On Our Way

We are now one week from transplant, two weeks from the first high dose chemo. I wish I could say the ride has been uneventful, but not so. I'm told that the chemo is out of the system in 12 hours or less, but its effects continue for weeks. Like spraying weeds--the weeds don't die instantly, but wilt away over a few days. In this case the myeloma cells have been hit hard with the killer chemo and will take a few weeks, at the very least, to die off. So as the cells die I continue to be exhausted, my GI tract is a mess, and my appetite is gone. I've dropped 25 pounds since coming to Arkansas---an amazing feat in the land of the deep fat fryer!!

The last couple of days we've been dealing with an unidentified inflammation that's shown up in my blood work. Other than one night of fever, no other real symptoms, but that hasn't stopped them from going into high gear--because my immune system is wiped out. So we spend many hours at the clinic getting infusions of more antibiotics than I can remember, fluids, potassium, magnesium, platelets and blood. Can't take any chances given my lack of an immune system. All that being said, I am encouraged by how I feel. Being 2 weeks from the start of chemo and coming into day 7 of my transplant feel good. Despite the ups and downs, so far, so good.

And the Governor's letters continue to come in: the current list includes North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Kentucky, Montana, Virginia, New Hampshire, and the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. Most of the notes are handwritten and express encouragement in my battle with myeloma. John Sadwith claims this idea was a 4 a.m. inspiration of his. I will say that it is fun to get the mail every day and see which governor has written to me today. Thanks John.

But our greatest joy is not the notes from the Governors, but rather the constant support we feel from all of you. Not a day goes by that we don't receive cards, gift baskets, emails, or some other reminder that you are here with us. We continue to be so grateful.
Love
Dan