Author: Uncle Matt

Bust out your terrycloth headbands! A super fun dodgeball tourney is upcoming.

When:
Saturday, January 27th

Where:
Dodge-It Center in Uptown (2900 Aldrich Minneapolis, MN 55408)

What time:
Noon to 4pm

Cost:
$20 per player, free for spectators, donations welcome!

Why:
To help fund Peter’s fight against Neuroblastoma, and have a great time playing Dodgeball!

Teams of 5-7 (6 play at one time) people are encouraged to pick a team name, coordinate creative team uniforms, and join us for snacks, beer, and prizes to the top three finishing teams. Another prize will be awarded to the team with the most creative uniforms! Please make sure to sign up your team by Friday, January 19th. Also, please make sure to pass this on to any other family members or friends that would be interested in joining the fun!

Questions about the tournament can be directed toward Molly Zauhar by calling 320-492-0215 or e-mailing mollyjane8@hotmail.com.

Peter is back home after a quick recovery in the hospital. He had three days of relative silence; The combination of pain, pain medication, and healing suppressed his conversational nature. But those factors couldn’t keep him down long.

By Friday morning he was off of the morphine and turning the corner. His digestive system started working again and he could take food and water. His plumbing didn’t come back completely normal, though, and he has diarrhea. The doctors suspected a virus called C-Dif — a common infection for immuno-suppressed patients — and that has been confirmed.

The Eigners were released from the hospital on Sunday evening. Peter is on antibiotics for the viral infection and all should be fine if he can keep drinking fluids. The tumor pathology showed the tumor was still cancerous, but the surgery was a clean break, meaning that there shouldn’t be any cancer in his abdomen.

So let’s review the news of the past couple weeks. There shouldn’t be any cancer in his abdomen. There isn’t any cancer in his marrow. There isn’t any cancer in his lymphatic system. These are all the cancerous areas from the original diagnosis. Logic tells me that there isn’t any cancer in Peter’s body at the present. Pretty remarkable.

But this isn’t the end of the fight and everyone will need to remain vigilant. Peter will be back to meet with Dr. Acton (the surgeon) on 1/18. He may even be admitted for round 6 of chemo that day, otherwise it will begin the following Monday.

Peter went into surgery this morning at 7:30 AM. His abdomen was re-opened to extract the remaining tumor. Everyone was feeling nervous, but optimistic in the surgery waiting room for the 3 or 4-hour wait. The surgeon emerged and summoned Ty and Erika away for the debriefing. About five minutes later they came back with a “thumbs up” sign and smiles.

The surgery went well and the surgeon felt that they were able to remove all of the clementine-sized mass. Removing the tumor had some risks, such as the need to shave away some kidney or remove a kidney altogether, but there was no kidney damage. I suppose it couldn’t have gone better. The tumor had scared in on itself, so the exterior consisted of tough white scar tissue. It will now undergo a biopsy that will determine the state of its cancer and possibly shed more light on how he’s responded to things overall.

Everyone’s breathing a big sigh of relief and even celebrating a little with this major milestone. Peter is awake and recovering as of 12:30 today. He will need to stay in the hospital for another 5-7 days before heading home for more recovery before round 6 of chemo. Hopes have never been higher.

The marrow procedure went well on Wednesday and Peter bounced back afterwards almost as if he was finishing a nice long nap. He checked out of the hospital and went to Ty’s second tournament game in the afternoon, which Brainerd won in overtime against Blaine, a higher ranked opponent. It’s also noteworthy that the Blaine players have stickers on their helmets that read Keep Fighting Pete. What a nice gesture from a community far from Brainerd, but connected through hockey. It’s safe to say Wednesday was a good day.

Yesterday more scans were in order — which Peter handled effortlessly — and the initial test results came in. The conversation with Peter’s oncologist started with her saying, “I only have good news for you.”

The marrow remains clear of cancer on both sides. The tumor has continued to shrink (although it’s not known exactly how much right now). The official radiologist’s report on the torso scan isn’t complete yet, but the oncologist has looked it over and couldn’t see any evidence of cancer in the lymphatic system. Yes, the lymph nodes in his neck and chest appear to be clear of cancer. The official report on this will be coming this afternoon. At this point in the battle, Peter’s status is a shining example of exactly how you hope and pray the treatment would go.

Ty and Erika also met with the surgeon yesterday, who should be going to work on Peter’s tumor next Wednesday. That meeting also went well. He felt confident and didn’t relay any major concerns. The tumor, which was initially wrapped around a major artery, making its removal very risky, has recessed enough to be clear of that artery.

Then last night Ty’s team played for the consolation championship of the tournament and won in dramatic fashion. They came back from a 1-2 deficit with less than 5 minutes to play and won 3-2. Peter had told Ty that morning something like “if he won he’d cry in his eyes” because he’d be so happy. Well, he didn’t cry in his eyes, but there were some tears from the rest of us as the day’s great news was recapped.

I really can’t put in words how exciting the news is and how optimistic it makes everyone feel. Next week will be difficult and emotional and there is still a long way to go. It’s just so promising that this fight, with all its heartache, inconvenience and struggle, is returning results.

What a great Christmas. Kids everywhere, bows, shredded paper, laughs, squeals — we had it all up in Brainerd at the Eigner’s house.

Now it’s back to business in the cities. Ty is in the midst of a big holiday hockey tournament in the St. Paul area. Last night we saw his team put up a good fight against last year’s state champs, but couldn’t quite pull it out.

This morning Peter checked into the hospital to begin his pre-surgery tests and will be back here at my house tonight, before going in again tomorrow. Today he is having the bone marrow biopsy; They put him under and drill into each side of his pelvis to get samples. This procedure hasn’t bothered him too much in the past. They will also be injecting him with a dye for tomorrow’s scans.

Tomorrow he will lay still in a little tube that will take pictures of his torso. The aforementioned dye “lights up” where there are cancerous cells. Hopefully there isn’t much to light up.

Everyone’s anxious to hear the results of all testing. To recap the last round of testing, the marrow came back clear of cancer, the tumor in the abdomen had shrunk significantly, and there was significant improvement in his infected lymph nodes. Even more improvement would be fantastic.

Here’s another more recent picture of the big guy.

Kate, Peter and Ellie. I don’t think Ellie has a pocketful of posy, considering she doesn’t have pants on.

Peter is in Minneapolis getting platelets and hemoglobin. As Erika puts it, he needs to get some color back. The low blood counts make him pallid and very susceptible to bruising, especially when little Kate knocks him in the head with a hockey stick. That’ll leave a mark every time.

He’s also getting another hearing test down the road. He’s had some ringing in his ears and the Cisplat drug he’s been receiving can cause hearing loss. Hopefully the ringing is just from the high sticking penalty.

I mentioned the surgery will be on January 2nd, but that’s false. It is now scheduled for January 3rd, but could get pushed later into the week. I should also clarify that the posted schedule simply states what is supposed to happen during the given week, since exact days change by the minute.

Peter should be back home tonight in his own room, sleeping in his own bed, surrounded by his custom mural of hockey players on the bench, a scoreboard and various quotes. The painting was done when he was healthy and moving into his new big-boy room, but one of the quotes, in big lettering, reads Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Recovery from round 5 continues to go well and Peter is at home enjoying the company of his younger sisters. His counts are probably still dropping and will likely bottom out over the weekend, possibly requiring a trip to the hospital, but we’ll see.

For the past three months or so the treatment has mainly consisted of chemotherapy in various combinations. Now it’s time for the doctors to wield a winning combination of knockout blows. I’ve updated the schedule (finally) with more accurate dates.

Peter will undergo retesting in the days following Christmas. This includes bone and torso scans that provide a picture of the cancer (feeble, pathetic and retreating cancer!). Then Peter will start 2007 with surgery.

On January 2nd the surgeon will enter his abdomen for the first time since August 18th. That seems like a lifetime ago. There wasn’t a diagnosis yet. There was an abdominal tumor. That much was known. The disease wasn’t named and everything was uncertain.

Today we know the tumor is a result of Neuroblastoma and we know how to fight it. We know the tumor has been taking a pounding. The goal of the surgery is to finish off the mass by removing it entirely. If the procedure in August was chaotic and unnerving, this one should be filled with purpose and hope.

Looking past surgery, round 6 of chemo will be a doozy. This is the knockout punch. A couple weeks later, there will be a bone marrow transplant. The good stem cells that were harvested from Peter’s marrow will be reinserted.

That isn’t the end of the ordeal, but I’ve ventured too far into the future to write with any clarity, so stay tuned. 2007 holds heaps of promise for Peter Eigner.

The recovery is going pretty well, although the Zofran doesn’t completely suppress the need to vomit. He had some fun with Dad and Grandpa Poopster on Saturday during an ice fishing expedition. Poopster strapped the fish house to the ATV and towed it onto the lake and the fishing contest was on. Ty got skunked. Poopster caught zilch. Peter hauled in four flopping fishies.

I’m guessing that Poopster attributed Peter’s success to having “the world’s greatest fishing guide on his side”.

There’s a fun benefit taking place next weekend. On December 16th, two classes will be taught by certified Pilates/Yoga teacher, Kari Stengrim.

Sessions:
9:00 AM – Student athletes, coaches and experience yogis
10:30 AM – Beginners, no experience necessary

Check in is at 8:30 and 10:00. You’ll need a mat or beach towel and your bare feet. A $10 donation will be taken at registration with 100% of donations going to Peter’s fund.

Where:
New Just for Kix Studio
6948 Lake Forest Road (west of 371 N)
Baxter, MN

Peter checked out of the hospital late this morning with round 5 behind him. He didn’t need a transfusion or anything before leaving. The chemo is getting to his stomach, though. He threw up a couple times once they started the journey home, but then fell asleep.

So he’s back in Brainerd recovering. We can expect that he’ll have to come down to the hospital again because the need for a transfusion, mouth sore treatment, medicine for his cold or any combination of these reasons. But he can check off another big milestone today on the road to recovery. Way to go, big guy.