What a week . . . oh yeah, and a few doctors visits too

You'll pardon my delay in updating this blog if for no other reason that Saturday evening, June 27 my youngest child, Ashley, was married.   She may be young in years (23), but such a warm personality, loving heart for those around her, and a Christian spirit you don't see too often in the youth of today.   Granted, Dad is not being too objective here, but hey, who is when their baby girl gets married?  

Here's a photo from immediately after the ceremony.

So its been a somewhat hectic week.  

Tuesday the 23rd, I had tests galore down at U of L as well as meeting with Dr. Tse in preparation for a stem cell harvest. By all counts, all the results of those tests were positive and it appears we will proceed with the actual harvesting procedure on Monday, July 6th.

I met with Dr. Zhong on June 26 for our biweekly consult. He's satisfied with the response to the chemotherapy . . . so much so that he's recommending potentially a THIRD round of chemo so as to eliminate most of the cancer and leukemic cells in the bone marrow. But this third round would not begin until sometime mid July, after the stem cell harvest is totally complete. That means 5 more days in the hospital and the subsequent 7-10 days of feeling like %$#%# when I get home.

It's important that my bone marrow have the lowest possible amount of cancer cells when it's time to do the actual transplant. When all this got started, I had close to 80% of my bone marrow occupied by plasma and leukemic cells . . . now, it's less than 4% and hopefully going as close to zero as possible.

The really sad part of this whole damn thing is the fact that Dr. Zhong estimates I have had myeloma growing within me for the last 12-15 months. Nearly a year and a half!!!!    And I did NOT have one symptom that would have clued me in that something was wrong. The only thing that would have been a leading indicator was my anemia level which was at 9.5.  But the only way to find out what that level would have been would be to have done a complete blood test. And who does that anyway when you feel great, exercise regularly and otherwise have no medical issues?? Sometimes, life is simply not logical is it?

I am continuing with daily injections of Lovenox, which is a blood thinner I am on after discovering a small clot in my right forearm . . . but that seems to be working as the tenderness of that area has dissipated, and I don't feel any abnormalities or pain there any longer.  

These last couple weeks and the week ahead I must admit I have felt pretty good . . . no fever, good appetite, walking every day for exercise, and working from home to boot. I even made it out on the river last weekend for a little sun and relaxation.

But the real work lies just ahead as I get ready for this stem cell harvest and the ultimate transplant that will hopefully lead to a period of remission from this treatable, but not curable disease known as multiple myeloma.   

I'd give anything to be at the All England Club this week, enjoying my favorite tournament of any sport whatsoever . . . Wimbledon. But I will have to resign myself to watching the action on TV and remembering the beauty of that place that I had the privilege of seeing in person back in 2010. If you ever get the chance to go, by all means, don't pass it up. It truly is special.

Thank you, as always, for your continued thoughts, emails, cards, phone calls, and prayers on my behalf. Trust me, they are uplifting and powerful and much appreciated.