A QUICK UPDATE

Hi,

Just wanted to say hello and give you all the latest, though there's not much to tell, which is a good thing. Bob started his out patient chemo on Monday. It consists of a series of 7 injections(actually 14, since they have to give 2 injections each day as it is a large quantity of serum to inject into the fatty tissue)and they have used Bobs arms, one leg and his abdomen so far. The sites are a little sore and we're told may get knotty and sorer. He hasn't had any nausea or vomiting which of course are always possible side effects, but his appetite isn't quite what it used to be. The biggest complication that will probably occur will be a lowering of his counts, most likely in the next 2 weeks. We're pretty sure Bob will need platelet and packed cell transfusions then. His platelets are only 20,000 to begin w/(normal is closer to 150,000), but his hgb is pretty stable at 11.4 Of course when the white count drops he will be under house arrest, although except for traveling to Dr. Zipins' office in Chalfont(20 mins away) for the drug every morning, Bob hasn't really been out since last Friday. He has been plagued(in Biblical proportions) by a terrible head cold. His poor nose is raw and red, and he's unable to take decongestants as they really cause a lot of side effects in him, especially since he's anemic. But he hasn't had a fever, and the congestion hasn't traveled anywhere else,(as I knock on this wooden desk), so I'm grateful for that. So based on all the ah choos, followed closely by a string of expletives, I can tell you Bob has not been his most chipper, cheery self. I think the nose has been less active today though, so hopefully he has turned the corner on this bug. So that is pretty much it. It will just be a waiting game once the injections are done. We'll keep an eye on his counts(still done 2x a week) and another bone marrow biopsy will be repeated sometime in Jan/Feb. If the leukemia is back down to 20% or less than, the stem cell transplant can take place. So that is what we are praying for.

Although Bob hasn't felt up to posting on here, he does appreciate your blogs, and sends his thanks for your continued prayers and support. He says if there are any patients of his out there, he'd love to hear from you. I have a feeling a lot of you read this, but may feel strange about writing. Bob loves his patients so much. I swear every time we've been out to breakfast or at the bank or post office he runs into somebody. Just yesterday in Dr. Z's office he was chatting away w/ a patient he ran into about "the good ol days". So drop him a line.

As usual, I want to thank everybody for the constant love and support we are so privileged to receive. Please continue remembering us in your prayers. I also wanted to shout out a big thank you to that sneaky Joe and Stella K. who paid for our breakfast at the Koffee Korner. As Bob said to the waitress...you just can't trust anyone over eighty. Gotta go make dinner...I'll be back when there's more news.

All our love,
Bob and Mo