I am here
John Snyder
I am still here so far, but I have been very remiss in sending an update. It is a case of someone opened the cage door and I escaped and I have been running wild ever since, Though the zoo keeper has been chasing me down lately, more on that later.
Things have been going well, I am feeling good and I am told I am looking good but as my Mother (the zoo keeper) continues to remind me, I am not healed on the inside.
I last departed the hospital on April 2nd and I have been working towards a recovery ever since. Doctor Needles (yes that is really his name) was looking to move me into a maintenance program but my blood count has not supported this plan.
My blood count had been rebounding fairly well after each treatment until after the 5th treatment. My white count was lagging at 3,300 when it should have been 7,000 to 10,000. After six weeks of waiting for my blood counts to return, he finally decided he would reduce the number of treatments in the sixth round from six doses to four. I only made it through three when I spiked a fever. My white counts fell all of the way down to 30 and my platelets went down to about 19,000 (should be around 250,000).
My blood counts had slowly started to rise, the white had initially jumped due to the booster shots to 6,000 but then fell all the way down to 2,200. My platelets had risen to 77,000 but then fell down to 49,000. Dr. Needles has been scheduling appointments once a month to watch for the blood count increase as we wait. My appointment in June showed my white count had reached 2,800 and my platelets had gone back up to 57,000. Both are significantly below where they need to be. Dr. Needles has said that with counts this low, it is not possible to do maintenance as the dosage would need to be so low it wouldn’t matter.
Unfortunately the July 23rd appointment showed my counts had dropped significantly. My white count went down to 1,600 and my platelets went down to 31,000. Back in May, Dr. Needles performed a bone marrow biopsy to verify the condition of the bone marrow and it came back looking healthy. On July 11th, I had a CT scan performed to check the tumor and it has not changed since my Pet scan at the end of January. Dr. Needles is at a loss as to why things are the way they are and believes all we can do is wait. There is no sign that the platelets are “sick” or some other issues is occurring but then they aren’t jumping back. I personally believe they are just angry from the Chemotherapy and haven’t stopped pouting yet.
Now my Mother on the other hand, has been very clear that my late nights working and poor eating habits may be involved. For the record, I do agree. It has been a miracle that I was able to survive 8 months of treatment while being self employed without running out of money. I have been very blessed and I have had some notable help. Unfortunately, this has meant that I have had to hit the ground running to keep the alligators at bay (those little guys can run faster then they look). Not to mention that I have a nature that drives me hard into creating and performing work. Between my work and raising my children it can be demanding. I have promised that I will get 7 – 8 hours of sleep a day and that I will not stay up so late. After my first week I am maybe at a C+.
It is amazing how much of the pace, self discipline, and organization I lost through the treatment. I still think like I do things as before but I have not been anywhere as organized or self disciplined as before (yes Mr. Schoenfeldt, I was organized!) It is hard to tell how much was lost because I was forced to stop doing things and how much was the impact from the Chemotherapy, probably 60/40. I believe my Mother is right, there was a lot of internal damage done and it may take the good part of a year before it heals.
I went back in for a blood check on Friday the 27th, after sleeping a little more, drinking a lot more water, and taking vitamins, and my white count had fallen to 1,400 but my platelets had risen to 38,000. I am due back for another blood check on August 10th.
It is clear that I need to back off my pace a little in an effort to improve my blood count but not so much that I fail to generate sufficient income. Sounds like the balance we are all fighting every day, only maybe I am doing it with flaming knives. Hey, there needs to be a little challenge in life (here there be lions).
It has been a very interesting year as I being the month of August, recalling all that was going on this time last year. Somewhere back there was a year that was very different.
I appreciate all that everyone has done for me, the prayers, the friendships, and the countless help. There have been far more blessings then suffering and I can clearly say my children have gained a lot from all that has occurred.
Thank you for your continued prayers and assistance. I will reign in my boundaries so that I do a better job on getting updates up as I appreciate all of you.
Thanks and God Bless,
John
lort...@comcast.net
Hi John,
Was glad I got to finally meet you at Jenna's and Kevin's wedding.
I was wondering how you were, when I spoke with your Mother last week she had told me basically the same as you are saying in your email.
Sounds like you have to stop burning the mid night oil and get some much needed sleep.
Will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Get your blood count up!
Love, Loretta
Todd Nault
Sent from my iPhone
Jason Graklanoff
Jason Graklanoff
Ray Smith
It sounds to me like what you need is a good manager to point you along the right path and control your time and effort. But I doubt that is going to happen.
Seriously John, it sounds like you are headed down a decent path, you just need to finish the journey. Good Luck. Maybe you can slow down and we can have lunch some day.
Wendy Schoenfeldt
Personal E-Mail
Janet Snyder
Take care,
Jan
From: jgr...@gmail.com
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:36:00 -0500
Subject: Re: I am here
To: jsnyder...@googlegroups.com
Mary Martin
Try to relax on vacation!!
I promise to leave you alone.
Mary
James Hardy
betty...@aol.com
Good day all!
Just wanted to give you the most recent update on my brother John.
He started radiation treatment today because the tumor is growing. Please keep him in your prayers as he enters the next phase of challenges which may include a bone marrow transplant.
Love, Carol, Patti, and Linda
Erick Harlow
John-
Hang in there buddy. You have our thoughts and prayers. Let me know if you need anything.
I am in the bone marrow database.
Erick