Maybe I should change the blog title!
After yesterday's posting, I guess that I am probably not walking with leukemia. But, even when I was, I was determined to not let it get me down. Now, I guess that I should be walking on air. Maybe that's a more up-to-date title to use -"One Man's Walk On Air"! I suppose that I should really feel that way and to some extent I do because I know that I can never take my life for granted anymore.
I was talking to someone after choir rehearsal tonight and we got to talking about how events in our lives can either change the path in our lives of simply be a hurdle that we must overcome on the current path that we are on. As I begin to look back on all of this, this whole journey has done a little of both. It has just been a hurdle in the sense that I can now do all the things that I did before but it has changed the path as well as I try to seek out how I am supposed to best use this experience to help others. I have committed myself to a couple of activites directed to this purpose but I feel that I have not really helped others who are suffering from this disease as much as I would like to think that I could. Who knows? As "they" say, you never really know what effect you words and/or actions have on other people.
My daughter tells me that I now have a new follower from South Africa who is looking for a bone marrow donor. It's just so hard for me to think that this blog has become so international. I have no idea who all of my followers are but I am very grateful for your support and I can only hope that in some cases my words and thoughts have provided you with support as well. I cannot speak from experience for they immediately located a donor for me, but I feel that I would have been very anxious at this point if the search continued to drag on and on. I can only pray that one is located soon so that the next step in the process can begin and the prospect of being cured comes into the picture. They can only go so far with chemo and, with some, that is enough.
We went to grandparents day for one of my granddaughters. There we met with her grandparents on her mother's side for the first time since I was diagnosed. It was somewhat emotional as they lost a daughter to leukemia 20 years ago. Graft vs host disease was the culprit. They were so happy to see that I was doing so well and I think that it was a little cathartic for them to better adjust to the loss that they suffered. It's just not right to lose a child!
They don't continue to grieve over it, but you can never forget what happened because you always think of what could have been!
And to think, when I sat down here tonight, I had no idea what I would write about...
Bob
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
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
May 25, 2010 9:55 PM
Still battling the cold!
Gotta get up at 5 AM tomorrow so I intend to hit the sack a little early tonight so that I can fight the best battle that I can against this cold.
Otherwise, a great day. I sat outside all afternoon in the warm weather and it felt good. Of course, our company came later on and we had a good time chatting, eating, and drinking.
Not much else for today. Tomorrow will provide the latest snapshot and I'm hoping that it's a pretty picture. I don't expect otherwise. But, who knows?
I'll give you the results tomorrow night...
Bob
Gotta get up at 5 AM tomorrow so I intend to hit the sack a little early tonight so that I can fight the best battle that I can against this cold.
Otherwise, a great day. I sat outside all afternoon in the warm weather and it felt good. Of course, our company came later on and we had a good time chatting, eating, and drinking.
Not much else for today. Tomorrow will provide the latest snapshot and I'm hoping that it's a pretty picture. I don't expect otherwise. But, who knows?
I'll give you the results tomorrow night...
Bob
May 24, 2010 10:20 PM
Been wrestling with somewhat of a cold!
It's been lodged in my throat and chest and it made singing at church yesterday morning a real challenge especially since the bass part was rather high. A Russian chant would have been perfect - but I don't pick 'em, I only try to sing 'em.
This whole thing kind of started on Friday. But when it localized itself to just my throat, I thought that it could just be allergies. That doesn't appear to be thecase. It's interesting, colds no longer take the journey through my body that they did before all this started. It used to sore throat, then the nasal passages, and finally the chest. Now it seems to just hang around in the chest area.
Presently, I'm still breathing fine. It helps that on Wednesday, I have an appointment with my doctor. So we'll take it from there.
Yesterday was really a down day, we just went to a movie at night - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Nice movie, but all in Swedish. So we spent the evening reading. Supposedly they're going to make an English version in two years with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and a few other big name stars. If they do, I hope that they don't ruin it.
Today, I just wrapped up a small project and have the garage looming on the horizon. I'll wait until the cold disappears and then start to tackle that one. The warm weather that I need is finally here. In fact, tomorrow should get close to 90 - that's certainly warm enough for me.
So, tomorrow we have company, Wednesday night we go out with friends, Thursday is choir(maybe!), and Friday we go out with other friends. For the Memorial Day weekend, we have been invited to my sister-in-law's place on the lake. So, I guess the next 7 days have been fully accounte for - that's the life style that we've always had - and it's great!
O, my grandson called tonight to tell us that he got his first hit of the baseball season. It's been a few games now, but he has walked a lot - good eye, that lad!!!
Enough for tonight, tomorrow is a easy day in preparation for our 5 AM rise time on Wednsday.
I just take them one day at a time...
Bob
It's been lodged in my throat and chest and it made singing at church yesterday morning a real challenge especially since the bass part was rather high. A Russian chant would have been perfect - but I don't pick 'em, I only try to sing 'em.
This whole thing kind of started on Friday. But when it localized itself to just my throat, I thought that it could just be allergies. That doesn't appear to be thecase. It's interesting, colds no longer take the journey through my body that they did before all this started. It used to sore throat, then the nasal passages, and finally the chest. Now it seems to just hang around in the chest area.
Presently, I'm still breathing fine. It helps that on Wednesday, I have an appointment with my doctor. So we'll take it from there.
Yesterday was really a down day, we just went to a movie at night - "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Nice movie, but all in Swedish. So we spent the evening reading. Supposedly they're going to make an English version in two years with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and a few other big name stars. If they do, I hope that they don't ruin it.
Today, I just wrapped up a small project and have the garage looming on the horizon. I'll wait until the cold disappears and then start to tackle that one. The warm weather that I need is finally here. In fact, tomorrow should get close to 90 - that's certainly warm enough for me.
So, tomorrow we have company, Wednesday night we go out with friends, Thursday is choir(maybe!), and Friday we go out with other friends. For the Memorial Day weekend, we have been invited to my sister-in-law's place on the lake. So, I guess the next 7 days have been fully accounte for - that's the life style that we've always had - and it's great!
O, my grandson called tonight to tell us that he got his first hit of the baseball season. It's been a few games now, but he has walked a lot - good eye, that lad!!!
Enough for tonight, tomorrow is a easy day in preparation for our 5 AM rise time on Wednsday.
I just take them one day at a time...
Bob
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