Surgery

Surgery is planned for Monday morning. When they go up to meet with the doctor, they will make a decision about his leg. Please pray for healing this weekend. We really do NOT want Randy to have another surgery. He has about a 50/50 chance of healing or having surgery.
He also told me that his leg has a new cast - black with red stripes to support the Blazers. Too bad they lost tonight!

Pathology and Chemo update

Some GREAT and not so great news...
Fantastic news - Randy's pathology report came back - the tumor they took out of his ankle was around 90% dead. 90% is the cut off for good response. They are happy with that. Some other kids have been getting 30% and 60% lately. Randy's friend Lisa got her report back today and hers was 95% dead. YEAH for Randy and Lisa!!!

Not so great news - They have postponed Randy next chemo round that was supposed to start tomorrow until possibly next week. The doctors have been concerned about a few black spots on his leg. It could be dead skin, which would mean a new surgery Monday. They will decide that on Monday at the appointment. Surgery could cause an infection, which could cause an amputation. So, PLEASE PRAY that the spots get better by Monday!
If they do not do the surgery Monday, then chemo will start early next week sometime.

The Bultena family has so much going on with Randy's cancer, Robbie's baseball, Rachel's track, and all the Senior stuff and graduation coming up. Let's hope Randy is on a good schedule to be able to walk at Graduation and enjoy all the festivities.

There are some more fundraisers coming up QUICK - as soon as I get the info I will get it up here.

Senior Prom

Doesn't he look handsome? Beautiful date, too.

Did you check out the black cast and standing without crutches? Randy said he had a great time, but was exhausted afterward. They took their dates to Wunderland and to La Perla for dinner (in the limo), then back to Randy's house for a little rest so Randy could put his leg up a bit. They went to the Prom for a while. But, Randy was going to turn into a pumpkin if he was not up at the hospital by mid-night. While he was getting ready, he got water in his cast. The doctor's were rightly concerned, but allowed Randy to go to Prom and said they would meet him at the hospital at mid-night to re-do the cast. They were glad they did, because it would have not be good to sit in a wet cast for long. So, they got home LATE from the hospital and allowed Randy to sleep in on Sunday - until about 4 PM! He actually gets a "day off" Monday, unless something else happens. Then Tuesday to a office visit with the oncologist, Wednesday, another doctor (can't remember which), they will tell him Wednesday if he needs another surgery or start Chemo on Thursday.

The family really appreciates all the prayers, thoughts, and help they have received. They wanted to thank Shear Designs for the haircutting fundraiser, Figaro's for the pizza fundraiser, Salem Heights Church for the meals, and countless other helpful people doing many things.

Figaro's Pizza Fundraiser, Randy at home, AND Volcanoes Game!

Figaro’s Pizza wants to thank all of the Salem & Keizer residents and businesses who so generously contributed to the Lisa Harder & Randy Bultena fundraising event on Monday, April 20th. Because of the overwhelming support, Figaro’s helped to raise $4,100.00 to assist in covering the much needed medical care for the two students battling osteogenic sarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

Shown in pictures, Lisa Harder and her family. And the Figaro’s Figgy presenting check for $4,100.

We, at Figaro’s, wish Lisa and Randy all the best in their recovery.
Lisa was able to go to Figaro's Pizza for a while to thank her supporters.
Randy had to go up to the hospital that day because of the fever.

GREAT turnout all over Salem and Keizer, but especially West Salem. Thanks so much. The Bultena family is so thankful for all the support.Randy got to come home today. He says he feel fantastic!I stopped by to see the new black cast. Looks good. He looked really good, too.

Still tired here and there. No news on whether or not he needs another surgery yet. They have Drs. appts next week to find out and then plan for surgery OR start Chemo again on Thursday. They still do not know why he had a fever this week.

He is still planning on going to the prom tomorrow night. Good thing he can have some fun with his friends, going out in the tuxedo, limo, dinner and dance (in a wheelchair). Somebody better send some pics of the night (hint hint Randy!)

Volcanoes Game

Rock on Randy and Lisa Night

Thursday, July 16th

Game time 6:35 PM

$14 value ticket for only $10

for a reserved seat

Ticket holders will receive a baseball as well.

They also want Randy and Lisa to throw out the first pitch

and give them a Volcanoes Shirt.

Ticket Sales are to be announced soon.

We want to sell lots of tickets so talk it up with your friends.

What a great night!

Legos

Randy is still up at the hospital, playing with Legos. He got a Star Wars lego set from mom. I can not WAIT to see the pictures. Randy gets to come home tomorrow. Before he gets to go home, they will decide on weather or not he must have another surgery. His leg is still swollen and bruised. There are also blisters on his skin, which I guess is common for bone trauma, which he has had PLENTY of. He will get his black cast tomorrow and get to go to Prom on Saturday. Then he has to go back up to the hospital on Monday for a re-check or plans for surgery. We will find out tomorrow.

Another fundraiser -- Volcanoes Game -- July 16th -- More info to come soon!!!

Figaro's fundraiser

Hot off the press! The totals from Monday's Figaro's Pizza fundraiser are:

$2050 each

This amount for Randy and for Lisa.

YEAH!!!

Also, they each get $100 from the money jugs at the Figaro's locations.

Thanks so much to all who supported this fundraiser!!!

Answers

I love the beach and camping in the mountains. Outdoor activities are just simply one of my favorite things. And as for riding things, I usually ride dirt bikes or quads at the property we own in the mountains.
I would like to become a doctor, I may even become an Oncologist now that I have been through all this.
And we do not need anything, thank you. :)

More waiting and Send more Questions for Randy

He is still up at the hospital just waiting. The blue part on his leg got smaller and looks better, which is good. Unfortunatly they still have not found the cause of the fever.

Please keep sending questions for Randy to answer. I will tell him to answer soon.

Questions for Randy

While he is waiting and resting at the hospital, let's give Randy some work. Who has a question for Randy? What is it like? What do you do all day? How much do you weigh now? Etc. Leave your questions in the comment section OR email me (his former 1st grade teacher) at TinsethFamily@msn.com. Let's keep him busy!

Fever Down

Got word this morning that Randy is feeling great and his fever is down. He got good rest last night so he was up early. I am sure he will dose off during the day though. His blood cultures came back and it said that there was NO INFECTION. That is great! The doctors are still watching that spot on his leg.

Oooew Gross or Cool!

These are the responses from a 7 year old and a 9 year old boy. So, instead of posting the picture of Randy's leg after surgery, we decided to post a link to the picture. Click on it if you dare.

http://picasaweb.google.com/KickItRandy/FootSurgery?feat=directlink

He has to stay up

He has to stay up there a few days to find out for sure.

The surgeon came in and

The surgeon came in and said it looked like it was not an infection but possibly dead skin which may need a skin graft.

Overnight Stay

Randy has to stay overnight at the hospital tonight. They drew some blood and checked for an infection. The blood counts came back at 14,500 white blood cells - very good. So that makes the chances of an infection decrease. They also said it could be a blood clot below his knee. He said a blood clot would be better than an infection. They also checked out his foot, so they had to take the cast off. Randy got to take a picture of his foot and the scar. Maybe I can get this up here. Maybe an x-ray also soon to see all the pins and plates, etc. I hope to update more when he calls back again.

Please Pray!

Randy had a very hard night last night. He spiked a fever of 100.6 the he was able to fight it off back down to 99.2. But at 4 AM it went back up to 101.5 (remember 100.5 is not good for a cancer patient), then all the way up to 101.8. Now they have to go back up to Doernbechers by 8 AM today. However, he only had limited pain, so that is good. He is really bummed that he has to go back up. The other area of concern is his shallow breathing, which may have caused the fever. Please pray that the fever subsides and he is able to come back home!

Sunday Update

Randy had a rough night last night. Commonly after surgery, people get fevers from not using their lungs enough. Randy got one yesterday, so he was put on benadryl to make sure he has no reaction before they gave him a blood transfusion. His transfusion had 2 units of blood. He is still is quite a bit of pain at times, but they have a regular pain medication schedule every 3 hours for one medicine and every 12 for the other. He was able to get the fever down and was able to go home! Randy is having to use a breathing apparatus to use a few times a day to strengthen his lungs and keep the fever away. He is now home, trying to relax, eat, and work through the pain. He gets his black cast on Friday and at that time the doctors will check the site, etc.

Keep on Rockin' Randy!

Don't forget the Figaro's Pizza Fundraiser TOMORROW

Monday, April 20th 4-8 PM

ANY Figaro's in Salem or Keizer

50% goes to Randy and Lisa's cancer funds

Saturday update

Randy called and loved the video the boys made. He also said he would not be able to come home today. He is still trying to manage the pain. At some times in the day he has a lot of pain and other times, it's not so bad. He did have physical therapy today and he got all the points checked off that he needed to at this time. Way to go Randy! He is hoping to come home tomorrow.

To Make You Smile

A tribute to Randy while he is recovering from his surgery.

Friday Update

The doctors are pleased with the outcome of the surgery. He said it took a little longer than expected, but it was because they were able to save some nerves and tendons. The doctor was able to get all the cancer out and get a good margin around it. Give glory to God that Randy is able to move his toes and have some feeling in his foot. He will be able to use his foot which is a definite blessing. He did have physical therapy today which caused some expected pain. They took the block off this afternoon and are now trying to regulate the pain with meds. If he can tolerate the pain well enough, then he can come home tomorrow.

Please continue to pray for him with this big transition in his life. Also, the pathology report should come back in a week or week and a half to tell how the chemo affected the cancer. We are looking for a 95% kill rate or more to know how affective the chemo was. This report will affect his next treatment.

He still plans on going the the Prom next weekend after he gets his new black cast to match his tux. His date said she would push him around in a wheelchair if he needs it.

Check back to see if he gets to come home tomorrow!

Update #5

I got the privilege to talk to the man - himself, Randy. I was shocked to get a call from him and not his mom. He said he is doing well. Of course, he could not feel anything from his knee down. When he started waking up from the surgery, he asked if he still had his leg. It was covered up, so he could not see it, and he could not feel it because of the pain blocker. They told him "yes", but he still was not sure. He thought maybe they were waiting for the doctor to tell him that they had to amputate it. So, he asked again. They asked if he wanted to see it, he said yes, so they uncovered it for him. YEAH - his leg is still there! Also, bonus news that he may still have feeling in the bottom of his foot and he may have movement of his toes (well, don't count the big toe, it is a good sacrifice to save the rest) Even though he feels ok now, the block should be wearing off in the next few hours, a little at a time. So, I hope tonight is ok for him and the pain meds work ok. He said they will get him up walking soon, not sure if it is tonight or most likely tomorrow. They need him to do certain things before they will release him. I can't believe that it could be Saturday. WOW!!!

p.s. Don't forget to buy pizza from Figaro's in Salem or Keizer on THIS Monday, April 20th - 50% of profits go to Hope for Harder and Rock on Randy cancer funds. If you want to check on Lisa Harder's status (she had big surgery this week, too) check her blog http://www.lisaharder.blogspot.com/

He might keep mobility in

He might keep mobility in all but his big toe. Randy might get to come home SATURDAY! More later after they get to see him.

Out of surgery. GREAT day.

Out of surgery. GREAT day. They saved the tendon so he might have feeling in the bottom of his foot.

Update #2

I am sure we have all been on pins and needles ... Randy is still in surgery. He is doing well. They got the cancer out with a clear margin around the cancer (GREAT NEWS - No amputation!) They are now putting in the new bone, plates and screws. It should be another hour or hour and a half. Thank you God! She asked that you keep praying for him though.

Update #1

Just got a call from Lenette - This is it! He got all his ports put in and he had his "Happy Juice" and he was just taken back to surgery. She said he was funny and happy (probably due to the "happy juice") and he was ready to go back and get this taken care of. They have all had an emotional morning. Keep praying for them all. Today is a beautiful day to GET RID OF THE CANCER!!!

New Schedule

Not much change, but the Bultena's must arrive at 8 AM at the hospital and the surgery will start about 11 AM. Lenette said she will let me know how the surgery is going on about every 2 hours or so. So, keep watching the blog. I will get it up as soon as I can.

Randy was able to go to Robbie's Varsity Baseball game rooting on the West Salem Titans. They won by one run. Robbie got to play 2nd base and hit some good balls. Randy looked good and chatted with many people. Rachel was busy entertaining all the little kids (including my 3 boys). Rick and Lenette looked good as well. I know tomorrow will be a hard day for them, so please keep them in your prayers.

Pre-Surgery

I was able to stop by for a minute yesterday and see Randy and his sister Rachel. The rest of the family was at Robbie's baseball game. Randy hopes to make it to the game today if he is feeling up to it, and the weather isn't too bad. He said he was feeling good and he looked good, too. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he goes into surgery tomorrow morning. The arrive for pre-surgery about 7:30 AM and they are thinking around 9:30 to go into surgery. It should be a 4 - 5 hour sugery, then a few hours in recovery. The plan is to stay at OHSU for about a week for recovery and rehab. Lenette will update me when she can, and I will get the info on here so everyone can know.

Happy 18th Birthday Randy

On Friday, April 10th, Randy came home to a great surprise ...

An 18th Surprise Birthday Party!

He says he was quite surprised, and that it was the best party ever. A bunch of his friends came over for a "Superman" party for the super guy that he is. The party was complete with 2 cakes, lots of food, music, laughter, and fun. I am sure he will remember this day for years to come.

Big Meeting, Surgery, Fundraisers and Birthday

I will start with the Birthday. Randy's 18th birthday is on THIS Friday (April 10th). Surgery is NEXT Thursday (April 16th). If you would like to send a card or a note of encouragement his way, his address is:
Randy Bultena
1979 Mikkelobe Pl. NW
Salem, OR 97304

Meeting and Surgery - Randy had a choice between an amputation below his knee or to take the tumor out, and fuse the ankle to his Fibula bone with 12 cm of a cadaver bone. He chose to have the tumor out and fuse the ankle. This choice will cause complications, most likely to limit his movement to only side to side, but will be able to walk on uneven surfaces, loss of feeling in the bottom of his foot, loss of a vein and tendon. He will most likely have a skin graft on his thigh, which I guess is very painful as it heals. This is all depending on what they find in the surgery. They need to get the tumor out, and have a clean margin around the tumor. If there is more complications during the surgery, they will choose to amputate his leg - knee down. They could even go for that choice later on after the surgery, if things were not going well for him.

It should be a 4-5 hour surgery, which is long and complicated. With pre and post surgery, it should be about 6-8 hours. They are doing it at OHSU and now that he is turning 18, he will be treated like an adult. No more babying him at Doernbecher. When they need to do something with him, they will wake him up, and do it. At Doernbecher, they come back later when he was not sleeping. They can be strict with him, but his mommy can still baby him :)

After the surgery, things keep going. They will take the tumor to pathology and see how chemo affected it. He should spend about a week in recovery, then 2 weeks healing at home. Then it is back to chemo. The healing from surgery will be slowed because of chemo and will probably be about 1 year. He is also planning of going to the Prom on April 25th with a black cast to match his tux - how cool is that?

He is feeling ok right now. Earlier in the week he was fighting a fever for a few days. They found out is was a few ingrown toenails. He is on antibiotics to fight that infection and want to keep him clear until surgery. He does have some mouth sores which make it hard to eat. He needs to gain some weight. So, whenever he feels like eating anything, his family gets him whatever he wants - tonight is was a pepperoni pizza from Walery's.

His CT and bone scan showed no other cancer in his body. They did have a scare though, when they looked at the scan, Rick saw a bright spot on his chest, usually caused by the liquid they put in him to check for masses. They had to re-check the scan, but the doctors called today and confirmed that it was just a spill of the liquid on the outside of his chest and it only showed up on the front scan and not the back. So, his lungs and other bones are clear - GOOD!!!

Now fundraisers: Not sure if I have all the info, but I will try:

Friday, May 15th -
Northwest Kids Club off Hawthorn in Salem
Benefit Concert (11 bands appearing)
5:00-11:30 pm
BBQ,beverages a night full of music and more

Will post more as I find out more.

Saturday, July 18th

FUNDRAISER car wash at

West Coast Bank West Salem

for Randy and Lisa

T-Shirt orders

$10

Shirts are shown in other post

Sizes - YouthS, YouthM, YouthL

S, M, L, XL, XXL

Contact Mariah @ 503-361-7899

Test Results to come, Still Fever

Randy was still fighting a fever yesterday, but as of last night is was going down a little. They did get to have the bone scan, meet with the oncologist and test his Methotrexate levels. What Randy said was not very specific, so I will hopefully have more info later. He said "The appointment was fine, Nothing major. All scans are good!" Today is the appointment with the surgeon to discuss the upcoming surgery. I know they are looking to see if the cancer has spread, and to check for shrinkage on the tumor. I am SURE there is more.

Also, more fundraisers to come - exciting stuff. Cancer treatment is expensive, so anyway you can help out, please do!

Tests, Scans, and Fever - Oh My!

Randy may be home, but there is always something going on. Last night he had a fever 100.4 - normally, we would not think too much of that for a healthy person, just take some ibuprofen and go to bed. But they have to watch it carefully. I believe Lenette told me that 100.5 means that he has to go back up the hospital. He was able to fight it off last night. His counts are high, so that is good news. He DID have to go to the hospital today for a bone scan and meet with his oncologist and test his Methotrexate levels (sorry I don't know what that is), maybe Randy or Lenette could explain it for us. Tomorrow is the meeting with the surgeon. I hope to be able to post GREAT NEWS from the meeting. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Home Again

Randy got to head home this morning! What a beautiful day to go home.

Rock on Randy T-Shirts

These shirts rock!

I hope to have some order info up here soon. They are black with gold lettering on the front - "Rock On Randy", on the back - a drawing on Randy's guitar and a quote "Upon us all, a little rain must fall." A few of Randy's friends came up to hang out with him this weekend. You can see they are having a lot of fun with the plastic food in the children's area. Randy was hoping to come home tonight, but his counts were .31 - where he needed a .30 to go home. I am sure that is a bummer, but tomorrow is a new day. I heard there is another day of sun in the forcast. Hopefully it brightens his spirits. Big week ahead of him.

Feeling OK at the hospital and a new fundraiser

Randy started chemo yesterday again. Along with tests and scans yesterday and today. He was not feeling very well yesterday and most of today, but he is feeling OK now. Glad to hear from him as I am sure everyday is a challenge. They will get the results of his scans and tests in a meeting next Wednesday.

On another note - a new fundraiser -- from Randy's dentist:

Professional Upper/Lower Teeth Whitening!

$220.00!

All proceeds go to Randy Bultena

Starts Now!

Call Oak Park Family Dental 503 588-9700