#SlayLeukemiaforKeith

My name is Jackie and I am Keith's daughter-in-law who is putting together this fundraiser to help with the medical bills while Keith is in the ICU fighting for his life. Sue, his wife, wanted me to update everyone on what is going on with Keith.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, Dad had a doctor's apt which Mom had taken him to because he wasn't feeling good. When he had gotten to the doctor's appointment they couldn't believe how he made it there with only breathing with 70% oxygen. From the doctor's appointment, Mom took Dad straight to St. Agnes Hospital where they ran some tests and found out that Dad had cancer. However, they had a choice to either go to Madison or Milwaukee to be treated. Dad choose Froedtert Milwaukee and he was transferred later that night. Dad's white blood cell (WBCs) count was 120,000.

On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, after running more tests the doctors told Dad that he has Acute Myeloid Leukemia. We went to go visit him and they explained that he had 99,000 white blood cells in his body that were clogging up his lungs and kidneys. They started him on a chemo pill which help reduce the WBCs to about 92,000. Then they ended up putting in a central line port in the vein in his neck. This will help with leukapheresis (which is removing the extra WBCs in the body that are bad and clogging up his lungs/kidneys). After this 3-hour process was done they had collected 50,000 WBCs which is good and he was sitting up in the chair and was able to breathe better.

On Thursday, May 18th, 2023, Mom got a call that dads vitals were not doing well and he was struggling to breathe. This is because the WBCs that were destroyed/released toxins into the body. This is where Dad's body went into shock and he was put on a ventilator to help with his breathing. Also, it helps reduce stress on his lungs. Also, they started him on dialysis to help with his kidneys. Dad's WBCs count was down to 32,000. They put a central line in his leg and found a blood clot in his leg. So they wanted to do a CT scan to check for more blood clots. Dad could not tolerate the CT scan to check for blood clots in the lungs and his oxygen went down to 50%. They did get his oxygen back up. They did an ultrasound of his legs which was clear from blood clots and an echo of Dad's heart which showed he has a strong heart.

Friday, May 19th, Dad's WBCs count went down to 13,000 when we talked to the nurse. When his vitals were bad his blood pressure was very low. They had him on 3 different blood pressure medications to help regulate his pressure while being on ventilation. He is also on continuous dialysis to help with the kidneys. They were able to decrease some blood pressure medication and reduce a little off the ventilation pressure which is good, but there is a long road to recovery. The nurse on shift thought Dad was 45 years old with his full head of black hair. She was very kind and wonderful with answering any question we had. The nurse said Dad is very sick and little "wins" like this is good, but with Dad's case of Acute Myeloid Leukemia AML which is "monoblastic" type, they have all hands on deck with a great team all around!!

After meeting with the Doctor today at 3 pm, they will start chemo tomorrow. There are 2 different types of chemo. One is aggressive and the other is less aggressive. The doctor will update Mom tomorrow on which type they will go with. Dad will be on ventilation for a little while until he can tolerate breathing on his own and they can keep reducing the oxygen need and the sedation, but for now, his lungs get a rest. We also were updated at this time that his WBC count is 7,000. It is a good thing that he is on ventilation while he receives another dose of chemo in case his body reacts like it did before. Zach made sure that Dad had his great tunes to listen to as well.

I will try to keep everyone updated the best that I can. I ask everyone to please keep Keith and Sue along with the family in their prayers. Thank you to everyone who helps by sharing or donating, every bit helps. Love to you all!!

Saturday, May 20, 2023, Dad's WBCs count is 1,700, his vitals are good and the nurse said he had a good day!! His blood pressure is stable so they took him off of blood pressure medications that he was on due to him having low blood pressure before. He received platelets to help with his platelet count (for those of you that may not know what platelets are or do in the body they help your blood be able to clot). Dad's level was lower. Dad also started on nutrients for the body by tube feeding that goes through the NG-tube he has. They did not start Dad on the new chemo today though. The nurse mentioned that they were going to keep him off of that for a while. So I have to say....WAY to go DAD!!!! Thank you to everyone for your continuous prayers and to all who have donated in some way!! We love you all.

Sunday, May 21, 2023, Mom called Dad's nurse to see how he was doing. The nurse stated that Dad was able to tolerate a CT scan which is good, because this will allow us to see what is going on in his lung and if there are any blood clots. The nurse said that today, they had to put Dad back on blood pressure medications to help with low blood pressure. The nurse also told mom that they wanted to an bronchoscopy. This is a procedure to look directly at the airways in the lungs using a thin, lighted tube (bronchoscope) and can take biopsies (samples to test). Matt took mom down to see Dad and they were able to talk to the Doctors and get results on the CT scan. So, Dad has a set back because he lungs are very damaged by the leukemia. Dad has severe ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). This makes sense to me as to why Dad needs so much help from the ventilator. Matt said that when he saw the CT scan, it looked like Dad's lungs were 85% covered in scar tissue from the leukemia. This is why he is very low on oxygen. So they had to increase him back up to 100% breathing with the ventilation doing all the work of the breathing for Dad. The doctors said that they need Dad to breathe on is own and inorder for him to do that they were going to be laying him in the "prone" position which is on his stomach. However after Dad went for the EGD the doctors consulted with one another and felt that Dad would benefit from being put on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation). ECMO is a type of artificle life support where it continuously pumps blood out of your body and sends it through a series of devices that add oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. Then the machine pumps your blood back into your body. Dad's blood is very dark and this means his blood has low oxygenation. When blood had oxygen in it, it is brighter red in color. This too will help with Dad with his breathing. The CT scan showed no blood clots in the lungs which is good. The EGD was done and they were able to grab samples and this will give us a better idea if there is another infection going on. We will be updated with results later. Mom just got an update on Dad from the nurse that Dad's procedure with the ECMO went well and he looks good on it. Please keep praying for Keith and family. Thank you everyone for all your continuous support!!

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 GREAT NEWS!!!! Dad is out of sedation and off of ventilation!! This is wonderful and thanks for all your prayers!!! Keep them coming!!