Life with Leukemia: A Spoon Full of Sugar

Remember how last update I said nothing new had happened. Sometimes I wonder how much of what I say causes the next event… A day or two after that post we got a call from the clinic. They told Tyler to reduce his dose of the meds. Not a big deal really. A few days later our nurse called at 7AM mind you to tell Tyler that the study was ending and he was to stop taking the pills.
We went into the office on Monday to decide on a new choice for meds. I expected we would be taken back to see the doctor, but a tech called Ty back for labs. We didn't think he needed labs so we chatted with the tech. She told us that the study was actually back on and that the vials they were pulling were for the study. While they pull labs I wait in the waiting room (the room they do the blood work in is very tiny I tried standing in it once, but it was obvious I didn't fit) .  I was waiting for a while… and I started to wonder what was happening… I look into the clinic and see them wheeling someone out of the small room. My mind races at this point… could that be my husband? is he hurt? why is he in a wheel chair? has he always been that white and pasty? It took me a couple of seconds, but after recognizing his clothes I knew it was him. The nurse came out to get me. Tyler had passed out not all the way, but pretty close as they drew his blood. They were attempting to pull 30 tubes of blood, and Tyler's stomach was empty, bad combo.
People who pass out during blood work get an extra special room with an ER bed and a TV. They also get tons of crackers and juice. Eventually, they did draw the rest of the blood. After the rush of nurses Tyler finally got to tell me that the study was NOT back on and the blood was being taken as final blood work to end the study. Along with blood work they would need a bone marrow biopsy DUN DUN DUN. We met with a new fellow (fellow being the stage of doctor he was not just that he was a man) who spent time with us explaining our options for a new medication. After going back and forth we had him write the information down so we could decide. Each drug has 2 names, it gets confusing!
After meeting with Dr. D Tyler had the bone marrow biopsy (done by the fellow). He tells me it was actually not as bad as the last time. He'd have to get you more info on that, but even just watching it wasn't as bad. I got closer this time and the doctor showed me how it was done. I'm thinking of doing his next one I'm sure he'd love that! 
We decided on a new medicine and went to pick it up from the pharmacy. I was glad they let us get it right at Huntsman. I can only imagine what the guy at WalMart would think if I came in looking for my meds.
Basically starting this new drug is like starting back at square one, but with better blood test results. Taking that first pill was as nerve racking as it was 3 months ago. I figured if we made the atmosphere awesome, the pill would work awesome. I didn't give him a spoon full of sugar, but I did get him a bagel sandwich and we blasted the radio probably the coolest way to take a pill. So far he hasn't had any crazy reactions, and hopefully he wont. We feel really comfortable with the switch. We appreciate that our doctor was obviously concerned for Tyler's wellbeing. He was probably more upset about the switch then we were. And nothing makes you feel better then when a doctor cares for you the way this doctor cares for Tyler. An even more assuring thing is that if this medicine doesn't work we always have a back up plan.
I took exactly one picture of this last hospital trip. This was after the biopsy, it's proof it wasn't all that bad! I wish I could hire a photographer to follow us around. I always regret not taking more pictures after the fact!! I'd have loved to show you how he looked right after passing out. You might have also loved the zombies we saw as we drove home.
Can you guess what he is doing on his phone??? His work recently recorded one of his labs and put it on youtube, so we were listening to it. Nothing more exciting then listening to Tyler teach.

What else is happening you ask? Tyler is planning the ward Halloween party. I am stressing about Tyler planning the ward Halloween party. We are speaking in church on Sunday. I am stressing about us speaking in church on Sunday. Sawyer is growing up! I'm working on setting rules and boundaries for him because his brain is way too fast and smart for me. I've started watching our friends little baby Finley once a week. She is the cutest thing and Sawyer loves having her here. We went on an adventure to Park City with the Atkinson's. I'll blog about that later because people NEED to know what happened!