Christian Harr: teen cancer survivor

By J.R. Wagner

A photo from Christian's CaringBridge page.

I met Christian Harr on Facebook of all places.  I remember exactly where I was when it happened.  I was sitting on the R-5 from 30^th street station in Philadelphia heading home. He posted something on my page that got my attention and the rest, as they say, is history. 

We've been communicating ever since.  I sent him a few books and posters to take to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital when he was having his hips replaced and he was kind enough to snap some pics (pasted throughout).

Christian was also kind enough to share his story with me and allow me to share it with my readers.

I was 16 1/2 years old when I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (A.L.L.). We went to the doctor’s office on January 21st, 2008 because I had blue and purple spots from my ankles up to my neck. I had also had 4 nosebleeds that day, with the longest one lasting 25 minutes. I had blood taken for testing. Roughly 3 hours after leaving the doctors office we got a call from him saying that I had leukemia, but he wasn't exactly sure which kind because there are so many different kinds. I was so petrified and started crying.

We were told that the doctor had already called the hospital and they had a room set up for me. When I got to the hospital they told me that one January 23 I would be taken down to Memphis, Tennessee by ambulance. (to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital) When we were in Memphis, the nurses ran certain tests to find out which kind of cancer I had. Later they told us that I had A.L.L. and that it was the best kind of cancer to have because it's the easiest to treat.

My oncologist said that I had leukemia cells in my spinal fluid and brain fluid so I needed spinal taps with chemotherapy 6 times in 2 1/2 weeks. After I had my fifth spinal tap my right side became paralyzed. I couldn't talk 20 minutes after the paralysis hit me. Immediately my doctor gave me what he called "rescue drugs." They were supposed to hopefully give me all my movements back. I wasn't able to eat anything for a week. I had a speech therapist who came in everyday to help me speak and to help me swallow. Finally after a week I regained my speech and swallowing.

After two weeks my doctor told us that he wanted to give me the final spinal tap. So a week before I received the final spinal tap the nurses gave me the "rescue drugs" for a week, then I got the spinal tap and then I got the "rescue drugs" for a whole week after the spinal tap. I got paralyzed again, but on the left side this time. My left side came back pretty quickly, but my right leg took three months to come back and my right hand took 6 months to come back. Luckily when my left side became paralyzed I didn't lose my ability to speak or swallow. I had to be taken off chemotherapy for a month so I could recover.

In March 2008 I started receiving chemotherapy again. I was doing great with it, but at the end of March I had another reaction. I had anaphylactic shock and I wasn't able to see for about 10 minutes. I was petrified. I kept trying to talk but my voice just kept getting softer and softer to where the nurses couldn't hear what I was saying. Since I wasn't able to see I didn't know what my room looked like. When I woke up in I.C.U. mom told me there were roughly 20 doctors and nurses all working on me trying to get my blood pressure back up. My blood pressure was around 36/62 (normal being 120/80). Roughly 16 hours after being in I.C.U., I was released. That was definitely terrifying to hear everything going on but not being able to see it or say anything.

I had to be taken off chemotherapy once again. The next time, they started giving me certain chemotherapy shots. After the 10th week of shots I was sitting at home on the couch and all of a sudden I grabbed my chest. It didn't really hurt, it just felt really weird. It kept up so mom and dad took me to the hospital. By the time I got there my chest was hurting. Anything I ate or drank my chest would hurt even more. The hospital had no idea what I had. So the hospital called my doctor down in Memphis, Tennessee and he told them that he wanted me to come down right away. 

As soon as I got wheeled into St. Jude Children's Hospital a nurse looked at me and said that she could tell I had pancreatitis. That was the worst pain I've ever felt in my entire life. I wasn't able to eat or drink for 7 weeks. It's not as bad as it sounds. You're hungry for about a week, but after that you just kind of stop thinking about food. One of the worst parts about it though was I had to be inpatient with pancreatitis on my birthday and I couldn't even eat cake. I had a good rest of the year with my chemotherapy until December 9, 2008. This wasn't chemotherapy related, but somehow I got a bacterial infection.

That day I had to have a spinal tap without anesthesia. My blood pressure was running low again. Later that day I was in the medicine room watching a movie with mom and dad. All of a sudden I coughed and fell back onto the table. Dad was trying to keep me on the table while mom ran out of the room yelling for help. I guess a lot of nurses came running in. I really don't remember this one. I know that I coded (went into cardiac arrest) and I had no blood gases left. The nurses had cut my shirt off and almost had to use the defibrillator on me. When I woke up I was in the I.C.U. again. This time I was in there for 4 days, and then got moved to the regular inpatient floor for 3 more days. One of the antibiotics kept lowering my blood pressure, so they had to change what I could take.

The rest of my treatment went pretty smoothly. One of the chemotherapy drugs caused deterioration to my joints and that's called A Vascular Necrosis (A.V.N.). I now have A.V.N. in my left ankle, both knees, left hip, and both shoulders. I had it in both of my hips but I had a core decompression. That consists of taking a drill and drilling into my dead bone to release pressure. I was still in pain. So then I had a partial hip replacement, and that didn't stop my pain.

This year I had a complete hip replacement and I am feeling great now.

During treatment, my escape was a lot with movies. I'm very big into action, sci fi, comedy, and horror. Horror is my favorite genre by far. I'm a huge Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Leprachaun, and Chuckie fan. My sister used to work in a video store, and when they were closing she bought me $86 worth of movies. I love her so much. 

Movie thoughts: Life of Pi

by J.R. Wagner

Previously I wrote a post on my thoughts on the book by Yann Martel. Read it HERE if you're interested.

I was fortunate enough to see the film, directed by the great Ang Lee, last night. Ang Lee, whose breakout film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (great film -watch it) is noted for its stunning visuals and superb acting. 

Life of Pi did not disappoint in either regard.  The visual effects were breathtaking. There were shots where you didn't know where the sky began and the sea ended.

Mr. Lee also used phosphorescence (occurs in nature...but not like this),  to give the sea creatures and characters at nighttime a beautiful almost alien glow.

One of Lee's greatest accomplishments was Richard Parker -the Bengal tiger who rode along in the life boat with young Pi Patel. It was very difficult (not impossible at times) do tell the difference between live action tiger shots and CGI tiger shots.

Richard Parker

Suraj Sharma

For the majority of the film, Pi was played by Suraj Sharma, who did a phenomenal job. I can only imagine this performance will open many doors in his acting career.







Great acting. Check.
Great director. Check.
Great story. Check
Great film. I wouldn't say great and here is why.

Pacing. The film moved too slow. The first part of the book -the lead up to the sinking of the ship, was captivating, well written and did not drag at all.  The first part of the movie, however, was not executed as well. Truthfully, if you are a teenager and got through the first part of the book without skipping ahead, I'd be impressed because while it was well written, the subject matter -the back story, wasn't nearly as interesting as what happens after the ship sinks.




So, do I have a solution? Of course. If you know my writing style, you probably know what I'm going to suggest before you even read the next sentence. Lee should have inter-spliced back story into the main story. With this method, you grab the audience's attention immediately -the ship is sinking, a boy is all alone. How did he get there? Why should we care about him?

Cut to back story. We learn about the zoo. We learn that his father decided to move to Canada etc.
Cut to main story. On the boat, Richard Parker, events unfold. At another opportune moment, we go and fill in more back story.  This way, the action keeps moving, we learn more and more about Pi and understand why he is how he is and does what he does.


Would I recommend this film? Absolutely.

Is it the best film of the year?  No. But it could have been with some creative editing.

Check out the Life of Pi website -it has some super cool stuff on it!

and here is the trailer just in case you haven't seen it yet.

To purchase Exiled, bid on the movie rights, hire me as a writer for the next Blade Runner film, the next Star Wars film, to hire me as a film consultant...for videos, fan art, contests and more, visit my website!

www.TheNeverChronicles.com

In bookstores now

The 10 Worst blog posts

by J.R. Wagner

The year is nearly through and everyone is coming up with lists so, in the spirit of end-of-year lists, I have created my own.

Because I enjoy giving myself a hard time just as much as anyone else, I've decided to list my ten worst blog posts.  The only factor in determining their order is the number of page views. Here we go!

10: On Book Reviews

• Apparently my diatribe about the unimportance of book reviews when it comes to deciding which book one should read did not go over well -that is, only 33 people decided to click on the link (no idea if any of them actually read the post). I honestly thought I would have ruffled more feathers with that one but...statistics speak louder than words. 

 10: Speaking Engagement

• (yes a tie) With such a captivating title, I can't imagine why only 33 people bothered to view the post.  Really it was simply an announcement of a place I would be speaking and therefore should grab the interest of only a local audience...but still, what a crappy title!

9: Desire for the Apocalypse: a Psychological Analysis

• Granted this was simply an announcement stating that a series of posts would be forthcoming but still...it is a cool topic! Apparently only 32 people agreed.

8: Happy Birthday to...me

• Nothing like a morale booster when only 32 readers bother to even click on my birthday post. And in my defense, it was pretty GD funny.  Sheesh.

7: My first book review EVER -Legend by Marie Lu

• I find it hard to believe that only 31 people cared enough to check out my first review -EVER! Or simply the fact that so few people cared to find out more about Marie Lu's new book.  Sure, the review was short (but you wouldn't know until you actually looked at it) and I supposed throwing out the fact that I am an inexperienced book reviewer in the title probably isn't the wisest marketing tool. 

6: What are you entitled to?

•  I'd at least be curious about what I'm entitled to...me and 26 other folks.  Apparently everyone else on the planet already knows what they're entitled to.

5: Time to Celebrate!

• Only 25 people were in a partying mood on that day, it seems.  Who wouldn't want to celebrate?  I don't get it. Everybody loves a party! 

4: How to cope with Death...in writing

• Who doesn't want to read about death? Everyone loves death? If you're a writer, you probably write about death all the time! So why only 25 people found the energy to press the little button on their mouse while hovering over that title escapes me completely.

Now we are down in the dregs of the bottom three.

3: Front Row Lit Exiled and the value of a good publicist

•  I understand the title is confusing. I get it...BUT if you're a writer, a wanna be writer or somewhere in between, wouldn't you be slightly curious about what value a good publicist can provide?  Well, only 22 of you thought it was worth the energy expenditure to find out.

2: Mr. Lee

• I truly wish more people would have set eyes on this true story (only 17 did).  Heart warming. Inspiring. Motivating. Grounding.  The world needs more men like Mr Lee!

1: Book 2 Updates

• Okay...thousands of people have purchased my first book, which must mean at least SOME of you have read it.  I'm asked all the time about book 2. Here I have posted something addressing just that topic and ONLY 16 PEOPLE thought it was worth their time to see what was new with book 2.  Logical? No.

And there you have it. My first end of year list. Hopefully I won't run off and fall into an irrecoverable state of depression.

Music with a message III: Just the Way you Are

by J.R. Wagner

Okay, here is the Third song in my Music with a Message series. Music released in the past five years that has a positive,  uplifting, self esteem boosting theme. 

Song: Just The Way You Are

Artist: Bruno Mars

Album:  Just the Way You Are -Single

Panacea -Chapter 4 (Formerly: Enhancing and destroying memories through nanotechnology...really.)

By J.R. Wagner

Photo from TelicThoughts.com

 If you haven't read parts one, two and three, I highly recommend it. Links below.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

 So there I was playing  chauffeur to this insanely hot high school girl who happened to be the daughter of the man who held one of the worlds greatest powers in his own two hands and all I could think as we were pulling out of the school parking lot was, she's illegal, she's illegal, she's illegal.

We had been together all of thirty seconds and I'd managed to delude myself into believing that not only would this girl find me attractive but, in short order, I would be placed in a situation where I would have to consider the pros and cons of risking a statutory rape charge. Like I said, deluded.

"So...Roland.  Interesting name," she said.

"It is, actually.  My parent's named me after..."

"I need to stop home before we go to my Dad's office, all right?" 

It wasn't a question (even though there is a question mark at the end of the sentence). 

"Your father was very explicit with his instructions. No stops. No detours."

"Well, Roland," she said Roland in that way you say a stupid name when you're a kid.  You know, drag it out -enunciate each syllable. Rol-and. "I doubt Daddy anticipated I'd be beginning my period today so if you don't stop, we are going to have a major problem. Understand?"

I nodded my head like a moron. Why do girls/women always play the period card when they aren't getting what they want.  I'll tack that one up on my board -reason number 467 why women rule the world.

My dad told me once (yeah, good ole Dad).

 Son, I'm going to tell you something and you best remember it for the rest of your life.  

He looked down the hall to make sure my mother was out of earshot.  

Women rule the world.  Don't question it, don't try to understand it, just accept it and keep it in the back of your mind with every action you take and you'll be okay.

Naturally I created a cork board titled. 'Why Women Rule the World' and I'd add things to it as I discovered them. Yes, I'm up to number 467.

I looked over at...damn, I never got her name. 

"I never got your name," I said.

"Tessa," she said not looking up as she furiously typed something into her phone.

"Tessa," I repeated.

"Is there a problem, Rol-and?" she asked, finally looking up at me.

If she wasn't so beautiful, I would have been upset but reason number twelve totally precluded that possibility.  Her pissy attitude seemed to melt off her face and she actually smiled at me causing something to stir inside (reason number one) and I knew we were stopping at her house.

***

After she punched in the code to open the gates (yes, there is a giant black gate at the end of her cobbled driveway) I slowly drove up what had to be a three-quarter mile drive to the front of the house. 

The house, guest house and pool house (seriously -check out the photo. Don't ask where I got it, all will be clear...eventually -if I survive) were surrounded by a stone retaining wall making the giant mansion even more imposing.