Day 62

There's not much going on. I'm just getting over a cold that I was afraid would turn into pneumonia. All I did with it, though, is pass it on to Joan and Melissa - oops. The hair on my head is beginning to grow, I look like a body with a cotton swab for a head. I hope that it's all grown back by Amy's wedding. I meet with Dr. Hellner, my local Oncologist, on the 22nd. At about that time there will be more bloodwork to see how I'm progressing. I'll have a meeting with my friends at Hackensack University around day 100. We'll figure out future treatment at that time. Even though there's no measurable Cancer at this point, I know I'm not cured.

Day 56

Hi Everyone, sorry I haven't posted for so long. I'm in recovery mode at home since my transplant and there hasn't been a lot to report. I began an exercise routine soon after I got home. Needless to say my mind thought my body could do more than it was willing to do. I started on the upright Swinn airdyne bike and thought I could do 20 minutes and suceeded at 5 minutes. Joanie suggested adding 1 minute per day to the routine and now I'm up to 35 minutes plus I've added Melissa's stretch routines back into the mix. Exercise really helps with the recovery process. My labs came back with almost everything in the normal range and no measurable M-Spike which means no measurable cancer. The only crappy thing that has occured is an itchy rash on my face which apparently others who have had a stem cell transplant have experienced. Anyway, it's on my list of things to talk to my oncologist about. We're all excited about Amy and Kevin's wedding in May. I hope I have hair on my bald dome by then.

Day 21

We're home from Hackensack and feeling better every day but still basically tired.. We are very grateful to Barbara Laudi for all of her kind help during our stay. Our next step will be to monitor the cancer through monthly blood work. Hopefully it will show that the transplant was successful. My excercise program begins today, back on the bike and back to Missy's streches. Also back to the organic diet. I hope I get several years before I relapse and that the guys and gals in the research silos come up with a cure. May God pump innovation into their neurons.

Day 15

My counts went up - yea! They're nothing approaching normal but they're getting better. Today should be my last day on antibiotic IV infusion, it has worked very well. I'm still a little swollen but getting better and I may not need a transfusion. Amy and Kevin headed home yesterday, out from under the Blizzard of 2010 but stuck in Dallas on their way to Denver - one step at a time. Rob heads home to Austin this afternoon. I'm hoping we get a release from the hospital to head home to sunny Charlotte very soon. I'm feeling a lot better than I felt on day 7, 8, and 9 and recognize that it will take about 3 months to get back to normal.

Day14

I'm at home since day 11 at Barbara's. They sent me home with a bag of pills to take, including antibiotics for my ecoli bacteria. I went for a check-up yesterday. My arms and ankles are swollen and I have a rash on my chest and back due to an allergic reaction to the oral antibiotic I'm taking. So they switched me to an IV antibiotic and I have to go into the hospital for a 2 hour infusion over 3 days. It already seems to be working better. Also, my numbers went down and not up yesterday, may need a transfusion tomorrow. The doctor said this is a normal occurrence and nothing to worry about. They will go up, just need to keep fighting the fight.

Day 10

Merry Christmas everyone. I just got up and I feel pretty good, maybe today is the day to begin to turn the corner. We'll see what the numbers tell us in a couple of hours. Thank you Lord for seeing us through this, it couldn't have happened without your help.
They identified the bacteria in my blood, it's ecoli and we have it under control. My release date should be tomorrow. They'll give some oral medication and then it's just recovery time over the next couple of months.

Day 9

Merry Christmas eve to one and all. My temperature spiked to 101 overnight, so we're doing more antibiotics and have added blood as well as platelets to the mix because my blood pressure is very low. The blood counts are still way, way down but should start recovering over the next couple of days as my stem cells kick in. Raise a glass of wine to toast you're families, they're the most precious people in the world.
I met with Dr. Weisel and he indicted I have an unidentified bacteria in my bloodstream. If it doesn't resolve, I may have to be on IV antibiotics for the next 10 to 12 days. If they can put a name to it, I may be able to go on oral antibiotics. Here's praying that they figure it out. I have nightmare visions of what Angela,my sister in law,went through.