Update on Chris: 6-16-07

Forgive me if this is repetitive for some of you but a lot has happened in the last three days so I will try to be short but catch you up. Chris was admitted to Baylor Dallas Thursday morning with what we thought was chemo side effects(nausea, vomiting, ect). A CAT revealed that the tumors have spread into many parts of his stomach, the biggest concern was a pathway to his stomach being narrowed due to these tumors. It was determined this was the cause of the side effects over the last few weeks because he was unable to pass food through his stomach. An endoscopy was preformed on Saturday morning revealing that this passage was clear and normal. It is now assumed that infection had caused this area to be swollen and has now cleared up due to antibiotics.

The doctor is concerned about the new tumor growth and has said that standard chemotherapy drugs will not be an option for Chris and also surgery will not be an options because there are too many tumors to be completely removed. It has been confirmed through blood cultures that Chris has an infection and the main goal of the last few days has been to get him past this infection and get his blood counts back up. When he gets through this the doctor wants to discuses experimental chemo drugs.

As of this afternoon Chris began to run a higher fever, his heart rate went up and he began to have difficulty breathing. They ordered a blood GAS test and a chest X-Ray, the results of these tests have prompted them to make the decision to move Chris into ICU. Further tests are being preformed but as of right now these are all precautionary measures. They are very concerned that he may be septic because his fever has not gone down even after 3 days of antibiotics. He has been moved to 4-Collins, room 468, the same room he was in in January.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support!

Mandy

PART 2

Hello again, this is Bekah(Chris’s Little Sister) writing for Mandy.

We just got a call from my dad and they have discovered through new blood cultures that the type of infection he has originates around metal, so the assumption is that its centered around the metal plate that was put in his arm during surgery in November. There is discussion about surgery to remove the metal plate and give Chris a chance to heal, then addressing it later. This would explain why he has been in more pain over the last month.

Being back on 4-Collins is a Catch 22 for us, because we know the nursing staff and are more comfortable with their ability to care for Chris but that floor(and that room) have a lot of bad memories from January.

Thank you all so very much for your amazing support through all of this, you have no idea what is means to us, I pray blessings over all of you on a daily basis for the amount of love you pour out on a daily basis so naturally!!!

Love and thanks with all my heart,

Bekah