Saturday, October 26, 2013

Setting In

Good Evening Everyone,

It will never cease to amaze me at how fast things can change when it comes to this disease. My dad is still doing okay but the chemo is starting to set in. He hasn't been quite as active as normal, and you can tell that he doesn't have extra energy to spare. Every week he goes in to get his labs drawn and he has only needed platelets once so far. He goes to Rochester in a few weeks for the next round of chemo and this round will again last for five days. In the mean time, our goal is to keep him happy and busy with little projects! I have determined that making him laugh at least once a day is going to be a new habit! Thank you for your support.

Laura Katchmark


Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Fight Continues

Good Evening Everyone,

This week has been a good one for my dad. His first round of chemo ended on Sunday the 13th and ever since then he has tried to stay as active as possible. On Monday, I participated in an Outdoor Adventures (class at school) field trip and he came with me! We were shooting trap and afterwards my dad and I stayed behind to shoot a few rounds in the handgun range:) Things almost felt normal! Hopefully this good feeling will last for a while but as we know from previous experience there could be a few side effects emerging in the next few weeks. For now however, we are thankful that his appetite is still very large and he is tackling little projects around the house! As for his counts, they are remaining fairly steady, but are very low which is to be expected. Thank you so much for your support and love as the winter months draw near! I will post again next weekend! Stay warm:)

Laura Katchmark


Friday, October 11, 2013

Merry Go Round

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to take the time to update you all on my dads health status. As you all know, over the summer he was declared  "cancer free" and things were going quite smoothly. During the month of August however, he developed a severe line infection. The doctors at Mayo couldn't quite figure out what kind of bacteria was in his body but eventually they determined that it originates from corn plants and pineapples. We still have no idea how he managed to contract such an infection but nonetheless he did and as a result his blood counts began dropping dramatically. At first there wasn't much concern over the falling numbers but just this month he went in for a bone marrow test and the results were concrete. The cancer is back. His bone marrow test showed about 10% blast cells (cancerous cells) present in his body. He began chemo on Wednesday of this week and goes everyday until Sunday. He will do this same schedule three weeks from now and then again in December. As a family we have been doing well with the news of the cancers return, or as well as can be expected. My dad is a fighter and he has loads of support. Thank you all so much. I will be posting weekly on either Saturday or Sunday from now on! 

Laura Katchmark

My family is my happiness and I love you all!