A Few Hours of Testing Turns Into Fourteen

Mark and Dianna went to the hospital yesterday in anticipation of a few hours of testing. They arrived at 7:00 am for a MUGA scan at the Huntsman Center. A MUGA scan is an evaluation of the function of the heart ventricles. It provides a movie-like image of the beating heart and allows doctors to determine the health of the heart’s major pumping chambers.

Right after the MUGA, Mark and Dianna rushed to the University for a pulmonary function test. Everything went great and they were off for a break. They spent the time checking out their new digs for the next several weeks while Mark undergoes high-dose chemo.

At 3:00 pm, they arrived for the CT scan and chest/sinus x-rays, and were ready for their next appointment at Research Park -- the MRI. Mark and Dianna were surprised to find out that the MRI would take about 3.5 hours. The purpose of the MRI would be to look at each lesion at extremely deep views. Unforunately for Mark, there would be no music, no movement, and no cool air.

During the CT scan, the technicians found free air in Mark's stomach. BAD NEWS!!! They were worried that the air could be the result of leaks in his bowels, so Mark spent the next few hours drinking dye WHILE continuing his MRI session.

After the MRI, Mark and Dianna arrived back at the Huntsman Center around 7:00 pm for another CT scan on his stomach. They were told that there was a possibility that Mark would be ending his day in EMERGENCY SURGERY.

After some difficulty getting in contact with the PA to get directions on what to do next, they were finally able to reach Dr. Zangari. Apparently free air could be caused from the chemo or steroids that Mark had taken earlier, and that as long as no symptons were apparent, such as fever and tenderness, that they should go home. Mark was more than thrilled to hear that after spending what seemed like an eternity thinking that he would be getting his abdomen cut open.

Apparently chemotherapy can produce pin-size air bubbles. The bubbles can feel like the size of baseballs and can cause major pain and discomfort. Once the bubble pops, it will cause free air. In certain circumstances, free air is an indication that something is very wrong.

Mark is scheduled for another CT scan on Monday, along with lab work, an echocardiogram, and a bone marrow biopsy.

The GREAT news is that Mark is feeling really good despite the fact that their quick day of lab work turned into 14 hours!!!

Mark is scheduled to see Dr. Zangari on February 5th. The plan is to start high-dose I.V. chemo on the 6th, pill-form chemo over the weekend, more high-dose on the 9th. After that, they will begin the stem cell transplant.

Your thoughts and prayers are so appreciated.

Thanks for the support, David! It's not too late for anyone else to join the "Strapper 'Bald Head' Support Club".

Really Good News!!

Hallelujah! Mark's tandem stem cell transplant has been approved by Altius. Apparently approval of BOTH transplants is a first for this particular insurance company so this piece of good news was a bit unexpected.

Over the next couple of weeks, Mark will have to redo all the tests that he had done in the beginning (bone biopsy, CT, MRI, pulmonary function, and all the lab work). Then on February 5th, Mark will meet with Dr. Zangari to get the okay for starting the transplant process. If all goes as planned, that will happen on Monday, February 12th. The process will include high-dose chemotherapy, then two days of pills and labs, more chemo on the 4th day, then the transplant, which will take one to two days. Once the stem cells enter his bloodstream, circulation will deliver them to the bone marrow. This is called engraftment and will take up to 15 days.

Engraftment occurs when the bone marrow makes new blood cells after the stem cell transplant. After the stem cells are infused, the bloodstream carries them to the blood marrow. The body’s own chemical signals direct the stem cells to stay there, where they start to produce new stem cells and blood cells. In about 10 to 14 days, the marrow produces enough white blood cells to achieve an absolute neutrophil count of 500 or more for three consecutive days, when the transplant is considered engrafted. Red blood cell and platelet counts may take another one to two weeks to stabilize.

Mark's treatment so far has gone extraordinarily well and he is way ahead of most patients in the process. Hopefully he will be just as successful in this next step.

Dianna will need to find another place to stay in SLC prior to the 6th as The Chase Suites was not the most ideal place to live.

Number Six

Meet Kim Peterson. Kim is a Myeloma patient with Mark and wanted to join the "Strapper Support Group." Thanks for the picture, Denese!

One More For The Cause

Number FIVE and counting ...

A Show of Support

It didn't take long for Shane to jump on the bald head band wagon! You're awesome, Shane!! What a great way to support your Dad.

Mark is doing really well. So well, in fact, that he took the Peterbilt out for a drive the first day he was home. He told Dianna that he was just going to start it up for awhile. The next thing she knew, their house was nothing more than a reflection in his rear view mirror and he was on his way to Grantsville. Dianna called Timmy and told him to watch out for a masked bald man in a runaway truck. Like a good boy, Mark turned right around and came back home. Afterall, he is supposed to be using this time to REST at home!

Mark and Dianna would like to send out a special thank you to Dianna's co-workers for their thoughts and prayers, and the generous donation they sent. All your support is very much appreciated. It's great to know that Mark and Dianna have such wonderful and caring friends.

Here are some pics of Shane's noggin, along with one from Mark's brother, Justin. Okay, so who's next? Send pics to stefany[at]tigerjake[dotcom]. (You all know the correct email method -- I'm listing it this way in the blog to try to avoid spammers. I know, I'm a bit paranoid!).

It's Good To Be Home!

Mark is feeling great and really glad to be home with Shane. We'll know more about what the next several weeks will be like after his appointment with Dr. Zangari on Monday.

I've heard that several of you are still having trouble figuring out how to leave a comment. At the bottom of each post, you'll see the word "Comments". Just click on the word and it will take you to a screen where you can enter your note. There is a word verification step that you will need to complete (the purpose is to help reduce comment spam). You do not need to be a registered user. You can enter your comment as an anonymous user, but please be sure to enter your name in your comment so Mark and Dianna will know who it's from.

One last thing ... not all of you know Richie so I figured I need to rat him out. He's not really as heroic as he may have seemed in the last couple of postings. He's already bald -- lost his hair before he reached his 30's! Just thought I should be clear on that as he was feeling really guilty after getting kuddos for showing his support. That doesn't mean that all the rest of you should shy away from going cojack!

Mark's New Do