Long day at the clinic

My appointment on Friday ended up lasting longer than usual because I had to get 2 pints of blood. It seems my hemoglobin has been dropping a little each week and this week it was too low, so they decided to give me blood and that takes a few hours. We found out in the morning, so I told Kyle to go visit Erika, Kade and Liv since I was probably going to be ther until 6 pm. The blood cannot be administered at the same time as my 4 hour infusion of immunoglobins, so it was going to be a long day and there was no sense in him sitting there all day, besides maybe he could give Erika a little break. So he went to their house and had fun with the kids. My son, Kyle picked me up at the clinic after he got off work and we had dinner with them. Needless to say, I was exhausted and slept most of the way home. My nurse told me not to worry about having to receive blood, that this is common to see levels fall around the 100th day post bone marrow translant and my 100th day is next Thursday and my platelets are remaining stable so I did not have to get platelets. I just wish they would start rising. Next week I go back on Thursday (100th day) and after that I will only have to go back once a month unless there is a problem. They are going to take my port out sometime in November, but it is not scheduled yet. These are all good signs and I made it through the dangerous first 100 days. YIPPEE!! The next benchmark is 6 months post transplant without any infections. Each day is just a blessing from God and I thank him every morning that I am still here (with help from all of you)!

Good Week

Last week was a good week for me. It seemed I had more energy than I've had since the bone marrow transplant and I even got out of the house a few days. I thought maybe that meant my counts were finally going up. But at my appointment on Friday on the clinic my doctor told me they were all about the same. The good news was that I did not have to get platelets, just my 4 hour infusion of immunoglobins. He said at 3 months post transplant ( which is where I am) they expect the counts to drop and mine were stable, so he said I don't have to see him for 2 weeks! I still have to go on friday for my infusion, but no doctor appointment, so that is a step in the right direction. We went to see Erika a nd the kids after my appointment and when Kyle got home we went to dinner at the Winking Lizard. We had a really good time and it felt so good to have dinner out. The rest of the weekend was focused on the World Series (go Tigers). I just want to thank all of you again for your continued thoughts, prayers , and support. I saw many people when I was out last week who continue to support us and it is very humbling and very much appreciated. I know I could not have made it this far in this difficult journey without you.

Feeling better

Sorry I haven't written for a while.... I had along week for some reason last week. I was very tired and slept a lot. Our visit to the clinic went well on Friday, my platelets are still in the low range and coming up slowly. But I did not need to get any platelets. Some of my classmates from high school were getting together at the Cameo Friday night and I had planned on going, but I was so exhausted that Kyle let me sleep.... so sorry I missed all of you. We went to the grocery store on Saturday and that also wore me out, but it seemed like after a nap I did feel a lot better and not so tired as I had all week. We had a visist from Jess's kids on Saturday and it was good to see them. On Sunday they went out to Harvest Happenings with the Schwerer's and had a good time. This week I don't have to go back to the clinic until Friday, so that is a step in the right direction. Hopefully I will keep feeling this good or better all week this week. Talk to you soon.

Golf Outing Benefit

Yesterday Roeder Harley Davidson sponsored it's annual Biker Memorial Fund golf scramble and made us the recipients of the benefit. Many of the people Kyle worked with at Delphi are members of the group and they donated the money to us. We are so appreciative to these good people. Also, many of our friends from the Elks ran a raffle there with many prizes donated by friends and businesses. We cannot thank everyone enough. Kyle golfed in it with my brothers Craig, Doug , and Tony and he had a nice day. It felt good for him to get out of his "caregiver" role and have some fun. And then last night his Detroit Tigers won their playoff series against the Yankees, so he had a great day. Today we make the trip to Toledo for granddaughter Riley's birthday. I looking forward to seeing the grandkids and of course my kids.

Tearful Thursday

Thursday I had a very emotional day. I don't know why, but I cried more that day than I have in a long time. My nurse today told me it is probably from the Prednisone and the fact that I want to get up and do much more than I am capable of doing at this point. So I am frustrated. I just want to make it through this recovery time with as few problems as possible. Last night I had a very scary nose bleed, which took some time to stop and that made me a little anxious also. Today we went to the clinic and my platelets went down a little so I had to get platelets today and also my 4 hour weekly infusion of immunoglobins. All my other counts were good and my nurse says they expect the platelets to start rising any day. So I am counting my blessings and enjoying another crisp fall day.

Clinic results

Yesterdays trip to the clinic was a good one. My platelets stayed the same, so the doctor seems to think we should see them start to rise now that he took me off the IV that can cause low platelets. All of my other counts were excellent! I was so excited that I did not have to get anything, I could not believe it. The ride home was beautiful, with all the leaves starting to change colors and it was a beautiful afternoon. We went to Gram and Ralph's for supper and Jillian had dinner there with us (Brit is out of town) and it was nice to see her and congratulate her on her pregnancy. Of course, we had to watch the playoff game when we got home. Kyle's beloved Detroit Tigers took one on the chin. So, today is a day to lounge around the house. The weather is supposed to be bad this afternoon....so a nap may be good today. I will update again after our clinic visit on Friday.