My Days in Gleneagles

After being discharged

2005-03-25T18:38:00.000+08:00

Abang Omar was discharged from Gleneagles Intan Medical Center last Sunday (20th March). Now he is recovering at home. His blood count is improving and almost back to normal,and his eyes are completely clear from the bleeding.
Next week, on Wednesday (30th March) he will be admitted to GIMC once again to continue with the chemotherapy, and his bone marrow will be taken again to check the condition after the last chemo. The last chemo was called an induction, all together there will be 4 courses. For the second course, he will be given the therapy for four consecutive days, Wednesday to Saturday. This time the dose is not as high as before. Last time it was 12mg/session, next week it just 5mg. According to his doctor, the effect after the therapy will not be as bad as before and he will not be quarantined.
We would like to thank everybody for the support given to Abang Omar while he was in the hospital. With everybody's support and doa, it was easier for us to go through this trial period, alhamdulillah and thank you.

Day 30

2005-03-16T22:14:00.000+08:00

Abang Omar has been staying here for one month today and hopefully he will be able to go home in a few more days. His condition today is just like yesterday, and his eyes are clear of blood spot. The result of the blood test for today also has some improvement. White blood cell still low (1.0), but his platelet has increased from 160 yesterday to 360. Heamoglobin level doesn't change from yesterday (8.3). No fever and sore throat for two days. Hope tomorrow there will be more good news, insyaAllah.

Day 28 & 29

2005-03-15T21:42:00.000+08:00

Yesterday he was sad especially after getting the blood test result. His white blood cell decreased but platelet has increased to 120. But since wbc has decreased, so he will still be under quarantine.
Today, alhamdullilah, no more fever, and his throat also getting better. He looks healthy except his hair started to fall. No more blood spot in his left eye, and just a little bit of blood spot in his right eye.

Day 26 & 27

2005-03-13T20:15:00.000+08:00

Yesterday abang omar looks ok. This morning we get a good news, his platelet and white blood cells have increased. Unfortunately, this afternoon, abang Omar is not feeling well. He get fever with temperature of 38 C, and sore throat. Doctor has added another antibiotic to control the infection. Hopefully he will recover soon, insyaAllah.

Day 25

2005-03-11T22:48:00.000+08:00

Had a blood test this morning. Unfortunately, the white blood cells and platelet still low, so will remain in the hospital until everything stable. Hope we don't have to wait for too long. Abang Omar looks ok today, no fever and he doesn't feel tired. With doa from everybody, insyaAllah he can be discharged from the hospital soon.

Day 24

2005-03-10T22:41:00.001+08:00

Physically abang Omar looks healthy today. There are only small red spots in his eyes, the blind spot on his right eye is not as big as before, but it appears as small spots.No more blood transfusion and since yesterday his temperature is normal. Tomorrow there will be another blood test, if his White blood cells is improving, then may be he can go home by this weekend.

Day 24

2005-03-10T22:41:00.000+08:00

Day 23

2005-03-09T23:01:00.000+08:00

Sorry I can't update for the last two days, I was not feeling well so I can't visit him at the hospital. After not seeing him for two days, today I notice a lot of improvement, especially his eyes. His WBC also increase today, but still not enough to be discharged from the hospital. Next blood test will be this Friday, hopefully we will get a better result, insyaAllah.

Day 20

2005-03-06T20:49:00.000+08:00

Today, abang Omar's platelet decreased to 16. Now, he is being transfused with platelet (4 packs). He is not as tired as yestesday. His vision is also improving. He is still under medication (ATRA and antibiotic).

Day 19

2005-03-05T22:51:00.000+08:00

Today Abang Omar not feeling very well. His temperature is a little bit higher, and he need another blood transfusion. His blood count still low.He is tired and sleeping most of the time today. His eyes getting better, not as red as before, so does his gum. Hope tomorrow he is getting better, and can be discharged next week, InsyaAllah.

Day 17 & 18

2005-03-04T22:59:00.000+08:00

This last two days, abang Omar shows more improvement. His eyes getting better, no blood transfusion for the last two days. According to the doctor, the fibrinogen (one of blood's components)level has increased. Hopefully next week Abang Omar will be discharged from here.

Day 16

2005-03-02T22:02:00.000+08:00

He is not feeling very well today. Last night he had fever, and until now he still feel tired. His platelet also low and this afternoon he had another platelet transfusion. His eyes still the same, and his vision does not deteriorate. With doa from everybody, insyaAllah he will recover soon.

Day 14 & 15

2005-03-01T23:28:00.000+08:00

Sorry didn't update yesterday, anyway he condition is improving, as for now, no more blood transfusion.From the result of this morning blood test, his WBC have increased. Eventhough the chemotheraphy has completed for the time being, he is still under medication (ATRA). This drug also has side effect just like chemo's. His appetite has returned to normal, so he can eat almost anything, except raw food, such as fruits and salad.

Day 13

2005-02-27T22:36:00.000+08:00

As yesterday, abang Omar is getting better. No blood transfusion today, but his WBC increased just a little bit. His eyes still red but better than before. Hope his condition keep on improving, insyaAllah.....

Day 12

2005-02-26T23:27:00.000+08:00

This morning, the doctor came with some good news. Abang Omar's platelet has increase to 116 from 43 when he was admitted here last week. His WBC still low, so he is still under quarentine. Last night during blood transfusions, he had allergy reaction, but alhamdulillah, after the nurse injected antidote,the problem disappeared. Hope everything will be okay tomorrow, insyaAllah...

Day 11

2005-02-25T20:16:00.000+08:00

Abang Omar's WBC still very low, but he looks better. Yesterday was his last chemo for this first phase of the treatment. Now he is being transfused with platelet, plasma and cryoprecipitate. He started to browse the internet and watch TV. Hope there will be no infection during this period.

Day 10

2005-02-24T21:13:00.000+08:00

Today, Abang Omar's white blood cells drop to almost zero. To prevent him from being infected, no visitors are allowed into his room. This morning he undergo the last chemo for the time being. According to the doctor, there are some improvement, the bleeding has been stopped. His eyes also getting better.
Thank you everybody for your visit and doa. Hope Abang Omar will not encounter any complication during this period, InsyaAllah.

A quote of email from Chris

2005-02-24T15:49:00.000+08:00

Below are notes from Chris I got thru e-mail while discussing about Abg Omar condition. Lets hope Abg Omar will be fully recovered as Chris's wife, Anita did.

"Age is a factor in how quickly he will recover. It sounds like he is receiving his first round of chemo now?

Hopefully his Dr's are familiar with treating APL. APL is rare in most parts of the world and not all Dr's are familiar with treating it. Thankfully Anita's oncologist had treated several APL patients previously and had tremendous overall experience.

It's the complications from Trentioin (retinoic acid) and or arsenic (if he is receiving that protocol) that you have to watch out for and you want a Dr that is familiar with managing the potential complications.

Just 15 years ago APL was probably the worst leukemia to get and now with RA based treatments it has become the most treatable.

His white counts will get very low with the chemo. Is he also getting retinoic acid?

Anita had 3 rounds of chemo as I recall. Seeing her white counts dip and the attendant fevers were always scary. It is roller coaster time for you and your family now. I would always tell myself that there are no guarantees for anyone, not for Anita or myself -even though I was the "healthy one." Any of us could have cancer right now and not even know it. Somehow thinking about the fact that we are all fragile and vulenerable helped me accept what Anita was going through.

Neupogen can help get the white counts up but his Dr needs to decide if that is right for your cousin. Neupogen is a powerful and expensive drug that gives the body to produce lots of white cells - FAST. Neupogen is sort of controversial because it tells cells to grow that the chemo just got done trying to kill!"

SMS from Kak Liza

2005-02-24T15:26:00.000+08:00

Just got an SMS from Kak Liza, "Abg Omar white blood count, WBC = 0, no more more visitors allowed". We do hope family and friends understand the situation that when the WBC is very low it means the immunization of his body is low too. Thus he is too fragile to any small attack of any disease including flu and fever. Try not to visit him but you can always send your wishes and prayers thru SMS or this blog.

Motivational Quote

2005-02-24T12:14:00.000+08:00

"if one has to get leukemia, APL is the best one to get"..
This is the quote I got from the writer of the previous article..Mr Chris Gruenwald. His wife has fully recovered from APL and is doing very well. Hope he can visit our blog and share his experience here.

My findings in Google Groups

2005-02-24T11:02:00.000+08:00

Kak Liza, I found this write up in Google Group. Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, Retinoic Acid Syndrome - HELP This patient has a similar type of leukemia with Abg Omar. Her experience may become our reference. Look out for the symptoms described in her hubby's notes.

Day 9

2005-02-23T09:58:00.000+08:00

starting today, no visitors are allowed. his white blood cells have dropped to 1, for healthy person minimum is 6. More transfusion today; 6 cryoprecipitate, 2 plasma and 4 platelet. Physically, he looks better today, his eyes show some improvement.

Day 8

2005-02-22T22:52:00.000+08:00

It has been a week abang Omar in the hospital. His condition is geting better, and today he has the third chemo. Alhamdullilah, no fever after the chemo. When his doctor came this morning he even asked the doctor if he can be discharged from the ward, because he doesn't feel sick as before. Even the nurses here have commented that he look ceria today. No more oxygen masked. His oxygen level, BP and heart beat are back to normal. According to the doctor, the hemoglobin level also has increased.
we would like to thank "Hanafi and Mahyun" for all the help.

Reference of Home Treatment for Leukemia

2005-02-22T12:12:00.000+08:00

Have a look at this link. Lots of guides on how to manage side effects while going thru chemotherapy, Leukemia-Home Treatment.

2005-02-22T12:07:00.000+08:00

Fresh Frozen Plasma, also another blood component

2005-02-22T12:04:00.000+08:00

Platelet Concentrate, another component of blood transfused

2005-02-22T11:55:00.000+08:00

A yellowish liquid, Cryoprecipitate Type B+, one of blood component being tranfused on day 6.

Some Info

2005-02-22T10:20:00.000+08:00

I found this site Leukemia Cancer Treatments. May be we can get more info there and practice where applicable.

Day 7

2005-02-21T21:55:00.000+08:00

This morning at about 2 o'clock, Abang Omar encounter breathing problem, the oxygen level in his blood drop to 30%. So, now he has to used oxygen mask.but not to worry, he is ok now. shows some improvement today. During lunch, he can eat fried mee hoon and he has nasi ayam for dinner. His gum condition is getting better, but still no improvement on his eyes. Today all the transfusion have been stopped, because too much fluid in his body. From the x-ray that they have done, the breathing difficulty that abang Omar encountered last night is not because of his heart but because of this excessive fluid.
Again we would like to thank everybody who pay him a visit and also all the "buah tangan". The last two days, he only ate nutriplus food supplement given by FOL Engineering, TI. Thank you.

Day 6

2005-02-20T21:31:00.000+08:00

Last night he had vomitted twice. Bed sheet has to be changed in the middle of the night. Today he does't eat much. At 11.15 am, undergo second chemo. Same as the first one, he doesn't feel any pain, but after that he has fever. He sleep most of the time, and he vomits once. tonight, he has blood, platelet and plasma transfusion. while I'm writing, the blood transfusion still running but he's sleeping. lets doa for his speedy recovery and without any complication, InsyaAllah.

day 5

2005-02-19T21:07:00.000+08:00

Today, abang Omar start to feel the effect of chemo. he feel very tired and lost appetite. He can't take solid food, but during lunch he eat nasi goreng. we are very happy with the progress. In the evening,both of his eyes have bled some more. Its happened after he had vomitted. After that he just sleep.
More visitors coming today, thank you.

day 4

2005-02-18T23:29:00.000+08:00

today the chemo treatment has started. it takes about 5 minutes, and Alhamdulillah, according to abang Omar he doesn't feel any pain.Name of the drug used is Idarubicin. after the chemo, however abang Omar is down with fever again. doctor prescribed him with antibiotic and Vit A. Today,same as yesterday, many of his friends and relatives pay him a visit. however, today he looked tired and didn't talk much. Until now, his gum still swollen, so he can't take solid food.

First Day in Gleneagles

2005-02-17T11:18:00.000+08:00

It has been nearly 3 weeks having symptoms like fatigue, rashes, and lack of oxygen in body which made Abg Omar very week even to go to the office. He was hardly fell sick and even had been recognized for MC free in his company, Texas Instrument.
Last week something really went wrong when his right eye sight suddenly went off. His left eye was also bleeding a bit. Being a very loyal and dedicated employee, he still wanted to go to the office on Monday and Tuesday. But on Wednesday, he was asked to admit to Gleneagles, Ampang by the Oncologist, Dr Rudy. His spinal fluid was taken to confirm on the disease he was bieng suspected. At about 3.30pm on Wednesday, Dr Rudy told the family that it was true that he is having leukemia, type, acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Late evening yesterday, they have also decided to start chemotherapy today. Hope everything will goes on fine and May Allah give him strength to face His Will.

day 3

2005-02-17T10:45:00.000+08:00

last night another transfusion, plasma(3 pint).This is to control the bleeding in his eyes. today we were inform that chemo will be done tomorrow. Abang Omar is still having fever.
clinical record.
BP: normal
Temp: 36.2 - 39
Intravenous: N/Saline
we would like to thank everybody who came to visit abang Omar and giving him moral support and encouragement.

day 2

2005-02-16T10:45:00.000+08:00

Dr Rudy is planning to start chemotherapy tomorrow. hope everything will be ok. abang Omar having fever on and off, but according to Dr Rudy that is normal.last night had to do blood transfusion(4 pint).
today's clinical chart:
BP: 110/70
temp:37 - 38.2