Ok, so it isn't really Monday, April 14. And I'm a day behind writing my update. We get discharged from Day Hospital and suddenly I can't provide regular updates.
Monday we had the opportunity to meet with our oncologist, Dr. A. It's been a hot minute since we've seen him!
But first we had to stop at floor 2 for labs and then back to floor 4 - Grace Clinic - to wait. (And wait and wait and wait....ugh).
Numbers look good and we said again how thankful we were that Aryel had told us the WBC might dip and slow a little, but that was all part of the process! We were down 3.4 from 3.8 for WBC in the last week and ANC was down 1.73 from 1.86. Not big dips by any means.
Platelets are sky rocketing, as projected and are now at 240, which is in the normal range of 150 - 450. As such, Andy started using his electric toothbrush again and man was he happy! Small wins people, small wins.
Hg increased from 11.6 to 12.3. Potassium, Magnesium, Creatinine, Calcium and Protein all basically holding steady. And weight - weight is holding steady...despite the fact that nothing still sounds good to him, tastes a little off, and he still is in bed by 8....which is before dessert!
Overall, Dr. A is very happy with Andy's initial response. He said he spoke to everyone that treated him and they all agreed it appears successful. We learned it will be 'several months' before we can determine the official response to the transplant, but the current numbers are good and we'll continue to measure the trend.
Dr. A wants to see us one more time next week, but then feels confident we will get about 1 month off until Day +60. Remember how excited we were for a day off? What on EARTH are we going to do with a month off? We have been going to (at least) weekly appointments since October 30. Honestly, there is a part of it that is a little terrifying. Because with each appointment, we've also received lab updates. This will be nearly 30 days without lab updates!
After Day 60...we'll wait until Day 100. In preparation for the Day 100 appointment Andy will have a bone marrow biopsy, PET Scan, etc (I'm not really sure what etc means...it's just what Dr. A said) to really get a better understanding of that initial response and Andy's myeloma. From there, we hope to transition into maintenance phase and normal life for a very, very long time. Sounds good to us, where do we sign up?
Sometimes I feel myself rushing these next days, weeks, months, to get to that Biopsy. I still need to remind myself to live in the now, make plans for the future, take a deep breath, and thank God for what it looks like now.
OH! And Andy got the all clear to start working out again. Obviously, he'll need to take it slow, but he gets to start. Some longer walks, followed by some jogging, and then running! He's so excited to be able to complain about running! (It's what we runners do - we complain when we can't and we complain when we can...it's complicated!)
Other things Dr. A still wants Andy to follow. While Andy has an immune system now, it's very weak and immature. So, if he were to catch a virus or infection, it would take him longer to fight it. And clearly, no trips to TX until we get all our immunizations again! Things like lunch meat and uncooked eggs (even sunny side up) are off limits and any place with large crowds - Dr. A told Andy he could not go to Coachella. Or State Fair...which, he acknowledged, wasn't this weekend anyway (such a jokester!)
I think that's enough of my thoughts and notes from the last appointment! Sorry I rambled! I went into the office after out appointment and Andy finished the day from his home office. That night he took Oliver to soccer (because he can just drop him off and not come in contact with anyone), I went for a run, and Eleanor went to swim. And each minute, each day, we are just slowly falling back into some old routines and it feels oh so good.
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