Help our Dad, Bill, beat AML
Donation protected
Who we are:
This campaign was made by Tom and Lauren -- Bill's children. We both live in Chicagoland and are doing everything we can to help our dad, who is in Phoenix, get through his battle with AML. Bill, our dad, has lived in Phoenix since 2004; he's 69 and living on a fixed income from Social Security.
The beginning:
For the past eight years, he's had a disease called myelofibrosis. Myelofibrosis is a serious bone marrow disorder that disrupts the body's normal production of blood cells. The result is extensive scarring in the bone marrow, leading to anemia, weakness, fatigue, and often, an enlarged speel and liver. Overall, things had been relatively under control for a long time -- things weren't perfect, and weren't improving, but his condition had been stable. His platelet count had been in the 45-60 thousand range for several years. The normal range is 150-350 thousand, but this was manageable and had no significant impact on his daily life.
The decline:
In late March, he developed what he thought was either a bad cold or respiratory infection; it was discovered that he actually had pneumonia and began antibiotics. Additionally, his platelet count had dropped from 45 thousand on March 9, to only 13 thousand by March 23.
His platelet count continued to drop over the next few days, so on April 4 a bone marrow biopsy was performed due to suspicion of possible leukemia. Unfortunately, the biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of acute undifferentiated leukemia. While lab work could not clearly define a sub-type of leukemia, several indicators and his prior history favored a diagnosis of AML having progressed from his myelofibrosis.
Admission:
On April 11, Bill had an appointment with a hemotology oncologist to discuss treatment. At this point, his platelet count had dropped to only 1 thousand. The doctor advised him it was critical for him to begin treatment immediately, otherwise this disease would likely kill him within the next several weeks. He was promptly admitted into the Mayo Clinic Hospital. Upon learning this, Tom booked a flight and flew out that night to be with him.
They needed to start him on chemotherapy right away, but due to his extremely low platelet count and the persistence of the pneumonia, they gave him platelet transfusions to get his counts up as well as antibiotics/antivirals and began chemotherapy on Wednesday the 13th.
He got through 3 days of chemo, and then on Friday his kidneys began to not function properly. They immediately put him on kidney dialysis, but he had to stop chemo. After the initial dialysis treatment, he did well and started to improve. They tried taking him off the dialysis but he didn't respond well so they kept him on the dialysis full time.
Lauren; Bill's sisters, Therese and Natalie; and Natalie's daughter Kathy flew out on Saturday, and Tom returned home on Monday the 18th. Also on the 18th, they took him off dialysis and he responded very well. As a result, they were able to restart chemotherapy on Tuesday the 19th which they continueed for 5 days. They continued to monitor his kidneys to see how he does while on chemo and would restart dialysis if he needs it. So far, he was doing great on his own, which was very positive. Another outcome of his chemotherapy is that he developed Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS), which is a side effect of the cancer cells breaking apart but causes elevated uric acid, potassium, and phosphorous levels and decreased calcium levels, which is not good. This can also impact kidney function. They were able to get this under control and were optimistic that his levels would not be as high as the first chemo treatment but were closely monitoring.
The good news, is that he was able to maintain his sense of humor and keep his spirits up, which was especially helped by spending so much time with family.
Progress:
Chemotherapy finished on April 24, and then began the waiting and recovery. He ended up not needing any additional dialysis for the rest of the chemo regimen and at this point began working with a physical therapist to walk around and work on rebuilding his strength. A follow-up bone marrow biopsy was scheduled for May 2nd to gauge the effects of the chemo. On May 4th, we received excellent news -- the biopsy showed no cancer cells! He still needed to stay in the hospital for several weeks until he had recovered some strength and rebuild his immune system.
Going home:
On May 22nd, after having spent nearly 6 weeks in the hospital, Bill was discharged from Mayo Clinic. As you can imagine, he was thrilled to sleep in his own bed and is so happy to be in the comfort of his own home.
Tom flew out to Arizona to be with Bill as he adjusts to being back at home, as well as help with things around the house and run errands. He'll still need to check in with the doctor regularly and have frequent blood draws to make sure everything continues to look good and that he is feeling well.
On June 1, he had another bone marrow biopsy to ensure nothing had yet returned -- when meeting with his doctor, he was told that any leukemia cells were below the level of detection -- meaning he's still looking great!
Future:
Bill will continue to need lots of monitoring of his blood work and maintenance treatment to prevent recurrence of the AML. Unfortunately, this type of leukemia has a very high rate of recurrence, so we want to do everything we can to prevent that from happening. The only permanent cure for this is a bone marrow transplant, but his reduced kidney and heart function make him ineligible for this, as the risk of death from a complication is >50%.
How your donations will be used:
The primary goal is to cover the portion of his hospital expenses that aren't paid by medicare. We don't have a firm amount yet for this, as not all the bills have been finalized, but we'll provide updates as we have them.
Secondly, this will cover the cost of the prescriptions that he's on now, as well as any maintenance drugs he will be taking to keep fighting this.
After that, any additional money will help cover travel expenses for Bill's family to spend more time with him and help him fight this.
A thank you:
Finally, thank you so much for reading this and even considering a donation. The journey has not been without its challenges, but Bill has done a great job fighting hard and overcoming these. He knows he has a huge support network out there rallying and praying for him daily which has helped him get through so thank you. We appreciate all the support and works of hope during these hard times. As we have updates, we'll continue to share along the way.
This campaign was made by Tom and Lauren -- Bill's children. We both live in Chicagoland and are doing everything we can to help our dad, who is in Phoenix, get through his battle with AML. Bill, our dad, has lived in Phoenix since 2004; he's 69 and living on a fixed income from Social Security.
The beginning:
For the past eight years, he's had a disease called myelofibrosis. Myelofibrosis is a serious bone marrow disorder that disrupts the body's normal production of blood cells. The result is extensive scarring in the bone marrow, leading to anemia, weakness, fatigue, and often, an enlarged speel and liver. Overall, things had been relatively under control for a long time -- things weren't perfect, and weren't improving, but his condition had been stable. His platelet count had been in the 45-60 thousand range for several years. The normal range is 150-350 thousand, but this was manageable and had no significant impact on his daily life.
The decline:
In late March, he developed what he thought was either a bad cold or respiratory infection; it was discovered that he actually had pneumonia and began antibiotics. Additionally, his platelet count had dropped from 45 thousand on March 9, to only 13 thousand by March 23.
His platelet count continued to drop over the next few days, so on April 4 a bone marrow biopsy was performed due to suspicion of possible leukemia. Unfortunately, the biopsy confirmed a diagnosis of acute undifferentiated leukemia. While lab work could not clearly define a sub-type of leukemia, several indicators and his prior history favored a diagnosis of AML having progressed from his myelofibrosis.
Admission:
On April 11, Bill had an appointment with a hemotology oncologist to discuss treatment. At this point, his platelet count had dropped to only 1 thousand. The doctor advised him it was critical for him to begin treatment immediately, otherwise this disease would likely kill him within the next several weeks. He was promptly admitted into the Mayo Clinic Hospital. Upon learning this, Tom booked a flight and flew out that night to be with him.
They needed to start him on chemotherapy right away, but due to his extremely low platelet count and the persistence of the pneumonia, they gave him platelet transfusions to get his counts up as well as antibiotics/antivirals and began chemotherapy on Wednesday the 13th.
He got through 3 days of chemo, and then on Friday his kidneys began to not function properly. They immediately put him on kidney dialysis, but he had to stop chemo. After the initial dialysis treatment, he did well and started to improve. They tried taking him off the dialysis but he didn't respond well so they kept him on the dialysis full time.
Lauren; Bill's sisters, Therese and Natalie; and Natalie's daughter Kathy flew out on Saturday, and Tom returned home on Monday the 18th. Also on the 18th, they took him off dialysis and he responded very well. As a result, they were able to restart chemotherapy on Tuesday the 19th which they continueed for 5 days. They continued to monitor his kidneys to see how he does while on chemo and would restart dialysis if he needs it. So far, he was doing great on his own, which was very positive. Another outcome of his chemotherapy is that he developed Tumor Lysis Syndrome (TLS), which is a side effect of the cancer cells breaking apart but causes elevated uric acid, potassium, and phosphorous levels and decreased calcium levels, which is not good. This can also impact kidney function. They were able to get this under control and were optimistic that his levels would not be as high as the first chemo treatment but were closely monitoring.
The good news, is that he was able to maintain his sense of humor and keep his spirits up, which was especially helped by spending so much time with family.
Progress:
Chemotherapy finished on April 24, and then began the waiting and recovery. He ended up not needing any additional dialysis for the rest of the chemo regimen and at this point began working with a physical therapist to walk around and work on rebuilding his strength. A follow-up bone marrow biopsy was scheduled for May 2nd to gauge the effects of the chemo. On May 4th, we received excellent news -- the biopsy showed no cancer cells! He still needed to stay in the hospital for several weeks until he had recovered some strength and rebuild his immune system.
Going home:
On May 22nd, after having spent nearly 6 weeks in the hospital, Bill was discharged from Mayo Clinic. As you can imagine, he was thrilled to sleep in his own bed and is so happy to be in the comfort of his own home.
Tom flew out to Arizona to be with Bill as he adjusts to being back at home, as well as help with things around the house and run errands. He'll still need to check in with the doctor regularly and have frequent blood draws to make sure everything continues to look good and that he is feeling well.
On June 1, he had another bone marrow biopsy to ensure nothing had yet returned -- when meeting with his doctor, he was told that any leukemia cells were below the level of detection -- meaning he's still looking great!
Future:
Bill will continue to need lots of monitoring of his blood work and maintenance treatment to prevent recurrence of the AML. Unfortunately, this type of leukemia has a very high rate of recurrence, so we want to do everything we can to prevent that from happening. The only permanent cure for this is a bone marrow transplant, but his reduced kidney and heart function make him ineligible for this, as the risk of death from a complication is >50%.
How your donations will be used:
The primary goal is to cover the portion of his hospital expenses that aren't paid by medicare. We don't have a firm amount yet for this, as not all the bills have been finalized, but we'll provide updates as we have them.
Secondly, this will cover the cost of the prescriptions that he's on now, as well as any maintenance drugs he will be taking to keep fighting this.
After that, any additional money will help cover travel expenses for Bill's family to spend more time with him and help him fight this.
A thank you:
Finally, thank you so much for reading this and even considering a donation. The journey has not been without its challenges, but Bill has done a great job fighting hard and overcoming these. He knows he has a huge support network out there rallying and praying for him daily which has helped him get through so thank you. We appreciate all the support and works of hope during these hard times. As we have updates, we'll continue to share along the way.
Organizer and beneficiary
Tom Indelli
Organizer
Scottsdale, AZ
William Indelli
Beneficiary
