Happy Thanksgiving

Great news at the clinic today.  Eric's hematocrit is finally starting to go up!  It is a full point higher than it was last week.  I will soon have a hard time keeping up with Eric on our walks each morning.  Everything else is looking good also.

We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.  It has almost been six months since Eric was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer.  Since then he has had two rounds of low dose chemo, one round of killer chemo, a bone marrow transplant, and now is well on the way to recovery.  We have met so many people with variations of bone marrow cancer who have languished in the medical system.  They have endured many rounds of aggressive chemo, or are still waiting for a donor, or have had setbacks since their bone marrow transplant.  We don't know why we have been so fortunate so far, but we are grateful.

Eric and I are thankful for all the love and support we have received from family and friends.  We have been overwhelmed and humbled by the kindness shown to us.  We are grateful for the prayers offered on our behalf.  I wish there were a way to express how much we love and appreciate each person who has impacted our lives for good, but all I can think to say is, may God bless you.

From Eric:

I echo MaryLynn's expressions of gratitude above.  In this regard, give some thought to the word "awareness."  There is much good going on around us that sustains us from moment to moment -- things such as sufficient energy to undertake the tasks of the day, the ability to consume and digest our food and to draw strength from it, our immune system's immediate response to threats to our health, and the power to read and reason.  I didn't think much on these good things until each was compromised as a result of my illness. 

Now, I am very "aware" of these seemingly simple aspects of daily life.  As my body repairs, I am conscious of positive (and at times negative) changes.  My hope is to remain "aware" of these small things that, as I have learned from experience, have immense consequences.  May none of you attain "awareness" in the manner I have.  Rather, for this Thanksgiving, examine the small things -- be "aware" -- and let the proper measure of gratitude move your heart to acknowledge forces greater than our conscious will that sustain us.  For me, I thank God for his love and "awareness" of me.  Take care and have a happy Thanksgiving. 

Best Day Ever

Sadly, Eric's numbers are all pretty much the same.  But who cares?  We were in the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic for less than an hour!!!  Do you have any idea how huge that is?  We were ecstatic!  If we were the kind of people who sing in the car, we would have been singing the entire way home!

This past week we have seen some great improvements.  Eric's skin tone is great, his legs are not as swollen and stiff, he has been sleeping better at night, and his luxuriant hair is starting to come back!  (Feel free to look up the definition of luxuriant.)

On Saturday, we tried out the route that was our go-to walk most Saturdays before Eric's diagnosis of cancer.  We haven't done it since the beginning of June.  It was a cold, drizzly, windy morning but we completed the almost four mile walk in an hour and fifteen minutes!  That is only ten minutes more than our usual pace if we aren't in a hurry.  Not bad for a guy whose hematocrit is only 26.  Eric didn't even slow down on the hills.  He is quite the guy and I am so proud of him!

From Eric re: typical day -- Eat, walk, shower, read, edit (draft historical materials), eat, clean and annotate (photos), read, eat, watch TV and read.  In between, I occasionally visit with folks by phone or in person .  I am not contagious so feel free to drop by (assuming you are not contagious).  Thanks for all of the support.

"Two steps forward, one step back" is getting old

Eric had his weekly clinic appointment and lab draw yesterday.  The great news is that his hematocrit went up .8, all the way to a still anemic 26.2!  But up is up, and we are really happy because this is the first time since the stem cell transplant that Eric's hematocrit has gone up without a blood transfusion.

Eric's neutrophils and white blood cells are down, but not significantly.  Eric's has a little swelling and stiffening in his ankles and his blood pressure is up a bit so the doctor ordered a diuretic yesterday.  It is nice to add a cheap (it was free!) drug without any major side effects (just taking more bathroom breaks!) to the arsenal of expensive and complicated drugs he is now taking.  I try not to read the multiple pages of side effects that come with each of Eric's drugs. 

No complaints.  Eric is doing great.  We walk at least 50 minutes every morning.  Eric is getting a lot of reading done and is enjoying listening to a variety of music.  He is eating better, gaining some weight, improving muscle tone, and looking good!

Zigs and Zags

We were warned at the outset that cancer takes its own course and that each individual's path is different.  We also were warned that recovery from cancer is never a smooth path, but two steps forward and one step back.  Fortunately for us, Eric's recovery has been uneventful so far.  The doctors only concern today was that Eric's hematocrit is dropping rather than rising.  He is still walking vigorously every morning and moving around well, so they did not give him a transfusion.  But they did draw a lot more blood from him so that they could run additional tests to see why his red blood cells aren't bouncing back.  The most likely culprit is that Eric's A+ blood is competing with Debbie's O+ blood.  We have not heard back from the Bone Marrow Transplant clinic that his additional blood work showed any problems, so we are not too worried.  I can pull up his lab results from their website, but all those lovely numbers don't mean a whole lot to me.  Ignorance is bliss.

Today is Day 70 since the stem cell transplant, so Eric was able to drop his least favorite medicine-an antifungal.  No, he didn't get to pick which pill to drop, he was just lucky that the first pill scheduled to become obsolete was also the one that was the hardest to swallow.  He also gets to go with a lower dose of magnesium, which means it won't take four hours for it to drip into his central line.  If his magnesium levels continue to improve he will eventually graduate to pills and I won't have to hook him up every afternoon.

Thanks for checking the blog.  We are doing well and have a great daily routine.  We appreciate your thoughts and prayers on our behalf.