Phil's Vacation: Day +12

Today I was released! Back home I returned to a couple of kids that were tickled pink to see me. Iris was so happy she just kept giggling. She sat in my lap for an hour as we watched Thomas together and I just couldn't stop rubbing her feet and kissing the top of her head. Man, that felt so sweet. Later, Ocean got up from his nap to find me resting on the couch and he just broke out in laughter and excitement. All in all, I felt like this was a triumphant return filled with joy. These kiddos make me realize why I need to put everything I have into moving beyond Multiple Myeloma. To not see these kids grow and mature and one day become their own, would be a great misfortune. Although, I will continue to trust in the unseen and unexplainable, I will fearlessly believe in a cure.

It didn't take long for me to crash after hanging out with the kids for a little bit. I have learned from my previous transplant that my hemoglobin is one of the best indicators in terms of how I will be feeling. Once it drops under 8.0, I am a wreck. It's hurts to think and do anything other than sleep. That was this afternoon. Because I left the hospital two days earlier this go around, I am not getting all the red blood cell transfusions, which would boost my hemoglobin and allow my heart to chill a little. I believe the red blood cells are the last blood cell to bounce back, so I expect this week will consist of me being reunited with our comfortable king size bed.

What's up Next?

• Wednesday: Blood work / labs with possible transfusions and possible PICC line removal
• Day +30: Blood work to determine state of disease and how I am recovering. Stop wearing mask outside... yippee!
• Day +60: Blood work to determine state of disease and how I am recovering. Possibly begin my maintenance therapy (i.e. more low-dose chemo)

Please note that I will be slowing down on the number of blog posts. I accomplished my goal of capturing my BMT experience for those who will be going through that in the future. I am now in need of some serious recovery, which will probably lead to me taking a vacation from social media and focusing on rest and rehab for the next 6 months. All and every expect of the Cancer Kicker Foundation is owned and managed by Zak and Steve. Keep them busy by getting some dominate gear. (DominateGear.com)

Thanks everyone for tuning in and providing support and encouragement over the last two weeks. It definitely helped us through BMT #2!!! And on the 13th day he (Phil) looked back at all that he had been through and done....and RESTED!

Another Miracle? WBC at 7.8!

I just sat down for my final chemo cycle #5 infusion at UMHS Cancer Center and the nurse handed me my labs. The labs are taken before every infusion because it is important to ensure that my blood counts (White, Red, Platelets, etc.) are not going to low. The chemo dominates the bad stuff, but it also take a tole on the good stuff unfortunately. Because we are preparing for a stem cell collection in February, we need to ensure that my counts don't go too low which could affect the ability to pull enough stem cells.



Being a numbers guy I also pour over every digit to understand changes and trends and then I come up with my own crazy theories that are not scientific and drive Cassie insane! For the past three months I have seen my white blood count (WBC), red blood count and platelets all hover right below the normal range. Low, but nothing to call home about. Today though, all my numbers are in the normal range, including Hemoglobin, and the WBC is 7.8! (normal range 4.0 to 10.0). I don't even have the sniffles, so it's unlikely the number is up become of an infection/illness. I also got my labs from Tuesday and the WBC was 6.3 and all other counts within normal limits.

I will admit that I don't know how significant this is, and I know there are MM patients and experts that read this blog occasionally, feel free to give your reaction based on your experience. Cassie's response was that maybe the chemo is not working as effectively; which is a really good thought. We'll know in two weeks when we get our results from Cycle #5.

On the transplant front, I agreed to move forward with a Chemo Cycle #6 in hopes to get to VGPR (90% reduction of M-protein/spike). I find it unlikely that I will drop from 0.8 to 0.3.... but maybe I should stop trusting in my own understanding and play dumb. Seems to have good results!