The Eyes Have It

Tyler has been struggling a bit over this weekend because his eyes have been acting up. It really started getting bad on Friday and increased over the weekend. Tyler actually cancelled several of his weekend activities because his eyes were hurting and he didn't want to make them worse.

His right eye was even more red than normal and seemed to be oozing a little bit on Saturday. On Sunday and Monday, his eyes actually crusted shut as he slept overnight and continued to ooze all day long. We were worried because he has had eye sensitivity from the lack of tears (which is most likely mild Graft vs Host Disease) and this new symptom seemed to coincide with a new reduction in his tacrolimus (the immunosuppressant drug). He's been reducing one of his two daily doses every couple of weeks or so. He is on .5 mg in the morning and evening this week, then .5 mg in the morning and 0 in the evening next week, and then he is DONE!!! This means we are rapidly approaching our important 6 month mark.

If Tyler can get completely off of the immunosuppressant, he is able to increase the number of activities that he can participate in. He can go swimming again, have plants in the home, go golfing, and attend sporting events again. He still can't do any gardening or pet exotic animals, but it is exciting that he is able to take the next step back towards health.

We called the doctor's office first thing on Monday morning and they prescribed antibiotic eye drops, which seem to be helping. We see Dr McGee on Wednesday afternoon and will hopefully get more information then.

Tyler's Good Luck Strikes Again!

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hosted a kick off party on Thursday, June 9th for the Light the Night walk this fall. Tyler and I were pleased to be able to attend the party and the Mariner's game as part of that group. We were also pleased to run into several of Tyler's coworkers from Children's Hospital who were there with another walk team.

The kick off party included an inspirational talk by another blood cancer patient, named Ken Sheets, emphasizing the many important programs that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society helps to fund. I was very moved by his descriptions of his own battle and his philosophy of being "Never2Old" to fight cancer, to embrace life, and to make a difference.

After the party, we found our seats for the ball game and prepared to watch the Mariners against the Texas Rangers. My cousin, Bethanie, and two of her lovely kids joined us for the game part of the evening. I was pleased that Tyler was able to bring his good luck to the Mariners (and not just the Sounders), and they won 3-1 with a homerun in the bottom of the 8th inning. It was an outstanding pitcher's duel, made all the more exciting by the fact that Felix was also pitching for Tyler's fantasy team that day. :)

We would love to have you join us in supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year. We will be walking around Greenlake on September 26th and are hoping to have friends and family around us to celebrate how far we have come in the last year. If you are interested in joining us, please go to http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL09/TeamFirefly and click "Join" at the bottom of the page.

Go M's!

Imagine our Surprise

While on the ferry to Sequim for Independence Day, we looked over at the car next to us and saw a very interesting driver. For some reason, we were a little bit nervous to drive off next to him...

We hope you needed a laugh today!

Weekend Away

Our small Bledsoe contingent strayed away from the compound this weekend for some fun 4th of July relaxin. Mandy, my grandma and I made the trek up to Sequim to visit mom and John and enjoy the comforts of their hospitality. We've had wonderful food, games, golf, sun, and conversation. The day we arrived Mandy and I went to the nearby golf course to play 9 holes, and she caddied for me. I started off triple, double, double bogey and she had a conversation with me about my swing plane being off. The last 6 holes I played at a combined +3 (3 pars, 3 bogey's)......so Im thinking about hiring her permanently!

We've been able to relax for a couple days and get away.......it always feels good to get away for a little while. Last night we went to a friend of their's from church for a barbecue and we had beef brisket, spare ribs, chicken, brats, and oyster's on the half shell. I kindly passed up the opportunity to enjoy the oysters as Ive had a previous negative experience with oysters! I think John had about a dozen and really was trying hard to get me to try. It was a fun time as we had great food, croquet, badminton, and bocci ball. We ended the night teaching my grandma how to play Yahtzee and watching my mom school us with a 400+ point game which included 2 Yahtzee's.

On our way back home today so Mandy can get back to work and I can continue my recovery. I hope everyone is doing great this summer!

Take care,

Tyler

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