No post for 2 weeks? It is a good thing.

It is hard to believe I have not posted a blog in 2 weeks. I am feeling better and better since the start of my chemo. I am no longer on any type of pain medication. I am sleeping well, and have found myself on a routine of going to bed around 9:30 pm and getting up around 6:15am. I have been walking and jogging every morning. Not very far (1.5 - 2 miles) or fast 25-35 minutes, but it is nice to get some form of exercise in everyday. Since I am feeling better (in general) i am not spending as much time in the house or in front of the computer. Hence I have not posted a blog in 2 weeks, and it is a good thing. It is not for a lack of things to report or for the fact that I do not have anything to say (have never be to shy to open my mouth and make a fool of myself).

I can finally tell you about my protein levels. I will start sith the normal level for my abnormal protein is 179. When I was first diagnosed my levels were well over 3000. Close to 20 times the normal level. At the time my oncologist suggested that it was high. Suggested in a way that I took for "wow or ____ they are high!". There are only 3 stages of MM and with all other test being normal and there were a number of them, he classified me as intermittent sage 2. He stated that if any other test would have been abnormal or borderline I would have been classified as stage 3. All because of my friends the M proteins. The most recent protein level drawn showed that my levels had decreased to a little over 500. About 3 times the normal level. What does that mean for me (beside feeling better and not having pain), my doctor will check the levels again in 3 weeks. If the number is within the normal range he will then take another bone marrow sample. If the marrow is clean enough (his words), he will then start the process of getting me set up for City of Hope in Duarte California. It the levels are still above normal we go another month. If the levels are good but the marrow is not, we go another month and re-evaluate again.

So I am feeling better. I am having more and more problems with my digestive system thanks to the meds, however it is a trade off I will gladly accept. I also have a good bit of cramping in my legs (mostly my calfs). I continue to be hot most of the time, and I have started to have a little more neuropathy (side effect of the chemo...) in my toes and feet. I had to through some aww poor Scott stuff in there, I don't want you to know I am doing cartwheels... not yet anyway.

I want to thank Jon (JW). For the past 5 or 6 years from the end of August to the end of November Jon has been house sitting for a couple. Jon asked this couple who Serena and I have met a few times if it would be ok for us to house sit, do to our situation. They had no problem letting us invade there home, and take care of there children (2 black labs). Serena and I will begin our house sitting, and dog walking duties on the 23rd of this month. Thank you Jon. Saving 2-3 months rent will go a long way. Below is a pic of Jon with a pike he caught while spending the summer working and playing in Alaska.

Next I would like to thank Leigh. Leigh is an RN who works at Straub Hospital. I have know Leigh for about a year. Leigh does not specifically work in the ER, she is a STAT Nurse. She carries a pager and is called to help with critical patients in or on all the units. Since she is not an ER Nurse I have not had the chance to see and talk with her as I can with others who work in the ER. That being said everyone in the ER is fond of Leigh. She is good people. You do not have to know her very long to pick up on her kindness, and joy for life (outside of work) yoga, surfing, her dog, dinning out with friends. Now I mention Leigh because she held her 3rd annual kickball tournament 2 weekends ago. She held it as a fundraiser to help with our upcoming medical bills. It was a rainy, sunny, rainy, rainy, muddy day in Manoa Valley. 8 teams entered from various hospitals and friends. Everyone had a blast. People donated time to ref the games, items to raffle off, beer for the thirsty competitors. The games were fun, and I got a chance to see a lot of friends and colleagues that I have not seen since the beginning of the year. Leigh thank you again. It was a great way to spend a Saturday.

Lastly, the day after the kickball tournament Serena and I flew over to Maui to see our friends Derek and Leia. Leia is 39 weeks pregnant. We have not seen them for about 9 months. (Since Leia was 2 weeks pregnant, not that anyone knew at the time). I just want to wish them well and let them know we truly enjoyed our visit.

Take care everyone. I hope you are all doing well.

Back on track

I am starting to feel better again, since the blood clot. It took it's toll on me mentally and physically. The swelling in my arm is finally gone. For the most part the pain has resolved as well. I have some tenderness in the upper part of my arm and the vein that my last IV was in (that became infected) is still rock hard and tender to the touch. I am still limiting what I do with my arm, however I feel my doc. will says it is o.k. to use it as long as it does not hurt when I see him next (this coming Friday). It has been tough mentally because I was feeling so much better just before it happened. The pain in my ribs has all but resolved. It takes a pretty hard sneeze (which i have been doing a lot of lately) to feel any pain. I have been able to sleep lying down, walk for exercise, put my socks and shoes on without thinking about it. The day before I was diagnosed with the clot I was talking to a friend of mine he asked how I was feeling. He said you sound so much better then I had in some time. This is someone I talk to almost every day. My response to him was that " I feel better then I have since I first broke my ribs last November. I think I will have a pretty normal life for the next few months, until I go to California for my treatment. I think I will be able to get back to the gym start stretching again, swim at the beach and maybe even do some hiking." I had not expected to feel that good, maybe again. Or at least until after my radiation, heavy chemo and transplant later this year. So you can imagine feeling bad and having pain for so many months, then finally feeling better, much better, normal even and the next day reality pulls the rug out from under your feet and puts a clot in your arm. That can really bumb you out. So it is not the clot it self that bothered me, but what it meant. If I obtained a clot on Aspirin as my anti-coagulation drug I would have to take something much stronger. And with Coumadin comes it's own risk and side effects. It is a very effective blood thinner, but it is strong and when on coumadin you have to be a little more careful of what you are doing and of your surroundings then you do on Aspirin. On top of that I had to give myself shots of Lovenox twice a day (in the stomach) for almost 2 weeks until the Coumadin started to work and my blood levels became therapeutic. So now that I have recovered from life's most recent swift kick to my balls we are moving forward.

The bright side. My pain. It is better. Regardless of the clot and blood thinners. I have been able to walk around the park for exercise. I even tried to jog yesterday. I could literally only jog 100 yards before I had to walk again. Sad but I was glad to do that, and do that without pain. Hopefully by next week I will be able to swim around the ocean a little.

I still do not have the results of my last protein levels. The evil guys that are trying to eat away my bones and attack my body. I feel they are going to be dramatically lower. The reason is my pain. The pain I was having in my ribs was from the lesion the proteins caused. They eat away the bone causing the lesions. Since my pain has resolved, the chemo must be keeping up the good fight which in turn gives my body (ribs) a chance to heal. If the proteins were still causing havoc my ribs would not be able to repair themselves. Pretty good if you ask me.

I finished my second month of Chemo today. So I will be off the medication for the next week. Last time I was off the chemo I felt so much better. I did not realize that I felt that crappy while I was on the meds, until I was off of them. On a daily basis I fell normal. Normal just happens to equal crappy. It is amazing what you can get used to. Aches, pain, being tired with no energy... if it is a daily thing you don't think of it.. you wake up and go about your day. So needless to say I am looking forward to the upcoming week.

I hope everyone has been having a nice summer. I hope everyone is doing well. Take care, don't forget to take some time and relax, enjoy what is important to you. Scott Pic: Lake Labarge, Yukon Territory, Canada.