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As most of you know, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in September 2017. Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the white blood cells which cause tumors in the bones. It's not curable but it is treatable. A cantaloupe sized tumor was found on my left pelvis which had been the cause of my hip pain all summer. I did radiation during the fall of 2017 and after followup testing in January 2018, it was determined that the radiation had not completely killed the cancer in that area. Not the news I was expecting but those were the cards I was dealt. The suggested course of treatment, was to do 4 rounds of chemotherapy and then do a stem cell transplant.
I'm currently in my 4th round of chemo and doing well. Blood work shows that we have achieved a partial remission and it's possible that it's in full remission but we won't know for sure until further tests are done in a few weeks. I will be starting my stem cell transplant either the last week of May or the 1st week of June. The transplant consists of harvesting my stem cells, which will be frozen, and this is scheduled to take place over several day starting May 21st. Either the week of May 28th or June 4th, I will receive a "Blast" of chemo and the following day I will receive my stem cells back. I will have to stay in KC near the hospital for 30 days as my immune system will be completely deleted and will have to rebuild it's self back up. During the 30 days, I will be very limited to visitors and can not receive any flowers or plants as they contain spores that could cause me to get an infection. I will not be able to have any food brought in as there are very strict food preparation guidelines that must be followed. Once I'm home, I will have to continue to be very careful of having visitors (unfortunately, I will not be able to be around children) but should be able to have a few at a time, as long as they are healthy! I'll keep everyone posted as by this time, I'm sure I will be looking to see people and I won't be able to get out much except to return to doctor's appointments.
I appreciate everyone's prayers and support as I continue on this journey.
