Update...

So the past couple of days have been a busy roller coaster ride to put it best. Yesterday, Derrick had to be placed on a ventilator for various reasons. They had planned to drain his left lung, which is almost completely filled with fluid, but they couldn't. The fluid in his lungs really made his breathing labored. Also, his liver isn't processing out the medications like it should, so it was causing him to be confused. Also, yesterday they did an ultrasound on his abdomen, because he was having a lot of different symptoms. The ultrasound showed that he had bleeding in his abdomen at several different places and bleeding in his colon. They can't definitively pinpoint where the bleeding is coming from, but it is likely due to his low platelet count and complications caused by the chemotherapy. Today they gave him this drug called factor 7, which is something we all have naturally in our bodies, but Derrick is currently deficient. Factor 7 helps with clotting, so they are hoping this will stop the bleeding internally. As soon as they get a handle on the bleeding, they are hoping to place a chest tube in Derrick to remove the fluid. The next step after that is that if this helps his breathing is to remove the ventilator and wake him up. He is currently sedated and resting comfortably. He gets platelet transfusions every 6 hours to also help with his clotting. Also in the works is his next bone marrow transplant which is scheduled to occur before December 16th. The chemotherapy that he had totally wiped out his immune system and his white cell count, which is currently at 0. At this point we are just going hour by hour, minute by minute, as things can change so quickly. Please keep Derrick in your prayers. We are still praying and believing in a complete healing for Derrick.

- Mindy