Troy,
You are in our thoughts and prayers - keep battling my friend!!!!

Hey how bout some good news for a change. I just came back from the hospital and whatI saw was just a miracle. Troy is awake! He was taken off the sedatives about three days ago and he was not waking up well he is now. I think he very much regognizes us and he squeezes my hand tightly and he looks to me like he is struggling to get out of that bed he is in. He really wrestles around trying to. He is no longer on the respirator and is breathing well on his own now. His heart is good, and he responds to the touch and when you speak to him with his eyes. He is trying to talk and struggling phisically with the bed and the wires and all of that. I think that is a good sign personally. It really is unbelievable that he is even awake, let alone showing signs of strength and recognition. It is working people, what you are all doing is working. Keep it up, he is fighting the very very hard fight and it is working. Cathy is so tired and has worked so hard every day with all of this. But today is a good day, no holds barred it is a good day!! Going back up there tonight after he has had some rest. I will write more later but he is working that is for sure and when he sets his mind on something he is a tough hombre. Your prayers and thoughts are paying off here and I know you will all continue it. I will print off your messages and take them with me tonight if you dont mind putting your name on them that would be helpful to Cathy. I will read each of them to him.

Just got back from the hospital tonight and he was doing better still. He was able to tell me to get him out of that bed. I couldn't do that but he kept trying to sneak a foot out and then a leg. I don't know where he is planning on going but he is in a hurry to get there. I think that is very good. He ask me about ten times. I think he thinks I am crooked enough to get him out of there somehow. He is making more sense tonight and I think he will be speaking in complete sentances by tomorrow and have a better awareness of what is happening to him as he goes along. They are moving him to his own room tomorrow and out of ICU. Another good thing. He was drinking on his own and his kidneys have begun functioning a little more all the time and that too is a great sign. If some of you would like to write him a note if you will send it to my email at rcwbud@aol.com, I will take any and all of them up and read them to him. He could use some things to get his attention right now and some of the names I told him tonight that I had heard from seemed to get his attention. He recognized Bob Brown and Me and some of his other friends and was making more sense all the time. More later, Randy

Bob Brown just called me as he was leaving Troys new room. I will get that info for you later but he has been moved to a new room out of ICU. I think it is 5642 but I will check and varify that for you all. I got three letters from good old coaches today and forwarded them to Cathy and will also take them down tomorrow and read them to him again. I am sure Cathy will as well. Bob said that he has continued to improve and is talking a lot better today, formulating some sentences and sitting up a bit. His kidneys continue to improve and that was a real long shot a few days ago as is all of this. In general all of his workups have been better.

The following is what Cathy wrote today in her daily email and she is so much better than I am at explaining things so I will let her do that here as well:

Sorry to leave you wondering but we have been very busy! The ventilator was removed on Wednesday and he is breathing with a very low level of oxygen assistance. He sat in a chair this morning for 45 minutes. He asked for a Coke and drank the entire thing. He has ordered butterscotch pudding for lunch. He is asking questions and trying to figure out what has happened to him. He remembers coming to the hospital two weeks ago today but has no memory of the 12 days in ICU. We are waiting for them to come to take us upstairs to East 5 to our new room. The catheter was removed this morning and his kidneys are putting out a normal amount of urine. We are not sure if he will need more dialysis treatments but are hopeful that the kidneys have healed. They have just arrived to do an echocardiogram to check on the progress of his heart. The infection is under control and Dr. Abbott says if he works hard to gain his strength he might be able to go home. More later with room number and phone. We will be on 5 East where you will need to sign in about your health status. More soon.

Thanks for being there! Love, Cathy

This is Troys update for today, Saturday, May 8th. I didnt get to go up today because of baseball games for my son but will go up tomorrow and see him, cant wait to talk to him. Here is what Cathy wrote today:

Subject : Phase 2, Day 106, 5/8/04

| | | Inbox


Greetings from 5 East on the 8th of May, five months from Troy's diagnosis with leukemia. We begin the 6th month of treatment back where we began it December 9th, 5 East. This is the 60th day of hospitalization since December 8. Troy is sleeping soundly and the kids have gone for dinner. We finally excavated the paper work yesterday and arrived at room 5442 to find Dr. Abbott with the news that the echocardiogram had confirmed that there was no damage to the heart and it is working just fine. Troy had another dialysis yesterday but we will see how the weekend goes and a decision will be made on Monday about the need for further treatments. Right now kidneys are looking good. Today they were able to reduce his oxygen assistance to 1, down from 3. Soon he may not need it at all. Monday he may be able to have the feeding tube removed. This decision depends on how he is able to eat this weekend. He is doing well at that so far.

The physical issues are all resolving in an amazingly positive fashion. Now before us looms the recovery period. 12 days in ICU and not out of bed once leaves a person extremely week and without muscles, let alone muscle tone. Troy is eager to get rid of his oxygen and the feeding tubes. He is eager to sit in a chair all day as he has done in his other hospital stays. Physical and Occupational therapies were started today but a spike in blood pressure stopped the "out of bed adventure" before it hardly began. This and so many other things are frustrating for him. He is handling it with patience and arranging to sit on the side of the bed every time I leave him alone with the kids. He said he needed to see out the window where the trees in the park have more leaves than the last time he saw them thirteen days ago.

Another part of recovery involves coming to terms with the experience of being so ill. Troy remembers coming to the hospital two weeks ago yesterday and he remembers some things before going to ICU. What he does remember from ICU is the vivid dreams that he had while sedated and while returning from sedation. It is disconcerting to say the least to not know what happened during a 12 day span in your life. It is traumatic to hear of the medical miracle that happened to you without your knowledge. It is overwhelming to hear that over 50 people came to visit you on one day and that scores of others had called, e-mailed and visited on other days. This will be an emotional process that will take some time.

Your outpouring of love and support has touched us both. I told Troy that most people do not get to know how much their friends and family appreciate them. Most people do not get to experience the rewards of 33 years of their life's work in the way that Troy has. Literally dozens and dozens of former students and athletes have shared with him the influence that he has had on their lives. Most people do not get non-medical visits from the medical personnel that treat them. How lucky can you be? The sharing of these experiences speak to Troy's value as a teacher, coach, friend and person. But it also speaks to the wonderful qualities of the people he has been privileged to have as students, athletes, friends, co workers, peers, and medical professionals. Thank you all for sharing yourselves with us throughout this ordeal. We will never ever forget it.

As I finish this update, Troy, Aaron, Nicole and Lisa are playing yet another game of Phase Ten, the official card game of the Hodges Leukemia Cure Tour. We have about worn out the deck given to us by a friend during induction five months ago. Aaron is the winner of this game.

Thanks for being there.

Love, Cathy

This is really a miracle if you had seen Troy twelve days ago. I will let Cathy tell it in her own words:continues his amazing recovery! Kidneys are the only organs that are not back to normal. He will do dialysis three days a week. The filtration system is not working perfectly although he is producing enough urine. Drs are hopeful that their function will improve within 3 to 4 weeks and dialysis will no longer be necessary. He begins his next treatment at 5:30 am tomorrow and then will have his current dialysis catheter removed and another more permanent one installed. Another big day.

Troy is working with both occupational and physical therapists and making great progress. He sat in a chair most of the morning and walked some with a walker. His goal is to walk to the bathroom for a shower tomorrow and to walk a half mile on Wednesday. The same fight and determination that got him out of ICU is being applied to the recovery process. One of his nurses refers to Troy as her "overachiever". Megan, his physical therapist had not seen him since Friday in ICU. Her eyeballs about fell out when she entered the room today to see him sitting in a chair and looking so much better. Dr Abbott says that they are "running our of reasons to keep him here" and he probably can go home by the end of this week.

The feeding tube and one of the pic lines were removed yesterday. He has been off of all oxygen this evening. Right now he has no excess appendages except for one IV line giving him his fungus medicine. What a difference a week makes!

Dr Abbott said today that we should look into going to MD Anderson in a few weeks to explore Troy's options. He feels that the regular transplant procedure might be too risk

y now. There is however a fairly new procedure called a "mini" or "low dose" transplant. This one has provided very good results with patients that are not good candidates for the regular kind. The difference is the amount of chemo used before the donor cells are introduced. The idea is for the donor good cells to fight off the leukemia instead of using chemo to kill them. Dr Abbott thinks that even if Troy's kidneys do not fully recover he might do well with this type of transplant.

I hope that all is well in the world outside of St. Luke's Hospital. Aaron returned to CA on Sunday night. Nicole and Lisa brought me home cooked supper tonight. The kids have been so supportive and helpful,
anticipating needs and attending to details. We are so very proud of them!

Thanks for being there!

Love, Cathy

Fantastic news Cathy! Please give Troy my
best and tell him to hang in there. He has been in my prayers.

This post may be for those of us who didnt believe in miracles before this. This is truly a miracle and a very good one. I will let Cathy tell you about it:

Troy will come home today! He is now having a procedure to place a tunnel catheter for outpatient dialysis. He will receive a dialysis treatment and then should be able to check out of here, probably late afternoon or early evening. He will do a Tues., Theresa, Sat, dialysis schedule at a clinic near Providence hospital. They think that the kidneys will heal and improve their filtering ability within three or four weeks. There seems to be confidence that this will happen. Everything else in fine. He gains strength by the minute! He says he feels stronger every time he gets up from his chair or the bed. He has a new walker to take home and he likes the confidence that it gives him. An occupational therapist will come to the house to do a safety assessment and a physical therapist will come as long as necessary to work with him as he recovers.

He has been in the hospital 20 days with 12 of those in ICU. The superb medical knowledge and "sheer guts" of Dr. Brian Abbott, the input of many other Drs. and the care, concern and knowledge of an absolutely fantastic nursing staff gave Troy the very best chance possible of survival. But we also know that Troy's recovery is coming on the wings many, many prayers. We can never thank you enough.

Thanks for being here,
Love, Cathy

This is certainly great news indeed. Troy, I want to wish you well on your road to recovery and to your family and friends for their tireless support. Also, thanks Randy and Cathy for keeping us updated. I have read this everyday to keep up-to-date on your journey. This is exactly the type of thing that this forum is good for.

Sincerely,

Doug Moore

Great job Troy - keep battling!!

I'll keep praying also, the good Lord knows who is true disciples are...Stay Positive and God Bless, Troy.

Coach Peterman

Thanks for the great report Randy .... The news that Coach is going home made my day! Troy took it to double overtime and got the escape ..... thanks to his own faith and that of his matside coaches (Cathy et. al.). I believe the doc's ... the kidneys will come on-line as his metabolism rights itself ..... good match Troy .... you're in the medal rounds ..... each time your hand is raised so are our spirits!