1-14-18 Update

Sorry for such a delay between posts!  I was waiting to see how the week would end before I posted.

Since last week, I have been waiting for my blood to recover from the chemo.  Last Tuesday they told me that my ticket home was my ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) reaching .50.  On Tuesday it was finally measurable and they got a measure of .34!  Normal range is 1.8 - 7.  They continued to climb through the week and reached .40 on Thursday.  At this point I was expecting to go home the next day (Friday) because they were so close on Thursday.
The nurse come in Friday morning and told me the at my ANC was at .32 which meant I wasn’t going home.  At this point I was packed up and ready to go; her news was a huge letdown.  Aware of my disappointed reaction, she told me to “wait and see what the doctor says.”  That morning I was also needing blood due to my hemoglobin being low.  The doctor finally got to my room about 9:30 and told me he was re-testing me since I received blood and he also didn’t feel the ANC was accurate.  He was as shocked as I was that it fell.
After redoing the labs, my measures came back at .92!  I was going home!  They released me back to the “free world” on Friday at 3PM.

I am loving this break.  It’s nice to finally be home after spending 25 days at the hospital. I should be home for the next 2 weeks before starting the transplant process.  I am pretty anxious to get this going. The 2 weeks off will be nice, but at the same time, I want to get this over with.  I am more nervous about starting this round over the first round.  The first round was great, I can't complain about any of it. It was far easier than I ever expected.  I feel like this next round isn’t going to go like that.  I am hoping for the best, but I’m ready to for worst it can throw at me.  I haven’t got any dates on when the transplant will start.  I’m sure they will be working on that Monday.  In the meantime I am going to enjoy my 2 week break and I will update once I have more info about the transplant.

1-4-2018 Update

Another uneventful week!  I finished chemotherapy on  December 27 and was told that some tough days would be ahead of me, the doctors made sure to remind me of this daily.  Naturally, I was nervous for what was to come. They warned me that extreme fatigue, fevers, nausea, and chills are the most  common side effects of the treatment.  I laid down every night wondering if tomorrow was the day it would hit. A full week went by and I was still feeling good.  I didn't understand why it hadn't hit me yet. 
On Monday, the doctors came into my room like they do everyday and told me the window for the "dark days" of chemo was past us.  I never experienced any symptoms other than Petechiae, which is little red dots on the skin caused by low platelet counts.  I am also having issues with my appetite, but I am getting something in me everyday.  God was good to me! The doctors said my body handled the chemo better than most patients.  I am still in shock that I escaped the roughest part of chemo.
 On Tuesday I had a bone marrow biopsy to see if the chemo worked.  The goal was to have "Empty Marrow."  Empty marrow is basically cancer free bone marrow.  I found out today that the marrow was indeed "Empty"  and we are on track for the transplant.  As soon as my blood counts recover from chemo I will be able to go home for a couple weeks to give my body a break.  Currently, I am back on oral chemo which has no side effects.  I also started to lose my hair this week and will be shaving it off  to avoid having hair everywhere. 
Thank you for all the prayers-- they are working and I am grateful for all the support!