Phil's Vacation: Day +10

I still have not engrafted, which means my Absolute Neutrophil count has not been at 0.5 or higher for two consecutive days. The nurse I had a bet going on on which day I would engraft and it looks like we are both going to lose. My hope is that today my ANC appears in my blood work. I actually started feeling bone pain (lower back) from the Neupogen shots which I felt to during stem cell collection, but not during my first transplant. I take this as a good sign and every time I feel the pain, I am going to envision fireworks going off in my bones because the Myeloma is dead, the old has gone and the new has some!

So rejoice and be glad in this day with me as we remember how awesome it is to live in a country with so much freedom. I may be the first generation of Brabbs' to not fight in a war going all the way back to my Great Grapa George. So this country, with it's flaws, has come a long long way. Let the bell of Freedom ring.

My Lower half ain't so happy

Yesterday my labs confirmed that I am officially neotropenic...meaning my white blood cell count (WBC) is close to zero. What that means is I get to wear a sweet mask if I go out into public and that I avoid every sick person like the black plague.

It's been months since I have had any side effects or issues with treatments. I am currently dealing with a couple of issues that make me realize that on the MM path, remember to count your blessings when things are "normal."

First, I feel like this whole experience has brought me to appreciate the hard work of all the pregnant women who have gone before, are pregnant or will one day take the plunge. Sometimes I feel like a pregnant woman, although our house probably is only big enough for one pregnant lady at a time.

Here are two recent pain points:

1. Lower Back Pain - I was warned of bone pain with the neupogen shots, which I shrugged off after 4 days of taking shots with no side effects. Yesterday was different. I have a shocking pain that comes in waves in my lower back. I have no clue what back labor feels like, but I think this is the closest that I will ever get to it.
2. Fissures - Hopefully this isn't too much information for you to take with you into your weekend, my apologies if it is. The only relief I can get from this excruciating pain is when I think of Jerry Stiller's comment in Zoolander: "It stings me like a fissure in my a**". Again, I will never feel the pain of childbirth, but shoot, every morning I am reminded that childbirth is not for me!