Another year under my belt

Well, time keeps marching on and I am still in remission. I was first hospitalized in June of 2009 and diagnosed in July. Chemo got me to the point where I no longer needed dialysis and then my stem cell transplant got me in remission in March 2010. Today I am still closely watched by my Dr's and take a maintenence drug. Overall I feel awesome, Chrystal and I walk between 2 and 3 miles a day and we celebrated our anniversary with a day hike at Mt Rainier. My Kidney Dr harasses me about my wieght and eating habits, but I am a foodie who likes wine,so that will always be a struggle. This has been a rugged few weeks emotionaly because a firefighter with myeloma has passed on and another has had his myeloma return. It is hard to see that happen to so many firefighters, but I continue to celebrate my life in thier honor. This year, Chrystal, Marsha, Rebecca and granddaughter Trinity joined me for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. I was able to walk 18.25 miles. As life goes on I have decided to get out of retirement and go back to work. work is healthy and makes me feel productive. I have been blessed to beat the odds and kick this terrible cancer in the ass. Part of that blessing is to be able to see our family grow. Maggie Grace joined the clan in december bring our total grandkids to four. God has given us four angels for grandchildren and we are so lucky. Each time I hold one of them I thank God for giving me a second chance.

Time Sure Fly's when you are havin fun

Two years ago this week I went to the Dr because of headaches and feeling crappy. The Dr calls on the phone and says,meet me in ER your kidneys are failing and you are about to stroke out. I said, "WTF" but Chrystal made me go. I thought I was a fat old man who had taken aleve for too many years to relieve the pain of worn out body parts left over from being a wrestler and firefighter.

Boy was I wrong. After a lot of tests, meds, and a diet that didn't work, I was on dialysis and was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. After months of Chemo and a stem cell transplant, I have been in full remission and cancer free for over a year. I went to the kidney Dr today and he said I was still fat and needed more exercise an a healthy diet, but things looked good.

My Job as a firefighter gave me cancer, but I wouldn't do it any different. God gave me the strength to serve in the greatest job on earth.

I have so many thank you's to all who loved and supported me, My loving wife Chrystal beside me through it all, my kids,my grandkids(who don't even know they helped), my mom and dad and siblings, all my friends at church, and every single brother and sister in the IAFF! A special thanks to the members of my home local #1760 and my friends in local #1828. Kim Cole, my staff person and friend, put up with my crap and kept things gong at the office when I was sick. I could not write this with out thanking sister Colette from Seattle local 27 who brought her crew from station 17 to see me in the hospital. what a treat that was.

God Bless you all and thank God I am here. We have come a long way together in two years and I still have a long life to serve. thanks to all of you for your prayers and thank God.

1 year celebration

WOW! it seems like yesterday. on March 12th 2010 I had my stem cell transplant at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. I wondered for a few weeks what the heck I had put myself through,but looking back it was all worth it. Today, still in remission, kidneys are at 40% and that is ok. I just had a check up and all was well except the kidney dr says lose weight. So demanding!

After a year I still deal with the numb toes and childhood runny noses but it is sure better than the alternative.

I would not be here today if it were not for all the prayers and support I got from so many friends and family. My wife and kids have been rock stars and every time I see Trinity, Caitlyn, and Gunnar I realize how special life is. When I was healing I was determined to see the G-Man come into this world. I was born the week that the Drs at SCCA released to go forth and cause trouble.

My mom ad dad have been there every step of the way.

I am sure over the year I have not offered thanks to those in my IAFF family enough. My sisters and brothers from Shoreline Fire who were always available to help our when needed. Brother Doug Dahl from Edmonds/FD#1 who took me out for a beer when I needed a little relax time. Special thanks to Colette who brought her crew from Seattle Fire to see me in the hospital. I was feeling crappy that day and it lifted me up. I still owe that crew ice cream.

during the last year I have watch other brother firefighters and a dear friend on the Edmonds city council battle cancer. John Knighten who like me was treated for multiple Myeloma and is not only back on full duty in Spokane, but climbed the Colombia Tower. Rick Peters is beginning his fight but I know he will win. I am looking forward to Rick going into remission so we can all gather for a firefighter cancer survivor party and pass around an old bottle of Irish whiskey waiting to be opened.

God has given me a second chance at life and I intend to make the best of it.

it has been a while

Thought I would do a little catch up.

Thanksgiving time in 2009 I was just finishing my chemo treatments that I started i july. I got some good news, I was in partial remission and my counts were good enough to start planning for a stem cell transplant. My Kidneys had also bounced back enough that I reduced my dialysis to 2 days per week.

What a difference a year makes. Today,all my blood tests are normal and my kidneys are working well.

As we celebrated Thanksgiving I reflected on all that is was thankful for. Family and friends who prayed for me, The Drs and Nurses at Puget Sound Cancer Center, The research being done at "the Hutch", The awesome medical team at SCCA and UW.

I could go on a while, but most of all I thank God for the second chance at life.

Each day I get stronger, even though I deal with the side effects from the drugs. I have a very expensive maintenance drug that I will take for many years to come, but it is better then the alternative.

Finally, I am so lucky to have Chrystal, who has stood by my side and taken care of me all this time. I know I can be a pain, so she must really love me.

I hope all of you have time to be thankful.

first haircut

It seems like it was so long ago, but it hasn't even been 6 months since my stem cell transplant. Sometimes I feel like the last year has been a big dream, then I go off to my next dr appointment and realize it is real. Yesterday, I had a milestone day. I went to the barber for the first time in over a year. You see when I got cancer I quit getting hair cuts knowing that one day the drugs would cause my hair to fall out and indeed it did in March of this year. The hair cut made me feel like we really were kicking butt. Even though I continue to take maintenance meds, there are still now signs of cancer and I have hair.

I also wondered what it was like when I went to the barber the first time as a little kid, which caused me to start thinking of Dr Suess. Weird huh! Anyway if you start hearing me spout Suess quotes blame the haircut.

Healing is going well and I am feeling great. My loving wife and caregiver Chrystal is getting some relief from my demands, but she still loves me and watches me to be sure I don't try to sneak anything by her or the Dr.

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!" Dr Suess

Complete Remission

June 12 was 90 days post transplant and the good news continues. 2 weeks ago I had my follow up bone marrow biopsy and today I got the results. no measurable signs of myeloma in my bone marrow and my blood tests are normal. The Doc's words were "COMPLETE REMISSION". Those are the sweetest words I have heard in a year. now we keep praying that it stays that way. Thank you all for your support and prayers over this last year. It ain't over yet but I know the Good Lord has his hands on me and the Dr's so I am feeling pretty darn good about now.

I almost forgot, my hair is coming back. color still in questions.

Dr Follow Up

Had my follow up appointment with the kidney Dr on Monday and he said see ya in 3 months! Creatinine is 2.3 and kidneys are working. my BP was a a little higher than the Dr liked so i am back on meds to keep it low.

No the really big news! My first post transplant blood work came back with everything in the normal range, including the Kappa and Lambda light chains! That means no cancer in my blood!

Sometime in June I will get a follow up bone marrow biopsy to see where things are in my bone marrow. We are winning the fight!

I returned to the office this week and did really well. still get a little tired in the afternoon, but even old guys with no cancer need a nap. I continue to get stronger with time.

Mothers Day is Sunday and it will be special! Although my mom is out of town and missed, Chrystal and I will see our girls and grandchildren, including new grandson Gunner. My mom's love has a lot to do with my strength and for that I thank her. Chrystal is a great and loving mom to our three kids and she still has time to care for me. That is pretty darn special.

God bless you all and thanks for your on going thoughts and prayers.

mike

ps. in case you didn't see the Everett Herald, here is a story they did about my return to work.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100506/NEWS01/705069853&news01ad=1#Cooper.back.still.battling

time to catch up

It has been a busy couple weeks, so we have some catching up to do. things have gone remarkably well. I got my hickman out, I am no longer on IV fluid, and my appetite has returned to normal. On April 19th day 37 I was "discharged" from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance" system and returned to my home Dr for follow up. My blood counts are very good and I am getting stronger every day. The SCCA folks are the best and the treatment is cutting edge. I feel blessed that I live in a place where so many advances are being made.

In the middle of all the excitement of finishing up at SCCA our daughter Rebecca gave birth on April 15th to Gunner Thor Chrisofferson an 8lb 2oz bundle of joy. He was born with more hair then me.

I took a few hours and went to the office so I could attend a hearing and vote on an important set of land use decisions. It was challenging to my strength and while i was tired after, I felt energized and healthy. I was a little tricky avoiding contact with the crowd in the lobby and hearing room, but that is what back doors and stairs are for. My plan is to start keeping limited hours the first week of May.

Yesterday I saw Dr Rosenshein for the first time since Jan and he was encouraged by how well I was feeling. Next week I see the kidney Dr for follow up. I can't wait for him to see how my kidneys have healed. My creatinine is down to 2! That's about 40% function. I thank God for healing my Kidneys. I have been off dialysis since feb.

I look forward to seeing all of you from time to time. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Day 28

today is day 28. Yesterday my appointments went well. I am off IV fluid as long as I can maintain 87 oz of fluid a day on my own. That is a lot of pee! the reason so much fluid is to flush the toxic meds and to make sure my kidneys are clear. I am hear to tell all that fluid is ""flushing" fine and the kidneys just keep getting better.

If all goes well next week, I will be discharged back to my dr at home for follow up o the 19th. My appetite needs to continue to improve and we need to have the nausea under control. those things are happening.

I am hoping to be back in my office first week of May, at least part time. I can't wait to be back in the grind. I don't worry much about over work, because between Chrystal at home and Kimberly at the office I have a conspiracy against me.

Anyway, I am feeling good,, time to get out and about. the Dr warned that when deciding what to do and where to go to think of my immune system as one of an infant. go and do what you would with a newborn. lots of germs out there, so i got to be careful. if ya see me, virtual hand shakes work.

resting and healing

My days since coming home from the hospital have been spent resting and healing. I did have one minor set back and had to go to the UW for a few hours of fluid and antibiotics because my fever got too high, but all is well.

My focus is getting my food intake back up where it belongs and getting off of IV fluid. the food issue is tough because I still deal with nausea and my tummy doesn't always like what I put in it, but we are getting there. I am down to 1/2 liter a day of iv fluid and am hoping to be off that by next week.

Yes I can have visitors,as long as you don't have a runny nose, cough or fever. My biggest risk is infection and that will come from the germ filled world we live in.

thank you all again for your prayers and support. It means a lot too us.

Hospital Stay Part 2

Gradualy things started getting better, Marsha and Rebecca came by and Pastor Dennis stopped in.

When my blood reports started coming back mid week, things were looking up. My cells were reproducing on thier own. By the time I left we had engraftmeent. whites were near normal for a not sick person. plaltelets and reds were gooing up each day.

7 days at Udub Club med was plenty.

Hospital stay part 1

Hi ya’ll! Bet you thought I wasn’t coming back. Well. I’m Baaack! Anyway, I thought when I went in for my hospital stay I would be a bloging fool, turns out I was a fool too sick to blog.

On March 19th the Dr’s finally decided that that I need some time in the Hospital. In addition to the pooping and puking, I was receiving platelets and red cells to keep counts up, plus my whites were low. Oh and I decided to have a temp of 102. So off I went to UDub Club Med.

The first couple days, I was loaded with antibiotics, fluids and more platelets and red cells. In addition, they added nutrition in a bag. I looked a lot like a giant margarita.

The whole week was a blur, but Chrystal was by my side day and night. Jim Came up from Oly a couple times so she run home for a hot shower and a break from the delirious guy with a fever. I am not sure how much of my life I rambled about but I kept my poor wife awake while I talked to my self. Something triggered me to start chatting about calls I had been on with Dan Smith. Dan was a guy I worked many years and was a great partner both on aid car and engine.

Speaking of ff’s word got out that I was at UW so someone from shoreline who new someone from Seattle made a call and I get a surprise visit from E17 and L 9. A visit in class B uniforms no less. Lt Mc Lennon is a friend a I owe her crew a special thanks. They brought a smile to our faces and hearts that only sister and brother ff bring each other. The crew also brought me a winter hat which was perfect because I had lost my hair.

The hair loss saga was another kind of fun part of being sick. I wake one morning and my pillow is matted with hair, my hair! so I run my fingers though my locks and come out with a hand full. My nurse Geoff says we have clippers for that and set up a barbershop in the room. the rest is history.

Geoff was a great nurse by the way. He walks in the first day he is assigned my room and says, “the nurses are all saying you are a tough guy and wait to long to ask for meds, so here’s the deal ya won’t better that way, I am your tough guy I am like your holigan tool you need something You get it.”

dealing with the uncomfortable stuff

well it's the end of day 5 and the last couple days have been a challenge. most of my time been spend dealing with two words that start with p or if you are the less graphic type words that start with d and v. Anyway those little discomforts were expected and will last a few days. i gotta say the last time i vomited as much as yesterday was many years ago and involved irish whiskey and firefighters.

anyway my blood counts continue to drop and will until about day 10 so then things begin to improve. my weight has dropped a little from low fluid and barfing so i now get 2 liters of iv fluid a day at how. still better then the hospital. at home i sleep next to my care giver. in addition to fluid my red cells and crit were low so yesterday and today i got some fresh red stuff. my whites are low enough that i am now on super high dose antibiotics and need to stay out of the germ filled world as much as possible. my platelets are not yet low enough for platelets but the soon will be.

Other than feeling like crap today was a happy st paddy's day. i still have my red hair chrystal cooked a corned beef. i had a little slice and we froze the rest for a day when i can enjoy with a guiness. Guiness has to wait for immune system rebound. I only get pasteurized beer.

finally yesterday my loving wife cared for me and cleaned up after me on her birthday. we had planned pizza and a movie At home but sometimes stuff happens. I felt guilty all day because i couldn't do for her, but at least i wished her a happy birthday first thing in the morning. the Lord has blessed me with her.

Day Zero Big Success

Friday was a long but successful day. Because of by kidney's I go an hour in between each bag of cells. there are 4 bags of cells..2 hrs of hydration first, and 4 hours hydration at the end you do the math. Bottom line we checked in at 0730 hours and out at 1945 hrs.I got a prize of a little extra fluid cause my blood pressure was a little on the low side.

just prior to giving a bag of cells i got some drugs for nausea and possible allergic reaction. just like clock work I go a tickle in my throat and nausea. good thing the drug was there. One interesting side note, remember the controversial pain med from a few years back called DMSO? that is what the store stem cells in when they are frozen in liquid nitrogen.

day 1 and 2 have not been with out challenges. my gi tract seems to be confused about bodily so I am still dealing with outhouse trots and a little vomit. Hope this isn't TMI as the kids say.

Today when i went to clinic my pressure was low again so Chrystal has me hooked to the fluid pump. I wounder if these bags come with wine in them?

anyway it's all in a days work toward recovery. i will have good and bad days but once engrafting happens it is all good.

Bless you all.

a day of rest, so I did

Yesterday, Wednesday was chemo day. We had an early start at 7:30 a.m. first blood draw then hydration and anti nausea meds. the chemo it self was a pretty short part of the day. then more hydration. before going home Chrystal was trained on the use of the portable pump so i could get fluids at home. So, I carried my liter bota bag home and spent the next several hours getting fluid. Oh I forgot the ice chips...30 minutes before my chemo went on and for 6 hours after I sucked on I chips to freeze the inside of my mouth. research at SCCA has shown that this reduces mouth sores from the chemo.

Speaking of side effects, things are tolerable so far. Had a little bout with the back door trots yesterday but that has calmed for now. The anti nausea med seem to be doing their job for now.

Today, we went in for a blood draw and check up on the day of rest. all of my blood counts continue to be good, with some encouraging news on kidney function. I have been off dialysis now for 2 weeks and my kidneys have improved. My creatinin is at 2.5.

the rest of today i layed low and took a couple naps. napping makes the nausea better. :)

Tomorrow is the big day starting at 7:30 a.m. and we will be there for 12 hours.

Dr Bensinger thinks I am nuts.

Today we went through the the next few weeks in great detail. Dr Bensinger went over the chemo treatment telling me why my dose was one day instead of two. Because of my kidneys he did not want to risk loading in with "toxic stuff". Then he talked about how they would give me back my cells over a longer period of time on friday again to protect kidneys. I'll get lots of extra fluids in order to "flush" the uneeded "blood garbage" through the kidneys. those are the doc's words not mine.

We went over each med and all the sideaffects in great detail ncluding what to expected at my low point next week when my blood counts are zero. and then how i would improve.

After all the explaination he asked me if I was ready and I said, "it sounds like a holiday, let's go." he and the gold team nurse about fell out of thier chairs at my sick humor. Chrystal just shook her head.

it's officially a go!

a weekend to relax sort of

I have cancer, I've been through chemo, had more needles than any on person deserves, been on dialysis, been poked, prodded and examined, but what causes the most stress of all? My dental appointment!! Friday we went to the U of W to have what was left of a broken tooth pulled. It needed to be done last spring, but I got multiple myeloma along the way and my world changed. So, I sat like a big boy while the dentist chipped and chiseled until he got the roots out, using only a local. The dentist was good and a funny guy but he will never be my friend because he is a dentist.

Sat i had only had to go down and get my blood drawn and Sunday we had no appointments, so it was a weekend of hanging out with my sweetheart and catching up on rest. also doing some planning to get the house ready for post transplant recovery time. Sunday we had Princess Trinity here so her mommy could deal with some health problems.

Things are going quite well with Chrystal flushing the hickman and doing dressing changes. She is a first class health care provider. It is a good thing we have so much love for each other, cause we are discovering that routines need to change. I am slow to change, but she approaches it with grace and love and things work out.

She is an amazing woman to be managing this stubborn redhead. I try hard not to be cranky pants. :) It is not always easy to literally place your life in the hands of others, but I know God has surrounded me with people to care for me.

short day not much to say

today was the first of 4 days of lab draws and that's about all. the stem cells are collected and the plan is in place for me to see my Doc on Monday, but first i have a tooth getting pulled tomorrow,then daily lab draws over the weekend to make sure my red, white and platelets are bouncing back ok. Chrystal is all signed off on flushing my lines and changing dressings. I got a different dressing today to try to speed heeling a little.

Unless something changes, next wed and thursday are the chemo days and friday is day ZERO! Yippie! The day we have been waiting for.

I may not blog the next few days because action will be slow and i need some quiet quality time with Chrystal before things start getting intersting.

Cells are collected

Woo Hoo! cell collection was a great success, so i will stop whining about the "Bone Pain". Today I collected 6.7 million stem cells for a total of 12 million. I only needed 10, so unlike the county and state budget, I have a surplus. I have already signed up to give some to the Hutch for research to help others down the road. I wonder what they will learn from studying the stem cells of a crazy guy like me.

Took a little nap this afternoon and then went see my union brothers and sisters down at the union meeting Shoreline. it was good for Chrystal and I both to have that time to "do our own thing".

Tomorrow, and for the next few days i have daily blood draws to see how things are. my platlets were a little low today, but that is normal and they will bounce back.

the "Bone Pain" was worth it!

first day of stem cell collection was a huge success. The goal is to collect 10million cells. we got 5.6 million today, so if all goes well we only collect tomorrow. cell collection is a lot like dialysis, you are a 4 hour ride to nowhere. as usual the staff was great. the rooms are private and we have the same nurse the whole time. Dr Bensinger came by to say my numbers were awesome and cell count was higher than typical. That was pretty exciting. so all that pain i had was worth it because once again my body beat the average. So far the platlets are good which means no transfusions for now.

If all goes well we are on track to have day Zero be the end of next week. Day Zero is transplant day. first i have a tooth that the dr wants pulled to reduce infection risk. Than happens friday, then they need to let it heal for 4 or 5 days. after that 2 days of scorched earth chemo then the transplant. woo hoo!

stay tuned for the wild irishman in a pony tail pic to be posted. once the chemo happens who knows what will happen to my hair. Chrystal is making me some designer doo rags, just in case i go bald.

All of my treatment so far is out patient and will continue out patient unless i get an infection or something.

Thanks again for all your support. together with Gods help we are winning.