Day 55 today.

It's been a busy morning, more for our minds than for our bodies. We had a chilly walk to the clinic this morning, but the skies cleared a bit this afternoon. We had several medicine changes and additions, and received instructions for tomorrow. There are several new things to consider, so it seemed a bit confusing for a minute, but we think we have it set in our minds and our notes so that we will do all we are supposed to the right way.

Today's blood draw told us that Terry's hematocrit is stable, at 31%. WBC is 4.42. Platelets are 119,000. The numbers are rising, and things are going well. There is always concern for liver and kidneys, so they watch that closely and encourage drinking more water, etc. They actually watch everything quite closely. We've slowly added more magnesium, and are presently adding more Vitamin D. After tomorrow we slowly decrease hydration. They are tapering off the cyclosporine meds and gave us a schedule to do so. The schedule goes through October, so we made sure that wasn't indicative of how long we would be here. They say we are right on track and see no reason to extend the 100 days at this point. However, they are always quick to remind us that things can always change.

Tomorrow's schedule includes blood draw, bone marrow aspiration, and CT scan. It's going to keep up on our toes with the contrast he has to drink in between appointments. He will have no sedation this time, because he doesn't need to be vomiting and then drinking that contrast. His last experience with the sedation before the aspiration was not a pleasant one and he doesn't want to go through that again.

There is almost a friendship built between the providers and their patients. We feel comfortable here and are grateful for their good care.