Tappin for Fluid

Here are a couple of pictures of Dad getting his stomach tapped for fluid. They were able to get 6 liters of fluid off of him, which is really good because it made him more comfortable. It was really neat to watch the whole procedure!
Dad is still not doing real well. He is still receiving dialysis. But not feeling the best.

Dialysis

We started dialysis today! Dad’s liver just isn’t doin well at all and will not work, therefore making hard for the kidneys to work at all, and all of the toxins are building up in his blood making him feel like he has the worst flu ever, and also making him disoriented! For those of you that don’t know what dialysis is, it is where they pump your blood through a machine and filter out all of the bad toxins, and just put back in the good stuff. The bad thing with that is that dialysis makes you very tired, and just worn out.
The doctors are still trying to out smart his body, but so far they are having no luck, and it seems that dad just keeps getting sicker and sicker. Hopefully we will know more of what is going on tomorrow or the next day. His body just will not respond to the chemo therapy and they are not sure just what it will respond to. Dad is still fighting though, so that is a good sign!

Update on Dad

Here is a picture of Dad, Sai and Mom. Sai was way jealous cuz Dad was eating a popsicle. I know the picture is bad, but its what I have!
Just recently, Dad's Doctors wanted to move Dad to the ICU at the U of U Hospital. Reason being was Dad's blood pressure has been extremely low the last week, and Tuesday night, it dropped to 86/44, which is way too low. So far they have been able to bring up his blood pressure a little bit, to where it is not so much of a risk, but it is still reading really low! But hopefully they can balance that along with the Chemo, the infection, and keeping his lungs working well! Poor guy!

Big Weekend at Huntsmans!!!

So it was a big weekend at the hospital this weekend!LOTS of family came out to show some support! Dad wasnt able to visit with a lot of them! Best of all, Gramma and Papa Laulu came with Aunty Sulika and Uncle Joe. It was really good to see them! We were also able to visit with family from Salt Lake, St. George, American Fork, California, and even Hawaii! Aunty Tuaoi came and even brought some Pulini (a samoan dessert) and snuck some in to dad, and he LOVED IT! Saturday, all of us kids (Me, Scott, Sai'peti, Malia, Jim, Kimo, Mateo, Rebecca, Jason, Kalani, Perry & Brooke!) came to celebrate dad's 57th birthday. Dad celebrated by getting Chemo, while all the kids and mom ate! Yeah we are a bunch of fat kids! Sunday, Perry and I stuck around, to keep mom company, and visit with more family! Some of the family has a singing group, and they came by to sing for dad, and did a wonderful job! But you know us, we are always beng crazy! After everyone left, we convinced Perry to do the Thizzle Dance for us, and we cracked up BIG TIME!

Dad

Some people have been wondering what is ultimately wrong with my dad, and here is the down low . . .
Dad was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia last year in August. Ususally this type of Leukemia is managable, but not cure-able. It is managed by Chemo therapy.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow. The bone marrow is the spongy inner part of bones where blood cells are produced. White blood cells arise from the marrow and circulate in the blood. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is characterized by uncontrolled growth of blood cells.

Back in June Dad was undergoing Chemo Therapy, and was not scheduled for another 3 months. For some unknown reason his CLL grew out of control, which was causing him some liver problems. He did not feel well and went into the hospital because he had signs of jaundice, and was not feeling well. He was admitted to the hospital, and then contracted pneumonia. After a week in the hospital in Price, he was tranfered to the Huntsmans Cancer Center in Salt Lake City. There they were treating him for the pneumonia and also trying to gain control again of his CLL. He continued to get really sick as they began, but now we think they are on the right track.
Dad is still really sick, but he is a fighter. He is recieving Chemo Therapy, which makes his immune system obsolete, but so far so good! He has really dont well! His jaundice levels are still really high (which make his skin and eyes a yellowish color!), but all of his other levels are begining to do better! Like the doctor said, "We're not out of the woods, but right now we can see the edge!"

We will try this one too!