A True Oregonian

Richard Lavely was born on March 15, 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska, a middle child of a Methodist pastor. Even though he was born in Omaha, he was a true Oregonian. His early years were spent in North Portland followed by high school in Grants Pass. After attending Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, he settled on a career as an auto mechanic, owning his own service station in Portland at the age of 28. It was in the automotive service industry that he met his wife Becky, when she brought her car in for service. Rick, in characteristic style, seized the opportunity to ask her out on a date.

In 1975 they married in Portland, Oregon and raised two daughters, Victoria and Emily, in the midst of a large network of friends and family. In 1994 he moved his family to Manteca, CA to work for the Triad Corporation and Trend Technologies, eventually owning his own tire franchise.

Richard, or more commonly “Rick,” was known among his friends and family as a consistently positive person with a competitive spirit and a true zest for life. He believed in giving back to the community, using his business to promote an annual “Coats for Kids” drive.

Rick was also an active sportsman. He participated in many sports, including cycling and golf. One of his greatest joys was participating in the Seattle to Portland Bike Race for two years. Another annual highlight was “Wood Weekend,” where he and three dear friends would spend three days in a cabin on Mount Hood in Oregon, chopping wood and playing card games beside a roaring fire.

He first became sick in 2005. During his illness, his family and friends supported him by forming “Team Rick,” with t-shirts, blogs, and updates to cheer him on. Rick did not disappoint. After a bone marrow transplant in February 2008, he fought his way back to health. He again started riding his bike and was able to play golf with his father. In addition he traveled across the country to visit family and friends.

Rick passed away at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center Feb 5, 2009, surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife Rebecca, children Victoria and Sean McCollum of Baltimore, Maryland, and Emily Lavely of Modesto, California, parents William and Doris Lavely of Portland, Oregon, siblings Diane Lavely of Palm Springs, California, Steve Lavely of Eureka, Montana, Linda Kildow of Portland, nieces Allison Lee, Charlotte Heller, Trista Kildow, and Saribeth Lavely, nephews Christopher Lee and Kyle Kildow, as well as the many members of Team Rick.

Memorial Services will be held on April 10th in Portland, Oregon. His ashes will be scattered in private ceremonies on Mt. Hood, in Oregon and Lanikai Beach, Hawaii later this year.

Contributions in his memory may be made to:

UCSF Volunteer Program 505 Parnasus Avenue, Box 0208 San Francisco, CA 94143-0208
OR
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 4604 Roseville Road, Suite 100 North Highlands, CA 95660

Wrapped in love and fighting like hell

Family and Friends,

Our life has been a whirlwind since Rick entered UCSF Jan 13th. Please forgive the lack of correspondence from this end. He back in ICU...3 rd time in 3 weeks... on full oxygen nose and mask he struggles to maintain appropriate O2 levels. His lungs show signs of infection and fluid. They are not sure why this has happened, but it has. We are hoping that he responds to the multitude of new medications in the next 24 hours. They are attacking it from all angles. There is no “new news” to report....but the good news is he did not worsen last night. It wouldn't be inappropriate to say that Rick is struggling right now. We too, struggle as we watch him work hard to get through this ordeal. Sean arrived from the east coast Thursday night and Tori is coming in tonight. We look forward to having our family together. Please continue to keep us all in your thoughts. You messages have brought more comfort than you know and many tears of love as well. We make sure that all are shared with Rick and he has been moved by the outpouring of love. We also appreciate your calls and text messages, please understand that we do not always have the energy to respond. Know that we also keep you in our thoughts as it uplifts our energy and spirits to enable us to embrace each day. Without a doubt this has been the most challenging of our experiences this last few years. We love you all...please keep your arms around us.

Beck, Emily, Tori and Sean

Musical Beds

Greetings,

Monday afternoon, Risk was transferred into ICU. THIS IS ONLY A PRECUATION! PLEASE DON’T PANIC! His oxygen levels were below normal and unsteady, and the doctors felt that this was the best place as the ICU has higher O2 capabilities than 11 Long, and so that he could be monitored more closely. The Hospitalist on 11 Long stated “that we are generally more aggressive with our approach up here, I think that the ICU is where he needs to be right now”. They continue to monitor his lungs for signs of fluid and/or pneumonia, he has been retaining fluids, for which he is receiving medication. As of yesterday (Tues.) he is off one pain medication, but remains on 2 other heavy pain meds to help control and fight the bladder issues. He has been more lucid and was able to watch the inauguration. Beck asked for Champagne with lunch on Tuesday to celebrate the swearing in of the new President, sadly none arrived. Occupational and Physical therapy are attempting to work with him. We expect that he will remain in ICU for awhile longer, we are not sure how long. Beck’s assessment from her visit the other day, is that he is a ‘low-level’ ICU patient compared to others in the unit. What we learn, and re-learn, is that things with Rick can change, be it good or bad, on a dime and with no warning.

As always, the hospital messages are a bright spot in the day. He loves hearing from you (he is now on the 13th floor ICU). Thank you for your continued love and support. We will keep you updated as we have more information.


Love,
Rick, Beck, Emily, Tori & Sean

P.S. A random picture for your to Enjoy. It's Kennedy Medows in Northern California May 2008. Enjoy!

Slow Movin

Greetings,

Today is day 6 of the hospital stay...nothing seems to be short and sweet. Test results came back this morning showing the viral form of the Cyto Meglo Virus (it comes in Bacterial, Fungal, and Viral), which is being treated by a VERY HEAVY antibiotic that is considered a low-dose chemo. He continues to battle with the bladder issues, for which he is receiving an opium based based drug for pain that they hope will alleviate some of the issues. Additionally they are flushing his system with IV saline. At this point, there is no marked improvement in his overall state. He has in the last 2 days, with Mom at his side, taken a brief walk around the floor, but that is very labor intensive and knocks him out. And he continues to have little appetite. Also this weekend, he was moved to a private room (he had been sharing one) due to his compromised immune system.

The weather has been lovely in The City for the last week of so. Michael and I were able to take a nice walk this week while Dad was having his Broncoscopy, and Mom hopes to get over to Golden Gate Park for a little mental uplift for her on one of her next visits. And the continues sunshine provides some pretty amazing views from the solarium. So there is a little bit of joy amidst all the confusion and frustration.

He has been receiving the hospital link messages, and bring a smile to all of our faces. Again more joy and sunshine amidst everything. So keep 'em comin! The link is below in case you haven't saved it to your favorites :o) We would request that you refrain from contacting him even on his cell phone at this time. He continues to be in a great deal of pain. As always we are so thankful and blessed for your continued love, friendship, and well wishes.

Much Love,
Beck, Rick, Emily, Tori & Sean

https://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/contact/patient.html (11 Long is the room/floor#)

P.S. Also, we are so sorry not to have any pictures to add, this is of great concern for Mom who wants to make sure everything looks nice! We have some pictures, but they aren't related to anything having to do with anything, so we opted not to insert random pictures, we hope that's OK.

Survey Says...

Greetings from 11 Long...

Today is day 3 of Dad’s most recent stint. So far, to be totally honest, no one seems to know what’s going on. Yesterday (Wed) was not a good day by all accounts. The best overall description that I can give is that he just wasn’t (and isn’t) feeling well. He is in pain all over, the mouth sores are still present, there are some bladder issues that are inconvenient at best and I don’t think that it’s been ‘at best’ recently. Mom was in yesterday and said that there was a whole lot going on, and then a whole lot of nothing.

The heads of departments for Pulmonary, Urology, and Infectious Diseases have were all in to see him. The consensus at this time, is to treat the symptoms. Not necessarily the normal course of action, but at this stage there seems to be so many different things going on it’s difficult to find the source of the problem. And in most things with transplant patients, they are intricately connected and are often precarious.

With that said, his lung scan showed some ‘sketchiness’ that they believe to be pneumonia, but NOT related to GVHD. His kidney numbers continue to be good, and his liver numbers are ‘ok’. At this point it is being monitored, but they are not cause for concern. He has tested positive for Cyto Meglo Virsu (CMV), which is common in transplant patients, and can explain many of the symptoms that have recently presented.

Today, he had a bronchoscopy to have a look at the ‘sketchiness’ in the lungs. They expect to have some results back later tonight or in the morning, but will also be sending it out for more detailed tests. Again, they do NOT think it is GVH in the lungs, but rather a virus due to the CMV. We are all thankful that they caught the it early before it had the chance to become an issue.

Some GOOD news, is that after consulting with the clinic, they have decided the increased level of prednisone have not had marked decreases in the overall appearance of the rash (which IS GVH), so they have decreased the prednisone from 100mg to 60mg.

So that is the news, as it were, from the hospital. He seems to be feeling a little bit better, and more coherent now from when we arrived at lunch time today. We will keep you updated as information surfaces. As always, thank you for your love, support, and hospital link messages!

Much Love,
Emily (With Mom, Dad, Tori & Sean)

P.S. There is also a blog post that Dad wrote around the Holidays that, for some reason, was never posted. I have posted it now, and you shoudl find it below this one. Thanks :o)

Season’s Greetings to All

What a year! For those who are counting, Dec. 31, 2008 will be day 315 since my transplant. There have been several set-backs including returns to the hospital, and at this writing I am suffering from graft vs. host disease that has caused mouth sores, gut problems and a nasty rash over most of my torso. But at this writing I am in better condition than others I know who are also recovering. I am able to eat anything I want, and I can leave the house (with my mask), we even traveled to Baltimore for Tori am Sean’s “Blessing of the wedding", and to Portland to see my aging parents, so you see I feel I have my liberty.

We had a wonderful Christmas around here. Sumptuous meals, terrific company; Emily, Michael and his mom were here Christmas Eve. The others spent the night here. Christmas Day we opened gifts, stopped to make and eat breakfast (Thanks Emily and Michael), then we finished the gifts around noon. The kids stayed until 2PM at which time I took a nap and Beck puttered around. A great day by any measure.

I’m also thankful for the hope I have for the future. Despite political and economical upheaval, unemployment numbers that boggle the mind, I believe we have the right guy at the top, and he has surrounded himself with the right people. I expect there will be lots of volunteers emerge to help with whatever. I sense the hope in others too.

So as my journey to wellness continues, I continue to work at my physical therapy, support others as I can and encourage you to contact the American Red Cross and talk to them about the ease of becoming a Blood Stem Cell Donor. It’s not the horror story it once was, and you may save a life. That’s a Random Act of Kindness that will never be forgotten.

In closing, a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Dinner

Michael and Emily Christmas Eve

PS: Click on any picture to enlarge

Happy Thanksgiving

All,
A year ago today, I went to UCSF for a routine clinic visit and ended up in the hospital. In the days that followed, I underwent too many tests to mention, then my first chemo. In the months that followed I discovered friends I didn’t realize I had. And the amount of love and support was nothing short of miraculous.

Since then, I have recovered to the point that I have to remember that I’m still years from well. My stamina has returned as well as my mobility. I am actively involved in physical therapy and I continue to improve. I have begun to play golf (infrequently) and am riding the heck out of stationary bikes. I have learned a lot about the fragility of life and am amazed at the people I know who are affected with similar life threatening diseases. All of this has taught me to appreciate the small things like sitting in the shade on a gorgeous day or dinner and a movie. Many such things are still outside the scope of my recovery, but I am constantly reminded of those less fortunate than I. At this writing, my only real discomfort is the return of mouth sores, but they are very manageable (just say no to hard crust bread!).

Today is day 277 since the transplant and we wonder if this is as good as it gets. Personally I expect it to improve. Currently I am down to 10mg of steroids. Any future reduction of immunosuppressant s will be watched very carefully as my sister’s marrow continues to learn that I am not the enemy. That process likely will take years, but I remain hopeful.

Although we have traveled a very rough rode in the last year, many are still traveling that road. Every day I am thankful for where I am and hopeful that others will recover completely. This Thanksgiving, please keep a good thought for all those less fortunate than we are. We hope your holiday is full of cheer and good will. Love to you all.

Me with two of my dearest friends doing what we love to do.