My husband has been fighting a rare condition, AL amyloidosis, for fourteen years. Over these years, he has received many different treatments, some of which worked to reduce the bad light chains, but only for a short while. His oncologists, both at Stanford and Kaiser, recommended Teclistamab for the next treatment. It has been our habit to research each new drug so that we will be able to understand and know what to expect.

While the doctors did advise us that hospitalization would be necessary due to CRS, we did not realize the danger until we looked it up and found that a CRS reaction could possibly result in death. So, he came to Kaiser Vallejo with a high amount of anxiety and fear of having a reaction to the treatment, since it was considered experimental for his specific condition, and that it would kill him. His oncology nurse, Eugene Butler, was nothing short of a miracle worker in how he was able to put my husband at ease.

You have no idea how big an accomplishment that was. My husband arrived at the hospital believing he would not survive, that he would not be heard, and that his experience would not be understood. Eugene disarmed his fears by explaining everything he was doing, what the medications were, and patiently explaining the effect they might have on him, which overall made us both feel confident about the treatment. We were impressed by how knowledgeable he was about my husband's disease. We have found that not many professionals or laypeople know anything about amyloidosis. But, most of all, it was his kindness, sensitivity, and sense of humor that encouraged my husband to eat, to smile and laugh, to walk, and bring him from a place of fear to optimism. Eugene cares. He just does. Every single visit, every single time, he brought an atmosphere of can-do that was so much appreciated.