Holiday Break

Everything went well in the meeting with the doctor this week.  The trip home had some snowy roads, but overall wasn't that bad.  Clancy has a 7-week break at home before going back for the second transplant in January. He hopes to work as much as he can tolerate during the break doing administrative duties.  There's always plenty to do at the end of the year.

This blog probably won't be updated as frequently as in the past during the break.  You really aren't interested in what was eaten at Thanksgiving or how Christmas shopping is going are you?  Enjoy the holidays and be sure to put a smile on a kid's face as often as you can.  Thanks for your prayers.

Looking Up

Things are looking up. Clancy has an appointment with the doctor on Monday afternoon to review his progress and test results.  He hopes to be headed home this week.  The time at home will include more chemo and maintenance drugs.  Hence some of the side effects, but not as intense.  The main goal is recuperation and getting back his stamina.  He will like that a lot.

It will be nice to be home through the holidays.  The second stem cell transplant is tentatively scheduled for mid-January.

The Misery of Waiting

Thanks to everyone who's been following along.  This can be a lonely experience and your support is huge in keeping spirits high.

The period between stem cell transplant and engraftment normally takes 10-14 days.  The excitement of last week's transplant soon turned to anticipation of positive indicators.  Along with the waiting, came a strong dose of "chemo brain" and overall feeling miserable.  Intense nausea, dizziness, confusion, irritability, fatigue and body aches had to be dealt with.  The chemo drugs ended yesterday, but their effects will stay in the system to torment a few days longer.

Some positives did come in the form of lab analysis.  Clancy's Free Kappa Light Chain counts have dropped significantly during treatment.  The hated M-Spike protein is gone and a small amount of Bence Jones still exists.  This means the flawed plasma cells are being eliminated and healthy cells are taking over.

The staff says Clancy should start to feel better by Friday.  He sure hopes so.  There's too much out there to enjoy.  He prefers to reserve staring out the window all day for when he's at work.

Stem Cell Transplant

The transplant occurred yesterday and now the waiting begins. With caregiver extraordinaire, Laura, nearby  it was a little creepy seeing elevated bags of chilled fluid flowing stem cells into your system that were collected and frozen a few weeks ago.  This is supposed to give Clancy a fresh start on fighting the cancer.  He's still on chemo that's working to kill off more cancer cells.  The next 10 days will be quite miserable as the drugs do their thing (side effects) and his body accepts the immature cells.  He's feeling disoriented, nauseated, crummy, tired, dizzy, achy at times and just not very good at all. Hopefully, these days will be quickly forgotten as his health improves.

Hope springs eternal and better days are ahead.