Normal!

The latest news is that the main blood marker that they are following to track the level of Multiple Myeloma, Free Lambda Serum, is now within the normal range.  Normal is 5.7 – 26.3.  I started off at 1329.  I am now 17.2.  Huzzah!  The “normal” graph now looks like this:

My son Brian points out that each new reading is a fraction of the prior value, so a logarithmic scale will show the relationships better:

The doctors were quite enthusiastic that I have made great progress.  I have reacted very well to the treatments, and I am feeling quite well.  The only issues are some minor side effects: dry or infected eyes and swollen ankles.  

The eyes felt dry during the day would generate all sorts of gloop and sleepers at night.  The initial solution was erythromycin and hot compresses.  That worked for a while, but because the erythromycin left an oil slick on my eyes, I stopped using it.  Then it came back with a vengeance.  The left eye got quite swollen and it looked as if I had two stys on the upper lid.  The erythromycin seemed to have no effect.  I went to see my ophthalmologist in Hudson, and he looked things over.  He confirmed that the problem was just with the eyelids.  He said the pores between the eyelashes were all clogged with congealed oil, which was leading to the swelling.  He emphasized that frequent, very hot compresses and eye massage were the solution to this problem.  The erythromycin helps prevent new infection, but has no effect upon the existing problems.  He recommended doxycycline, but he was unable to prescribe it.  The doxycycline in effect lowers the temperature at which the hot compresses are able to free the clogged pores, thus expediting the process.  So I emailed the Physician’s Assistant, who prescribed it within the day.  The eyes are now much better, and I do the erythromycin at night, when it doesn’t really matter if I have an oil slick on my eyes.

The swollen ankles continue to be a problem.  I mentioned them to the medical people, and it was interpreted as neuropathy.  They are very concerned about neuropathy, and as a result they reduced the dose of Velcade from 2.7 to 2.1.  But the swelling persists.  I bought what I thought was a pair of ankle braces, only to discover it was just a single ankle brace.  There was only one in the store, so I bought it.  Barbie soon noticed that it was a medium, and my foot/calf size calls for an extra-large.  A series of phone calls to New Hampshire pharmacies did not produce a source of extra-larges, so I had to deal with this issue at home.  There is a pharmacy in West Concord that has all sorts of prosthetic devices, so I went there.  The pharmacist had definite ideas about what I needed, and they did not have the right thing in stock.  It was ordered to arrive Friday, but it failed to, so I may be able to pick it up on Monday.  Meanwhile I am wearing the medium ankle brace on one ankle at a time, and it is having half a good effect.

I also started physical therapy, with the same group/person that was giving me physical therapy after my hip surgery.  She has prescribed a series of simple exercises to stretch out the muscles that hold my chest and back in a hunched over position.  It really feels as if they are having a positive effect.  I am now walking without my cane and the back brace is now history, so I am feeling much better.

The outstanding question is what happens next.  Do I continue with more cycles of chemo therapy?  Do they harvest my stem cells?  I have signed up for my 50^th high school reunion the weekend of 9/23, and once the transplantation process begins, crowds of people represent a major danger.  So the actual transplant will not occur until after 9/23.  But what we do up until that time is still up in the air.  9/23 is the middle of the 6^th chemo-therapy cycle.  Friday I only say my doctors in the hallway, where they were effusive about how I am reacting to the treatments.  But it was not the situation to discuss what the next steps are.  Ideally, that will happen this coming week.

Meanwhile, life is back to something resembling normal.  That included a project to install a light on a tree outside the new waterfront shack.  The power to the shack was turned off, so I was using a hand drill to tap a hole into the tree.  At a certain point I pulled the drill out, trying to pull the chips with it.  Unfortunately, I pulled it out a little vigorously, thus overbalancing backwards on the stepladder.  So I tested my back and hip with a pretty good fall onto the ground.  They passed the test!  A little bruising and scrapes, but no broken bones.  Barbie informs me I was very lucky, and immediately recruited Brian to finish off the job.