurse had checked with blood bank earlier and told Dale that a unit of platelets would be expiring on Sunday. So the doctor authorized the transfusion and Dale was good to go for the week. This week his platelets were 56,000. The Wbc is now 3.0 and the ANC was 1600. Dale's bone marrow is starting to recover from the last chemo. He has just about lost all of his hair but that did not stop him from playing basketball or golf. Yesterday, Wade, Derek and Dale played a round of golf and today Dale played basketball with his team. Last weekend Dale went on a motorcycle ride with Uncle Alan again just for fun. They cruised around and had a lot of fun. Derek was also treated with a ride too. Later that evening Dale attended his basketball team party where they presented him with an autographed #8 Kobe jersey. He was very surprised. I wish I could have captured the look on his face when he saw the signature on the number. Of course, I did not have a camera. Too bad Auntie Shari wasn't with us. She would of had her camera ready. The last few evenings, Dale has been experiencing headaches which the doctor attributes to the lumbar puncture he received on Friday , the 16th. A needle is placed into Dale's spine and spinal fluid is removed and chemo is put in. Sometimes the spinal fluid continues to leak out and this causes the headache. It doesn't hurt as much lying down and tylenol seems to help. We are going back to UCLA on Wednesday to check if he will need more platelets. Thank you for your continued support, blood and platelet donations and for your prayers. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.