Fighting Mantle Cell Lymphoma(All Posts)

Another warm, sunny day. Hard to believe it's almost December!

Good day, did the Vanko in the office again.

PET/CT Scan tonight, no eating after 12 noon!

Good day, feel completely normal. Good day at work.

I've been taking my vanko while at work in the am. It takes an hour and a half to drip, so doing it at home when I have 8:15am conf calls just doesn't work out, so I bring my pole, bag of vanko, and associated stuff to the office, close the door, and do my thing.

Slept at Mom and Dad's again last night - thanks! Got up early and headed off to Hackensack for a blood draw (CBC's, Culture, Vank levels, the works). CBC's were good, Platelets are at 43, coming back. All the rest are fine. Want to get the culture results so I know if the line can stay in or not.

Went to work right after, and hooked up my Vankomycine. Did some conf calls, and it was a pretty good day!

I'll be heading home and sleeping home tonight. Chris is doing better, and I really miss being there! Mom and Dad's is great, but there's no place like home!

Made a Dr. appt for Thursday to get checked for an allergy to pennicillin. I'd like to be able to get that for the next neutropenic fever (which will happen in January).

This week I have a PET/CT scan on Wed, Allergist on Thurs, and Dr. Goy follow-up on Friday for the results of the PET/CT scan.

Good to be home! Stayed at Mom and Dad's at night, as Chris and Emily are a bit ill, but I went home about mid-day and we put up a Christmas tree (artificial) in the kitchen, put lights on, decorated, etc. John and I did some "fixin'" of some of his toys (dead batteries) - always a good time in the basement shop. Had dinner together, hung out a bit, and then headed back to Mom and Dad's. Hung out with Alex and watched some family videos that I had copied from 8mm tape to DVD. Good stuff.... Did a bit of work and packed it in.

Great night's sleep last night - the 10mg Ambien may have had something to do with that! ; )

Feel good, fever has been under 101 for a while - 99's, and one 100.1 last night when playing scrabble, so it looks good for release today. Just need to get all the Dr. signoffs.... WBC's are 8.something, so they're nice. Not sure of the other numbers yet. Want to see the PLT's jump up a bit, but they were coming along. Platelets were still low (19), but I looked at the log, and they take a while to come back, and then they tend to come back strong.

I'll be back here in just over a week for the next round, so I'd like to get out and spend some time at home! I'll be wearing a mask at home, as Chris is still under the weather with a bug, and Em's got a little something, so caution there.

Temp has stayed down, and I got the go ahead for discharge around 4:30. Disconnect, new caps and dressing, flush, and get dressed for home! Alex and Dad are heading up to pick me up, stuck in Thanksgiving weekend traffic, so it'll take a little bit.

Stopped by to see Steve, and his Mom and Dad were there too. He's making an incredible recovery from the pneumonia, etc. I'm sure I'll get to see him during one of the next few sessions!

Did not sleep well last night. Woke up around 2:30am, and tossed and turned for the rest of the night. They stop giving out ambiens at 2am, so that was out of the question. Temp was 102 when they took my vitals at 5am. Not sure where that came from, my temp had been good (under 101, and really in the 99's) before that. Maybe it just broke....

Dr. Goy stopped in this am, and he wants me to stay one more day due to the 102. The cultures were still positive, so he still hopes the vanko can kill them in the hickman, but if not, the hickman will have to come out. If I get more fevers, he wants cultures drawn. He also wants me to come to his office on Monday to get blood drawn for counts and cultures. So close, but yet......

My WBC's are 3.7 - so they made a huge jump up. All the Nuepogen helped, along with the fact that it's now day 10 post chemo, and that's when you're supposed to start back upward. I started to get some bone pain yesterday - in the knees and hips - normal stuff towards the end of the Neupogen cycle for me. Platelets are at 19, coming up, so that's good.

I feel fine, decent energy, etc - great looking day out - blue sky, etc. Chris said it's in the 20's though, and there was a really strong wind yesterday that blew some of our stuff around! Chris is stil under the weather, and will hopefully be turning the corner on hers (and not prove positive for mono!). Tonight's the local town Christmas parade, and the kids should get to go see that.

Alex and Kristine stopped by tonight, we played Othello, and Scrabble. I beat Kristine at Othello, and she kicked Alex and I in Scabble (Luis, don't ask, it wasn't even close! - she opened with all seven letters.). Thanks for the visit guys, very nice. (Alex has become quite a fan of the hospital's grilled cheeze sandwiches.)

Looking forward to going home tomorrow - barring any weird fevers.

Did not sleep well last night. Woke up around 2:30am, and tossed and turned for the rest of the night. They stop giving out ambiens at 2am, so that was out of the question. Temp was 102 when they took my vitals at 5am. Not sure where that came from, my temp had been good (under 101, and really in the 99's) before that. Maybe it just broke....

Dr. Goy stopped in this am, and he wants me to stay one more day due to the 102. The cultures were still positive, so he still hopes the vanko can kill them in the hickman, but if not, the hickman will have to come out. If I get more fevers, he wants cultures drawn. He also wants me to come to his office on Monday to get blood drawn for counts and cultures. So close, but yet......

My WBC's are 3.7 - so they made a huge jump up. All the Nuepogen helped, along with the fact that it's now day 10 post chemo, and that's when you're supposed to start back upward. I started to get some bone pain yesterday - in the knees and hips - normal stuff towards the end of the Neupogen cycle for me.

I feel fine, decent energy, etc - great looking day out - blue sky, etc. Chris said it's in the 20's though, and there was a really strong wind yesterday that blew some of our stuff around! Chris is stil under the weather, and will hopefully be turning the corner on hers (and not prove positive for mono!). Tonight's the local town Christmas parade, and the kids should get to go see that.

Our most sincere wishes to everyone that's looking at this for a Very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! Lot's to be thannkful for. If you've not read it, I'd encourage you to read Steven Meyer's write-up that I've posted on the Personal Note Tab titled 'Note from an MCL'er' http://fightingmcl.com/index.php?blog=11. I'm sure you can apply it to many things in life, and it certainly puts things in perspective.

Medical
Counts are still low - Platelets were 5 this am. So, 2 more pints of blood, and 2 more units of Platelets. I've not kept close count, but that has to be either 10 or 12 units of red I've gotten over the entire course. Goy stopped in this am and said, the chemo gets to the bone marrow, and that's what it's doing, impacting my bodies ability to make blood cells - temporarily. And it does seem to have a cumulative effect, which we expected. I had a tough time with the 2nd B cycle, but bounced back relatively quickly, this one's taking a bit longer. To be expected...

The kids both made great Thanksgiving projects that Alex brought up last night. Emily made a really cool looking turkey that's hard to describe, but all the nurses have complimented it; and John made the traditional hand turkey - and it looks really cool! Both are proudly displayed on my window sill!

Alex and Mom came by with great eats for me - turkey, stuffing, sweat potatoes, pumpkin pie, some apple thing, all excellent!! It wasn't the same as being at home, but it sure tasted good!

They left, I watched a movie and went to sleep early...

Slept better last night, so I'm very happy about that!

Medical
Saw Dr. Goy this am, and my WBC's are still .2, HGB 6 something, PLT at 11. Goy really wants to get me home for Turkey day, but he also doesn't want me to have to come back here by way of the ER. The ER route usually means about 20 hours of moving from a general ER booth, to a private room, to some other room, etc - and then to the 5th floor - hopefully. So, it's smarter to stay here if my counts are low, and they are. However, they could turn (upwards) and he'd be happy to let me go. He'll be making rounds tomorrow, so if I'm good, he'll get me out. My temperature seems to be down, more in the 99 range than the 102 it's been.

Goy has me on Neupogen, which is normal, and he's giving me another shot that's got a similar use (raise the WBC count), and Mary (nurse) just told me he prescribed 2 Neupogen shots for me today! So he's really trying to get my WBC count up! Gotta love him.

I'm getting 2 units of Platelets today, as well as 2 pints of blood. He's trying to boost me up on all fronts so that if I can go tomorrow, I'm all set! At the least, he doesn't want me to have to deal with the blood pressure cuff on all the time during Thanksgiving. You have to have your BP monitored every 15 minutes while getting blood - and it keeps you tethered for the most part. You can walk around with one pole with the pumps and bags of stuff, but 2 poles is more than I can manuever!

Just saw the infectious disease dr. They drew blood for a culture this am, and if that's negative, that's good. if it's positive, the hickman may have to come out, as the bacteria would still be active in the catheter, and that's not good.

Overall a really good day, a Joisey boy turned country bumpkin named Vinny stopped by for a visit - great to see him and catch up! He hasn't picked up a twang yet, but I'm waiting. My brother came up at night with some steak and keilbasa (sp?) that we had cooked up at home earlier in the week - and Chris packaged it up with some baked potatoes and veggies, so we feasted on that. Amazing, Alex wasn't hungry, but managed to devour his portion in no time flat.... Watched some Seinfeld, and re-watched a movie called the Princess Bride. Neat movie - lighthearted, but really cool. Fred Savage, Peter Falk, Billy Crystal, Andre the Giant, and those aren't the main characters - interesting cast. Famous line - 'My name is Enigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die' with a heavy Spanish accent.

Interesting hospital fact - they have a decent menu, but there are specials every night (which I knew, and ask about), but they also have specials at lunch! (Hey, if you're stuck in a room for 4-5 days, little things make you happy - and we all know, meals are one of the key highlights of the day - right Andy?) They also have things like Gatorade to drink - that's not on menu. Bottom line - ask... They apparently do try to be a bit more flexible for our floor (5), and 8 (stem cell transplants), as we tend to have longer stays.

Had a so-so night sleep. I was running a fever around 102 last night, so they'd wake me for tylenol, various checks and drugs, and... I'll catch a nap today.

Medical
The antibiotics I'm on are Vankomycin and Azactam. I need to get tested to see if I'm allergic to Penicillin, as the doc would rather give that than the 2 other ones. Apparently, Penicillin is a better broad spectrum antibiotic, and does a good job on this kind of infection. (I had a reaction to Penicillin when I was a child.)

WBC count is still .2. HGB went up to 7.2 (2 pints of blood yesterday). Saw Dr. Goy and Phyllis (Nurse Practitioner), and Goy will try to get me home for Thanksgiving - so long as my WBC counts are up. If they're too low, I'll just end up back here... There is an infection, some strep.. or staph... thing that they'll treat with Vankomycine (I'm allergic to Penicillin), and that should clear it up. The infection is in the Hickman, and in my body, so it needs to be knocked out of the Hickman - which should happen with the delivery of the antibiotics through the Hickman. Otherwise the Hickman has to come out - and I don't want that, not with 2 treatments to go.

fwiw, Phyllis was not as optimistic about release date, she said the WBC's usually come up around day 15-17 (counting from the start of chemo), and that would put me at day 12 right now, and 15 w/b Friday. However, I'm still getting Neupogen, and Goy was going to bump up my dose I think. It'll be what it is....

Medical:
Feel fine this am, a little beat, so it could be the effect of the temp I had last night. I should also note that after the B cycle specifically, I tend to get a bit of a nosebleed. Not running blood, but when I blow my nose, there's usually light blood in the tissue. I talked to the Doc about it after the first time, and he wasn't concerned. I've looked online and it is one of the other side effects of Methotrexate. Again, it's just when I blow, so it's not a big deal - more reference for anyone else that experiences it - but check with your Dr. as always.

Going to work from home today. I have some meetings I have to dial into, but I'll need to get blood drawn, and I may run a temp in the afternoon, so I'm better off being here.

Chris said it last night, this fever, then one more (cycle 8 - if I get one then too!), I can deal with that.

Went to the Dr's, numbers were low, WBC .2, HGB 6.8, PLT 20, so in to the hospital - a private room on the 5th floor - nice.... Getting some blood, some platelets, and some more blood, and then some antibiotic. Hope to be healed up by Thanksgiving.....

Saw my buddy Steve - a fellow MCL'er that I met on my first day of treatment. He's recovering from a battle with pneumonia, that had him in ICU for 8 days. He looks great, sounds great, and has his usual energy - so you'd never know he was hurting recently! Got to see his Mom and Dad (Murray and Barbara) as well, and they're just great people - really nice family.

Another great day outsdide. We're waiting for Emily to come home to hear all the news about camping!

I feel good, just a little winded after doing stairs, etc - so I'll bet blood taken tomorrow, and I'll have results on Tuesday, but it'll be good to see what the trend is this time. Probably take it again on Wed, as Thursday's Thanksgiving.

I'm still not exercising, taking it ez on the back, which is about 95% better, I just don't want to do anything stupid to it. It was way too sore last time!

Emily came home and had a great time, and we all played in the basement for a while with Pirates!

Medical:
I took an hour nap at some point - again, trying to keep healthy. Went to my parents for dinner, and after dinner someone felt me head and that led to a temp taking, and it was 99. Need to watch... Before going to bed I was a bit chilly, after getting in bed and warmed up, took the temp, 100.8 (subsequent temps were the same or 100.9). Called the doc, he said I was reaching that point again - 5 days out - where the numbers s/b dropping. So long as I wasn't shaking, which would mean an infection that I wouldn't be able to kick on my own (I'm still taking Cipro, etcc - so I'm on antibiotics already), I could take a Tylenol, and call the doc in the am to see what he wants to do. Most likely blood tests to check levels and maybe a culture. Probably have to go to Hackensack to get those developed quickly, or maybe at the Hamilton center, not sure. Got good sleep overnight, got up a few times and checked the temp, was usually at 98.8 or 98.6 - so it came down. I expect it'll go up again on Monday - that's the usual pattern. Avoiding the hospital w/b nice though!

Beautiful day out! Alex came over and helped us clean up for the season - re-arrange the stuff in the shed, put some firewood up by the porch, store the table, etc - MANY THNANKS! (I'm stil trying to take it ez on my back, and I'm not supposed to expose myself to too much bacteria, etc.)

Emily went on a Girl Scout camping trip, her first one without Mom, and we got a call from her at night - where she sounded like she was having a great time! (They're in cabins with heat and electricity, so it wasn't that cold....)

We watched 'Iron Giant', a 1999 Disney/Pixar type movie that was really neat - great story/message, and John is HUGE into it.

Feel good, energy level is good. Took a nap during the day for about 45 minutes to try to stay on top of things.

Went to see the Dr. today. Good stuff - he's happy with results. My blood counts are good (for post B Cycle). I'll get a PET/CAT next week, as the last one (after the 4th round) still had some 'shmutz' on it. Endo/Colon and Bone Marrow are clean, so it's just the PET/CAT that we need clean now. We talked about follow up PET/CAT scans every 3-4 months after treatment ends in Dec - that'll be great! (We'll do another PET/CAT after the 8th treatment as well.) This was record time for the Dr. appt btw, only in the waiting room about 10 min b4 blood draw, and then about 5 min after that got to see the doc - amazing.

So we're pretty pshyched. Hopefully after the next PET/CAT it'll show complete remission. Aside from that, I feel good, and again, hope not to go into Neutropenic fever this time.

Pete and Lisa watched the kids while we were out. Chris and Pete cleaned up leaves in the am, then Pete and Lisa did more in the PM, and then Pete did the lawn, finishing just after dark fell! MANY THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP!! I can't wait to get back to doing that stuff...

Another good day - even if it is 30 degrees colder than it was yesterday! (Mid November, go figure.)

Need to keep taking the mouthwash to make sure the mouth sores don't appear. It's baking soda and water, but helps to keep the mouth from getting mucositis (sp?), which can be brought on after chemo as your mouth can't fight the basic bacteria that's there. The baking soda helps to neutralize it I suppose.

Feel good - still a little bit of funk, but not bad, getting good work done.

Glad to have slept in my own bed last night, and to be back home!

Feel good, just the usual day after chemo funk. Heard that I sounded a bit out of it on 2 conf calls in the am, but I felt fine, may have just been a bit groggy.

Not too hungry, but eating well enough. Put on too much weight. A lot of it seems to be fluids - still drop about 8-10lbs overnight. The 'B' cycle is the one you really need to drink a lot with to flush out the methotrexate. Not exercising has hurt, but the back is getting better, so once that's back to normal, I'll be back on the bike. Taking a muscle relaxant for the back, and using the heat pads still. No pain killers needed.

Highlites of the day - parent teacher conference, classroom observation, and a PTO meeting at night (with some work inbetween!). It's good to get back into the swing of things.

Ironically, was wiped out at night, but took a while to fall asleep - hate when that happens!

Last chemo finished up around 4pm (Ara-C), so now it's just monitoring Methotrexate levels to make sure I can leave today. ETA is noon-ish, but that may be optimistic. It never seems to go that smoothly. And I need to work out a ride home!

Feel good, on conf calls all am. Another good night's sleep!

Talked to the doc about the timing of Neupogen, and general 'B' cycle effects. (The 'B' cycle is harder on me, and I may end up with Neutropenic fever - where your white blood cells (WBC) are too low to fight bacteria that normally live in your body, and you get a fever.) He said there's really nothing you can do to prevent it, and getting the Neupogen a bit earlier (24 hours after chemo as opposed to 48 hours after) will probably not help. It seems it's a matter of your body being beaten down by the chemo, and there's not much you can do about it. If it's gonna go low, it's gonna go low. You obviously don't want to stress it, but.... I had previously gone with the idea that I'm going to end up in the hospital with the fever - since I did after the second 'B' cycle, and the first one saw me with a mild fever, but I've recently taken a more defiant attitude and I'm determined NOT to end up with the fever! (Mind over matter? whatever, I'll do what I can!)

Great night's sleep. Feeling good, back is feeling better.

Chris came up and let me beat her at 'Spit' the card game! She's too good to me...

Good day, did some work, etc.

Aunt Joan and Uncle Jim came up and hung out for a while (thanks!), and I went to bed around 9pm, was beat!

Counts look good, actually going up - seems to be due to the steroids. Looks like I should get out on Tues, my Methotrexate level is at .18, it needs to be under .1 for release.

Great night's sleep. No back pain to wake me up. It's still there if I move the wrong way, but feels much better. I'm on a muscle relaxer (Flexoril - ap?, 3x per day) that I started on Wed pm, took all day Thurs, then only took one on Friday (due to checking into the hospital, and having them check out the meds), and I took all 3 yesterday. I can't take an anti-inflamatory, as you can't have anything that thins the blood while on chemo. Regardless, good night's sleep! just woke up at 4am for the blood draw, and then at 5 for vitals and weight check.

Doing some good reading (trade rags, bike magazines, medical stuff), and on the pc of course. A laptop is essential for these stays. Even if it is connected via dial-up, it's a wonderful thing to have. FWIW, I don't even turn on the TV when I'm here. Just watch the occassional DVD.

Chris and the kids came up, we had lunch in the lounge, and then spent some time outside - great weather! Great to see the kids, and of course Chris - a little quality time like that goes a long way!

They left, and about an hour later Alex, Mom, & Dad came up. Everyone looked well, and they even brought a care package - pecan pie and ice cream! So we had some of that, and I got a slice for dessert later! Good stuff. Another great visit. They left and I nodded off for a bit - after some pre-med I got.

Medical:
- Finished the 24hr Methatrexate around 11:30
- Delayed getting hte Ara-C until after Chris and the kids left so I could go outside. They don't let you off the floor it you're hooked up to chemo. So I got pre-meds for that around 2pm (mostly for anti nausea - apparently Ara-C is known to cuase it.) Got Solumedrol, A..., and....
- then the Ara-C starts for 2 hours, and you get that on a 12 hour cycle for 4 cycles. So it should be (1) Sun 2pm, (2) Mon 2am, (3) Mon 2pm, (4) Tue 2am. They then need to check my levels and get me on Leucovorin to knock the Methotrexate levels down. That determines when I can leave. Hopefully Tuesday evening.

Feel great though!

Saw Pedro leaving today. He just finished up this 2nd cycle, his first 'B'. Looks good! Looks like he did a bit of a haircut, as would follow from the 'A' Cycle, where about 2 weeks after you notice a bit of a thinning taking place, or I did. Best to he and his family!

Woke up around 3am with more back pain, bot more meds, and that seemed to roll into the 4am blood draw, that rolled into the 5am vitals and weight check. I'll nap today...

All looks good, and they hooked up my methotrexate (1st one is a 2 hour dose) around 8:30am, after some pre meds (cortiosteroid and kytril - both IV). They hooked up the next bag of methotrexate (24 hour one) around 10:30am. So that'll run until tomorrow, then the Ara-C starts.

Chris came up and beat me at Scrabble. But she also brought me home-made chili, corn bread, and iced tea - and of course she was here, so I can take the beating at a board game! The kids are coming tomorrow, so that'll be nice - maybe it'll get warm out and we can venture outside - wishful thinking.

All else is well, just doing the PC thing, some reading, and trying to stay off my feet to heal up the back.

Went to bed around 10:30, no back pain - hopefully a good night!

Headed off to HUMed at around 9am, got there at 10am, got to my private room - yes private room - on the 5th floor (just worked out that way). I'm just happy that I got in for chemo - they're still backed up with beds, and sometimes have to push people out for several days.

Got my fluids running, and then they hooked up the Rituxan - that finished around 5pm. Methotrexate starts tomorrow.

Did some mails, etc, then watched a movie. Back started to act up towards the end of the movie. Not sure why, but got a pain killer and that kicked in eventually.

Great day, the kids had off from school, so we went to the beach and took a walk along the water, played on a playground, ate some pizza, and had donuts and coffee (ok, i had coffee), and headed home. It was cool and windy, but just a really nice day, and great to get some fresh ocean air.

Did some stuff at home, and then we watched the Incredibles, the kids love it, and I think Chris and I were pretty glued to it as well (even though we've seen it b4).

A quiet day. Did some work on the PC in the am, got some paperwork done - taking it ez on the back. Ironically, time spent sitting it tougher than standing!

Went to the doc for the back, he thinks it's a strain, the muscles are tight on the lower back, and it seems to involve the psiatic (sp?) nerve as well - shoots down the legs a bit. He said the remedy is being horizontal - so 5 days of chemo should do the trick! Also gave me a script for muscle relaxers and Davocet (sp?) for pain. Did the muscle relaxers, and that seems to help, and I'm using the Therma-Wrap - disposable 8 hour heating pad - helps!

Aside from that, all else is well. We may go to the beach tomorrow, as the kids have off, and that's not too bad on the back!

Back's still sore - made an appt with the family doc to have it checked out, that's tomorrow. Tried one of those disposable heating pads today - gets warm just by taking it out of the foil packet. Has a bunch of 'discs' that get warm. Seemed to help.

Chris and her father put a coat of driveway sealer down today, as I was not allowed to do it. THANKS!!! They also did some leaf blowing, but I got to help there.

Good otherwise - still scheduled to go to the hospital on Friday - if there's a bed available.

Good day, nothing major. Day of vaca, so chores around the house - need to get caught up on some lost weekends!

Another good day. Did get on the bike this am. Only for 20 minutes. Did 157 avrage heart rate for the 20 mins. Want to got back on tomorrow. My legs felt it today! Weight is still almost the same (204 vs 198), but there's definitely been a bit of a shift. Jeans are a bit tighter, not as strong, etc. I haven't been on the bike as much as I had been early on. Part of it is work, part having a fever etc and not wanting to stress that, part laziness I suppose (not getting up early enough). I need to get back on it. Fall usually takes a bit of a toll on training, so that's part of it.

Had family breakfast (great to be home), church, John had a b-day party to go to so Emily and I dropped off Mom and John, and we went to do some shopping and then had lunch at Friendly's, picked up Mom and John, then went home. I went to Home Depot and the auto parts store to pick up some supplies for this week's chores... Dinner and hanning out with John in the evening (Emily and Chris went to a Girl Scout sing-a-long). Stories in bed with the kids, and then relaxing...

What a great weekend....

Delayed entry - busy weekend! Another good day.

Was going to get on the bicycle this am (for a trainging ride), but opted to stay in bed with the family for a great morning of four of us in a queen size bed. You just can't beat that.

Went to an open house for John's nursery school, then to Lamberville to the Flea Market to try to find a toy dealer that's supposed to specialize in McDonalds toys - no luck, but there were some other big events that some of the dealers may have been at. So we stopped in Lambertville to check drive by Joe & Michelle's house - very nice!! They weren't in, but we left a v-mail... Then we ate lunch at the Full Moon. The decision to eat ther was partly based on the fact that they served grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids! Good place though.... Then home for some chores.

Finally we went to Alex's to try out his new chimnea - really cool! It's a steel one that provides 360 degree access to the fire (through a grate). Made smores, had hot chocolate, etc. Great time, and then back home. The kids got to bed too late... I took the bike there (as I went early to help put it together), and it was a bit chilly on the way home. That, and some fog had settled in, and the deer were out, so a very alert ride home. That, and my back's still bothering me, and the bike was NOT the most comfortable. Need to get the back healed up before taking it out for any rides...

A great day!

Delayed entry - busy with work. Another good day. Feel back to normal, but still going to bed early to get lots of sleep. Looking forward to the weekend, and some vacation next week!

Delayed entry - busy with work. Another good day. Feel back to normal, but going to bed early to get lots of sleep.

Delayed entries, busy with work... Good day - back to normal for the most part, just a bit tired at night, so I go to bed early. Must have done something to my back again - it's sore a bit...

Back in the office - and good.

Diwali (Indian feastival of Lights). GREAT home made treats, good to come back on a day like that! Bunch of meetings, catch up with some friends on activites, etc. Felt good all day, just a little tired at the end.

Can't believe it's November already!

I've posted all my CBC counts under 'Background', as I don't know where else to post them. I'll try to keep them updated on a fairly regular basis. You can see there's a downward trend, where the average is getting lower - all to be expected. The next 'B' cycle should test the limits again, and I expect I'll be getting some more blood after it. I've had 8 pints of red so far (6 after the last 'B', and 2 after this past 'A').

There's a fellow MCL'er in Chicago - Cory, that's 39 (1yr my senior), who's body seems to be taking this a bit better than mine. He had some blood after 5, but I don't think he's had as much as me. So - again - results vary by individual. Still - I was on the stationary bike during the last 'A' cycle for 3 of the days - so even though the body needs some help, you can still work it pretty hard!