May 6, 2009

I wanted to give you an update on Bryce's condition today.

We received a lot of positive news today that we were very grateful for. Bryce looked so much better today. Surprisingly he still weighs 230 lbs, but the dialysis has made a great difference by somehow shifting the water weight and reducing much of the swelling of his face and neck. He looks more like himself now. Also a lot of the purple discolorization on his face has disappeared as his tissues are being better oxygenated. It is very comforting to us to see this great change in his appearance!

Today he was not very responsive to us, but they said they had to use more sedation during the night because he was so restless and this affected him during the day also. However, it is also nice that he is less aware of what is going on - we are not sure how much he knows. My Dad told him that he loved him and Bryce nodded slightly. He also gave a small squeeze to his fiance's hand today.

The other very positive sign is that his respiratory system is doing significantly better. Whereas yesterday he was draining about 200-300 cc of fluid out of his lungs each hour - today it was only 30-40 cc. His oxygen saturation level was often 99-100%. They have also reduced the ventilator pressure (work of the ventilator versus Bryce breathing on his own) from 15 yesterday down to 5 today.

The dialysis appears to really be helping as some of his other lab values have also improved. All of this was very encouraging to us.

What is very concerning and what we would ask for you to specifically pray for, if you will, is that the chemotherapy will be effective in fighting his cancer.

The lymphoma has now been identified in his blood and in his lungs and therefore is probably throughout his body. Since it is a very aggressive cancer the chemicals should effectively destroy the cancer cells whereever they are in his body. (Chemotherapy agents destroy cells that are quickly dividing and multiplying.)

Unfortunately at this point the doctors don't see evidence that the chemotherapy has done its job because the liver function appears to be the same and has not improved like they expected by now. They haven't given up hope on this yet, but they said if the liver function does not improve by this weekend then they are unsure what to do.

We know that all things are possible for the Lord and trust in Him. We understand the realities of the seriousness of the situation, but we still feel that Bryce will make it. However, if it is the Lord's will to take our son - we will accept His will. At least in the meantime we are comforted knowing that there has been some great improvement in some areas. We are so appreciative of the nurses and doctors for their great care and concern for our son. We are so appreciative for Jerica, Bryce's fiance, who is always by his side during the day and continually encouraging him. Finally we are so appreciative of family, friends and stake members who have shown so much love, support, and continual prayers for Bryce.