Benefit Concert & Boutique/Silent Auction Saturday, May 19, 2012

Our wonderful neighbors decided to continue planning the Benefit Concert for Celeste after her passing. They have been working hard to organize the event and collect items for the Boutique sale and Silent Auction. All proceeds will go to Celeste's family for her medical expenses.
We've posted photos so you can take a peek at some of the donated items for sale, most of them handcrafted! The concert is at 4:00 pm and will last approximately one hour. Come early for the Boutique and Auction before the concert starts. The flyer is also available online so it can be forwarded to all who want to participate.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=1jjYBUgnsCkvHWqrEqF72W0nmKWsyrryhydg_EUiKLYh2xn1fYj2z56B0qkKK

Come join us in celebrating Celeste's life!

 

 

Poll Family Bereavement Fund

Some of you have asked about a donation fund for the costs of Celeste's battle with cancer and passing - we cannot express enough how grateful we are for the love and concern you have shown by even asking.  Some of our family friends have graciously set up a bereavement fund for convenient electronic donations via paypal.

Thank you again to everyone who has followed Celeste through this journey, and for all your prayers, love, and support.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7FW44GTKTVNPY

Obituary

Celeste Nichole Poll, age 22, passed away Monday, April 9^th, 2012, in LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City.  Born in the same hospital, April 13^th, 1989, to Robert Vance Poll and Christiane Campbell Poll, she was welcomed with their open arms.  They were by her side again, comforting her, when she left this world.  Celeste was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma last July, and fought a valiant battle to stay with us.  The fifth of nine children, Celeste was the “pivot point” in her family.  She was a positive and calming influence to all who knew her, especially her siblings: Shaleece Oldroyd (Mitchell), Laurissa, Heather, Katrina David (Adam), Nicholas, Christian, Thomas, and Bethany.  A talented pianist, Celeste graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy less than two months before her diagnosis.  We will miss her greatly, and the spirit she brought with her heartfelt music, but we look forward to hearing her song again when we are reunited.

Family and Friends are invited to attend the following services.  Viewing at Jenkins-Soffe, 1007 W. South Jordan Pkwy, Friday April 13^th, 2012 6-8 p.m.  Viewing at the Country Crossing 9^th Ward, 2812 W. 11800 S., Saturday, April 14^th, 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.  Funeral following at 11:00 a.m.

Sweet Goodbyes

Celeste's kidneys and lungs were much worse this morning even though her PEEP was 14. There was nothing more to do. She quietly passed at 11:40.

She will be missed for this short time that we will be apart, but we know that we will be together again, and that she is happy and no longer hurting. We love you so much Celeste!

Easter Sunday

Not much different to report today.  Celeste’s fevers persist.  She is still sedated but a little more alert – blinking now and then, reacting a little more to care.  She gets a bag of platelets every 2 hours.  Her kidneys are worse than yesterday so they are trying to incrementally pull down the ventilator pressure without compromising her oxygen levels.  They have also introduced stool softener in an attempt to move her bowel, not only for comfort but to reduce her abdominal swelling, which is mostly fluid retention.  Her last round of chemo was given just before 5:00 p.m.  The morning x-ray will hopefully give us an indication of whether that will improve her lungs any.  That’s where things really seem to hinge. 

We apologize to those who are anxiously waiting for updates.  It is difficult to balance reporting with interacting with Docs and nurses, caring for Celeste, making decisions etc.  It is very kind for people to be following her progress so closely.

It has been a peaceful day to be in Celeste's presence. We are grateful for the opportunity to contemplate and celebrate the Atonement and Resurrection!

                                                        Celeste's nurse put these flowers on her bed today :)  

                                        

Morning of April 7th

Celeste remains sedated to prevent anxiety (thrashing arms and such).  Each episode destablizes her vital signs for a while.  She's retaining fluid and her belly is a bit more distended than yesterday.  Her oxygen levels have improved and her heart rate is 110 to 115.  This morning's x-ray shows some improvement in her lungs but they are still full of lymphoma cells.  There is no other infection.  The ventilator is set at 90% oxygen and is working hard at 22 PEEP (pressure measurement) with only 3 more points possible.  Her kidneys are experiencing some difficulty because of the high PEEP and they are now walking a tightrope to balance what her lungs need to stay alive and how much her kidneys can take before failing.  She will receive a final dose of chemo tomorrow.  If the chemo does not significantly reduce the lymphoma cells in her lungs, there will not really be anything more left to do than keep her comfortable for as long as she hangs on.  In short, she still has a very small chance of rebounding but there is little reason to believe that will happen.

ICU update

Celeste was placed on the ventilator again last night because she was having such difficulty breathing.  She had seemed pretty good the last couple of days.  We met with the doctors and staff late this morning, they showed us lung xrays showing how the disease has rapidly progressed.  If they took her off the ventilator, she would die within seconds.  They are trying to keep her comfortable and fed through a feeding tube and are still trying chemo but, based on recent experience and the progression of the lymphoma, they don't see her turning around.  They think her body will shut down within the next few days.  All but Christian went to see her tonight, he will come tomorrow.  She was conscious but drugged.  We gave her a blessing of comfort and strength, but we haven't told her any specifics yet.  Thank you for all your love and prayers. 

ICU Again

Celeste had been doing well since starting the new chemotherapy last week.  She had an especially good day yesterday - her family ward Bishop and former Young Women leader visited her, and she spent some time playing her new keyboard that one of her wonderful nurses brought her. 

She woke up at 3 am today in tears from pain in her abdomen and excessive coughing.  Pain medication helped her sleep again until about 8 am,  but she spiked a fever and started coughing uncontrollably.  After routine vitals were taken, her doctors decided to move her back to the ICU because her oxygen levels were too low. 

As soon as Celeste was moved they did an ultrasound on her abdomen, liver and heart - no cause for concern from that.  One of her transplant team doctors came to follow up - they have stopped her chemotherapy until after her breathing and oxygen levels are stable, and they have determined what caused the rapid decline.  The ICU team is working hard to make sure she does not need to be on a ventilator or feeding tube again.  They just finished doing another bronchoscopy, she is resting now. 

Thank you for your love and prayers, Celeste says she can feel them. 

Benefit Concert for Celeste

Hello Everyone, 

Our wonderful neighbors are throwing a Benefit Concert/Boutique for Celeste on Saturday, May 19.  If you'd like to help prepare, or just come the day of the event, that would be great. Thank you to all who are involved in organizing this. We are continually amazed at the service and generosity of those around us  :-)

Click on the link below to see the flyer for details and contact information.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=1jjYBUgnsCkvHWqrEqF72W0nmKWsyrryhydg_EUiKLYh2xn1fYj2z56B0qkKK

Tumor Board Decision

Thank you all for your prayers!  Celeste still has a long way to go, but this morning she was alert, not vomiting or feverish, and even went for a walk around her hospital floor.  She is still struggling to get enough nutrition though, she has little appetite and doesn't like to eat.

Celeste was given chemotherapy all through last night, but her noon treatment today was postponed until the Tumor Board finished meeting.  Update from doctors after discussing Celeste's case again today:

- She will continue to be treated with steroids that have helped in the past to control her symptoms.
- She will be given two new types of chemotherapy that are still in clinical trials, one starting today and the other later this week.  
- Her transplant team is pursuing both a registry donor and umbilical cord blood, whichever lines up best/1st.

The Tumor Board determined that the two new types of chemotherapy they will treat her with is the best option for Celeste's cancer, considering how it has responded to previous treatments.  Since her Lymphoma has never fit into any category for type and treatment, this is the best option we have available.

Cord blood had not previously been discussed as an option because her transplant team thought they had enough time to get a donor, but umbilical cord stem cells have not been coded to a host yet and can be transplanted successfully.

Celeste's doctors are monitoring her closely during the new treatments and working quickly to get her a transplant.  Their goal is to get her Lymphoma at least in a downward trend with chemo before the transplant to give it a good chance of success.  She has faith that she can get through this!

Prayers Tonight Please

Celeste had a CT scan yesterday that showed the lymphoma that was killed by the last treatment grew back.  After spending most of yesterday in the LDS Hospital outpatient Blood/Marrow Clinic for testing, Celeste was sent home with portable oxygen and a home oxygen supplier was sent to the house.  After being home for only a couple of hours, Celeste vomitted all her medication and spiked a fever, she returned to the hospital late last night. 

At about 8:00 tonight, Celeste will be given another round of chemotherapy.  Her doctors are concerned about her cancer cells being immune to treatment, especially when so much chemo has been admistered recently - they told us this has a small chance of success.  Celeste has continued to feel that she needs to fight this cancer and move forward with her life - she feels that she will get through this, but she especially needs your prayers and faith tonight.  Miracles do happen.  Please pray that the chemotherapy treatment will work, and that her transplant team will be able to get one of her matched donors here quickly, it is taking too long. 

Thank you for all of your love and support.  

Going Home!

"After much deliberation, the doctors finally decided to let me go home Saturday afternoon.  I love being home with my family and cats - the only thing I miss from the hospital is eating a popsicle every morning lol. Just as I was leaving my room, several of my music therapy friends came to visit me after the Western Region Music Therapy Conference that was held in Salt Lake that day.  It was so nice to see them, and I'm glad they caught me in time.  The sang me a song, and sent me their love and everyone elses up at school.  I hope to one day be able to sing as well as they do again.  Now there's a good goal!"

"I'm doing much better.  I can walk on my own now, and I'm not attached to an IV pole, which is very nice.  I still struggle a little bit with eating, but I like to believe that I'm getting better in that area daily also.  I am much more alert and talkative than I was when I was in the ICU and immediately after.  I'm sleeping more, which my nurse said is a good thing, because my body is healing."

"I will be returning to the hospital this weekend for one more round of chemotherapy before my transplant.  Hopefully I will only be there for less than a week this time, since I am getting stronger and have no infections to set me back.  The bone marrow team is still looking for an exact donor, but I have more than 90 options, so I am well off.  Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers, they mean a lot to me."

"Here are some pictures of me with my Music Therapy friends on my way out to the car to go home."

Bone Marrow Unit

Celeste has now been in the bone marrow unit for a week.  She is doing better every day, she's even down to only two IVs on her pole and no more oxygen!  She goes on walks daily around the unit with a physical therapist, and yesterday started doing some strengthening exercises as well.  Her voice is stronger, she can speak longer and with more volume, she sang along with Mulan today.  She's also getting ready to start her next big cross stitching project.

Her focus right now is to eat.  We've been coaxing her with favorite foods, and her doctors have started adjusting how much nutrition she gets through her feeding tube to help her have an appetite.  Once they determine she is able to maintain adequate nutrition without the feeding tube, she will probably be able to go home until the next chemo treatment. 

Here are some fun pictures from her walk today and physical therapy.  We are enjoying seeing her smile again!  She wants everyone to know that she is doing better every day, and will make it through this.

                                              "Racing" past the vending machine on her walk.

                                              Balancing exercises with a beatiful window view.

                                                      Fake punching the physical therapist :)

No More ICU!

From Celeste:

"I'm out of the ICU now, back on the 8th floor/bone marrow transplant unit. The worse part of the ICU was the breathing tube. The best part was the nurses! They might be able to let me drink soon. I really want grape juice and some flat cherry coke. My cough is better. My chest xray was good this morning. I love not having fevers!!! I hope I get well enough to do the transplant without complications."

Celeste has been in the bone marrow transplant unit since Thursday afternoon.  She is still struggling with nausea, but it's lessening each day, and her caugh is getting much better.  She has been able to keep her white blood cell count up, and her doctors are pleased with how the chemo levels in her blood have been dropping since she finished this round.

Today we got test results from having Celeste's siblings tested to be her bone marrow transplant donor - sadly, none of them match.  But, we were told that there are over 90 matches on the donor registry.  Celeste's doctors will continue to monitor her blood to determine what, if any other chemo treatments are needed before her final chemo just before the transplant.  Celeste and her family have been so blessed during this trying time by all of your prayers and support, thank you everyone.

She'll make it!

                                                             Moving out of the ICU, yay!

More ICU

Celeste is still in the ICU at LDS Hospital, but she is breathing on her own now, her ventilator tube was removed Monday afternoon.  She remains on oxygen support, but she can rest much better now that the tube is gone.  She had a brief respite Monday before starting chemotherapy again - Tuesday she struggled with nausea and vomiting from the chemo, but she woke up feeling much better this morning. 

This round of chemotherapy is different than what she has had before, it is designed to target the cancer without harming her white blood cells or platelets so her body can continue to fight infection.  The doctors decided to move forward with more chemo sooner than later after determining that her fevers and inflammation were being caused by the cancer, not by the infections she's been fighting.  We were concerned that chemo is a lot to ask of her body right now, but it has already helped, she hasn't had a fever for two days. 

Last night Celeste started talking again - she had a conversation for a few minutes with Dad, and was able to communicate with the Stake Presidency when they came to see her, she asked for a blessing.  This morning she is talking more and her sense of humor is here, she has been teasing her nurse. She has quiet times when she is huddled inside just hanging on, but she can still flash that smile. She is still struggling with nausea, but her feet are less swollen and the pain in her abdomen has subsided, yay!  The next step will be to move her from the ICU to Oncology when she is ready.  Thank you all for your prayers, we can feel and are blessed daily by your support. 

ICU update

The issue that is keeping Celeste in the ICU is her breathing. She remains on the ventilator. She is breathing on her own but continues to require a significant amount of positive pressure (her PEEP is 12) . Her edema is worse. There is enough swelling in her legs and feet now that it is painful to walk on them. Physical therapists get her up to walk twice a day. At midnight her white blood count was 7.3 . They are giving her a bag of platelets right now.... her count was 47 and if it dips below 50 they transfuse.

Her other challenges are more elusive. She continues to spike fevers regularly. She has unexplainable pain and swelling in her abdomen. Yesterday in their attempt to trouble shoot this issue she was taken to nuclear medicine and had a special scan of her gall bladder called a HIDA. It did not confirm the problem they were theorizing could be contributing to her pain. The swelling of her liver and spleen still contribute to her distended belly. They are using her feeding tube for medication only. She is still being supported by IV nutrition.

All in all she is doing much much better and continues to charm all the nurses and supporting staff. Even though she cannot speak she always radiates peace

LDS Hospital - ICU

Celeste was laboring more with her breathing before we made the transport to LDS Hospital. After settling into the Bone Marrow Transplant Pod the doctors ordered a CT scan - didn't like what it showed. Followed it with a bronchoscopy. Following the"bronch" she was critical and unstable and they sent her to the ICU. The following is from Shaleece's facebook page:

Hi Everyone. Thank you all for your comments, prayers, love, and support for Celeste. Here is the latest...

Dad and Mom had a meeting with the staff mid day. This is Dad's report:

- Still in ICU. Calling her critical but stable.
- She has a little edema (water retention/swelling).
- A little fluid at her heart - it has been weakened a little by the chemo.
- She's breathing more comfortably after some adjustments to her ventilator tube and machines.
- Her oxygen is about 30% on ventilator support (down from 100% yesterday. This is good).
- Air pressure is still a little high at 18 (used to keep her lungs more open to receiving the oxygen).
- Due to the bronchoscopy and ventilator, her cough is all but gone. Not the virus, just the cough.
- Her white cell count is now 2.5! Huge improvement from a week ago at .1. Still praying that this number will continue to climb, since only her immune system can kill the respiratory virus.
- Platelets are at 50, which they will now maintain at that # or above through transfusions.
- She's being filled with antibiotics and anti-fungals to kill everything.
- Her nose is not bleeding, just spotting.
- She has a feeding tube that will supplement what she can't intake orally for calorie counts.
- Fever is under control with management.
- She is sleeping a lot, which she has been unable to do with the coughing. The narcotics help take off the edge and help with her sleeping. 
- She looks visibly better than yesterday :-)

All encouraging!

She made it through the night and is feeling very well cared for by her ICU team. Her nurses are amazing :-)

Moving......

Wahoo! Celeste has finally begun to create white blood cells. On Monday her count was .2  Tues morning she was at .4 by afternoon she tested at .6    That is the good news!.
She is still in a very precarious place fighting the battle with her lungs and continuing high fevers. IV nutrition was started Tues. night.
   First thing this morning she will be moved by ambulance to LDS Hospital Bone Marrow Transplant Unit where they can care for her as we continue to make decisions about how quickly she will be ready for a transplant and if there will be any more RICE chemotherapy before then. The decision to use a donor has officially been made and her siblings will be tested first.
   There are many of you who have offered to donate. I do not know all of the cost or criteria for testing. I will post that information as soon as possible. I will also post visiting information. I don't know how they run the transplant unit. Please continue to pray for Celeste - She needs it and is very sustained by her knowledge of so many loved ones praying for her.
  Celeste asked me to share this:
"I say this in my head all the time - Lord grant me courage
                                                           Lord grant me strength
                                                           Lord grant me hope
                                                           Lord grant me faith
                                                           Lord grant me peace
                                                           Lord grant me understanding"
Please Lord - Grant that we may continue to have Celeste stay with us!!!!!!!!!!!!

Human Metapneumovirus

My apologies for not updating for so long. This is where you should be able to quickly check on Celeste. She has been struggling so much it is difficult to write about. After the RICE chemotherapy she remained fever free for about one week. Her platelet counts remain low and she has transfusions for those every other day. Her white blood cell count has been parked at .1 for almost a week.

 On Sunday 2/26 she had a low grade fever that we tried to explain away with sleeping under heavier/warmer blanket. By Monday she was spiking fevers into 103 and 104 degrees. CT scan on Tuesday was taken to make sure there were no pockets of infection lurking somewhere. Good news from the scan is that the tumors are responding to chemo and are shrinking significantly. No signs of infection. Weds night a Bronchoscopy was performed to suck up fluids in her lung and test/culture them. Most of those cultures and tests have not come back. The preliminary finding is that she has the human metapneumovirus (hMPV). In a child we would call it RSV.  Simply put - she has a viral pneumonia. She is suseptible because she is immunosuppressed.

She is on 6 different IV antibiotics, 2 IV antifungals, and oral antiviral. Between transfusions,  antibiotics and maintenance fluid, something is always running into her. All of these things cannot really fight the hMPV. She needs to create white blood cells to do that. Last night they ran a loading dose of IVIG (immuno globulin). It will be given to her every other day for a total of 5 doses. It is hoped this can give her a 'leg up". She also has a daily neupogen shot to stimulate her bone marrow. Today she has rested better and not had as many coughing spells. Coughing causes her to gag and vomit.  Morphine was added today to calm her lungs. It has helped but she is also very groggy. At midnight last night her fever had reached 105 degrees. Because of her wretching she sometimes looses the fever medication and it can't be replaced for a certain amount of time.

Celeste has times when she gets emotionally tired as well as physically exhausted. She is still committed to continue fighting. Robert and Pres. Pike are giving her another blessing tonight. A friend who has also fought cancer visited yesterday and left this poem with her - it expresses what we all feel!
I believe in angels, 
the kind heaven sends.
I am surrounded
by angels, but I call them friends.

Chemo Round #1

After a bone marrow biopsy confirmed that cancer is now in her bones, Celeste started her first round of RICE chemotherapy on Thursday 2/16. RICE is a more aggressive chemo than the RCHOP that she had 6 rounds of last year. RICE is an acronym for 4 medications used over 4 days. On the first day Rituxan is used. For 3 subsequent days Ifex, Cisplatin, and Etoposide are used each day. She finished her last day of this round of  chemotherapy yesterday. She will stay in the hospital and be supported by transfusions and antibiotics until she hits her nadir (low point) and her blood levels start to climb back up. She hasn't had a fever for a few days. That is huge! She continues on 4 IV antibiotics, an antiviral and antifungal. She is still coughing but not as uncontrollably. Oxygen and an inhaler have been the most help.

Today she felt well enough to take a walk around the ninth floor. Her spirits are good. As we sat and looked out a big picture window at the beautiful snow covered mountains she wondered what people do who do not have so many people praying for them. She feels very supported by your prayers. Our whole family feel the strength and blessing of all your love and prayers.

The plan for the future is a second round of RICE chemo and then a 3rd round of chemotherapy in the bone marrow transplant unit at LDS Hospital in preparation for the transplant. We don't really have a time line for that because it will be driven by how fast she recovers between chemo sessions and can be ready for another.

News

Well, the past month has been interesting.  I saw an immunologist, but she still wants to take more tests before she can decide anything.  Also, I have some bad news........I've not been feeling well the past couple of weeks and we all thought I had the flu.  I saw a doctor at Utah Cancer Specialists on Tuesday, and he gave me some antibiotics for all of the fevers that I was having and a blood transfusion cause my hematocrit was low.  That night I woke up twice because my heart was racing and I was really dizzy.  It lasted for a few minutes each time.  Wednesday night, the same thing happened five times.  I had been checking my pulse when these episodes occurred and the highest was 118.  After the 5th time it happened (@ 3:00 am) I called the on-call doctor at UCS and explained the situation. Plus, I was still having fevers.  She told me to go to the ER.  That was Thursday morning.  They admitted me to the hospital (IMC again) and have been running a bunch of tests.  It seems that I have an infection that has been driving my blood counts really low, so they're giving me antibiotics for that.  The really bad news is........I am no longer in remission.  The lymphoma came back and the scan is worse than the one they did last July.  I will have to start chemo again, and maybe on a different regimen than before.  They will also most likely do a bone marrow transplant this time.  I took the news pretty hard at first, but I want you all to know that I'm still fighting and that this isn't going to take before I at least give it a good fight.  I'm really hoping that the bone marrow transplant will help.  Basically all I ask from all of you is what I always ask for: PRAYERS.  I'm gonna need a lot of strength to get through this.  Thank you.

Week 1 to New Hair!

 Alright ya'll, my hair can finally start to grow back!  Every two weeks I will post a picture or two showing my progress!  These pictures are from this last Sunday (8th) when my brother-in-law Mitchell shaved my head one more time.  It was really patchy and thin, so I decided to give it a fresh start :)  Last bald pictures!

Drum Roll Please.....

I'M CANCER FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D I got the results from my pet scan today and it's clean!  No cancer!  Now the trick is to not get cancer again.  I'll try my best! lol.  Thanks for the prayers everyone!

PET Scan

Well, not gonna lie, last week was rough.  Probably the hardest week I've had since August.  I had 4 platelet transfusions, 2 blood transfusions, several fevers, and I started going into anaphylactic shock on New Years Eve from the avacados in some guacamole I ate.  I'm ok, I just could feel my throat starting to close up so I took some liquid benedryl and felt better almost immediately.  I didn't have to go to the doctor or anything.  My doc told me a few years ago that I'm allergic to avacados, but I guess my allergy has just gotten worse.  I'll probably look into getting an epi pen.  Anyway, so last week was rough, but I'm feeling much better now :)

I also had my PET scan on Friday.  I'll get the results tomorrow (Wednesday) hopefully.  I'll definitely post those when I get them.  Everything went well.  Sitting still for 45 min. and then an additional 30 min. kinda stinks though lol.

 I was cold at the transfusion center so my nurse wrapped me up in warm blankets really good :)