Matt's Blog

Matt's Back At School

2009-10-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy this summer down at our cabin that we have lost track of Matt's blog. I guess that's a good thing though. Matt is back to school and doing well. He has all A's and 1- B. He has a great team at Bonney Lake High to help him readjust. They have him in mostly 9Th grade classes but a few 10Th grade classes so he can be with his class. Matt now is enrolled in drivers ed, and drives with mom every evening. Boy if you could see the smile on his face it glows.

Pictures of Matt Being Matt and Loving it!

2009-07-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

Matthew has 1 more year till he can full fill his life long dream of being a Fireman. Of course he has to start as a volunteer first.

Really Busy Trying To Keep Up With Matt

2009-07-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Matt's doing great! He is 115 pounds now and gaining muscle. We saw a growth hormone specialist to see if we could give him shots to boost his growth, but the doctor said that it could possibly trigger a relapse in ALL Leukemia. We immediately opted Not to take that chance. We will just hope for the best. Matt hasn't grown at all for 2 years. Matt is really excited to get back to school and be with his friends again.

Matt's on track now

2009-06-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

Matt is going to enjoy his summer with no limitations on food. The sad thing is the rest of the family is gaining too. Matt weighs 105.2 today. He is enrolled in his high school for next year. He will be repeating the 9Th grade. He will also be on a IEP program as he under went alot of testing and they came to the conclusion that he has Cognitive Disorder including challenges with Processing speed and Information Processing, Sustained attention/ attention to detail, Executive Function/ Efficiency, Academic skills reduced from pre-illness levels, Anxiety Disorder, and Adjustment Disorder with Depression. With all that said he is ready to go back and we are confident that the Sumner School Dist. will not let him fall through the cracks Academically.

Weight Problem With Matt

2009-05-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

Matt had his endoscopy and everything looked good. We sent samples to SCCA to confirm. The top dogs their confirmed that Matt dose have GVHD ever so slightly in his stomach. They are putting him on beclamethazone again to clear it up. Not treating it would make things worse. They feel that being on this steroid will help clear it up so it doesn't spread any further. We changed Matts antidepressant and also put him on a appetite stimulant drug to help put the weight back on to a more normal level. last week he weighed 100.2 lbs. this week he weighed in at a whopping 101 lbs. YEA MATT!! keep eating.

New York City, Live On Set, WOW!

2009-05-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

Why Can't Matt Gain Weight?

2009-04-29T13:40:00.001-07:00

Howdy everyone, Matt still is hoovering between 98 & 100 lbs. We are unsure why he cant gain any weight. Today April 29Th we went to Mary bridge to see Dr. Irwin.He had some ideas that might be causing it. One is that we gave him so much meds & ect. that his stomach quit working with his brain, or It could be GVHD, or it's depression. Mom spoke with the nutrition team and also one of Matt's phycologist, I'm thinking it's depression more than anything else, at least I'm hoping so.
Matt also talked with his phycologist and his Dr. and by the time we left he was feeling better and smiling again. He even gave all the nurses a hug before we left.
Dr. Irwin says we don't have weeks or months to figure this out or Matt will have to have a feeding tube put in. OK take a deep breath,everything is going to be fine.

Matt's Doing Better

2009-04-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

We had Matt's PICC line taken out last week. He is doing better now. The shingles are gone. Yea! Matt is trying to get his strength up now so he is playing golf witch he loves, and he got the green light to ride his 2 year old NEW motorcycle again. He took classes to learn how to use a clutch just before he got sick. Matt's other motorcycle a 11o auto Suzuki is now Nicole's. Matt is still losing weight though and that scares all of us. We have tried everything, he just seems not hungry. If he dose eat, it's small portions. As of April 14Th he weighs 100 lbs.

9th Admit to Mary Bridge Hospital.

2009-03-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

How do you know that the hospital staff likes you or not? They keep a stethoscope with your name tag on it for when you come back.... We love the staff at Mary Bridge!

Matt started with a light rash Saturday night, and by Monday morning he had 1 blister. We saw his oncologist and they upped his dose of Acyclovir but by Tuesday morning they were really bad so they admitted him to the hospital for IV Antibiotics and a round of really high doses of Acyclovir, and IV Pain meds. Matt has Shingles. Very common in BMT patients. The problem is that it can easily go to Hepatitis or Pneumonia.

Yes I did say IV. Yes Matt had to have a PICC line put back in his Left arm. Mom & Dad are very worried about the Line but hope things will be OK.

When people have Chicken Pox as a child it stays in your nervous system for life. It can come out in the form of Shingles at any time, but only picks on the elderly or Immune suppressed people. It is Very painful and takes quite some time to get over. The plan is to get Matt out of here late tonight or Friday, then continue the IV medications at home. Hope you all have a good Spring Break as I think we will be staying close to home for now. Thanks for all your prayers and moral support. It seems that when Mom gets really tired she breaks down a bit, then my friends pick me back up and off I go again. Thanks to all of You especially my good friend Diane. Love Lynn & Matt

Fun In New York City!

2009-03-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

We had a blast in New York. We went to Time Square,Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, FAO Schwarz, Carriage ride through Central Park, The Empire State Building, and of course no trip would be complete without going to Hershey world and M&M world.

The main event and Matt's wish came true on Tuesday the 10th of March when a Limo picked us up and took us to the taping of Emeril Lagasse. The extra bonus was that he is teaming up now with Martha Stewart. We were on a live show and Matt got to eat and share with his family a plate of crawdad creole recipe that Emeril made. It was fantastic! Matt and family meet with Emeril before the taping and he sat and talked with us for about 20 minutes. Emeril gave both Matt and Nicole lots of gifts. Even though Emeril isn't supposed to take gifts, Matt gave him a couple of his favorites he likes to make. What great memories, Thank You Make A Wish.

Matt's Make A Wish Send Off Dinner

2009-03-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

We had a great time at Stanley and Seaforts for Matt's send off dinner. Matt chose Rick, Nadlae, Bailey and Jacob Ainley, 4 close Friends from Granite Falls to enjoy in the occasion. Tomorrow morning we will be heading to NY to meet and be on Emeril Lagasse's Cooking show. We will be in NY for 4 day's and will update the blog with pictures and all the fun stuff we will be seeing when we get back. See you soon. Love Lynn & Family

Good Times At Lake Limerick Club House

2009-02-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Surrounded By Love

2009-02-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

Matt & Family would like you to know about Deb the Executive Chef at our Lake Limerick Community Club House. Deb has been another great supporter for Matt, she too is going through cancer treatment. They both are doing well and are a great support for each other. Matt really looks up to Deb because he too wants to be a Chef someday. Deb and Matt plan to go to the Culinary Arts School in Seattle soon to watch the young Chefs work and eat there food.

One Valentines Day the Club house was all decorated nice for the occasion. They had a special table for us because it was Matt's Re-Birthday, that is when you are 1 year post transplant and we celebrate his new rebirth. I guess he gets 2 birthday presents now since he has 2 birthdays.:) They had balloons for Matt and Nicole and Deb made Matt a special chocolate cheese cake just for him to share. We are happy to be involved in such a great community. Love Lynn & Matt

BEST NEWS YET!!!

2009-02-23T10:19:00.000-08:00

Long time friend Bailey was one of the first to hear the news. Matt is Cancer Free. SCCA called us to tell about the great news last Friday. Their is one set back though, Matt wont be able to ride his dirt bike for a while because he now has 4 compression fractures in his back. There have been many people that were of Great support for Matt through his journey but even though Matt didn't email Bailey back he did enjoy reading her daily journal. Matt had several friends that called and tried to talk to him, some days he would talk and some he didn't feel well enough. Matt is thankful of the good friends that he has that stood by him through the good days and the bad days. They say things happen for a reason, well I can tell you that all of this has brought our family and friends closer together. We have more patience and understanding for other peoples feelings and needs.

Reflection on Seattle Childrens Hospital

2009-02-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

One thing I would like to add, when Matt and I stayed in the hospital last Tuesday it was great seeing all the doctors and nurses (male and female) coming up to Matt and giving him big hugs and the smiles on their faces just made the room glow! You could just see how delighted they all were to see Matt in such good health. They were very happy as we were to see them under good circumstances. That makes their day complete.

On the other hand Matt & I were their so long that it felt weired walking down the halls. I kept looking for someone that maybe I new back then. We got to know alot of people. Some were lucky some not. I still think and follow their postings hoping they are doing OK. We have a special place in our hearts for everyone we new and our lives will never be the same. We will never take things for granted and truly live each day to the fullest. You never will now when the rug will get pulled out from under you, so live each day thankful. Love Lynn

1 week trip to SCCA

2009-02-18T12:29:00.000-08:00

WOW! that's all we have to say. Seattle is so on top of everything, of course these are the best of the best doctors in the nation! Monday started with 7 hours of appointments back to back. Tuesday we had xrays and the bone marrow and skin biopsies. Tuesday night we were admitted to children's for a growth hormone study. Boy that was fun they took a blood draw from Matt every 20 minutes for 12 hours straight. Matt's blood pressure dropped to 56 over 34 so it took a little extra time to get released. Wednesday we saw the eye doctors, dentist. Thursday was a day of rest. Then Friday the 13Th we had our consult with the team. Not all the tests are back yet but everything looks good, with the exception of Matt now having a 4Th compression fracture in his back. That's T7-T8-T10 & T12. No more snow sledding for him. When we get the good news that he is cancer free we will post that. See you soon exhausted Matt & Lynn

Big 1 Year Post Trip To Seattle

2009-02-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

Well the first day was grueling, 9 appointments back to back that took 7 hours with out a break! We had some fun after those appointments, yes we did. I'll update with more info when I catch my breath. We are spending the night at Children's for a growth hormone test. I'll have more info tomorrow when I can maybe rest. We should get home for the first night home by 6pm Wednesday. enjoy the pictures. Love Lynn & Matt

2009-01-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Starting the new year off on the right foot.

2009-01-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

Well we did have alot of fun at our cabin over the Xmas break, there was about 20 inches total of snow in Shelton. We went on the golf course to go sledding. We didn't have traditional sleds so we improvised with knee boards and kayaks, what a blast! Matt did the polar bear plunge on Jan 1st with his Dad and Sister Nicole. The ice was so thick on the lake that they had to break a whole to jump in with shovels. Mom took the pictures, ( I'm not stupid it was cooold ).

On the down slope to our week, we sat down with Matt and we all decided to withdrawal him from WAVA on line school, and have him concentrate on his health for now and next September he will have to redo the 9th grade. He is disappointed not to graduate with his class but he understands the BIG picture for now is his health. We liked WAVA even though some of the teachers didn't quite understand what he was going through. Matt is still loosing weight, he is down to 110 lbs.

Thanksgiving at our cabin

2009-01-05T18:48:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving at our cabin on Lake Limerick with friends that we haven't seen since Matt first started his treatment in Seattle. We have missed the camping trips and fun things that we have done together. Hopefully 2009 will bring our 2 families back together again so we can enjoy all the adventures we do.

2008-12-24T07:15:00.001-08:00

Our Cabin Before 18 inches of snow

2008-12-24T07:11:00.000-08:00

We were visited by a family of lake otters. We had so much fun watching them play on our dock.

Merry Christmas To All

2008-12-24T07:01:00.000-08:00

Matt is doing really good these day's. We have spent alot of time at our cabin in Shelton. Just a couple of days ago we walked down the street to the 8th green were there are lots of hills and we went sledding, fort building, and we managed to roll a huge snow ball. Our family is wishing all of you the best in health and good times this Christmas. Please don't forget the TRUE meaning of Christmas and take time to help someone. A little help goes a long way in these hard times for so many. Love to all the Yantzers

Matt Driving Mom's Jeep

2008-12-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

Matt can barely see over the steering wheel, but boy did he have fun.

Matt Got His Hickman Line Out!

2008-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

With the help from Seattle Children's Hospital Matt got his Hickman Line out on 12-14-08. What a great Christmas present!

Alot to be Thankful For!

2008-12-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

The Yantzer family had alot to be Thankful for this Holiday! We are so glad that Matt is making progress in this long battle. Matt made a pecan pie with help from his sister Nicole at Grandmas house this thanksgiving. Although things were not the same without Grandpa being there. Matt's Grandpa Connor has Cancer pretty bad and we found out yesterday he probably doesn't have too much time left. Matt loves playing cribbage with him and it's always a fight to the finish to see who will win. My Dad said that he was glad he lasted long enough to see Matt win his fight with the cancer he had. But I reminded him that he too has to fight just as hard as his grandson did. It's hard telling a 85 year old that has so many health issues to keep fighting, but we all hope he doesn't endure too much pain for very long. Lynn also has a very good friend battling bone cancer and she is very concerned in the out come for her family. It doesn't seen fair sometimes!

Again, we are thankful for every day we wake up and see Matt's smiling face. We ask that all of you continue to pray for our friends who are still fighting cancer and also the ones we know have lost their battle. I will never understand but need to be grateful for our outcome and I will never take for granted the things that matter the most in life. Love to All Lynn, Matt, Steve & Nicole

Matt's Dad In 5K Leukimia Fund Raiser

2008-11-17T09:53:00.000-08:00

Matt wants to be in this race next year. All proceeds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Steve missed being in the top ten for individual funds raised just by 40.00. Thanks to all who donated to such a great cause. We don't have the final total yet but we think it's around 290,000.00 Dollars that have been donated. All the runners and teams had to carry a pineapple through the obstacle course and 5K race. There were lots of costumes and a Hawaiian luau after the race. Matt's picture of him and Ted Nugent lined the course along with other cancer patients young and old. Our whole family will be in the race next year. We had Aunt's, Uncles, Nieces, Nephew's and alot of very good Friends in the race. Way to go everyone! Thanks again Matt

2008-11-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Pictures of our cabin

2008-11-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

Good New's From Seattle SCCA

2008-11-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

The tests are in from Seattle and Matt shows no sign of the PH chromosome. The testing that the SCCA did was very fine tuned and complicated. This is great new's as we have taken Matt off the drug Gleevac. Since Matt has stopped Gleevac he is able to eat and keep the food down. Matt is gaining weight again and is in better spirits. They plan to take his double lumen Hickman line out the 1st of December.

Matt has been keeping busy with his on line classes to try to keep him caught up in school. He also enjoys getting away to our cabin in Shelton. He learned from his Dad how to operate a stump grinder and drive a tractor. We took out about 16 trees from our driveway, and spread 40 yards of black rock. Most of our project are done now and we can enjoy the view of the lake.

As with anyone battling cancer it is a long road back to normal. Matt is still weak and hopes some day to be strong enough to ride his bike again. He feels like he isn't making progress until Mom reminds him off all the obstacles he has endured and conquered. He still keeps his head up high with lots of hope for the future. Thanks for all the prayers and well just everything!! Lynn ,Matt & Family.

Matt Heads Back the SCCA in Seattle

2008-10-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to figure out for the past few weeks why Matt has been throwing up so much and losing so much weight. The Team in Seattle looked over the last few weeks and we are going to try to 1. Take Matt Off the Gleevac (pH chemo drug). & 2. do some testing to see if he is adrenal deficient. They have another ph chemo they can give but don't want to because if he relapses they will need it to fight the Leukemia. Even though Nicole shows no sign of the ph chromosome that doesn't mean she doesn't have it. Comforting thought isn't it, but no one is 100% anything. This may be a quick turnaround or it may be lots of testing.

Matt doses have signs of GVHD on his skin, but the Team Say's it's not bad enough to treat yet.

We are hopeful that Seattle SCCA can straighten this out, and send us on our merry way again soon.

Up's - Downs - and Curves

2008-10-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

Matt's had a rocky road the last few weeks. He has lost weight and cant seem to eat or keep his much needed Med's down. We took Matt off all the non essential Med's for now to lighten the load. His body is just plain tired of taking all that stuff. Their is talk of a feeding tube if we cant straighten him around. We will update soon, things have been a little busy since school started.Love Lynn & Matt

School is On Board Now!!

2008-10-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Matthew is enjoying on line schooling. THANK YOU Washington Virtual Academy!

Summer Has Ended?

2008-09-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

We have had alot of strange weather this summer haven't we. Matt is doing good these days, he spends his time getting caught up in school with a wonderful tutor Sumner School District has provided for us. I talked with his high school team to see what our options are for 9th grade. We found out to keep him on track he will need 4 of the 7 credits in 9th grade. We are going to keep him out of school probably the entire year because of his immune system, and needing to get all of his baby shots again next February. Now back to the school issue, It's my understanding that school is supposed to be FREE to students, and a high school education shouldn't cost money. But when you have a child that is going through CANCER and can't attend school for medical reasons it dose. They want 120.00 per 1/2 credit to do his schooling on line from BYU. Now what's wrong with that! I think we are going to be writing some letters to Olympia. We are a little behind on pictures of Matt, we will post more soon. Take Care to All. Lynn & Matt

Matthew Meets WWII Pilot

2008-08-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Matthew met a WWII Pilot at the Museum of flight. He told lots of stories and Matt loved talking with him. Matt was shocked when he saw all the kids there just walking by him. Matt bought one of his books and the gentleman signed it and said "Thank You for taking the time to learn about some important history".

Ending the Birthday Week

2008-08-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

Matthew had a busy week. He is feeling much better. We are keeping a close watch on him to make sure he is keeping hydrated, and if not we hook him up to IV fluids to make sure. Matt is tapering off some of his med's, so now we only take 16-18 different med's a day. At least we are out of the 20's on med's, it get's a little confusing. Matt has a GVHD rash that comes and goes, so we are still on the beclomethasone for now but he is off the prednisone!!! YEA!

2008-07-28T13:27:00.001-07:00

Matt's 14th Birthday Lunch With Friends

2008-07-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

His Smiles tell the whole story!!!

2008-07-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

More Pictures of Ted Nugent

2008-07-27T10:01:00.001-07:00

Ted Nugent Is In Town For His Concert At EQ Casino

2008-07-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

Matt has the GREATEST DAD in the whole wide world! We still don't know how he pulled this one off but he did. Saturday night we all went to Hotel Murano in Tacoma to have a private meeting with Ted Nugent before his concert. We were waiting in the loby and Matt was getting really nervous. Then there he was walking out of the elevator, Matt's heart dropped. Ted was such a gentleman, sitting and talking to Matt and family. He told us of a couple of hunting trips he was just on, one were he dropped a 700 pound bear with a bow. Matt gave him a picture of his last hunting trip 4 days before being diagnosed with ALL Leukemia. Ted Signed both Matt and Nicole's electric guitars, then we got lots of pictures with him. It was great that Ted took the time to see us, we know how busy he is. Matt is doing better each day, but we still worry about when that darn kidney stone will pass. We have a plan to follow so Matt shouldn't have to go back to the hospital, Mom is becoming a nurse. Matt will turn 14 on the 1st of August, we plan on a exciting week this week. We will post more soon. Lynn & Family

Reappearing Kidney Stone?

2008-07-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go again. Matt woke up at 12:30 on Monday night in alot of pain. We had to call the Fire Department to get him to Emergency at Mary Bridge. Matt had a ultra sound done with no results, then finally a CT scan to show that the Kidney stone that we thought came out didn't. It was still sitting there at the top of his Kidney. (DARN) We were admitted by 5:30 a.m. and spent the next 2 days trying to flush it out of his system. After realising that everything they were doing there Mom can do at home we talked the doctor into releasing us. We are home now and it's just a waiting game on when the stone want's to come out. As you can tell Matt got a new pair of sunglasses that he loves and Mom has been doing yard work at the house to keep her on a even keel. More to come, Matt is doing alot better, we are rounding the bend to recovery. Lynn and Matt. :)

Test Results On GVHD

2008-07-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Matt had his scope and they sent all the biopsy's to Seattle. All the test's came back that Matt has GVHD of the skin and stomach very mild. Yea! This mean's that they will continue on the medicines for a while longer. A little bit of GVHD is good as it helps kill off any Leukemia cells that might try to come back. This is called relapse, and all we can do is hope and pray that doesn't happen. Nicole was such a good match that Matt's chances of a relapse are very low.

Having Fun With Rubber Gloves

2008-07-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

Kidney Stone update

2008-07-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

We think Matt passed his 3rd kidney stone on Fathers Day. We are not too sure though as he still has pain in his side and the test was inconclusive from the hospital. Any way we spent another 5 days there. Things Quieted down at home and we were just celebrating our first week (FULL WEEK) home since being released from SCCA in Seattle when things went bad again. Matt Has Cdif again and is back on more antibiotics. The last few days he has shown more signs of GVHD so we are going in for EGD number 3 today July 7th. They will check out his stomach and beyond, also take biopsy samples to send to Seattle. They have decided to send a sample of his skin too, since he is pretty rashy. We still find humor in our day, to keep from going crazy. check out these pictures. More to come soon it's been a rough week here. Love to all Lynn & Matt

Here We Go Again......

2008-06-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well today we woke up and it was day 119 post transplant. Matt had alot of pain in his lower right side radiating to his back and he couldn't move. I called the doctors right away because it reminded me of the 2 rounds of Kidney Stones he had last November and December. They told me to give him some pain Med's and call a ambulance and get him to Mary Bridge ER right away. MOM"S don't ever hesitate in calling 911, our ride was free. When we got there they did lots of tests and an ultrasound to look for a Kidney Stone. They couldn't find one. Our doctor was convinced that there was still a problem and sent Matt for to get a CT scan. There it was sitting in his right Kidney trying to get out. It was 2-3 mm and almost to the tube were he can pass it out. Matt says it feels like a football on fire. We were at the ER for 7 hours before they admitted us, they are very busy but took good care of us. Matt has his own suite upstairs now on the 6th floor, he will be in the hospital for a few days. They plan lots of tests today, and meetings with other Doctors. We will post more of this never ending rollercoster ride later. Take care everyone and enjoy the Sunshine!!! Matt & Lynn

Been SOOO Busy With Matt...

2008-06-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well today is June 9th, 2008. You wouldn't know it though by looking outside. Matt & I feel cursed, since we have been home the weather has let's say been undesirable at the least. When we were locked up in our apartment it was sunny and nice. All in all we are VERY glad to be home and together as a family again. We have had a very bumpy road since we have returned. Let's start out with, we were home for 3 hours and Mom rushed Matt to ER at Mary Bridge with a Temp. We were admitted right away and Matt tested positive for Rotavirus. We suspect he had this in Seattle but it wasn't caught in time. We spent 3day's in the hospital. Then we were home for 4 day's when Matt's symptoms came back and Mom rushed him back in, to find out that he has C-Diff. That's when you have been on so many antibiotics for so many things that it kills off all the good bacteria in your body. So to fix that he is on another antibiotic, go figure. We just take each day one step at a time, that's all we can do. Matt is wearing down as is Mom too. I hope the weather changes soon so we can get out a bit.

I would like to take a moment and pray for Hunter Tank's family who had his services today in Richland, Wa. Hunter lost his battle about a week ago. He was a fighter too and We were glad to have met his family while we were in Seattle. Matt was very sad to here about Hunter, we were following his posting while we were on the out patient basis. We just wanted to see him out of the hospital and where we were on the out patient side of the treatment. It scared Matt to read about Hunter, but he really wanted Hunter to make it. We will alway's have a place in our hearts for Hunter and his family especially his Mom Shannon.

Matt had a great teacher in Seattle from the Fred Hutch School that helped keep him on track with school. We now have a even better tutor helping Matt so he can get caught up for next year. Mom plan's to get back in her buss #78 come this fall. I really miss the kid's. We will be updating this blog as soon as possible as our adventure has not ended yet. You all take care and thank you for all your support. The Yantzers

Last Big Pow Wow With The Team

2008-05-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

We met with Matthew's doctors yesterday to go over all the procedures from 1st diagnosis to now and beyond. Matt is doing good with a few little blips. He is for now considered acute GVHD not chronic witch is good and we hope that stays that way. As Matt comes off the prednisone that might change a bit. Matt dose have GVHD in his stomach but no were else that's concerning so far. He doses have to wear a back brace especially molded for him because of the compression fractures at T7 & T8 vertebra's. Matt will undergo a bone density test today to state the obvious. He is very brittle from large doses of steroids. Matt gets a IV drug (cant remember the name) once a month to help boost his bones back to were they need to be. So Boy's even though you don't like it DRINK YOUR MILK! We have a plan of witch drugs to taper first, and hopefully by June 6th when Matt is off prednisone then we can talk about trying to get him to take his Magnesium pills orally so we can get his Hickman line out. Tacro helps prevent and treat GVHD, but it robs your body of much needed magnesium. Matt has to be on Tacro for a few months so the only other option is taking the pills. He hates them, there big and he will need to take 15-20 a day. Crazy hu! When his Hickman line comes out then we can stop the Lovenox shots, he gets those 2x's a day. Matt is so brave and we are so proud of how he is handling all this. He is truly a VERY special son to have, and I'm glad he's ours! He is still on 21 med's, 1 IV fluid, 1 Shot daily.
We are packing up the apartment so after our 9:00 appointment tomorrow we get to move back home!!! YEA, Matt and Mom are so excited we just can't stand it. We already have appointments with his Doctor Irwin at Mary Bridge next week. Also with a orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital. We plan on having a quiet weekend as a FAMILY again. I can't remember the last time we all were together. We have alot of catching up to do.
We hope you all have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend. The Yantzers

2008-05-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

2008-05-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here Are The Million Dollar Pictures!

2008-05-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

It was so cool watching Matt take pictures of me getting my hair cut off. Priceless!!!

Lot's of Tests Today Day 92

2008-05-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

Some good news, the blood clots in Matt's right arm are gone. YEA! That means no infection there. Today is day 1 of no more Temp's, we need to have no Temp's for 48 hours before they will consider letting us go. Matt is scheduled for his EGD stomach scope and biopsy today at 12:45. If he dose have GVHD there that will be most likely why he has had the Temp's. We spoke with the Orthopedic Surgeon last night and he wants to put Matt into a back brace for now to keep him still so they can get more xrays to see the extent of his T7-T8 compression fractures in his spine. Matt will also undergo a Bone Dencity test today to see how much the prednisone has effected that. Matt is still on the Prednisone taper, we want him off it as soon as possible. Because that drug is one of the Medicines that fight GVHD they might have to put him on something else if the EGD comes back positive. Hope you all stay COOL today, we are glad to be in an air conditioned room for now. We will update when we here something. Keep those positive thoughts coming. Lynn & Matt

Knock On Wood Dosen't Work!!!!

2008-05-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well what do I say and were do I start. Everything was going pretty good other then some back pain Matt has been having, then Tuesday night Matt started running another fever 39c. They sent us over to Children's Hospital again and admitted us. They didn't know were the infection was or if it was a infection at all or GVHD. True Matt doesn't have GVHD in his bone marrow but that doesn't mean that it can't pop up anywhere else in his body at any time. The Team was all over finding out the question We keep asking, WHY! Yesterday was day 90 and they did a CT scan to see if they could find any infection anywhere in his body. They also did a ECO Cardiogram to check for the same thing in his Heart. They did lots of Blood tests also to check for infection.
Today is day 91 Thursday the 15th and we were able to talk to the Doctors in great length, they had lots to say so here goes... They feel the Gleevac Chemo is interfering with his blood cell productivity so he needs 2 blood transfusions today, about 10 day's ago he needed 2 unites also. They also feel since none of the blood tests have come back positive yet, that Matt may have some GVHD brewing in his stomach. They also told us that the prednisone that we have had him on for so long and are desperately trying to get him off of has made his bone density week. So week that the CT Scan shows that T7 & T8 vertebrae of his spine have compression fractures.
Matt is scheduled tomorrow morning for another EGD to confirm if his temp's are due to GVHD. We are also going to consult a Ortho specialist about his bone density and the compression fractures in his back. We new Matt wasn't feeling very well and that his strength was going to take a while to come back, but we never thought for a minute it was this bad. Matt is scheduled for a ultra sound today to see if the blood clots he had in his right arm are maybe have an infection in them. All in all Matt is trying to stay positive, it helps that he is on pain medication 24-7 to help with the pain.
Matt and Mom did have some fun last night. They had a couple of hair dressers come in to give all the Mom's on the floor a hair cut for a belated Mother's day present. I took advantage of that, but Matt ,I love him dearly talked Mom into cutting off all my hair. So I agreed to do it! WOW I cant believe I have no hair. We will post pictures in a couple of day's. All the nurses were feeling my head and telling me that my head felt like a chinchilla. Pretty funny. So yes my daughter Nicole gets her wish, I have brown hair now just like my daughter instead of blond.
I hope you all are jealous because I can go down the freeway at 60 miles an hour now with my windows rolled down all the way and my hair doesn't get messed up!! Like yours. Trying to keep some humor in this Mess. It's wearing both Steve and I down but somehow we are able to pick each other up and keep going. Love to all, Miss you all! Matt and Lynn

GOOD NEWS FINALLY

2008-05-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well we can start out by saying we are out of the hospital again. ( knock on wood ). Matt had an infection in his Hickman Line again. The Doctors gave Mom a pat on the back because we caught it really early so his Line didn't have to come out again. Matt was put on an antibiotic that has to be given every 6 hours for 11 days. The Doctors said that most parents keep their kid's in the hospital for the coarse of the antibiotic because it's so hard to do. I told them that we are not the average parents and wanted to be out of the hospital. It takes a little time to flush his line, hook him up, watch to make sure no air bubbles in the line, then wait 1 hour for it to finish, and flush his line again. Try doing that every 6 hours 24 hours a day. By Friday Mom wore her self out and Dad came to the rescue! Good job Steve!!!
Today is day 88 and we met with the team today and they told us that All the tests came back very good. The bone marrow showed no signs of Leukemia or Philadelphia Chromosome. The bone marrow biopsy came back and showed No GVHD!!! Yey, Matt way to fight. Matt's bone marrow hasn't figured out how to produce it's own antibodies yet so they gave him a transfusion to help jump start the system. That test is very expensive and they wouldn't mix it up till we were there in the building. We hope it works.
The team is keeping us busy with 12 appointments this week, the most important one is on Friday at 2:00 witch they will go over all that they did and what is to come with Matt. This is the discharge appointment ( we are so excited ). We cant wait to get home and be a family again. The team has contacted Mary Bridge and our Dr. Irwin there and told them that we will be coming home soon. We will have weekly appointments for a while, as Matt still has his Hickman Line in and probably be sent home on IV fluids.
We are excited to see when he gets Medications taken away, but it seems every time they stop one they start another. Matt is still on approximately 17 different medications, some he will be on for about a year or so. Matt is doing great in spirits and is motivated to come home. Keep up the prayers they are helping a great deal, especially in keeping Mom and Dad's inner strength going. Thank You All, The Yantzers

Another Blip In The Road To Recovery

2008-05-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well today is day 80 and we are back in the Hospital. It all started on Thursday night, Matt wasn't feeling to great and Mom was keeping close tabs on his temp witch has been up and down all week. Finally we made the call to the team and they sent us to Children's Hospital to get checked out because his temp was 38.2C which is 101 F. We were at Children's till midnight when they sent us home for the night, with a follow up the next morning with the team. Steve came up to Seattle Friday morning to be with Matt and we both took him over to SCCA. The team immediately sent us to triage were he was assessed and found to have another temp. They started antibiotics and told us they were going to admit him to Children's Hospital. They did lots of blood test's, a chest xray, and told us to be patient while they tried to figure out what's wrong. Yesterday Day 79 they told us that one of the blood cultures came back positive. That means that Matt has another infection somewhere in his body, most likely his Hickman line again. We have to stay in the Hospital for a few day's so they can pinpoint were the infection is and fix it. Matt has his 3rd spinal LP Chemo on Tuesday and a Bone Marrow Biopsy to make sure his Bone Marrow doesn't have a virus and that it is still working well. They gave Matt 2 units of Blood on Friday witch is making him feel better. The Team is a little concerned why his red counts and platelets are down, we hope it's because of the infection and not an issue of his Bone Marrow. We can only hope this is a quick fix and are still on track in coming home soon. Matt has been going to school here at Fred Hutch and likes it but misses his School and Friends. Hope to bring good news next blog we post. Keep praying, we are still fighting this nasty cancer. Lynn & Matt

This Picture Say's It All!

2008-04-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, on Friday April 25th Matt and Mom bent the rules a bit and drove home for the night. Matt was able to be at our house in Bonney Lake for 24 hours, (the first time in 4 months). Matt sure was glad to see his blue heeler Sydney. Both Matt and Mom didn't sleep very good because we were so afraid of being so far from a hospital that can care for him in case of an emergency. We are glad we did it and are back in Seattle now. Tomorrow is day 75 and all is well with still going home by day 100. We hope things go as planned.

Mom and Nicole went to the fund raiser for Matt at Bonney Lake High Saturday for a while. It was good to see all the support. If we missed anyone it's because I had to get Matt back to Seattle before his 8:00 Med's were due. I'm sorry if we missed any one, but we were glad to see the people we did. Thanks to all!!! Matt and Family

Ok so you need glasses to read the article....

2008-04-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today is day 70 in Matt's treatment. He is doing pretty good, with minimal side effects. The scope he had done came back good and his GVHD is getting ALOT better. The team is weening him off some of the med's this week. Matt had round #2 of 4 chemo treatments yesterday. He is having lots of back pain but at least we didn't get readmitted to the hospital like the past LP'S. He is going to the Fred Hutch School to get caught up on home work.
There is a Spaghetti Dinner Fund Raiser and Auction at Bonney Lake High this Sat. the 26th from 6-9 pm. Michael Wheeler is putting it on for a senior project and in support of Matt who has been with the scouts for some time now. We are very proud of Michael in what he is doing and all the hard work it took to put an event like this one on. Matt won't be able to attend but either Steve or Lynn will be there with Matt's sister Nicole. Hope to see ya there. The Yantzers

Big fund raiser Saturday April 26th

2008-04-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

April 15th 2008

2008-04-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Matt is doing pretty good and the doctors are trying to fine tune his medications. Last week they tried to ween Matt off of some of the meds and he started to show signs of GVHD again.... Sooooo off to surgery today to make sure that all is well with Matt. The test thats done by a camera showed that Matt has a pollup, lots of acid reflux and a ulcer in his stomach. We should have the results by tomorrow.

Now for the fun stuff!! Ted Nugent sent Matt a autographed picture, 2 guitar picks and lots of bumper stickers. One of them I'm putting on our Jeep, it reads Ted Nugent for President. Wouldn't that be a gas!! Hope all of you have a Happy Tax Day!! Matt & Lynn

Side Affects Of Chemo!!

2008-04-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

Matthew Has The Greatest Dad In The World!

2008-04-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well we are out of the Hospital and Matthew is doing GREAT!! The Team just had to adjust a few Medications. Today is Sunday April 6th and we have early appointments tomorrow and the 1st of 4 spinal Chemos on Tuesday. Matt still has to be on IV fluids for 8 hours a day, but we hope that will end sometime this week.
Now about Steve being the Greatest Dad!!! We know that Steve knows alot of people but last week when Matt was re-admitted we got a phone call from the one and only TED NUGENT!! He left a message on our phone at our apartment and we listened to it when we got home. We saved the recording to share with his friends. Terrible Ted said that he would call back because we missed him and He did!!! Matt got to talk to Ted Nugent for about 10 minutes. They talked about Hunting, Matt's interests and his music. Ted also said that he would be in the area bear hunting next month and that he would like to see Matt. What a cool opportunity for Matt. I don't know how Matt dad pulled that one off but it really made Matt feel special, What a Great dad Steve is!! We hope that everyone out there is doing good and enjoying the much needed sunshine. Talk to you all soon, Matt and Lynn

Are We In Or Are We Out?

2008-04-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well Today is April 1st and we are Day 47 Post. Matt was discharged on Sunday from Children's Hospital. Yeah!!! Our first appointment was with SCCA Monday morning at 7:45, we ended up being at SCCA till 4:00 Monday then a quick trip back to Children's Hospital by ambulance. No Joke! Not a April Fools Prank. Yes we are back at the hospital. Matt was feeling poorly at SCCA and his blood pressure went down to 77/46. The team tryed to stabilize it but couldn't so here we are. They since have taken Matt off all his blood pressure Meds and he seems to be doing better. He also has been tested for another infection results still pending.
To tell you all again how susceptible Matt is to infection, The team came in today to tell us that Matt is still in ISO which means isolation. The reason this time is that he is showing positive cultures for influenza. Now Matt is showing NO signs of the flu but it is still in his body, so now he needs to wear gloves, gown and a mask every wear even on out patient visits. This virus is air born and immune supressed patients don't have ANY IMMUNITIES to fight off anything for 1 whole year! Matt could have picked it up in a elevator on his way to xray or anything. Matt will have to be really closely watched when we get out of here that we don't expose him to anything!!! Every ones honesty on there health will be greatly appreciated on the outside because we would hate to be sent back to the hospital for something that could be so easily avoided.
Hopefully we will get all this blood pressure and infection problems straightened out this week so we can get out of here again soon. Other than this little blip Matt is doing really quite well, and is taking all of his Med's and off all pain Med's. The transplant is working well and Matt is getting stronger everyday! Thanks for all the support everyone has given. You all have great and Matt see's that there are people out there that are really good and that do really care. God bless you all!! The Yantzers

2008-03-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

More Twistes, Turns and Bumps In The Road

2008-03-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hi to everyone, and we hope you all had a pleasant Easter. Well were to start, Matt was put on hold for the Hickman Line because of problems getting his IV Meds changed over to pill form. Now we are back on the schedule tomorrow morning at 9:00 am to have his Hickman line put back in. Matt is still on a couple of IV Meds that will be changed over tomorrow we hope.
GVHD has shown up in a rash form on Matts skin now. The team is all over that and treating him with steroids to help fight against it. Matt will be put back on TPN today as he is not eating or drinking enough and is rapidly loosing weight. A little extra layer is OK when you are going through this, but Matt has pretty much lost as much as we would like. That's one heck of a diet! As of today he has lost 22lbs.
We are still hoping to get out of the hospital either Thursday or Sunday this week. Oh by the way TPN is IV form of feeding patients who cant eat. Matt will be on IV TPN and IV fluids when they discharge us, along with lots of other Meds pill form. I'm well onto my way in having my nurses degree as Steve is too. Now we have another profession to fall back on (he-he).
Today is day 39 post transplant, and we are going stir crazy!! We asked to have a stationary bicycle put in his room to keep us busy. We now know how hamsters feel when running on the wheel in their cage. We have been in ISO which means isolation since the 3rd of March. That means we cant leave the room without a escort making sure we don't touch anything. It's because of the infection in Matts Hickman Line, he's not contagious or anything. They are just ultra careful on this floor because of all the immune suppressed patents. We have bee here at Children's Hospital since February 4th, 2008 and as nice of a place this is we really feel that we have overstayed our time here and can't wait to leave. Keeping up the faith and still staying positive as possible. We can and will beat this!! Lots of Love the Yantzers

Matt & Fiona

2008-03-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

2008-03-15T14:28:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Patty Day

2008-03-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today is March 15th and Matt is doing pretty good on his counts. His anc's are around 7,000, and his white and red blood counts keep going up. The doctors are treating his GVHD in hopes to make it go away soon. They are trying to ween him off all the IV medications to pill form. We have tried twice unsuccessfully to ween him off his pain med's, The doctors say that will be the last one to go. We have had a few problems with the new picc line so its coming out on Monday and the Hickman line will be put back in. We hope to get out of the hospital in a week or so. We will be in Seattle for approx 3 months on an out patient basis. Nicole developed double lung pneumonia last week but is recovering really well. Hi to all and keep the emails coming Matt enjoys them. Lynn and Family

Matt's Diagnosis on GVHD

2008-03-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

Matt has been doing pretty good this week till Thursday night when he started showing Lot's of symptoms of GVHD. Friday morning the doctors decided to to a procedure that they use a scope and camera to go down Matt's throat and check out everything all the way to his stomach and beyond. They took 4 biopsies also to make sure of their findings. The pathologist and Doctors just told me that he tested positive for GVHD in his stomach. They assumed that was the case and started treating him yesterday with steroids. The team is a little concerned on how fast it came on so they are checking for additional infections elsewhere too. On a scale of 1-4, 4 being worse Matt has been diagnosed as a 2+. We are very confident in the Doctors here and believe Matt Will be o.k.
Now not to worry I'm told that a little GVHD is good because Matt will be less likely to have a recurrence of the Leukemia that is being treated for.
In GVHD the immune cells from the donated marrow (the graft) attack the body of the transplant patient (the host). GVHD can affect many different parts of the body. The skin, eyes, stomach, and intestines are affected most often.
After this journey is finally done, we will have learned more about inner strength and the power of hope than we ever thought possible. Thanks for all the thoughts Love and Prayers. The Yantzer Family

Day 22 post transplant March 7, 2008

2008-03-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

Well we have been patently been waiting for Matt's count to come in and on day 17 they did. His first anc was 190 and today his anc's were in the 1500's that's great! His white blood count is 2.6, Normal is 4.5-13.5 so he has a ways to go yet. He isn't producing any red blood cells yet but that's normal.
The doctors have been watching Matt very close for signs of GVHD. Matt has had a few fevers and other signs of GVHD this last week. All was looking very promising till last night when Matt started showing lots of symptoms of GVHD. Today at 2:00 Matt will be undergoing a biopsy of his stomach and other areas to see if he dose in fact have GVHD. They are somewhat certain that he dose have it so they are planning to start treatment today to help slow it down.
Maybe we should have another blood drive. Matt has needed 12 units of blood and 18 units of platelets since diagnosis. Matt will need more transfusions in the coming days be cause his body isn't producing on its own yet.
Matt has brought smiles to a lot of people here. He has made his own club, its called the banana club. You have to be special to be in the club ( in isolation ).I think he looks better in PINK don't you. Love to all Lynn and Matt

Matthew & Mom Making People Laugh

2008-03-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Post Transplant & Battle to Get Better

2008-02-28T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a waiting game for the last 2 weeks, but Matt is still staying positive and is trying his best to get better. Matt had 4 rounds of Chemo post transplant on day's 1,3,6 & 11 to help him NOT get GVHD. Between the Chemo & Radiation Matt developed lots of mouth and throat sores, and really bad mucoussidous. That was probably the worst week Matt has had so far, as he couldn't talk or eat and barely swallow. The Pain team meet with us at least once daily to make sure he was as comfortable as possible.
Matt has had to have 6 bags of Platlets and 4 bags of Blood since the 14th. Matt's body isn't producing it's own yet so he needs a little help. Did you all know that Matt now is O POSITIVE instead of A. WEIRD! Nicole is O and gave it to Matt.
Matt had to have xrays to check out his organs and chest because he wasn't breathing to good. He was almost sent to ICU. They said that he wasn't breathing on the lower part of either lung. The Doctors were on top of that and he is doing much better now but still needs oxygen to help him breath.
There are lot's of test's that they do after Transplant to watch for GVHD. Matt is showing some sign's of GVHD but they arn't sure yet if it will go away on it's own. They did a Cat Scan on him to make sure that his organs were o.k. and everything looked good except a possible problem with his colon.I went with him for the test and was able to be in the booth were they shoot the Cat Scan. They thought I was a nurse imagine that ( ha-ha ). Parents arnt allowed in there, so I was lucky!
A couple of night's ago Matt gave us a bad scare. At about 12:30 p.m. he fell and I couldn't stop his fall. We were all worried that he had pulled out his Hickman Line or broke an ankle. The Team he rushed him off to xray to check him out. After all that we got back to our room and settled about 4:00 a.m., of course I couldn't sleep and was up again at 6:00a.m.. Matt is a tough Boy he's O.K. nothing broke thank goodness.
Matt has been running a fever for the last few days. The team has been doing cultures to see if it was GVHD or an Infection. Today they told me that he has a Bacterial Infection one of his Hickman lines. They have him on antibiotics to clear it up.
NOW THE GOOD NEW"S! Matt started getting his counts yesterday. His anc's were 190, and his white blood count is slowly coming back. It's terrible timing to have a infection when your trying to produce white blood cells but we are confident that Matt is on the road to recovery.
Matt takes short walks and loves reading his email on his computer. He says Hi to all. Take Care To All. LYNN

Nicole and Matt Before Transplant

2008-02-17T15:39:00.000-08:00

2-14-08 of Matthew

2008-02-17T15:35:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day.....

2008-02-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

Matthew receved his Bone Marrow on Feb. 14th, 2008. His Sister Nicole came to Children's Hospital at 6:00 am to get ready for the big day. Everything went smoothly and Nicole donated 650cc's of Bone Marrow for Matt. To make things easier to calculate there are 30cc's in every ounce, and if you do the math, thats about 21 to 22 ounces of Bone Marrow. It looks just like a blood transfusion.
Nicole was in recovery for a few hours but was able to go home with her Dad around 1:00pm. Steve was with Matt while I was with Nicole so Steve took some pictures of Matt's new Birthday.
Matthew has had a few side effect's from the Transplant, but I told him that it was just his Sister giving him one more punch, He laughed.
Today is Post Transplant Day 3, and Matt is doing good. He is going to have Chemo on Day 1,3,6,&11 to help him NOT develop GVHD. They are trying to make him comfortable as possible because the next 10 Days will be very tough on him. At about Day 14 Post he should be able to show signs of some response to the Transplant. We are keeping a positive attitude because your mind has a huge influence on your recovery and Matt knows that.
Nicole will be going back to school on the 19th but with some restrictions, No P.E. or Dance Class for a week or two. Nicole is a true fighter and dosen't stay down for long. Steve and I are very proud of what Nicole has done, she is a very special girl.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayer's, keep them coming I do believe that is making a BIG difference in the road we are going down. Thanks Again the Yantzer's

UPDATE ON RADIATION

2008-02-13T10:06:00.001-08:00

Matthew has completed 8 trips by ambulance to the UofW for radiation treatments with great results. Matt joked with the ambulance crew to and from the hospitals. The team at UofW let Matt listen to Creed, Queen, and Ted Nugent CD'S while in the radiation room. One of the staff at UofW asked Matt not to bring to noisy of music his last 2 treatments because they were really early in the morning. Matt and I think they were country lovers and couldn't handle GOOD ROCK MUSIC.
Matt had 2 day's of really extensive Chemo to get him ready for the transplant.He dosen't feel to good today the 13th. The nurses are all really helpful here at children's hospital, they are giving Matt lots of medicines to make him more comfortable.
Tomorrow the 14th is the big day. Nicole will be addmited at 6:15 a.m. and should be able to go home with Dad that afternoon. She is a little nervous but is being strong.
Matt wishes everyone a Happy Valentines Day, and says Hi to everyone. We will update this blog soon after the transplant. Talk to you all soon,Lynn & Family

Hopfully 1 Last Speed Bump !!!!

2008-01-30T07:33:00.000-08:00

Well at our last meeting with SCCA we were gearing up for radiation and being admitted to Children's Hospital. But with great disappointment we were put on hold again because of the RSV virus going through SCCA's facility. There were 3 patients that have contracted the virus in the last 2 weeks so lock down is in place again at SCCA. This Virus is very dangerous to transplant patients and could prove fatal to a patient if they get it during the transplant possess.

With Matthew's new schedule we will have more testing on Superbowl Sunday to make sure that he is well, so far He and his Sister Nicole are. Matt will have his last LP Chemo on Monday the 4th, then 2 days of rest, then finally we start the full body radiation on the 7th. Matt will have doses of radiation twice a day for 4 days, then 2 days of extensive Chemo, then 1 day of rest, and then Finally the transplant will take place on February 14th valentines day. All of Matt's testing looks good so far, and his Leukemia is in remission for now.

We hope this next week goes a little more smoothly than last. We are living in Seattle by the UofW arboretum. It's hard to get used to the noises of a busy city at night, but we are getting used to it. Our duplex is only about 5 minutes from UofW Hospital and about 9 minutes from Children's Hospital.

Both Matthew and Nicole wish everyone their best. Matt cant wait to have visitors and Nicole cant wait to see her friends too. Thank You for all your Love and Support the Yantzer's

The Big Countdown

2008-01-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

January 15th Matthew and Nicole went to Seattle for 2 weeks of extensive testing at SCCA, Children's Hospital and UofW Hospital. Nicole just got lots of blood drawn and that's about it. Matt has a little more testing to see if he is strong enough to withstand the transplant. They check out all his organs and take lots of blood. One day we had 10 different appointments with 10 different people, wow that was hard. They are adjusting his medicines to get him ready. Matt is on 12 different meds every day. On the 25th Dr. Hickman will be putting his double looman Hickman line in his chest and taking his PICC line out. Because of the RSV going on up here they will admit Matt to Children's hospital on the 29th witch is his 1st day of radiation. Matt will get radiation twice a day for 4 days, then 2 rounds of really strong chemo, then 1 day off for good behavior. Finally on the 5th of February Nicole will give her bone marrow to Matt. Nicole should be able to go home the same day with about 1 week to recover. Matt will be in Children's hospital for approx 30 days so they can closely watch him to see if it is a success. If all is going well he will be discharged on an out patient basis for approx 90 days. Matt will have to see the Doctors daily to watch his progress. During that time we have rented a 3 bedroom Duplex in Seattle. It's really quite nice but very small. Our duplex is one of several in the area that are rented out just to Cancer patients, it's very clean. The Doctors say that Matt wont be able to go back to school till 1 year after transplant. We are lucky to have a very nice tutor that Matt likes. A big thank you to everyone 's help through out this prosess. Matt is staying possitive (that's the only way to be he say's). Keep in touch he really enjoy's the comments and e-mails. Thanks again the Yantzer Family

A Promising New Year!

2008-01-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2008

The year of 2007 has finally ended and I wanted to offer some the highlights that finally brought this year to a close. I'll call this the good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good:
The blood drive that took place in December had over sixty three people signed up with forty eight pints collected with thirty of these being first time donors. I hear this is some kind of first time record which makes me feel really good because the blood is so important to the successful recovery of Leukemia patients. This is a picture of me next to the blood mobile where I got the chance to meet a lot of the people and say thank you.

I ended the year feeling pretty good and have started walking up to one half mile a day on the new treadmill. It's super cool with a two speaker system that you can plug your I-Pod into and pass the time listening to music. I plan on using this as much as I can to keep my muscle tone and build my strength for the transplant.

The Bad:
As you might have heard I was suppose to be in Seattle at SCCA as of December 26th but have been put on hold due to a RSV virus that is making a lot of people sick. We will have to wait another few weeks while this gets out of the clinic. The Chemo in December really sucked and made me sick enough that it was hard to eat. They called this part of the treatment consolidation but after this week will be putting me on the maintenance part of the treatment that should be easier to handle until the transplant starts. We are hoping to start at SCCA by mid January but are still waiting to hear on how things are up there so we don't have worry so much about getting sick .

The Ugly:
I'll break the ugly into two trips to the hospital since the start of Christmas break. The first one had to do with the last round of Chemo that made me sick enough that I had to stay for four nights to get past the headaches and start to eat. The second trip was just last Saturday morning, 2 am, when I passed another small kidney stone that really hurt. I once again found myself on the 6th floor at Mary Bridge and stayed Saturday night but came home Sunday. We brought the nurses a 20 pound tin of mini Hershey's chocolate bars that mad a lot of them smile, by the time I left on Sunday more that half the tin was already gone!

I'll finish this e-mail by saying that I'm feeling really good now and want to continue to get exercise, do my studies and look forward to getting notes and e-mails from all of you. It kind of sucks being stuck in the house 24/7 but I need to stay healthy for the transplant that I hope will happen soon.

Matthew Yantzer

A Huge Thank You!!!

2007-12-09T12:09:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post a picture of me and my new Laptop that so many of you donated for. So many of you gave that it would be hard to list each and every person because I wouldn't what to miss a single person. I wish I could fully describe how much this means to me and the freedom it has already allowed for me to gain. I can go on line and explore, shop, update my blog, talk with people on G-mail and of course do my homework. It makes me smile when I think of how nice you all were in granting me this very special gift that I really, really like and use all the time.

Next Tuesday, December 11th, two Puget Sound Blood Mobile's are going to be at Mountain View Middle School (my middle school) for a large blood donation drive. This was all arranged by Dyanne Jewett-Borst who has told us that over sixty eight people are already signed up to give blood in my name. I am planning on spending about an hour there 9:50am to 10:50am to say hi and thank you to to people who are giving blood. I have also heard that the newspaper is going to be there to do a follow up story to the one last week that showed my sister and me. I makes me proud to see that so many families will be helped by the blood drive. I know the importance of what this has already done for me and knowing that what every gives will help so many, many people.

My mom, dad and I have a meeting next Wednesday to Fred Hutch to talk about the next step in my transplant. I'm excited about seeing a new place and meeting the doctors and nurses who well be taking care of me at Fred Hutch. Nicole is also excited about being able to help and is a little scared of what they are going to do to her but says it's the best Christmas present ever.

I thank everyone again for the computer and know that this means so much to me, I look forward to saying thank you to every person in person once I'll well enough.

Matthew Yantzer.

Great News on Marrow! November 29, 2007

2007-11-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

Message Posted by Steve & Lynn...

We found out this morning that Matthews sister Nicole was a perfect match for Matt's bone marrow transplant and will be his donor. This is really good news and we should hear over the next week the time line on when Matthew will start the bone marrow procedure. We were all looking forward to some positive news and this is it! Nicole is excited about being able to help out her brother and is more than looking forward to the adventure of the procedure.

The pictures above represent Thanksgiving morning when Matt decided that I really needed to fulfil my promise of letting him shave my head. A great time was had by all with the only casualty being what was left of my hair..

Over the past few days I've grown quite accustom to the bald look and enjoy the fact that my comb hasn't been touched in a week! Please send your posts as to your rating from a scale of 1 -10 (10 being Bruce Willis like) so I can decide if this will become a permanent fixture around the Yantzer household.

More to follow as we learn more about time lines on our pending trip to Fred Hutch.

Rocks and Clots!

2007-11-18T17:13:00.000-08:00

The past week of my treatment has been kind of a pain the the... well Arm and kidney's! Monday I had severe right arm pain that ended up being a blood clot that was the result of my PIC line and one of my Chemo treatments. This put my back in the hospital and during my five star visit I also found out what real pain is, when a Kidney stone formed in my left kidney! ouch!!!

Mom stayed with me all weed and when dad arrived for the weekend they sent me home late Friday night. The amount of medicine I'm having to take is really obnoxious and most of them taste really bad. The doctors have been really cool and the nurses are nice and do every thing they can to make sure there no pain in my treatment.

It's good to be home but mom makes me stay right on track with the nasty tasting pills while dad makes me drink water every time he's sees that I'm not. The water helps dissolve the stones with the help of two medications that I'm taking but I'm looking forward making this go away.

Please be patient on my blog postings while I work through this phase of treatment. I'm hoping also to hear this week on the testing from by sister, mom and dad for the marrow transplant that I will be facing over the next few months.

I'll continue to keep everyone up to date on how I feel and I appreciate your kind gift and well wishes that I see every day. It helps to keep me sane and occupied during my time at home during the times I can't see anybody.

Until next time,

Matt.

I will not give up

2007-11-08T16:16:00.000-08:00

I know that I cannot do all of the normal outdoor activities that I enjoy right now but don't worry I will not give up on my goal of reaching my eagle in scouts. Because I have this it may take a lot longer but I guarantee that I will reach my eagle. Thank you for your support from everyone and I hope that I will see everyone soon.

bad news

2007-11-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

I found out that I have a rare chromosome that is only found in 3 to 4 percent of leukemia patients. the chromosome will make it so i will have to have radiation and a bone marrow transplant. I do not fret on it. I just keep living my life and it really dosen't bother me because there is really nothing else to do. so you just kneed to let the Doctor do the procedure and keep a positive attitude.

I am sorry

2007-11-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

I enjoy reading your e-mails at matthew (dot) yantzer (at) gmail (dot) com so please e-mail me. this whole blogging stuf is new to me so it is taking me a while to respond the all of your questons.

Hi Friends

2007-10-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

If you have found my blog page I probably have your e-mail adress. don't wory tell everyone who wants to know about my blog page. please e-mail me often this is the only way you can reach me. I will reply very often. I don't have anything better to do.

Matt's Hunting Trip

2007-10-28T09:33:00.001-07:00

From the weekend of October 20th.