Hello Friends and Family,
Today was a productive day for Team Tom Recovery. Today, Tim completed a battery of tests in preparation for the transplant. He also had blood drawn that will be available to replenish his in the event that he needs some after his bone marrow harvest. Tim's been under general anesthesia before so they feel confident that he will be in the hospital for only a few hours on the 6th.
Tom also completed his final pre-transplant test: his third bone marrow biopsy. He says that Dr. Chen was just as good as Dr. Olsen. Tom still raises the proverbial fist at Dr. Mena, who did the first one, which was also the most painful. Tom followed up his biopsy with a platelet transfusion.
Gabriel also had a big day. He met with JoAnn and Rebecca in Child Life Services. They were wonderful. First they asked him what he knew about what was happening to his daddy. Then they used a bone model to show Gabriel how marrow works and let him fill the bone with red, white and platelet "cells" (craft pom poms). They followed this by giving him "Gabe's Chemo Duck" (the "Gabe's" part was coincidental). The duck (it looks like a Suzy's Zoo Duck) has a Hickman Line (the line that will replace Tom's picc line and be used to administer Tom's chemo and other "immune system stand-in" drugs" throughout his hospital stay), a hospital gown and a bandana covering his "bald" head. They also gave Gabriel a child's doctor's kit with a doctor's badge and a few real medical supplies and proceeded to talk through various aspects of treatment, including caring for and giving medication through the Hickman line. They also encouraged Gabriel to act out many of these procedures and events. He had a great time and they really enjoyed him. I teared up several times. I think partially because we are so lucky to have such a great kid, partly because I'm so glad he's doing well with this and finally because I know there are aspects of this that cause him concern. When he was explaining what he understood he said that his Daddy's bone marrow didn't work and that Uncle Tim was going to give him some good bone marrow. Then he stopped and got a worried look on this face and asked JoAnn, "Will my uncle Tim have healthy bone marrow after he gives Daddy the healthy bone marrow?" She explained well that they would take just a little of uncle Tim's bone marrow and that he would grow more right away. And that Daddy would grow a lot from what he gets from Uncle Tim. Tom is admitted to the hospital JoAnn and Rebecca plan to have Tom decorate one side of a pillow with a handprint and a message to Gabriel. Gabriel will then be able to choose a fabric for the other side of the pillow and this will be Gabriel's to have. They will also make a special box that Gabriel can use to send things to his Daddy in the hospital and vice versa. They're also making a little photo book that will have a picture of Him, Tom, Me, Chemo Duck and we decided it would be nice if we also include a picture of Uncle Tim. It was a great visit. We look forward to seeing them again.
We also found out today that Tom's brother, Steve, is also a bone marrow match with Tom and Tim. We'll find out about Dave next week, we presume. It's quite interesting that so far all of the boys have two matches. Mom and Pop did a great job thinking ahead. ;-) We also clarified that the HLA-matching is also what would be used to assess a proper solid organ donor. Again, we hope the boys will never need this information, but there you have it.
Many of you have seen on Facebook that Tom has requested that anyone who can donate blood at City of Hope. I'll attach a copy of the note for those of you not on Facebook. Thanks, as always, for your love and prayers, The Highland Park DuBranskys
FROM TOM'S FACEBOOK NOTE:
Hey everyone!
Lots and lots of you have been graciously saying, "If there's anything I can do, just let me know."
There's one big way you can help and that is to donate blood or platelets while I'm serving my 6-week prison sentence at the City of Hope Bone Marrow Correction Facility. I'm going to be going through a lot of blood and platelets during the time that my bone marrow has been wiped out but Hero Tim's hasn't had time to start producing. So I'd like to help keep the bank in balance as best I can. But unfortunately they don't want my blood...so that's where yours comes in to play.
City of Hope is in Duarte, so only those of you capable of getting there will be able to help in this way (they do not exchange blood with other Blood Banks), and I might even get to use your actual blood or plateltes, if you match me. And I would find this exceptionally cool. Looking up and seeing that the bag is labeled "Directed Donor." That would send a tear to my eye and a flutter to my heart....and you never know; it could mean a bigger Christmas present for you! Pinch, poke! ;)
So, what would happen for those of you who are interested and have the ability to get there, you could call this number: 626-47... and set up an appointment. You would tell them that you are donating at the request of Tom DuBransky - Medical Records # 159863 and then your blood would be used just for me if it was a match, or for others if it was not.
Or, you could get on my personal list and they would call you based on my needs, though this would only work if you knew your blood type and it is O-Positive, O-Negative, A-Positive or A-Negative. Or even if you were my same blood type, and wanted to go in and give once, you could call that number. Or if you're not my blood type, you could help replenish what I use up and be helping other patients. To get on my list, either respond to this note with as many pieces of this information as possible: Name, E-Mail Address, Home Phone, Work Phone, Blood Type, or send me an e-mail with that same information at tdubransky@atomicgroup.com if you don't want to respond on Facebook. Remarkably, not that many people know their blood type.
My admission date is February 28th, just in case anybody asks.
The available appointment times are like this: Blood (which takes approximately 1 hour) - M-W 8:30 to 4:00, Thu-Sat 8:00 to 4:00 and no appointments on Sunday. For Platelets (which takes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours) - M-W 8:00 to 5:30, Thu-Fri 7:00 to 3:30, Sat 7:00 to 3:00 and no appointments on Sunday.
Well, that's about all I can say right now. We have been getting a ridiculous amount of support in prayer and meal preparation offers and baby-sitting and way more than that, and we really, really appreciate it and are so thankful to have so many great people in our lives.
I love you all!
Your bone-marrow-less pal/relative/schoolmate/teammate/etc.,
Tom
Today was a productive day for Team Tom Recovery. Today, Tim completed a battery of tests in preparation for the transplant. He also had blood drawn that will be available to replenish his in the event that he needs some after his bone marrow harvest. Tim's been under general anesthesia before so they feel confident that he will be in the hospital for only a few hours on the 6th.
Tom also completed his final pre-transplant test: his third bone marrow biopsy. He says that Dr. Chen was just as good as Dr. Olsen. Tom still raises the proverbial fist at Dr. Mena, who did the first one, which was also the most painful. Tom followed up his biopsy with a platelet transfusion.
Gabriel also had a big day. He met with JoAnn and Rebecca in Child Life Services. They were wonderful. First they asked him what he knew about what was happening to his daddy. Then they used a bone model to show Gabriel how marrow works and let him fill the bone with red, white and platelet "cells" (craft pom poms). They followed this by giving him "Gabe's Chemo Duck" (the "Gabe's" part was coincidental). The duck (it looks like a Suzy's Zoo Duck) has a Hickman Line (the line that will replace Tom's picc line and be used to administer Tom's chemo and other "immune system stand-in" drugs" throughout his hospital stay), a hospital gown and a bandana covering his "bald" head. They also gave Gabriel a child's doctor's kit with a doctor's badge and a few real medical supplies and proceeded to talk through various aspects of treatment, including caring for and giving medication through the Hickman line. They also encouraged Gabriel to act out many of these procedures and events. He had a great time and they really enjoyed him. I teared up several times. I think partially because we are so lucky to have such a great kid, partly because I'm so glad he's doing well with this and finally because I know there are aspects of this that cause him concern. When he was explaining what he understood he said that his Daddy's bone marrow didn't work and that Uncle Tim was going to give him some good bone marrow. Then he stopped and got a worried look on this face and asked JoAnn, "Will my uncle Tim have healthy bone marrow after he gives Daddy the healthy bone marrow?" She explained well that they would take just a little of uncle Tim's bone marrow and that he would grow more right away. And that Daddy would grow a lot from what he gets from Uncle Tim. Tom is admitted to the hospital JoAnn and Rebecca plan to have Tom decorate one side of a pillow with a handprint and a message to Gabriel. Gabriel will then be able to choose a fabric for the other side of the pillow and this will be Gabriel's to have. They will also make a special box that Gabriel can use to send things to his Daddy in the hospital and vice versa. They're also making a little photo book that will have a picture of Him, Tom, Me, Chemo Duck and we decided it would be nice if we also include a picture of Uncle Tim. It was a great visit. We look forward to seeing them again.
We also found out today that Tom's brother, Steve, is also a bone marrow match with Tom and Tim. We'll find out about Dave next week, we presume. It's quite interesting that so far all of the boys have two matches. Mom and Pop did a great job thinking ahead. ;-) We also clarified that the HLA-matching is also what would be used to assess a proper solid organ donor. Again, we hope the boys will never need this information, but there you have it.
Many of you have seen on Facebook that Tom has requested that anyone who can donate blood at City of Hope. I'll attach a copy of the note for those of you not on Facebook. Thanks, as always, for your love and prayers, The Highland Park DuBranskys
FROM TOM'S FACEBOOK NOTE:
Hey everyone!
Lots and lots of you have been graciously saying, "If there's anything I can do, just let me know."
There's one big way you can help and that is to donate blood or platelets while I'm serving my 6-week prison sentence at the City of Hope Bone Marrow Correction Facility. I'm going to be going through a lot of blood and platelets during the time that my bone marrow has been wiped out but Hero Tim's hasn't had time to start producing. So I'd like to help keep the bank in balance as best I can. But unfortunately they don't want my blood...so that's where yours comes in to play.
City of Hope is in Duarte, so only those of you capable of getting there will be able to help in this way (they do not exchange blood with other Blood Banks), and I might even get to use your actual blood or plateltes, if you match me. And I would find this exceptionally cool. Looking up and seeing that the bag is labeled "Directed Donor." That would send a tear to my eye and a flutter to my heart....and you never know; it could mean a bigger Christmas present for you! Pinch, poke! ;)
So, what would happen for those of you who are interested and have the ability to get there, you could call this number: 626-47... and set up an appointment. You would tell them that you are donating at the request of Tom DuBransky - Medical Records # 159863 and then your blood would be used just for me if it was a match, or for others if it was not.
Or, you could get on my personal list and they would call you based on my needs, though this would only work if you knew your blood type and it is O-Positive, O-Negative, A-Positive or A-Negative. Or even if you were my same blood type, and wanted to go in and give once, you could call that number. Or if you're not my blood type, you could help replenish what I use up and be helping other patients. To get on my list, either respond to this note with as many pieces of this information as possible: Name, E-Mail Address, Home Phone, Work Phone, Blood Type, or send me an e-mail with that same information at tdubransky@atomicgroup.com if you don't want to respond on Facebook. Remarkably, not that many people know their blood type.
My admission date is February 28th, just in case anybody asks.
The available appointment times are like this: Blood (which takes approximately 1 hour) - M-W 8:30 to 4:00, Thu-Sat 8:00 to 4:00 and no appointments on Sunday. For Platelets (which takes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours) - M-W 8:00 to 5:30, Thu-Fri 7:00 to 3:30, Sat 7:00 to 3:00 and no appointments on Sunday.
Well, that's about all I can say right now. We have been getting a ridiculous amount of support in prayer and meal preparation offers and baby-sitting and way more than that, and we really, really appreciate it and are so thankful to have so many great people in our lives.
I love you all!
Your bone-marrow-less pal/relative/schoolmate/teammate/etc.,
Tom
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