Jared's 1st Birthday Post Transplant!

I am a little late in this post, but, on November 13th, 2013, Jared had his one-year birthday post-transplant! I cannot even believe it has been one year! In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday, and in other ways it seems like it never even happened. 

Since last December, life has completely changed in so many ways! We have been on an amazing journey following God’s direction in our lives. It feels so good to know Jared is healthy and happy. Jared graduated college this past May and then started his master’s degree in pastoral ministry in August! I am half way done with my senior year of college! 

Life has never been better and we thank God everyday for it! The full recovery Jared has had is remarkable and we are so happy and thankful! This past summer, Jared felt called into ministry and is now working hard on his masters degree, it’s amazing to see Jared following God's plan for his life. I know that this journey we have endured only brought us closer, and we have a new passion and love for each other and life! Most of all, we cannot wait to share it with others! 

 Jared and I got to go on a Honeymoon Cruise this past summer! So much fun!! 

 Celebrating Jared's 24th Birthday! 

 Trygg's at Jared's Graduation from NNU! 

 TWIRP 2013- Travelocity Gnomes 

2013 Trygg Christmas Card Photo

Jared is Cancer FREE!!!

A couple weeks ago when we were at home for spring break, Jared had several doctors’ appointments to have the much-dreaded scans done! Jared had a PET scan and we went in to get the results. Jared and I were both very nervous, but pretty confident walking into the appointment. We seat waiting and waiting for the doctor to come into our exam room, when Jared's doctor entered the exam room she began to make small talk about the weather and what not, this started to make me now really really nervous. Finally very calmly the Doctor said "well the scan came back clear", we both just said "wait what? clear? like NO cancer?" We saw with our very own eyes Jared's scans compared to old ones and it was true, NO CANCER! Jared is continuing to feel better and better each day, we are so excited for such wonderful news! Jared will be Graduating on May 11th From NNU and could not be happier! We are so happy and thanking God for his healing in Jared's body! We are so blessed to live in a community of amazing and supportive friends, teachers and staff at NNU! 

Update on Jared! 105 days post transplant!!!

Today is Jared’s 105^th  day post transplant! The past few months have been a whirlwind of recovery and excitement! I don’t think I have done a blog update since Christmas, but since then, Jared left the transplant team at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and we got MARRIED!! We moved to Idaho and are back at NNU! This has been a crazy and exciting time for us! Jared is doing and feeling great, and is set to graduate from college on May 11th! 

On December 28^th, we got married in Issaquah, Washington and went on a short honeymoon and then moved to Idaho less then a week later! We are living in a cute little apartment on campus and loving it! I am a full time student once again taking 19 credits and still trying to get back in the swing of things since being off school last semester; I will graduate May 2014. Jared is a non-traditional full time student as well, taking 16 credits through online courses and independent study courses and will be all done in just 3 short months! All of Jared's teachers have been understanding and have gone out of their way to help Jared be able to finish school as quickly as possible. Due to Jared's immune system post transplant, he cannot be in crowds or traditional classrooms for 6 months post transplant without being super careful. We are both so happy to be back at school and we are having a blast! 

Jared has been seeing an oncologist here in Nampa and each time we see him Jared's counts are continuing to raise as well as his energy level and strength! He thinks he is almost back to feeling pretty much normal! Jared has had two small colds and his body was able to fight them off very quickly! When we go home for spring break in a few weeks Jared will check in with his main oncologist in Seattle and have his first PET scan post transplant to see where he is. Pray for no signs of any remaining cancer!!! Jared is feeling very positive about this scan, as always I am a little nervous, but we are trusting in God that Jared's battle with cancer is completely over FOREVER!! Once we get the results of the scan the doctor will make a plan of how often Jared will need scans in the future and we will go from there! Thank you for your continued prayers and support through these last several months! The horrors Jared and I experienced a couple months ago almost feel like a very very bad dream, but we are so thankful that we are on the other side of this experience and know that it only brought us closer to one another and God! Pray for Jared over the next couple months as he has his scan and finishes up school as well as his pursuit for a job post graduation! I will keep updating this blog with any additional information along our journey as well as a post of wedding photos! 

Merry Christmas! Jared's 42nd day Post Transplant!

Merry Christmas!!! Today is Jared's 42nd day Post Transplant!! I have not blogged much over the last couple weeks for two reasons......One is that Jared is doing great and feeling great! Second, that I have been incredibly busy with Christmas and wedding preparations!!

Jared has been improving so much every single day! He is getting more energy and is feeling more like himself. Last Thursday Jared was able to have surgery to get his port and hickman out of his chest and he could not be happier! Getting these two things out was a huge milestone to feeling healed, healthy, and done with cancer! Now Jared can finally shower normally and he is so happy!!

Jared excited and ready to go into surgery! 

Last look at Jared's Hickman! 

Last look at Jared's Port! 

Last Look at Jared's Line & Port before they are gone FOREVER!!!

All Done!! 

Jared in recovery! Pretty sleepy stil! 

Ready to go home!!!

On Friday of last week, Jared and I went to his discharge conference with his transplant team! We sat in a small conference room and went over all the rules and information on how to live and keep Jared healthy for the next several months! We said thank you and goodbye to Jared's transplant doctors and nurses. It felt unreal! As we sat and listened we could not believe that we were finally at the spot where we were leaving the transplant floor for good!

Since we spent almost a month from mid-November to the start of December in the hospital and busy with so many appointments, we realized about two weeks ago that we had a ton to do! We had no Christmas presents, lots of unfinished wedding projects, and not very much time! The last week and a half has been a whirlwind of fun and planning! Jared was able to get all his Christmas gifts together and I worked frantically on all the last minute wedding stuff!

We are so beyond thrilled to say that today is Christmas and Jared is feeling GREAT! He is happy and healthy and ready to move on from all the struggles we have been facing for the last two years! We are also so excited to be able to say we are getting married in just three short days! It seems unreal that the day will finally be here! After having to change the date of our wedding 3 times, and now changing the wedding all together, we are excited that we can even have a wedding. This Friday we will celebrate with just family and close friends in a wonderful celebration of our love for one another as well as celebrating Jared's health!! After our short honeymoon we will be moving back to Idaho to finish school! Jared will be able to finish his last few classes doing independent study classes and I will be a traditinal student! We are so excited to be finally starting our life together! We are excited for all of our family to be coming into town over the next couple days and be apart of our special day! We wish that we could have the huge wedding we had originally planned including everyone near and dear to our hearts but because Jared is still recovering and his immune system is so new, we had to keep the wedding small.

We are so thankful for everyone's love and support and prayers through this rough time. Looking back over the last two months it feels like a really bad dream, but so worth it to be at this happy point that we are finally at! We will post wedding photos and more updates over the next couple months as Jared continues to recover from his transplant! Continue to pray for strength and full recovery for Jared over the next year!

Update Day 31 Post Transplant!

Jared got out of the hospital on Wednesday at around 10 pm!! The doctors came in and talked with us before we left and they were so happy that Jared was feeling so much better and that his levels were still decreasing! As we left the hospital Jared and I were so excited! When we found out he had to go back in we were so scared, and so unsure of how long we would be their so the fact that it was only 5 days was amazing!  Yesterday, as we went to our first appointment back at the SCCA, as the nurse and doctor on Jared's transplant team walked in they were amazed with how much better Jared looked!  After they did all their talks and evaluated him, they concluded that as long as we have no more complications Jared will be discharged from the transplant team/floor next Friday the 21st! This also means that Jared will finally be getting his Hickman catheter and port out of his chest! He will be able to shower and move around normal! Jared is so very excited about this news! Since getting out of the hospital Jared has had much more energy then he has had in a couple months! He has started to get his appetite back and fast! He is eating much more and even has real cravings. Overall, Jared just seems and feels SO much better! Continue to pray that Jared does not have to face anymore complications and that it can be smooth sailing from here! I cannot believe that Jared is finally at this point of the transplant process. I am so thankful for his strength and courage through this entire process.

Day 28 Post Transplant

Today is Jared's 28th day post transplant. We are still at the hospital, but Jared is doing much much better. So, pretty much we came to the hospital on Saturday morning and the doctors were extremely concerned by how high Jared's liver function was. Over the last couple days Jared has been given lots of different medications to try to lower his liver levels as well as just being very closely monitored. They have now concluded today that Jared has something called SOS Disease. This means that Jared's liver was very hurt and damaged from the amount of Chemotherapy that he was given before his transplant. This happens to about 10% of all people that have a Stem Cell Transplant, so it was not a huge surprise to doctors but they were still very concerned. The main drug that Jared has been getting is what they use when someone comes into the hospital and has overdosed on Tylenol. On Saturday when he was first given the drug he had a crazy reaction to it! He was having trouble breathing, his head was pounding, he got extremely hot and started vomiting. It was super super scary the first time that I had to rip the emergency cord out of the wall and 10 nurses ran into our room and hooked Jared up to oxygen and gave him a huge dose of benadryl. Now before and during every does Jared is given benadryl so this will not happen again. 

The doctors came in this morning and they are very happy that Jared's levels are trending down and pretty quickly so they are hoping to give him one more dose of his medicine and then hopefully late tomorrow night Jared will be discharged!! We are very excited that he is getting out even faster then we were hoping for!! The last few days have been full of uncertainties and fear, but we are happy with the outcome! Jared is feeling pretty good otherwise, he is working still on eating more and walking as much as possible. Keep praying that Jared's liver continues to heal, his swollen fluid filled tummy will go down (right now they think he has about 7 to 8 extra pounds of fluid in his body)! We are very grateful that Jared is young and that his body was able to handle this unexpected complication. The Doctors seem amazed at how well he is healing compared to many other cases they have seen! Hopefully each day Jared will just continue to feel better and better! 

Day 25 Post Transplant Update!

The last several days have been a little bit bumpy and not as we had hoped and planned for :(! On Tuesday night of this last week Jared's stomach started hurting a lot and he was not able to eat at all!! When he woke up Wednesday morning it was not better, and he was having trouble moving and walking around due to his extreme stomach pain. Jared had a blood draw appointment that morning and he was still really really struggling so I drug him upstairs and they took him back to the transplant floors triage area. His pain did not seem to surprise the Doctors because the chemotherapy Jared had before his transplant is terrible and can affect your tummy for a long time. They did some X-Rays, and gave him heavy pain medications and sent us on our way. On Thursday he was still in pain, but not nearly as much. Yesterday he was feeling even better, still some pain and his stomach became very very bloated. Last night Jared’s team nurse called us and said that his blood work came back with his liver function very high and inflamed and just not doing well. We rushed to UW to have an ultrasound and it confirmed that his Liver is very inflamed and angry, so much that it is at a dangerous level to do serious damage to his liver. 

Jared's Ultrasound 

SOOO they told us that he needed to be re admitted into UW hospital in the morning. So this morning we arrived to UW at 9 am and Jared was readmitted and we are now living again in the hospital just right down the hall from our old room. The Doctors came in and explained that what is happening to Jared is a side effect that can happen after you have a transplant with such terrible Chemo before. This is not a common side effect but they have seen it! They are starting lots of different medications that will hopefully start to help the liver go back to normal fast! 

When Jared found out that his liver was sick and that he had to come back into the hospital, he was extremely disappointed and very sad. Jared was feeling great when he got out of the hospital and to not feel better ever single day is very discouraging. The doctors are not 100% sure what medicines are going to be successful, so pray that the one's they try are going to work fast and great! 

Jared's Tummy is SO Swollen! 

This was a very unexpected turn of events, but hopefully it will be short and go smoothly! Jared is so strong and now his little liver just needs to bed on the healthy bandwagon!!! Keep praying for Jared as he trying to recover and mentally recover from this small delay!