April 18, 2007

Today is day+76. Barbara and I went to the beach for a couple of days. We went to Seaside and I was able to walk the promenade. We also went to the outlet mall and walked some more. I am pretty jazzed that I could walk so much and I’m not suffering because of it today.

We went into the clinic today and found out that I am being transferred from the BMT (bone marrow transplant) team and back to my doctor at OHSU. This means that I’m out of the acute stage of the healing process and going into the chronic (long term) part. I will get lab work done once a week but only see the doctor every 2-3 weeks.

I finally feel like I’ve turned the corner and am gaining some stamina. My white cell, red cell, platelet, and neutrophil counts are much better. They are still not perfect, but getting better. My chemistries, such as potassium, magnesium, electrolytes, liver function, etc. are doing great too. One of the best things is that my protein level actually is improving. They are doing a special albumin test which is a better indicator of where my protein reserve level really is.

The thing that will make the most improvement now is for me to get off the prednisone. It is still tearing down my major muscles. Also, even though my ANC (absolute neutrophil count) is high enough to be out in crowds, like church, the prednisone suppresses my immune system so I can’t be in crowd yet. A couple of weeks ago my prednisone level was raised as a precaution against GvHD because my stomach was acting up. They are slowly lowering it each week. I can’t wait till its zero.

Within a couple of weeks I’ll have my first bone marrow biopsy since the transplant. The biopsy will give the best indication of what’s going on with the transplant. It is also going to tell us if there is any indication of leukemia left in the marrow. I’m of course a little anxious because of the possibility of finding some leukemia.

Thank you all for your support and prayers.