December 15, 2008 12:05 PM

Well, it's been an interesting few days. The ice storm wreaked havoc here at home and we were without electricity from 1 AM on Friday until 11 PM Friday night. However, when it came on at 11, it only stayed until on until about 5 AM and went off until 9 AM when it came on for good. We were without cable until 3 PM on Sunday so we had no phone, no TV, and no internet access until then.

The biggest casualty of the weekend was the bone marrow drive at Hampshire Hills scheduled for Saturday. Because of the storm damage - downed trees, downed wires, bloced roads, no electricity to hundreds of thousands of people - it had to be postponed until Saturday, January 17, 2009. Wow! What happened to 2008?

The major problem with the power going out early Friday morning was that we had to be at the hospital at 7 AM. So after the power went out, we slept fitfully until 4:45 when we got up and made ready for the ride to Boston while the storm was still going on. The trip was not the easiest of rides as it was pouring rain at times and trees were down close to the highway - some even blocking a lane here and there. But, fortunately, traffic was not too heavy at that hour and we arrived in plenty of time. Of course, when we finally saw the doctor she said that we really shouldn't have jeopardized ourselves by making the trip. Again, she doesn't know us too well - unless there was a blizzard, we were going to be there!

Now for the news of the visit. Great news! Monday's bone marrow biopsy results showed NO evidence of the leukemia and my blood counts further confirmed that finding. However, the big concern is to keep me in that state. So, the doctor said that when I came in on Tuesday to talk with the bone marrow specialist, I would be admitted once again for 5 days to undergo the 2 and 5 chemo regimen. This is a reduced version of the 3 and 7 that I initially had. Since I am already cancer free, there is no reason to keep me in the hospital beyond the 5 days to see what the results of the chemo would be. This means that when I do get home all my counts will be very low and my resistance to infection will be the same. So I will not be able to venture out for a couple of weeks. Thus, Christmas day will be spent here at home. I'm not complaining, mind you, because it is certainly far better that spending it in the hospital. I will then be required to go to the hospital twice a week after that to have my blood counts checked. As to the duration of my time at home, and what's next, we'll have to defer to what the doctor says on Tuesday. Again, a pain in the neck, because you cannot plan anything!

It was also explained to me, because of the risks that go along with it, that I would be having a reduced level of bone marrow transplant because of my age. Is this another example of a senior citizen discount?

Since Friday, it has been confirmed that I will actually be admitted on Wednesday which means that I will most likely be discharged on Monday. Still in time to be home for Christmas.

A little off subject here. But on Friday, without any power, we ate out for lunch and dinner and then tried to find an open movie theater to while away the evening. So we ended up seeing "The Day the Earth Stood Still" since it was the next movie to play. What a dog!!!! But it did accomplish what we wanted.

So we are fortunate in many ways. Medically, things are going as well as they can be. And, we are completely up and running here at home. So many people are still without power and have been told that it will still be days before it is restored.

Once again - life is good.

Bob