Another chance to say goodbye

Since everything happened so fast last Friday, we thought it would be nice to gather again in Troy's honor. So, please join us Saturday, August 23rd, to celebrate Troy's life - hopefully there will be more laughs than tears as we share stories and remember the incredible spirit of an incredible man.

Drop by anytime after 7:00

533 Greenwood Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
404-803-2253

Please forward this invitation to anyone who would want to join us.

Email me at todd_snead@msn.com if you plan on attending so I can prepare accordingly.

Sharing

Hello Everyone,

It has been such a pleasure to see all the comments and pictures many of you have posted on Troy's facebook account.

Please continue to post, but could you please send me copies of any pictures you have of Troy and his friends - I will compile them and find a way to make them available.

Please send your pictures to todd_snead@msn.com

Thank you so much for you love and support!
Todd

Service Arrangements

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers in this difficult time.  

Service arrangements have been finalized.  

The family will receive visitors tomorrow, August 16, from 6-9 P.M. at Ward's Funeral Home in Gainesville.  The service will be on Sunday at 3:00 P.M., also at Ward's Funeral Home. 

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or your favorite charity.    

Ward's Funeral Home is located at 758 Main St., Gainesville, GA 30501/  Their phone number is 770-534-5351.  

Moving on

Troy passed away at 10:27 am this morning - It's over......but the battle was WON.

TROY CARLTON HENSON
8-25-1973
8-15-2008

Services will be arranged through Wards Funeral Home in Gainesville, GA and information will be posted.

Comfort

Troy's liver values and ammonia levels have continued to rise daily in the past week and his Myeloma markers have also elevated again. After talking with the medical team here at Northside and given several alternatives for his care, we were forced to make a difficult choice of Comfort Care for him. This means no more blood products or lab values and uncomfortable tests. He is on O2 with minimal IV antibiotics, saline, and a Morphine drip for pain. This treatment will allow him to rest peacefully and comfortably.

He rested well last night and has intermittent moments of "alertness."

The family is requesting no visitors at this time as the Bone Marrow Unit is considered an ICU setting. We very strongly request your continued prayers. We have been blessed with so many good and caring friends.

Troy is one tough man. He has endured this fight to date with so much of his battle being fought up hill and he continues to fight.

A little boost

Troy has had some issues with elevated liver enzymes the past few days - which has left him a little confused at times. The MM is also on the march again. So, the doctors have decided to cut back on his new chemo and give him a "booster shot" of his stem cells (the ones left over from the harvest in March). It is hoped that these will help give his immune system a jump start (his WBC has been zero all summer).

Please keep the positive energy coming - Troy needs it more than ever to get through this rough spot.

All call for some fluids

Troy has been in the hospital for a while now, and with all of the drugs and different treatments, he has been given a lot of platelets and blood. If you are able, please, please, please drive to the Atlanta Blood Services and donate. I will testify that it is an easy process. (In fact, the questionnaire took longer than the blood donation.) The nurses are great and they have a wide selection of movies for you to watch, if you can donate platelets. You even get a t-shirt! And cookies! And juice! What are you waiting for?!?

From Atlanta Blood Services:
Georgia does not have enough blood donors to sustain demand within the state and must import most of the products used. During the holiday seasons and especially during the summer months, levels tend to fall because donations decline while the demand by patients increases or continues to remain constant.

Passing the pain

Well, it has been an eventful couple of days at the hospital. The doctors were concerned that Troy's blood wasn't thick enough, so they gave him products to do just that. Turns out those products may have produced very large (some the size of a quarter) blood clots that accumulated in his bladder. As you can imagine, passing those was not a pleasant experience for Troy. However, it seems that things are calming down now.

They also started one of the new chemo drugs today - hopefully it will cut down the MM and give Troy a break before the donor stem cell transplant scheduled for later this month.

Please keep the positive energy and thoughts heading his way - it has been a rough summer, but Troy will win this battle!

Hangin' in there

Troy is still at Northside. He is doing well despite the countless bags of fluids, medications, and chemo he gets daily. He has been walking around the floor and doing some bed exercises to keep up his strength. He is also growing a few hairs on his head!

Although his voice is a little stronger, he is still raspy and sometimes has a hard time getting all the words to speak clearly. However, I'm sure he would still love to hear your words of encouragement and funny stories - anything to "transport" him out of the mundane hospital room.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Well, because of all the fluids they have had to give Troy, and because he is not moving around much due to his lack of energy, the fluid has backed up a little bit on his lungs (his heart is not successfully flushing out his system as it should). So, they have had to give him Lasix (a drug that pulls fluid off the body) to get him back on the right path.

Troy has been through this sort of "back and forth" thing with Lasix many times over the past few months - so there is no need to be worried. However, it just sucks that he can't get "ahead" of this thing. Hopefully he will begin to turn around in the coming days.

They will also be starting his new chemo treatment tomorrow (I think) - so there is another piece to the puzzle.

Please keep him in your thoughts - he has almost no energy and can barely stay awake long enough to finish a sentence. So, as much as I know he would love to return your phone calls and emails, he just can't right now - but keep 'em coming nonetheless.

A little dip

Well, Troy is back in the hospital again because he didn't really eat or drink anything the past few days. The doctors say he looks good "on paper," but he wasn't feeling good and had no energy from the lack of nutrients.

The lung and blood infections seem to be clearing up, but they have detected a slight rise in some of the bad protein levels. Thus, the doctors are discussing a change in his chemo regiment - it is like the MM is "smart" and learns how to get around any chemo they throw at it.

They are still working on the stem cell donor and are proceeding with the necessary tests for that person, but we still don't have an exact date for the transplant. As you can imagine, Troy's disease needs to be under control and he needs to be strong before they can proceed.

Keep sending the positive messages and encouragement!

Home again!

Troy made it home again this afternoon! His white count is still extremely low, but hopefully that will be turning around soon. His spirits are up and we hope to get to the donor transplant soon - they did many of the necessary tests while he was in the hospital this past week. Although he will have to continue his daily treatments at the clinic, let's hope he doesn't have to go back into the hospital until the transplant!

If you, or anyone you know, is looking to purchase a nice two bedroom house in the Duluth area - give Troy a call. He has recently put his house on the market.

Gettin' by

It seems Troy can't get too comfortable at home these days. He went back into the hospital about a week ago after having a few dizzy spells at home. Turned out, his blood pressure was drastically dropping every time he stood up. So, they checked him in, messed with his blood pressure medication for a few days, and have finally gotten him somewhat stabilized. However, it wasn't without a cost - they gave him more chemo, which upset his stomach something fierce - but that is under control now as well.

So, he has been there over a week now - and things are looking up, but they are keeping him there until his counts come back up from the chemo (which is always a long process). They are hoping to move Troy to the donor transplant soon and have begun the necessary tests to make sure he is fit to do so (the ONE advantage to already being in the hospital!)

Thank you for all of your thoughts and positive energy - IT IS HELPING! Although he is not in the best situation to accept visitors at this time, please keep sending cards, emails, texts, and phone calls - all of which help Troy get through the day!

Home Again

Whoo-hoo! Troy is at home! I wanted to wait a day or two before I shared with y'all, considering what happened last time. Although the view from Northside was pretty sweet (he had a great view of the king and queen buildings), he is glad to be back home.

And if you have nothing else to do except watch some movies, you could always donate platelets or blood. :) We need to start stockpiling for the second transplant.

As always, thanks for all of the positive thoughts and prayers.

The blood cultures have come back and the news is that the infection is an antibiotic resistant blood infection. They are keeping him for at least a couple more days and are determining if the rest of the treatments can be done outpatient. He has a picline, which I guess is like a smaller, semi-permanent port, so no more getting stuck. Yay! He also got a round of chemo this weekend.

Well, crud

So Troy had one day of freedom before his temperature started creeping up. He spent Father's Day with his dad at the Towers getting fluids and stuff. On Monday, his temperature passed the safe threshold of 100.5, so Dr. Solomon re-admitted him to Northside. At first, they did not know what was causing the infection, but they now know that it a blood infection, which is an especially bad thing when you are neutropenic, because it defends you against other infections. So as a precaution, he is having his central port removed, because it is a site for infection, and he has a normal IV now. The bad news is that he has to be stuck every time he has a lab, which can be four times a day. He'll need to stay at the hospital until his counts come up. Keep praying for him.

Home Sweet Home!

Yay! Yay! Yay!
After 25 days at Northside, Troy was cleared yesterday and is safely ensconced at his parents' house! He (and we) are very appreciative of the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff at Northside, but he is happy to not have to see them. (Stir crazy maybe?) He was projected to go home on Friday, but had some issues with dizziness. The doctors were adjusting his medications, which caused the lightheadness. He is looking forward to growing some white blood cells and getting healthy enough for the second stem cell transplant. Right now, his schedule will consist of visiting the Tower for fluids, platelets, and blood as needed, so keep those donations coming. Please contact me at hsaile at hotmail dot com for an address to send well wishes. Thank you for all of the positive thoughts and prayers!

Marathon!

Sorry the updates have lagged lately - things are good, so don't worry!

Troy has continued to improve over the past few days - in fact, he walked the equivalent of 1 mile around the transplant floor today (28 laps to be precise)!

His heart function is also improving and creatin levels are low - so it looks like things are good. Hopefully he will be back home at his parents soon.

One step forward, one step back

Good news - Troy got out of the ICU yesterday and is breathing well on his own.

Bad news - his blood pressure was extremely low today and they may need to readmit him to keep an eye on what is going on.

Sorry, I don't have any more information than that, but will keep you posted as things develop.

Even better news

They took Troy off the respirator this morning! His voice is coming back, although it is VERY hoarse - sounds kind of like a bull frog if you ask me. He is alert and making jokes and goofy faces - as only Troy can do!

Assuming he continues to improve, they hope to move him back to the 3rd floor and resume the chemo treatment tomorrow.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers - please continue to help him fight this battle.