Since I’m well into my CS50 Computer Science class (fighting the good battle with C), I figured I ought to be able to solve the recurring problem I’ve had on my site of pictures not showing up in posts — an unacceptable situation given that posting pictures was one of my main reasons for creating the site in the first place. So I researched and took steps to correct the problem, […]
I passed another milestone today. Last November, I got a new bicycle from a store in Berkeley to replace the one I’d lost in the fire. (This was courtesy of the remarkable generosity and kindness of my colleagues at Sonoma Clean Power, who collectively contributed to funding the replacement.) At the time I got the bike, my back and left leg were hurting from what I thought was a normal throw-out-my-back […]
A short update on my progress following the stem cell transplant: Today is the 60th day following the transplant, which means that almost all of the restrictions I’ve been living under are lifted. I can eat out anywhere, go to public events (even if they are crowded), go to the gym, and do most things normal healthy people can do (except eat good creamy cheese, like brie — that restriction […]
I apologize for the delay in posting another update on my condition. I tried a number of times, but my brain was so slow that I never managed to finish. Suzie and I met with my doctor at Stanford on Tuesday, and he confirmed again that the bone marrow transplant procedure worked. The transplant “took” and the new bone marrow is producing enough blood cells that most of my blood […]
Yesterday the staff at Stanford confirmed that my transplanted stem cells had engrafted into my bone marrow and were starting to produce new blood cells. The transplant worked. They unhooked me from the infusion bag I’d been attached to for 11 days (a great thing). Our next appointment at Stanford is Friday, and if everything continues on track, at that time they will release us from having to stay in […]
This will be a dull and simple post, because that’s the way my mind is right now, dull and simple. I never imagined I could feel this fatigued. It’s as if every bit of excess energy I ever had has been sucked out of my body, leaving only the small residual necessary to barely function: get up, walk around, eat (a little), shower, go to my Stanford appointments, read, watch […]
It’s a big day today, as I get the second of my large chemo blasts this afternoon. This second chemo agent is called Melphalan, and is the more toxic and side-effect producing of the two. So far I’ve tolerated the first chemo agent fairly well. My biggest complaint today is that my 24/7 friend the mini-infusion pump has blimped me up by adding 10 pounds of water weight, so I’m […]
To start off, I was overwhelmed by all of the kind, loving, encouraging responses to the last post. I love you all and can’t tell you how much your support means to me and Suzie. I’m thinking of suggesting to the Stanford Autologous BMT folks that I be hired (for a sufficient fee of course) to rewrite portions of their patient manual (available here, although I wouldn’t recommend it) to […]
The second phase of my bone marrow/stem cell transplant starts tomorrow, a difficult and challenging four weeks. The second phase consists of big doses of two chemotherapy agents, one on Monday and one on Wednesday, which will entirely kill off my existing bone marrow, and thus eliminate my body’s ability to make blood cells. On Friday, the stem cells that were harvested from my blood 10 days ago will be […]
From 7 to 10 days after a big chemo blast, blood cell counts hit what the doctors call “nadir” — their very lowest points. That happened for me 2 days ago (for my white blood cells, readings of 200, 200, 500, and 900 per uL from 7/7 to 7/10) and yesterday (for my platelets, readings of 30,000, 16,000, 9,000, and 16,000 per uL). These are expected, if scary-dangerous, readings. The […]