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LeVon Erickson ~ ~ Chub & Vera Clark
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November 2, 2009
I know it's been a while since I've updated you on my dad, but we've been at a bit of a stand still with the process. He went up to Salt Lake for a few weeks about three weeks ago to begin the process of gathering his stem cells. He was getting three shots a day that were supposed to help pull the stem cells out of his bone marrow and into his blood for collection. After four days of trying to collect them, the hospital didn't have anywhere near as much as they would like. They told him to take two weeks off and they would try again after that, and in the mean time they were going to try to get the insurance to approve the use of a different drug they thought would work better at getting the stem cells into his blood.
Because it has been so long since his last chemo treatment, last Tuesday they had my dad get another PET scan to see if any of the cancer was back so they would know if he needed another treatment or not. The results showed two very small spots of cancer so he will be receiving another chemo treatment and then they will jump back into the gather process. That's about as far as we are right now and won't know any more dates until they get enough stem cells to do the bone marrow transplant, which should help to keep the cancer from coming back so fast and strong.
My dad is doing really well right now, he's in good health and good spirits and we hope he will continue that way for a while.
Megan Johnsen
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Update ~ 04-30-2010
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Just a little update on my dad. They were never able to collect enough
stem cells from him to be able to do the bone marrow transplant after all those
months of trying. They also did not have a matching donor for him so his options
were to try the transplant with what stem cells they were able to collect, go
with a donor that wasn't a complete match, or to not get the transplant and just
do some light chemo treatments a couple times a month to help keep the cancer at
bay. After weighing the options, my dad decided to go with the chemo treatments.
He went to his doctor on the 21st and they said all his numbers are higher than
they have been since they came home from their mission so they didn't need to do
a treatment. He will go back in two months to check again. Once they know the
cancer is back they will do treatments two times a month every month.
Megan Johnsen
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Isabell Wing Erickson
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December 15, 2009
I couldn't go without posting something so that everyone knows how
much Isabell was loved by everyone! She was the best Grandmother that anyone
could ever ask for. Always so kind, caring, loving and never ever spoke a harsh
word to anyone!
I remember when I was about 10 and her, my Mom Donna and I were all at Grandmas
house making taffy. What a wonderful time that was. She would set the timer so
that we could pull the taffy and every 5 minutes, I would ask her, "Grandma, is
it time to pull the taffy?" She would look at me everytime with her loving eyes
and her beautiful smile and say, "No, sweetheart. It's not time yet." Every
time I asked, I got that same response. She never got frusterated or aggrivated
with me.
With her health failing over the last few years, I have been sending her letters
so that she would know how much I loved her. My Mom told me that everytime she
would talk to Grandma, Grandma would tell her, "I got a letter from Becky. It
was so nice to hear from her."
Grandma will be missed by so many. All 4 of her children, 16 Grandchildren, and
many many Great Grandchildren! I can only imagine what the reunion was like in
heaven with her and Grandpa! I'm sure he is still holding on to her with his
great big bear hugs and not letting her go!
I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!
Rest easy and know that you are loved and missed by many!!
Becky Hughes McVicker
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