May 26, 2010 5:55 PM

I couldn't be happier!

Those aren't my words, those are the words of my doctor as part of his response when I asked him about the chances that the disease could come back. No he wasn't being happy about the prospect of its return, he was extremely pleased about how things have gone up to now. He said that if he had it to do all over again, he wouldn't change a thing - commenting that so many others have had to return to the hospital at one time or another.

Again, he stated that the little bit of graft vs host disease that I have further diminishes the likelihood of the diseases return. Thus, he has me maintaining my medications for the time being. Believe me, that's no real problem as far as Im'm concerned even though I look forward to their ultimately going away.

At this point, my blood has been confirmed to be 100% that of my donor's which is where it should be and my counts are exactly where they should be as well. All along there have been no real problems and that remains the situation today. So much so, that my next visit is now scheduled for THREE months away - at the end of August.

Of course, he still wishes to wait until the end of the second year after the transplant to be a little more confident in his feelings but he feels that the chance for a relapse is slim.

Is the journey over? No! Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Yes!

It looks like we're going to win this battle!

I thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support...

Bob