Day 3

It's 8:30AM. I just got back from walking Ian down to radiology where he's having an implanted port (port-a-cath) surgically placed into his chest which has a catheter which run into a large vein and down to his upper port of his heart. This will allow for his IV in his arm to be removed which will be much easier on him. It's also the port which will be used from this point on to administer his chemo treatments, IVs, and withdraw blood. Ian was scared. He said he wanted the doctors to go away. They gave him some medicine to calm him down and then they took him from me. Listening to him scream in fear is by far the worst part of this. He wants mom or dad by his side. They quickly put him under and he won't remember a thing. Now I'm just sitting in the room alone waiting for this to be finished.

This is the port-a-cath. The smaller silver one is what was placed inside Ian.

One of the doctors came by. They need more marrow from him. I had to sign, yet another, consent form for them to perform a second bone marrow aspiration for DNA testing.

Ian will also receive a spinal tap in which they will check his spinal fluid and perform the first chemo treatment to his spinal fluid. I can't believe this is happening.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrow_aspiration
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bone-marrow-aspiration-and-biopsy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_tap

Ian playing with one of his many presents from friends and family after receiving his spinal tap and implanted port. Both hands are now free to play Lego Star Wars II. He's an addict!

It's 4:20. The Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist just came in with a group of nurses and social worker to discuss the findings throughout the day. The good news is that they could not find any obvious leukemia cells in his spinal fluid. The better news is that we will probably be out of here on Sunday or Monday. His chemo treatments will start this evening. Sounds like the next 28 days will involve a lot of drugs and tests.

One of the things chemo does is kill off a lot of good blood cells which will reduce his immune system. I hope you all can understand that visitors should be kept to a minimum. Absolutely no sick kids or adults can even come to this floor in the hospital. We would like to thank you for your willingness to visit but also thank you for your understanding that we want to keep Ian as far away from outside sicknesses as possible.

From the tests performed on his bone marrow, the oncologist feels there is at least two pounds of leukemia cells in his body. WHOA! Apparently, this is average for a patient like Ian. Within the first couple of weeks most of that should be killed off. He will have a lot of side affects but are necessary for his getting better. After we are allowed to take him home we will have to return to the hospital 3 times a week (minimum) to have more drug treatments and bone marrow samples taken. Good thing I work close by so I can come here for those short appointments. It also helps that I have the coolest boss in the world who will work with me on this.

I'm adding a poll with some common facts we're learning about leukemia. Check back often and take it. You might learn something.

The drugs Ian is on is making him super moody. "Mom tell the doctors to go away!"

Day 2

I woke up, showered, washed some dishes, threw in some laundry, and cleaned the bunny cages (which had about 2 inches of water in them from the night storm). I then headed out to the hospital. I returned a call from Chris (Crabtree) who called me the night before to see what was up. Obviously, my siblings are equality concerned and I'm sure they all have a lot of questions. Perhaps this blog will help.

The first thing I noticed about Ian this morning was that his color is coming back. The overnight blood transfusion was well received and he was already behaving much more normal. He was happy to see me because he knew that inside my red bag I had the XBOX 360 which meant he could play Lego Star Wars II. He and his mom have spent the past month conquering and learning the ins and outs of that game.

The worst part of the day was when Ian had to have his bone marrow aspiration. I had researched this procedure and I was in no way comfortable with it. I know it's a necessary evil with no other options but I still can't stand the thought of that procedure. The nurses sedated Ian to the point where he fell asleep and Corie and I left the room. The procedure lasted no more than 10 minutes and he was back in our arms. I know it was worse on us than it was on him...seeing how he was given drugs to forget the last 30 minutes of his life and we will always remember that he had this done.

A miracle happened, Corie's mom (Sattley) and cousin arrived. We now have some direct family help and our kids can go home.

The poking and prodding today has been minimal compared to yesterday. Ian is still scared of anyone wearing scrubs but understands that they are here to help. He knows he is sick and needs to get better. The hard part is not being able to understand why the nurses and doctors are doing the things they do.

We are definitely in for a long journey.

It's 10:00PM. Corie Just called and is absolutely overwhelmed with the love and kindness of all of our friends out here in Overland Park, KS. She told me that the house is completely 100% immaculate and clean. Bathrooms, bedrooms, carpets, kitchen, etc. all picked up, put away, cleaned, and polished. Our home teacher came by to drop off his portable GPS system for Mom (Sattley) and to tell us he'll cut our lawn. Other ward members came by with a dozens of presents and cards from our friends. All of this on top of the current service they are all providing for the Ortiz family. This is absolutely unbelievable. All of you who are praying, serving, and providing for our family are saints. We love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

She has also received numerous calls on her cell and calls to the house phone. Over 17 messages were left from friends and family.

It's 10:15. Ian looks fantastic. He's receiving another transfusion and is sleeping like a rock. I haven't seen his skin tone this pink in a while. Aside from his drenching sweats, he looks as if nothing is wrong with him.

I know everything will end up alright. Ian will get better. At this point, only good things can come from this. We will meet new people, Ian will make new friends, we will become involved in a community that we never before knew existed, our family will grow closer together, we will come closer to our God...the glass is half full.

Here's my little stud.

The only thing Ian wanted to do today was play Lego Star Wars II on the Xbox.

Mommy and Ian finished 95% of Lego Star Wars last month. They'll have plenty of time this week to finish the remaining 5%.

Nanna (Sattley) flew overnight to be here to help with Lauryn and Emma.

Ian is starting to feel better after the blood transfusions.

Ian was able to pick out this green Matchbox car after being so brave and putting up with the bone marrow extraction.

Ian says he's going to get better.

Ian thought the two pidgeons outside our window were funny because they were 'kissing.'

Day 1

This morning Corie took Ian to the doctor because his skin tone has changed so much. Noticing the same thing, the doctor gave him a blood test revealing his hemoglobin at a level of 4. Apparently, one is anemic at a level of 9. The doctor immediately admitted Ian to the hospital for further tests and a blood transfusion.

Upon arriving at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, it was obvious that Ian was not feeling well. He was admitted and doctors took immediate concern towards his condition. After a plethora of questions, blood withdrawals which scared Ian to death, and an IV feed, we began to worry that this could be more serious. I called Dad (Crabtree) to update him on Ian's admittance and other things the doctors had spoken with us about and Dad said, "It sounds like you might have a very sick little boy." Shortly after that conversation, the doctors came into the room and told us that Ian has Leukemia.

...whoa...

I cannot begin to tell you how scared I am. I often have thought about the way I might react to horrible news regarding one of my children and no matter how many times I have imagined it nothing prepared me for this shock. It has always been the 'other guy' up to this point and now it was our turn.

Ian is a sweet little boy. He loves his mommy, daddy, and sisters more than anything (his cars come in a close 2nd). It's near impossible to imagine any little boy having to be diagnosed with cancer...it is so unfair.

The news of this situation has only raised more questions: Is Ian going to suffer? How are we going to pay for this? What kind of insurance nightmares are we going to deal with? Who will take care of Lauryn and Emma. How much time will work allow me to take off? Is this cancer curable? Etc.

A few phone calls was all we needed to make before the news spread to everyone we know. Dad informed the family and close friends informed the entire community. We have the best support group one could imagine. We thank everyone for their prayers, thoughts, and actions. May God bless all of you.

At 8PM I left the hospital to go home and visit Emma and Lauryn. I knew they would have questions. I stopped by the Furstenau's to talk with Emma. Emma asked if Ian was sick and I confirmed. She then asked if he'd get better and I told her he will. She went back to her business to play with Katie and enjoy her first ever sleep over (on a school night). Todd and Laurie then gave me a fantastic pasta dinner and chatted with me about the situation. Thanks guys...you're the best!

I then went by the Stapley's to talk to Lauryn. Lauryn is old enough to understand that Ian has cancer. She asked when he was going to die. Her only experience with cancer has been the recent diagnosis and death of our friend Joe Ortiz. Joe is a member of our ward who was re diagnosed this past December with cancer. He died last week and his funeral is tomorrow. We loved Joe and our hearts are with his family at this time. I educated Lauryn on leukemia and told her that Ian will be sick for a few years and that he has a very good chance that he will be cured completely. She wants to see her little brother and tell him she loves him. We thank the Stapley's for their hospitality, kindness, and words of comfort as well.

Don MacArthur stopped by so we could go grab a soda and talk. Talking with friends helped ease the pains. Don has been through the worst in his family having watched his nephew pass on and he is definitely concerned. I'm blessed to have friends like him close by.

I went back to my empty home and cried more than I have ever cried in my life. At 2AM I finally fell asleep only to be woken up by one of the loudest thunderstorms I have ever heard. I am soooo tired.

Today Ian was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). This photo was taken only a few days ago. Symptoms we didn't realize were related to his leukemia were frequent fevers, his pale skin, and extreme sweating at night (he would wake up drenched). He also complained of having a lot of tummy aches and felt he needed medicine, however we think he was complaining about having pain in all of his bones but didn't know how to explain it to us.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/cancer/cancer_leukemia.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukemia