S.W.A.T. Team

Hello everyone!

I know its been a while now since our last post so I'm here to bring us up to date. My health has been good for the most part, except for some lingering dryness in my eyes, which is somewhat worrisome since it is a sign of GVHD. So far I have been using some prescription eyedrops to alleviate the discomfort, but it doesn't seem to be improving. Everything else has been great! My energy is still good, my appetite strong, and my blood counts have been great! I have no other signs of GVHD, so we will keep a close watch on my eye situation for now.

This last Saturday we had something wonderful happen! My longtime carpool buddy, David Lentz from Children's Hospital, was able to coordinate a work party from Children's to come up to our place and take care of some yard work and other outside issues that were definitely in need of some TLC! They cleaned our roof, set stepping stones, weeded the entire yard, cleared back blackberry bushes, pressure washed, cleaned our windows, manicured the lawn, and even put some new plants in. Even David's daughter, Amanda, chipped in blowing off the sidewalks and planting. Our yard looks amazing now and we are so thankful for their hard work and how much they were able to do! Hopefully we will be able to keep it looking so wonderful now.

I have been to two Sounders games now and they have a win and a surprise......."tie" ahhhh the dreaded tie! They have way too many of those for my liking and hopefully they will turn some of those into wins the rest of the way.

Summertime has been good so far and I am looking forward to all the exciting days ahead! I hope everyone is doing well and living every day to the fullest!

Take care...........Tyler

Free Mariners Tickets

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is hosting a kick off for the Light the Night walk at the July 9th Mariners game. Registered walkers can get a free ticket to the game and take part in a pre-game celebration, including a free hot dog and soda.

Several friends and family have shared with us that they are planning to walk with us and help us in our efforts to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Those that are already registered should have gotten this e-mail directly. If you have not registered yet, it is very easy to do so. To register, you can go to http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL09/TeamFirefly and scroll down to the bottom of the screen. There is a "Join" button that lets you sign up for our team.

By joining our team and raising funds for this important cause, you'll be making a real impact on the fight against cancer. On Walk night, you'll join us with other teams and individuals from all over our community in the culmination of our efforts to find cures. Walk night is a family-oriented evening in which participants carry illuminated balloons, raise awareness of blood cancers and come together as a caring community.

We urge you to join our team today and join in the celebration at the Mariners game on July 9th! It's just one of the many ways that we will be able to enjoy our efforts to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Tyler Turns the Sounders Season Around

Just over a year ago, Tyler and I purchased season tickets to the new Seattle Sounders team. With the need to protect Tyler's health, he hasn't been able to use his ticket. I'm thrilled to say that Tyler attended his first Sounders game this weekend. And, after watching the team tie several games and then lose the last game, Tyler's mere presence at the game was enough to inspire the Sounders towards victory. In addition, I was shocked to see that Tyler's presence was enough to keep the Sounders from getting yet another Red Card.

The biggest risk to Tyler's health is the sheer volume of people at the stadium. Since we can't control the environment in any way, we are unable to avoid sick people and bacteria. We evaluated the risks and did the best we could to mitigate them. We've gotten pretty good at carrying Antibacterial lotions, so we are constantly cleaning our hands.



And we kept Tyler away from people as much as we can. But... It was great fun to enjoy a Sounders game with Tyler. We've got great seats, which you can see in the picture below. The orange figure you see is our fearless goalie and an outstanding player, Kasey Keller. The yellow figure is the line judge, so you can ignore him.

Test Results and Health Update

Tyler and I realized that we haven't posted any of his recent test results. They are looking really good, so we have just been filing them away. But, in case you are a numbers geek like we are, here are the results from June 9th.

WBC: 5.7 (normal 4.8-10.8)
HCT: 32.2 (normal 40-50)
PLT: 103 (normal 150-400)

Dr. McGee has been very pleased with Tyler's continued boringness, so we hope to continue that. We wonder about some redness and dryness that he has been experiencing in his eyes, but this seems to be very mild (if it is indeed GVHD). Hopefully he does not experience any further signs and does not have to slow down his taper of the tacrolimus (immunosuppressant).

On the upside, Tyler is feeling GOOD! He's slowly resuming normal activities and I am so very thankful to see him thriving again. Thanks for continuing to walk this journey with us.

Save a Life --- Join the Bone Marrow Registry

Thousands of patients hope for a bone marrow donor who can make their life-saving transplant possible, just like Tyler has experienced. They depend on people like you and me to offer our this lifesaving gift. You have the power to save a life. Take the first step today by joining yourself!

When you join the Be The Match Registry, you become part of every patient's search for a bone marrow donor. You could be the one to save a life.

And now, during the Be The Match Marrowthon, you can join online for free June 8 - 22, while funding remains. Our Marrowthon goal is to add 46,000 new members to the registry. Be one of them!

When you join, you can also choose to make a financial contribution. It costs about $100 to add a donor to the registry. Your tax-deductible gift in any amount creates the opportunity for more donors to join.

It's easy to join the the Be The Match Registry at: http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now_Special/Marrowthon09/join_now_mt09.html

1. Confirm you meet basic registry guidelines.
2. Complete the online form and order your registration kit. This step will take about 30 minutes.

The cost to add you to the registry has been covered, but funding is limited. To join for free, you must complete the online registration step before June 22 AND before funding limits are met.

3. Follow the instructions in your kit to collect a swab of cheek cells and return the kit.

Be The Match Marrowthon