Friday July 19th, 2013

Well family, friends and onlookers,

Not too sure how to say this, so we will just jump right in... Jennifer's Leukemia has come back and we are now at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY.

This all started back on July 2nd when Jenn wasn't feeling too well with abdominal pains and bloating.  This continued into July 3rd when our friends Jaidee and Chris Finn were planning on attending the Dave Matthews Band show here in Buffalo with myself, Dave Vogel and Dave Hino.  I should have known that this was the cancer coming back, because anyone who knows Jenn, knows that she would NEVER miss a Dave Matthews Show... EVER!

On the morning of July 4th I took Jenn to an Immediate Care facility here in Buffalo and they reviewed her issues and decided to send her to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital immediately.  upon arriving at Millard the ER Doctors stated that they believe she had an intestinal blockage and that everything was going to be alright... Well that couldn't have been further from the truth.  After taking some blood and reviewing the slides, the Dr came into the room and shocked us all at once.  I won't ever forget the way he delivered the news.  He said "Guys, I have only had to say this once before in my career, so here goes.  Your Leukemia is back and is out of control. You need to get to Roswell Park ASAP."

All I kept thinking to myself is this cannot be happening, this is the best woman in the world and you cannot be telling me that her cancer is back... Tell me she has a blockage or the flu, but not cancer again.  This poor girl has been through hell and back, but like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, she will get through this.  This is just another unfortunate chapter in our lives and in Jenn's journey.

So, this was around 4pm on the 4th of July.  They had Duke call me and Dr Horowitz from Duke spoke to me about Jenn's current condition.  She had a white blood cell count of 132, which is 10 times what a normal reading should be.  Dr Horowitz told me that the bloating was from the white blood cells and that her Kidneys were not functioning at all and that they saw signs in the CT Scan that indicated permanent kidney damage.  Dr Horowitz also mentioned that flying Jenn down to Duke was far to risky, so he agreed that going to Roswell was the most effective course of treatment.

Jenn was immediately accepted by Roswell and she was whisked away in an ambulance to where we are today at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.  We were met at Roswell by Dr Wetzler, the head of the Leukemia division at Roswell.  He was very nice, but explained that Jenn was in very serious condition and that they needed to get her on an Apheresis machine immediately to filter out as many of the white blood cells as possible.  When your white blood cell counts get that high, your blood runs VERY thick and typically will cause major organ damage (brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and liver).  Well after receiving that treatment, Jenn's white blood cell count came down to 32 which was amazing!

We found out on July 5th that Jenn would be here at Roswell for 4-6 weeks or so.  She was nervous and kept asking me if she was a goner.  This had to be the worst conversation we have ever had.  How do you explain to your wife that her future is uncertain at this time???  Sooo, we chatted for sometime and I explained how fortunate she is to be at a world class cancer center.  We also talked about how blessed we are that the Doctors were all available on the 4th of July and treated her immediately.  Then we talked about how strong of a family unit we are and that no matter how high the mountain is, we will climb it and conquer this latest challenge.  Jenn was stable with that response and decided that we would fight this and make it through this once and for all.

Without getting into fine details, we have been on a roller coaster ride ever since.

As of today, we know the following.

Jenn will be here for a while, she will need 4-6 weeks to get the Leukemia back into remission and to get stronger before going into the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit here at Roswell.  Yes, Jenn will need to go back through the bone marrow transplant yet again.  All in, we will probably be here in Buffalo till late November or into December.

Jenn's kidneys are not damaged and none of her major organs suffered any damage at all.  But she hasn't eaten since we arrived, so she is on a TPN IV of proteins, etc.  Jenn also had her 14 day bone marrow biopsy done yesterday so we are patiently awaiting those results.  The fungal lung infection that she previously had at Duke is back, so that is the biggest issue to date.  It causes Jenn to breathe heavy at times and induces pneumonia like fluid in the lungs.  She also is having issues with her liver as the anti fungal medicines are causing very high levels of Bilirubin.

We are walking 2-3 laps a day to help get Jenn stronger, for her pending bone marrow transplant.  Outside of that, Jenn is doing well and we expect to get through this just like we did at Duke.  The Dr's have assured us that people sometimes have to go through 3 or 4 bone marrow transplants before the Leukemia stays in remission.  So our new motto is that the second time is the charm... We don't want to go through this a 3rd time at all.  I will be updating the blog daily from now on and we apologize for the delay, there just has been a lot going on lately.

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has donated platelets and blood.  Jaidee found out that there is a donor center downstairs at Roswell and the donations can be directed for use by Jenn.  This is amazing and most appreciated.  So far I know that Jaidee, Christina, my dad and myself have all donated and thank you all so much!!!  If you want to donate, please contact the donor center at Roswell (716) 845-8275

Also, special thanks for all the gifts, please note that Jenn cannot receive live plants or flowers, so please hold off on sending flowers, anything else is most appreciated.  Thanks to Crystal and Phil Shumaker for the amazing flowers, also thanks to Jason and Shannon Aldrich for their beautiful flowers as well.  Thanks to Jaidee, Chris and the entire Schweitzer family for the pillows, aromatherapy, art supplies and various other pick me ups!!  Thanks to Scott And Tucker Ochs for Jenn's awesome I-Pad Mini and Les Miserables DVD.  Dave Hino gets love for all the gossip mags and Dave Matthews DVDs for Jenn to watch.  Thanks to the Vogels for the sweet coloring book and colored pencils, etc.  Thanks to everyone for the cards and heart felt messages.  Mom and Dad, I couldn't do all of this without you, your love and support has always been appreciated!  Kim, thanks for being an awesome mother-in-law, your love and support is always felt and your caring and dedication is second to none.  Final thanks to all of my friends (Radloff, Cartonia, Hino, Olsen, Mucica and Szczesek) for everything you have done!

Jenn's address here is:
Jennifer Pyjas
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Elm and Carlton St. Room 5409 West
Buffalo, NY 14263

Much love from room 5409!!