Category Archives: Updates from Tash

Treatment Update: Day 15

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Happy Holidays from the Wagners and the Moshirians

Hello Everyone! I hope that Santa was good to everyone and you all had a day filled with love and smiles.

I just got some great news from Ty and figured an update was due.

Tyler’s Day 15 cell count is great, and will not need any sort of transfusion and can begin his next round of chemo as scheduled.

It has definitely been a week of ups and downs. Last Friday, I witnessed Tyler after his chemo dose into the cerebral spinal fluid, this was probably the hardest day so far to watch, as the injection is delivered via a lumbar puncture, aka “spinal tap”. There’s a reason for the parody heavy metal group with the same name, this procedure is heavy, and leaves your brain pressure feeling heavy. All things considered, my man took it like a champ. Seriously, Tyler is a beast.

More good news – if we back track a few weeks to how we all got here, Tyler was experiencing difficulty breathing – caused by ‘Massi’, the tumor that was living in his chest. It was so bad that the pressure of the mass was hindering him from laying on his back or left side. After first round of chemo – No breathing issues! Survey says…Massi is shrinking. Wooo HOOO!

I would like to thank the GG’s for the awesome bracelets sent for Tyler’s Gals here in SD. We had a fantastic Christmas. It was ‘Our First Christmas’ together, we had great food, great laughs, and we were able to celebrate with both our families. It was a very special Christmas for both of us.

Santa brought Tyler a new set up so he can keep riding during chemo. He got a new track bike, a stationary trainer, and all the accessories he could possibly need to ride wherever and whenever his heart desires. In fact, the nurses gave the ok to bring his bike and trainer into the cancer wing! 

TEAM TYLER Livestrong Bands are here!!!

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Our lime-green TEAM TYLER Livestrong bands have arrived!  Thanks Uncle Jimmy, Debbie, Anthony, and Kathryn for you generous gift and for bringing our TEAM TYLER unity to new heights!

We’ve got A LOT of these things, and I know we’ve had some requests already.  If you’d like to request some bands, shoot us an email at goteamtyler@gmail.com and let us know the best place to send them.  Snail-mail, hand delivery, or carrier pigeon, whatever it takes, we’re gonna do our best to get these out to you guys ASAP.

GO TEAM!

Survival of the Fittest

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Fitness is key for an immune system boost and keeping healthy organ function. The oncologists recommend as much exercise as possible. Tyler is taking this to the limit. As immuno-compromised chemo patients must avoid crowded gyms, Tyler is taking full advantage of the great outdoors to get his heart pumping. Sun is warm, grass is green. A beautiful late afternoon at the UCSD track.

Treatment Update: Day 5

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“Keep your face always upward toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.”

-Walt Whitman

I could get really philosophical right now. My family says I have a knack for the wishy-washy (they use a more vibrant term), but what I have witnessed this past week is such a flood of love and support from friends and family, that I cannot help but feel slapped in the face on how I was handling our gift of life. Two weeks ago I had a definite list of priorities. Figure out my job situation, train to be faster (or fast as, let’s be realistic here) Tyler on bike,  train my dog to stop barking at select people he doesn’t like, train my dog to not bark at animals on tv, train my dog to not cry when his armpits are touched, and follow Ms. Leigh’s assigned diet to keep me healthy. Easy enough, but enough to keep me busy.

Then we got slapped. All of us. Every single one of you. I know you feel it. What the heck is going on here? Why Tyler? Why the most healthy, strong, beautiful, kind, loving, hard-working, passionate person we know? God knows. A few weeks ago my coworker was diagnosed with cancer, and asked me, ‘What did I do, why am I being punished?’. This is not a punishment, I told her, you can’t see it now, you might not see it for a very long time, but this is a lesson. Her eyes got big and I saw the wheels turning, ‘Maybe this will bring my family closer?’.

Maybe. I said.

So here we are, and my heart is open, and your hearts are open, and I have played team sports my whole life, but I have never felt a camaraderie like this. My priorities have changed, and at the top of my list: FAMILY, FRIENDS. Make my relationships count. This is all we have. This is what we are here for.

Tyler with my soccer star cousin Hamid

So Team Tyler, without further delay, I have the current update for our Hero.

He is kicking cancer in the heart, literally. So far the most uncomfortable side effects are coming from the steroids. Hiccups, irritability, difficulty sleeping, an overall ‘weird’ feeling. Sound harmless but they are magnified in this 10 x 10 room. Cell counts are currently still normal, but are expected to drop significantly in the next few days. That is when we should expect weakness and an increased risk for infection. His spirit is strong and his eyes are bright. So far, so great.

Bracelets are not in yet, I will post as soon as they are delivered.  And, special thanks to my lovely cousin Kathryn Kopczynski for sharing the quote at the top–Tyler loves Whitman  🙂

Treatment Update: Day 2

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The Champion with Dr. Michel (oncology/hematology)

Day 1 is done. Yay! Lot of love and concern for how Tyler is doing after his first round. I can happily report that he took it like a champ. As this is now going to be the start of chemo build-up in his system, we will still have to wait for possible side effects to show face. Tyler is still under a quarantine of sorts, so visitation is to be determined.

For those that are interested, we were informed today that the cancer has been detected in bone marrow but not in his spinal fluid. As mentioned in the treatment plan, I think the doctors were expecting this, as this type of lymphoma is common in bone marrow.

“This does not change treatment plan or prognosis” – Dr. Curtin

Keep the support coming. On to Day 2!

Team Tyler – get ready to unite!

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I received this message today from my family in Milwaukee, I am super pumped on this idea and I hope you all are too:

Hi Tash,

Kathryn came up with a really great idea for Team Tyler. There are 600 lime green “TEAM TYLER” rubber wrist bands coming your way — in about 7 days. You can hand these out to  your family and friends to symbolize that we are all a united front under “TEAM TYLER”.  Lance Armstrong started this bracelet movement to increase awareness of the disease and solicit support. Lance beat it and so will Tyler. Please mail us a dozen so that we can also wear the bracelet and be on the team!

We’re thinking of you all!
Love,
Aunt Debby, Kathryn, Uncle Jim and Anthony

Stay tuned Team Tyler – bracelets are on the way! A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to Aunt Debby, Kathryn, Uncle Jimbo and Anthony. Great idea guys, we love you!

Treatment Update: Day 1

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Tyler is mad at cancer. Let’s call this pre-game and Tyler is getting pumped. Tonight at 10 pm he will get his first dose of chemo. He had a port implanted in his chest today. That will be his line to take in all his chemo friends and use them to punish. He is now warming up, getting fluids pumped to prep his delicate innards for the fight ahead.

An individual’s response to medicine is just that, individual. We have no idea what to expect. We are taking deep breaths, and thinking before we speak. There is tension, no question about it.

A NOTE ABOUT VISITATION AND GIFTS: Continue reading →

The Weirdest Sense of Relief: The Treatment Plan

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Tyler on Red Rocket after 100mi ride

The waiting in the last week has been torturous. Maddening. Actually, I won’t even try to type those emotions out, because there are no words. And that is just from my point of view, to even try to imagine how Tyler has felt in the last few days is beyond my simple human brain. So when the treatment plan was briefly outlined by Tyler’s doctor last night, and I felt like jumping for joy after, and Tyler was stunned and pokerfaced, I will never know how or if our emotions ever intersected.

For those that were not in the room, here is my side of the story: Continue reading →