Project Blue Light

Please display a blue light(s) this Christmas in honor of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.  We are having a tree lighting ceremony at the courthouse in Kalispell on Wednesday, December 15th at 5:30 pm.  Hope to see you there!

We had a great  turnout.  Check out these links:
http://www.kpax.com/news/project-blue-light-honors-fallen-montana-officers/

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_d5159aac-0979-11e0-b6e7-001cc4c03286.html

Project Blue Light began in 1988 when the surviving mother-in-law of a

Philadelphia (PA) police officer killed in the line of duty told COPS(Concerns

of Police Survivors) that she would have two blue lights in her window for

the holidays, one in memory of her son-in-law and one in memory of her

daughter, the officer’s widow, who had been killed in a car crash that year.

COPS adopted this idea as a way that everyone could honor the officers who

serve and protect us while remembering those who have been killed in the

line of duty. Project Blue Light has grown steadily as a way of remembering

our departed law enforcement officers across America and beyond. The

concept is a simple one. Place a single blue light in your window in memory

of fallen officers. At this time of year, ornamental light fixtures, such as

candlestick replicas, are easy to come by and serve this purpose well.

Replace the (usually) white light bulb with a single blue bulb, and place it in

a window where it will be seen. Most people won’t know its significance, but

the ones to whom it matters most, will.

Agencies across the country stage their own Project Blue Light ceremonies, wherehttp://www.kpax.com/news/project-blue-light-honors-fallen-montana-officers/ officers can gather for a few minutes in remembrance and fellowship. Most who have taken part in these ceremonies have reported that they are intensely moving and make them more mindful of the best traditions of policing, and the need for their personal vigilance to insure their safety and

survival.

This isn’t costly, it doesn’t require traveling any farther than to the variety store, and it doesn’t telegraph any police relationship to the bad guys. It’s our way of telling each other that we remember the sacrifices of those that have gone before us. Please support Project Blue Light.

Holiday Break

Everything went well in the meeting with the doctor this week.  The trip home had some snowy roads, but overall wasn't that bad.  Clancy has a 7-week break at home before going back for the second transplant in January. He hopes to work as much as he can tolerate during the break doing administrative duties.  There's always plenty to do at the end of the year.

This blog probably won't be updated as frequently as in the past during the break.  You really aren't interested in what was eaten at Thanksgiving or how Christmas shopping is going are you?  Enjoy the holidays and be sure to put a smile on a kid's face as often as you can.  Thanks for your prayers.

Looking Up

Things are looking up. Clancy has an appointment with the doctor on Monday afternoon to review his progress and test results.  He hopes to be headed home this week.  The time at home will include more chemo and maintenance drugs.  Hence some of the side effects, but not as intense.  The main goal is recuperation and getting back his stamina.  He will like that a lot.

It will be nice to be home through the holidays.  The second stem cell transplant is tentatively scheduled for mid-January.

The Misery of Waiting

Thanks to everyone who's been following along.  This can be a lonely experience and your support is huge in keeping spirits high.

The period between stem cell transplant and engraftment normally takes 10-14 days.  The excitement of last week's transplant soon turned to anticipation of positive indicators.  Along with the waiting, came a strong dose of "chemo brain" and overall feeling miserable.  Intense nausea, dizziness, confusion, irritability, fatigue and body aches had to be dealt with.  The chemo drugs ended yesterday, but their effects will stay in the system to torment a few days longer.

Some positives did come in the form of lab analysis.  Clancy's Free Kappa Light Chain counts have dropped significantly during treatment.  The hated M-Spike protein is gone and a small amount of Bence Jones still exists.  This means the flawed plasma cells are being eliminated and healthy cells are taking over.

The staff says Clancy should start to feel better by Friday.  He sure hopes so.  There's too much out there to enjoy.  He prefers to reserve staring out the window all day for when he's at work.

Stem Cell Transplant

The transplant occurred yesterday and now the waiting begins. With caregiver extraordinaire, Laura, nearby  it was a little creepy seeing elevated bags of chilled fluid flowing stem cells into your system that were collected and frozen a few weeks ago.  This is supposed to give Clancy a fresh start on fighting the cancer.  He's still on chemo that's working to kill off more cancer cells.  The next 10 days will be quite miserable as the drugs do their thing (side effects) and his body accepts the immature cells.  He's feeling disoriented, nauseated, crummy, tired, dizzy, achy at times and just not very good at all. Hopefully, these days will be quickly forgotten as his health improves.

Hope springs eternal and better days are ahead.

Trick or Treat

The staff at the Huntsman Center said this round of chemo would be worse than the first.  Man, they weren't kidding!  He waited by the door all day Sunday with treats, but no kids wanted anything to do with him. 

We've been back in Salt Lake since October 26.  Clancy had a PET scan, blood workup, bone marrow biopsy, EKG, and Echogram on the 27th.   Not all the test results are back, but the ones that were looked encouraging.  On the 28th, a different port was placed in his chest for blood draws and drug infusions.  This port is under the skin and will be in for about 6 months.  It will allow Clancy to shower freely and does not require the daily maintenance of the previous accesses.  He became spoiled for those 10 days he had no ports/tubes hanging out of him. 

Chemotherapy started up again on the 29th.  It takes about 3.5 hours for the two IV meds to be infused.  That will be done again on Monday, Nov 1.  There are two other oral drugs that are taken daily.  Chemo will stop mostly on Nov 1.  The medical staff says to expect to feel crummy from about Nov 1 through Nov 10.  The first stem cell transplant will occur on Tuesday, Nov 2!  It takes 10-14 days for the cells to engraft.    Engraftment is when the stem cells have been accepted and are doing their thing. Daily blood work will be done to track the progress.  The goal is to be back home for about two months beginning Nov 19.   Let's hope for success and better days ahead.

The protocol here calls for tandem transplants on younger patients.  Unbelievable, but Clancy is considered younger.  Anyway, the second transplant process will likely begin in January.  It will take approximately 8 weeks.  It may seem like a long way off, but Clancy hopes to be released back to full duty by April.

Overall, things are going well.  Clancy got in over five miles of strenuous hiking on the 29th and a couple short hikes over the weekend.  He can feel the chemo slowing him down and wants to take advantage of good days to keep the stamina up as best he can.  It was fun to catch the Griz game at Weber Saturday compliments of UM.  The final score wasn't what was desired.  As long as they won't let Clancy and cousin Billy coach, things will probably not improve soon.

Have a great week everyone.  I hope you find many things to make you laugh throughout the day.

Griz Game

Clancy and his brother, Mike, took in the Griz game in Missoula on the 23rd.  It was Mike's first trip to a game and he really enjoyed it.  Cousin Billy King is sitting in the middle.  The game was close all the way and the Griz won it in the last 10 seconds.  Henry and Falina had a big brunch fixed when the brothers arrived in Missoula.  The menu was huckleberry pancakes, eggs with special Tolkien sauce, sausage, bacon and green tea directly from China!  The steroids Clancy has been on have really stimulated his appetite.  He ate two large oriental chicken & rice bowls at the game too!  He's still under 200 pounds, so I guess he can keep on eating what he wants.



It's been a good week home.  Clancy was able to get in to work a few days.  That has been great source of satisfaction for him.  The district is running smoothly and, as always, he is so proud of is crew.  His bald head was a bit of a shock to everyone, but he was never that pretty to begin with.

Clancy was able to fulfill a goal he had during the first month of treatment.  He wanted to make it home in time to help Mike ship calves on the 20th.  He wasn't a huge amount of help due to very little stamina, but the calves were in excellent condition and it was fun to see lots of friends from the Hot Springs area.  The most frustrating part of a great trip home has been the reduced energy and stamina.  As with everything, it's only temporary and he will continue to press on. 

It will be time to head back to Salt Lake on Tuesday, the 26th.  Another dose of chemo and stem cell transplant are on the agenda.  Take time to laugh and do something special for someone today.

It's Good to be Home!

After highly successful stem cell collection days October 13 & 14, the doctors released Clancy to come home for about 10 days.  He is exhausted, but feeling like his body is working hard to rejuvenate itself.  He hopes to spend his time at home, watching the playoffs, eating, sleeping, seeing friends and even working a bit.  A Thursday evening listening to John Dunnigan at the Great Northern in Whitefish sounds like heaven right now.

Henry replaced the rear brakes and rotors on Clancy's car yesterday as Clancy supervised and served as tool gopher.  The annoying vibration is gone!  Henry is the man!

Stem Cell Collection

Today and yesterday were occupied with stem cell collection.  The machine to Clancy's right extracts stem cells from his blood and returns the blood to his body.  The entire volume of his blood circulates through the machine five times during the 4-hour collection process.  It's an amazing process and hopefully it will lead to a successful transplant of his stem cells in about two weeks.  The cells that are being collected have no identity yet.  They don't know if they will be muscles, toe nails, etc.  The hope is they no longer have the ability to become cancer cells.

"It has been a grueling three weeks of poisoning to rid my body of cancer.  I had no idea how important the emotional support from everyone would be.  It has made me keep pressing on.  Thanks to everyone."

Neutropenic

Treatment is right on schedule.  Clancy's blood work today showed his white cell count was nearly zero.  This means the chemo has destroyed the white cells and hopefully cancer cells in preparation for harvesting of new healthy stem cells this week.  He will have daily blood work completed and when his white count rebounds, stem cell collection will begin. 

In the meantime, he is highly susceptible to infection and must use precautions.  He can't even shave!  The mask has to be worn any time he is out of the clinic or his apartment.  Food must be thoroughly cooked.  Purel & Purex are everywhere!  It's an inconvenience, but only temporaty and well worth it to get back to being healthy.

Overall, he's feeling great and is anxious to get on to the next step.

Ghost Writer

Clancy is celebrating this temporary celebrity status by employing a ghost writer.  Much like the Jimmy episode from Seinfeld, these posts will be written in third person.  Clancy is much too private to share personal experiences firsthand.  Laura has her hands full as officical caretaker.  Henry and Elizabeth are capable bloggers, but happily engrossed in college and unavailable.

Clancy likes what he sees.  Clancy hopes you enjoy this blog too.

The Chemo Experience

Clancy started chemotherapy on Friday, October 1st.  It was an intensive 24/7 dose for four days.  The nurse who hooked up the pump said to disregard everything he'd heard about others' experiences with chemo.  His would be uniquely his own.  That proved to be the case. 

The first couple days were tolerable and the next four were quite miserable.  The term "chemo brain" is real.  He went from thinking and doing to just functioning.  It was a significant adjustment for one who is so accustomed to being active, involved and in control.  Nausea, constipation, etc also came along for the ride.  Yesterday, he began to feel relief from the physical side effects and "got his mind back." 

The clinic conducts blood analysis nearly daily and his kidneys, etc are functioning very well.  His white blood cell count should plummet this weekend and that will be a good thing in preparation for the stem cell harvesting.  Harvesting could begin as early as the middle of next week.  In the meantime he must be extremely careful not to become exposed to any viruses, fungus, infection, etc.  Hopefully, the weekend will be filled with good football games and a strong appetite.

The photo shows his triple lumen port.  This is used for blood draws and introducing medicines.  The catheter goes under his skin, up to his collar bone and down to a vein near his heart.  It will be with him for several months.  The port eliminates the need for needle sticks, but Clancy reports the daily "flushes" with saline and heparin give him a queasy feeling and funny taste in his mouth.  This is still a much better option.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.  Go Griz!

hello

Clancy is happily finished with "procedures" for a while, will meet with the Dr today and begin chemo Friday. He's excited to get going, but not looking forward to the side effects.

As far as procedures, here are two things he wasn't prepared to hear:  "This is a simple process. We're going to insert a needle in your jugular."  

"This will be different than what you had done before. We will be taking about 4 oz of marrow from your sternum."

It brought on thoughts of Monty Python - "Run away!"

He survived those & other assorted short subjects and is still feeling strong.  Sometimes all you can do is laugh.