Lacee and Albert need our help!
On Sunday, March 8, we went to the St. Anthony ER in Mustang because Albert was having abdominal pain that wouldn’t go away. After some blood work there, the doctors decided that it would be best to transfer him to St. Anthony Hospital downtown so that further tests could be done. On Monday, March 9, we found out that Albert’s white blood cell count was nonexistent and his spleen was the size of a football, which was resulting in the abdominal pain that sent him to the hospital. The doctors decided to do a bone marrow biopsy to confirm what was causing his spleen to swell and white blood cells to diminish. He had the biopsy that day, and then it was just a waiting game to see what the results were.
On Tuesday evening, March 10, we got the results from the bone marrow biopsy, Hairy Cell Leukemia. Hairy Cell Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow and accounts for about 2% of all leukemia cases. In HCL, too many blood stem cells become lymphocytes that are abnormal and do not become healthy white blood cells. These lymphocytes build up in the blood and bone marrow not leaving enough room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets (cancer.gov). The lymphocytes may also collect in the spleen causing it to swell like Albert’s did.
On Wednesday, March 11 Albert started 24-hour chemo that would last for 7 days straight. He was put on protective precautions to protect him from infection or other illness because he had no immune system. To keep Albert as healthy as possible, we had to limit his visitors as much as possible. I spend everyday at the hospital with Albert, then go home at night to take care of the kids, get them ready for school the next morning and then we start all over again. The kids have been handling the situation remarkably well and being able to see Albert look good has helped. His optimism and strength has been a comfort to us all. Albert finished chemo on the 18th and now the attention has turned to getting his blood counts back to normal.
Looking forward, we still have a long road ahead. Albert will need to stay in the hospital until his blood work gets back to a normal range and he might need blood transfusions. Once he comes home from the hospital, he will still need to make daily or every other day visits to the hospital for blood work. We have been told that this could be the norm for quite some time.
Since getting to the hospital, we have had so much love and support surrounding us. It has been a bit of a fog, but all of the support we have gotten means the world to us. You truly do not realize the amazing community that you have until you are faced with hard times. My family and I cannot express our gratitude enough, and we are so thankful to have such wonderful families and friends sharing kind words and sending their love.
Updates to come as we get them
On Sunday, March 8, we went to the St. Anthony ER in Mustang because Albert was having abdominal pain that wouldn’t go away. After some blood work there, the doctors decided that it would be best to transfer him to St. Anthony Hospital downtown so that further tests could be done. On Monday, March 9, we found out that Albert’s white blood cell count was nonexistent and his spleen was the size of a football, which was resulting in the abdominal pain that sent him to the hospital. The doctors decided to do a bone marrow biopsy to confirm what was causing his spleen to swell and white blood cells to diminish. He had the biopsy that day, and then it was just a waiting game to see what the results were.
On Tuesday evening, March 10, we got the results from the bone marrow biopsy, Hairy Cell Leukemia. Hairy Cell Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow and accounts for about 2% of all leukemia cases. In HCL, too many blood stem cells become lymphocytes that are abnormal and do not become healthy white blood cells. These lymphocytes build up in the blood and bone marrow not leaving enough room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets (cancer.gov). The lymphocytes may also collect in the spleen causing it to swell like Albert’s did.
On Wednesday, March 11 Albert started 24-hour chemo that would last for 7 days straight. He was put on protective precautions to protect him from infection or other illness because he had no immune system. To keep Albert as healthy as possible, we had to limit his visitors as much as possible. I spend everyday at the hospital with Albert, then go home at night to take care of the kids, get them ready for school the next morning and then we start all over again. The kids have been handling the situation remarkably well and being able to see Albert look good has helped. His optimism and strength has been a comfort to us all. Albert finished chemo on the 18th and now the attention has turned to getting his blood counts back to normal.
Looking forward, we still have a long road ahead. Albert will need to stay in the hospital until his blood work gets back to a normal range and he might need blood transfusions. Once he comes home from the hospital, he will still need to make daily or every other day visits to the hospital for blood work. We have been told that this could be the norm for quite some time.
Since getting to the hospital, we have had so much love and support surrounding us. It has been a bit of a fog, but all of the support we have gotten means the world to us. You truly do not realize the amazing community that you have until you are faced with hard times. My family and I cannot express our gratitude enough, and we are so thankful to have such wonderful families and friends sharing kind words and sending their love.
Updates to come as we get them
Organizer and beneficiary
Lacee Harrison
Beneficiary