July 31st

I will never forget July 2007, now that it is over I can say it went fast ha ha. My counts today are still low but my platlets are going up by themselves so that's good. But it doesn't mean I will come home any sooner just means I do not need a platlet transfussion. I had a bloody nose this morning for about 1 hr. It is so boring to have a bloody nose, I sit there and let Mom or Dad pinch my nose but at least we got it stopped! I started school today it was just for about 20 min and I was not very happy with Mom but she thinks it will do me good! Thanks for all the prayers and support! Just a little note we have gone back to July 21st and replied to hopefully everyone Some of the blogs we answered in the most recent writings so the old ones we didn't reply to hopefully that made sense. We did not have a computer and were very busy the last few weeks but now we will keep up!!

Love Trent

July 28th

Well not much is new today. My levels only stayed at zero for one day and then went back to 0.1. Some of you have asked about outside the family bone marrow tests. At this time they will not be doing a bone marrow transplant because neither Brad nor Nate are a match. I'm getting a little fed up with being confined to my room. I have a calender that I wrote "going home" on the 31st. The nurse saw it and made me sad because she told me that there was no way I would be going home then. The doctor stated it would be "rare" if my levels came up and I was able to go home this coming week. So I still have a couple of weeks before I can get out of this room. We know of 23 heads that were shaved this week. Thank you everyone. Love, Trent

July 26th

Hello everyone, I have been doing fine the last couple of days. My white blood cell count officially hit zero yesterday. I now have no immune system. The last few days have been a little hard because I missed several family parties and the first day of school. The test results came back and neither Brad nor Nate are a match. The plan is to complete five rounds of chemo. and hope for the best. Sorry we haven't written back much the last few days. Things have been busy and a little difficult. Thanks again to everyone .
Love, Trent.

July 24th - no hair day

Well today was the big hair cutting family party. Everyone went to grandma and gramdpa's house and shaved their heads. Sixteen heads were shaved today plus all those who shaved at home. Nathan had a hard time and only cut his short but that is okay. Today I hung out with grandpa. He got his head shaved and then came to the hospital so dad could get his head shaved. Thanks for all the support. Love, Trent.

July 23rd

My levels still don't want to drop. The nurses were worried because I went to sleep at 9:00 pm not my normal midnight.

July 22nd

Well another day in the hospital. My levels still did not reach zero but the on-call doctor said that it was not really a big deal (mom and dad were starting to get worried). My mom bought me a pink shirt that has the saying "chicks dig pink" and its true. All of the nurses have been coming to my room to see me and my shirt. Because I still cannot leave my room they brought the sacrament in and a primary lesson. Thank you. Love, Trent.

July 21st

My levels have still not dropped to zero.

July 20th-Jazzy the therapy dog

July 20th

Well nothing much new today. My levels have still not reached zero like they are supposed to be but the doctors say that it should and will. We cannot leave until my levels reach zero and then come back up. So with not dropping to zero right away means a longer stay. The bone marrow test has not come back yet. We will have to wait until next week to see if Brad or Nate are a match. Today I received a great blanket from the primary. It took dad several minutes to read all the signatures that were on it. Thanks a lot. Earlier today mom found a couple of hairs on my pillow. Tonight I began pulling my hair and it is coming out by the handfuls. Thank you for the prayers and all the gifts. Love, Trent.

July 19,

I wanted to explain what the last test meant. Since my Chromosome test came back, I now am looking at getting a bone marrow transplant. I just hope everyone will keep this in their prayers the next couple of days that either Brad or Nate are a match. The chances of them matching are 50%, so any extra help we can get would be great. If they are a match they will do the transplant after my 3rd round of chemo, if they are not I will go through all 5 treatments of chemo. Thanks again to everyone for your support and love.

Love, Trent

July 17th

Today was a good day because no fever has started. My levels are dropping and I currently have close to no white blood cells. Sister Bush came and sat with my for a few hours. It was her first time playing Mario Kart. We had fun. The cytogenetics test have come back. They tested to see what chromosomes(of the cancer cell) are messed up. Dr. Barnette told us there are three options, good, okay, or not so good. It came back as the "okay." That means that if Brad or Nate are bone marrow matches then I will have a bone marrow transplant. If they are not we will continue with the full five rounds of chemo. The "good" would have meant five rounds of chemo and "not so good" would mean a bone marrow transplant no matter what even if it was from outside the family. We should know if Brad or Nate is a bone marrow match by the end of the week. If I do have a bone marrow transplant it will take place after the third round of chemo. Thanks for all the prayers. Love Trent.

July 16th

Hello friends, today is the end of the first chemo round, time to celebrate! It was an uneventful day today. My energy is spent, and I was very mellow. I asked to watch Lord of the Rings every other hour and was turned down all but one time. I am getting very good at Mario Kart, and Mom is getting mad at me because I beat her every time we play, except when I let her win so I can get another game out of her. My germ fighting cells are gone, killed, destroyed along with the leukemia cells. As of now I need to ask all of you hold off in bringing your kids up to visit me. I would really like to visit with all of my friends, but if I get sick right now I will have a harder time in getting my levels back up, alive again, ready to go home to work myself up to doing this ALL OVER AGAIN! I still want to know what is going on in all of your lives, so PLEASE keep writing me and let me know how the the world looks outside of this 8x12 room. Thanks again for everything and have a great day!

Te Iubesc,
Trent

July 15th

Pretty good day today I have been tired and not drinking much chocolate milk. I am off all the fluids and have to drink at least six drinks a day. Today I only drank 2 chocolate milks but added 2 gatorades. The nurse took my blood pressure and the blood pressure cuff bruised up my arm because my platelets are low. So they gave me a blood and platelet transfussion. My white blood cell count is getting very low it actually is the lowest it has ever gotten meaning I can catch any and everything. Mom and Dad are being a little anal about germs. Uncle Biscuit drew me a huge Pirates of the Carribean skull it is so awesome!!! Thanks Uncle Biscuit. The primary came in today and gave me a lesson I still really miss my primary class. Also Elders came in and administered the sacrament to me and Jenni. Thanks for everything. Love, Trent

July 14th

Well today is another day without a fever so it's a good day. My Uncle Mike(Biscuit) stayed with me last night. We had a lot of fun together. It was mom and dad's first night together since this all started. My dad said it was not fair because last night was the first night they let me sleep all night and did not wake me up. Today the nurse came in and began taking some of the fluids off the IV cart because I was getting my last dose of chemo. for this round. Dad was talking to mom at the time luckily, and told mom that I should not be done yet. Mom told the nurse and after checking they found that I still have a day and a half left of chemo. and they almost stopped early by mistake. Dad had to work tonight and mom got out for a movie so Jim and Jayden came up for some fun. Jen Goodrich is going to stay with me tonight. I get spoiled when other people come to sleep at the hospital with me. Thanks for writing and all the prayers. Love, Trent

July 13th

Well it's Friday the 13th and all is well. Dr. Barnette came in to check me out and he said he could not feel my spleen (when I came to the hospital my spleen was huge cuz all the leukemia cells were in it) so that is great news the chemo is working!!!! My nerf gun is making this place a little more fun and exciting the nurses hide their heads when they come in my room! Today I had to get my central line dressing changed. The last time it hurt a lot but this time my mom was able to change it and it did not hurt very much (she said she has a special touch but it was really the special orange stuff she put on the tape that helped). She now is a pro and will change my dressing once a week. All who know her well know that this is a something she does not like to do but did it with flying colors!! I took a nap today I was so tired! Tommorrow I will probably have a platelit transfussion but we will see. Thanks again for all your prayers they are helping so much.

July 12

I had a great day today. Dr. Barnette came in and told me I was doing great and everyday I go without a fever or any kind of sickness is great! So far so good! My nurses are very nice, I like to bribe them with white powdered donuts, they love it!! My red blood cells are doing good, my platelets are a little low but the Dr. said we would wait until I had another bloody nose and then he would do a platelet transfussion. They still don't know why I have a rash it comes and goes so they just give me some Benadryl for the itch. I am done with two of my chemo drugs and only have the ara-c chemo left. I am on day seven with only three days to go. Thank you all for fasting and praying for me I know that is why I am doing so good! Tonight DuCharm's came to visit and brought me a Nerf Blaster. I have so much energy I could not let a moment go without shooting my nurse's Kathy and Tara (I am getting them back for waking me up every two hours to pee). They took it like pro's and just laughed! Well keep writing thanks for everything.

Love Trent

July 11th

Well today has been a fun day. The doctor is happy with how things are going so far. I started getting a rash today and they don't know why so they had to raise some of the medications back up. My dad had to go into work today so my Aunt Amber stayed with me this afternoon while mom took care of some things. We are late in writing because dad had to take his computer to work. Aunt Amber and I had a marker fight and mom does not know if she wants to leave me with anyone else again. I ended up with marker all over my body. When I'm not tired I have fun giving the nurses a hard time and they all think I'm crazy. Thanks everyone. Love, Trent.

July 10th

Well today started out pretty good. My brothers came to see me and we all talked with Mike the Child Life specialist. Brad and Nate got their own hospital buddies and I showed them what to do with a central line. Brad and Nate then went downstairs and had their blood drawn to see if either of their bone marrow matches mine. Both were really brave and some tears were shed. I started crying when I told them thank you and that I loved them. I got a little dizzy today again but my nose has not bled. A sore has started to form on my lip. I guess the chemo is starting to work. Thank you and love you, Trent.

July 9th

Hello everyone, today has been a good day. They cut back on some of my nausea medicine and I can stand up on my own without being dizzy. I had another bloody nose and they are not easy to stop. It is not that fun because mom and dad make me stop playing game cube so they can stop the bleeding. My dad just figured out how to put pictures on so he has been busy. I'm still on chemo and I may have a mouth sore starting. Thank you for writing, I get to stay up late while mom and dad type everyone back for me. It gives us something to do. Love, Trent.

Still more

More photos

photos

Visiting confusion

There appears to be some confusion about visiting and our wishes. At this time we can have visitors and are not against them. With that being said our visitors need to be healthy. The nurses will kick people out of the unit they hear a person cough or sneeze even if it is allegedly allergies. The only real issue is for people that have reptiles or birds for pets. These animals carry normal diseases that will be deadly to Trent. If you have them your clothes have to be clean and hands washed(which is done once you get here anyway.) If you want to visit let us know on the blog and we can call you. Lastly pediatric cancer is completely different than adult cancer. The information on the Internet mostly deals with adults and does not correctly reflect our situation. I know everyone has questions and feel free to call us with them, we are getting more information everyday and don't mind sharing.

July 8th

Well it is a new day. Nights are not that fun because they make me get up every two hours to go to the bathroom. That is so they know I'm getting rid of the chemo. I don't eat that much during the day but about 9:00 at night I'm ready for cereal. Last night I had four bowls before dad told me I needed to eat something else. Today they brought the sacrament to my room and then I had a short primary lesson. After the lesson I got up to get dressed and my nose started to bleed. That was just over an hour ago and it won't stop. They are supposed to give me some platelets so hopefully it will help. I was a little down today but then I received a wonderful gift basket from the Wunderlich's and the Olsen's. There were so many things inside I could not decide what I wanted to do first. We are working on putting some more pictures on the site. Thank you to everyone and love you.

July 7th - morning

Well last night was not very fun. I got really dizzy and anxious because I did not know what was happening and cannot control my body. The nausea drugs are making me dizzy. Last night I was not very nice to mom when I woke up. This morning I did not want to cooperate with the nurses but we got through it. My dad keeps wanting to open the blinds and turn on the lights but I want the room dark. I'm eating today which is good but mom and dad can tell the chemo is taking effect because I'm starting to get pale again. Hopefully this will be the only bad effects I have. I miss my brothers. Thank for writing.

July 6th

Well today has been a day of learning. We have been flooded with information about the drugs we're getting, when we get them, and what they will do. Today they had to change the dressing on my central line and it was not fun. The tape hurt coming off and it really hurt when they cleaned around the incision and I cried for about twenty minutes. We have started chemo and it will probably be tomorrow before we know how sick the chemo will make me. I will also start losing my hair in about two weeks. My family is having a big head shaving party on July 24th but my dad is going to shave his head sooner. Thanks for all the messages. Love, Trent

July 5th - after surgery

Well surgery went well. I now have a tube sticking out of my chest that other kids call their "power cord." There were no leukemia cells in the spinal fluid so it was a good start. They decided since it is so late that I will start with the chemo. treatments tomorrow morning 07-06. This is not that fun.

July 5th

Today is a busy day and the day everything starts. This morning I've already had an EKG, and an ultrasound of my heart. This afternoon I will go into surgery for a center line, spinal tap, and then start my first chemo treatment. I'm a little scared and overwhelmed today.

4th of July

Well I spent the holiday in the hospital. The day was filled with visitors as everyone was off of work. I spent the day with friends, family, and lots of cousins. My dad and I went to the top level of where you park (we weren't supposed to) and watched the fireworks. We were able to see lots of different fireworks all over the valley. It was a fun day.

From Trent

Hi everyone, I'm a little confused and scared right now. I have been passing the time by painting, playing video games, and watching television. Nate Olsen, I would love to play guitar hero with you but mom will try to cut in. Love you guys.

Final diagnosis and treatment

Well just as we were expecting. We have the AML form of leukemia. We will not be leaving the hospital for the next month at least. Chemo will probably start tomorrow night 07-05. It will include about 5 to 10 days of chemo then the rest of the month will be waiting for the blood counts to rise. After they rise we will be able to go home for 7-10 days and then the cycle will start again. I know the question every one has, Primary Children's hospital only gets 8-12 children a year with AML. We are looking at a 50-60% chance. Usually kids enter the hospital with 90-95 % leukemia cells and we came in with 28%. The only benefit though is that Trent is starting out heathier than most kids do. It does not really effect the outcome.

To our ward family

I'm sorry that it seems like we have fallen off the face of the earth. It has been a whirl wind since going to the doctor on Monday. We are trying to process everything still and new stuff keeps coming at us faster than we can take. Tiffany has not been home since Monday morning. I'm sorry that I have not been able to return any of your phone calls. We are getting the calls and I'm doing my best to let Tiffany know you called. The only time anyone is home lately is between about midnight and seven. Thank you for everything and I will get to all of you when I can.

Jeff

From Trent

Thanks for all the comments and prayers, I liked reading what you have said so keep writing. I will be better soon. I look forward to seeing and playing with everyone soon. Eight chocolate milks down and still going. "I love you all."

Diagnosis

Well the results are in and it was confirmed as Leukemia. Tomorrow around noon we should know what type. There are two main types, ALL and AML. The ALL will mean out-patient treatment for the next three years. AML is in-patient treatment that means six months. During the six months we will only be home for about six weeks. The doctors believe it is AML but we will have confirmation tomorrow. I know what your question is and the first is better but like the doctor said "we get what we got." Now the fight begins and we're planning to win. It appears that school is out for this year and we have to look at the options to keep up.

If you have questions put them in your comments and we will try to answer all that we can.

Jeff and Tiff

Day 2

Thank you for all your messages. We just got back from getting bone marrow taken from Trent's hip. He has had many firsts in the past 24 hrs. Today he got his first encounter with being put to sleep while they did the procedure. This test will give us the definte diagnosis. Then tomorrow we will get what type and treatment plans/options.

Please keep us in your prayers and I will put another post as soon as we get the diagnosis. Trent looks a lot better now because he received blood(because his body did not have enough red cells to carry oxygen)and platelets because he did not have enough and was bruising from every little bump or scrape. We are still hoping that it's only a virus but that hope is quickly disappearing.

Jeff

My Family at the Hospital

The hospital provides me with a game cube. So I like to beat Brad in all the games!!

Here's Dad and Nathan looking from outside into my room.

Here I am with my Mom. I am still happy especially because they let me drink all of the chocolate milk that I can

Trent's 1st day at the Hospital

This is my blog. It will be updated with my progress for all of my friends and family to see. Feel free to leave comments for me and my family.