Pedicure and massage and the dentist

I saw Dr. Ganguly at the clinic yesterday and it was kind of odd. He came into the room, most business like as always. I had to adjust from expecting a happy grin to on with the show. He did finally look up and pause and say "yes this is exciting."

My counts were good. White cells are in the normal range now. Hg is 8.4 and Platelets 68. One liver count (out of 4) is still elevated but no one seems too worried about that.

My appointments have been stretched out to once a week. (I'll be visiting Chicago next week.)

When I finish taking my current prescriptions of Levaquin (anti-sinus infection-biotic) and V-fend (very expensive anti-fungal) I do not have to refill them. I will keep taking Acyclovir (anti-viral) and Dapsone (pneumonia anti-biotic) until June, the one year anniversary of my last transplant. February will mark one year without pneumonia.

They will do a biopsy in March (3 months) unless something indicates one is necessary before that. If the chimerism still shows "no evidence of host cells" we will relax a little bit. The doctors are not taking Revlimid off the options, but they're not sure if or when or how much.

They believe the 2 weeks of Revlimid did the job of conquering the 5q- so that Walt's cells could take over. Isn't that amazing? Revlimid, and other drugs derived from Thalidomide, are working wonders in the world of blood cancers and bone marrow disorders. I will have another biopsy in June at the 1 year mark.

I am still taking a drug for my elevated liver enzymes which is a little bit of graft v. host. My feet tingle and even hurt sometimes, an effect of the chemo which may or may not go away. But I feel very good. Have lots of energy and am working a little bit.

The boy scout troop asked me to deliver the charge to 8 new eagle scouts at the eagle court of honor Sunday. I am honored and excited. I’m going to talk about gratitude and persistence. I think I have those things in common with Eagle Scouts. However, I must find my uniform and see if it fits. I can't remember if I kept those britches that were too tight or if I'll need a new pair. This is the result of putting my life into trash bags in the garage and then restoring it. Nothing ever is the same.

I didn’t get a lot of privileges I was hoping for but I can get my teeth cleaned and have a pedicure and a massage. I have even scheduled a chair massage for Friday morning. I cannot have house plants, pets, or fresh flowers. And I cannot paint a room or hike in the woods. Some of these things will come at the one year mark. Others as the blood count numbers indicate it's safe.

The new photo is from the first day I dressed in work clothes to visit a client. I felt really good. The red sweater vest is one of those things that was in my closet that I didn't remember buying. As you can see I found a use for it.

~Cathi