Counts are Down; Off-Week Comes Early

It's another beautiful Sunday morning in Michigan. We are enjoying our new home with eastern facing windows on these sunny mornings. Ethan never fails to make sure we are up to enjoy the mornings!

I had an appointment for chemo on Thursday morning. Unfortunately my blood counts had dropped even lower and the doctor cancelled the chemo. My WBC's were down to 1.7, and my neutrophils were down to 0.8. The key is the neutrophil count. When I was in the hospital in Indiana they would not release me until my neutrophils were up to 1.5. Last week my count was at 1.1, but they went ahead with chemo. This week at 0.8 it was just too low. I was very disappointed that I could not proceed with chemo, but it was the right thing to do. The reason I had treatment in Indy was to have the stem cell rescue. They transplanted my own stem cells because the chemo took my counts so low that my body would not have rebounded without the infusion of stem cells. With counts at 0.8, I can't afford to let it go much lower or my body may not recover on it's own.

So I have been giving myself a shot of Neupogen every day; a medication to stimulate the bone marrow to produce more blood cells. It is the same thing I took before treatment in Indy to boost my counts. I will be back in AA tomorrow morning to check my counts and am scheduled for chemo on Thursday again. This week was scheduled for a week off from chemo, but now we are counting last week as my off-week and we will proceed with treatment this week. I will also have my HCG checked on Thursday, so we may have an idea of how well this treatment is working by the end of the week.

I continue to feel good. I am certainly more tired this week, and the numbness in my feet is increasing. My left foot seems to be the worse of the two for some reason. My right foot is only slightly numb. It doesn't really slow me down, though, I have grown used to it and can still walk and even run. I jogged a little on Wednesday and on Saturday morning. I still can not jog very far, but am increasing the distance slightly each time. We are still speaking in terms of a few hundred yards, but it feels good to be making progress.

I do have to stay home and quarantine myself again due to the low counts. That means I won't be able to attend the Livestrong class at the Y this week, and no more fresh fruits and vegetables. The risk of infection is just too great. Thankfully I can get outside in the nice weather and get some exercise. I can also do most of my strength training at home with an exercise ball and some resistance bands. It is amazing how effective those can be when you know what you are doing with them. The hard part is giving up the fresh fruits and vegetables. I have really enjoyed my healthier lifestyle since returning from Indy, and have been loading up on fruits and veggies. This is the perfect time of year to do that. Veggies are easy enough to cook, but fruit is a little more difficult. Megan is planning on making me some blueberry muffins though. Hopefully this chemo will deal the decisive blow this time, and I will be able to enjoy the fruits of summer soon.

Thank you all for the overwhelming response to the last blog. You all inspire me! There have been many days that I have logged on to find your comments and they remind me of how lucky I am to have so many family and friends that care for me. You have been pushing me along for nearly 8 months now, and I sense that the finish line is just around the corner. I know that when I finally cross that finish line, cancer free, you all will be waiting with open arms. I can almost see you in the distance, and I am ready to start my sprint to the end.