Okay, guys. This will be another short one. I don’t have a lot of energy right now. But I want you to know I’m still kicking.
First off, a few thank yous. The Mayo Clinic—Amyloidosis Research Program has acknowledged receipt of donations in my honor from Mr. Kevin Woulfe, Mr. Richard Maxton, Mr. Noam Krendel, Dr. Robert Kluttz, and Mr. Chris Peterson. My deepest thanks, and to you in particular, Bob.
The good news is my numbers are climbing. Five days ago I hit bottom, the nadir, what they call Ralph Day. Well, I call it that; it fits too well. Normal White Blood Cell count is between 3.5 and 10.5. Mine was 0.1, as expected. Can’t really get any lower. Same the next day, followed by 0.2. Then 0.3. And today, 0.6. Some of the PAs are talking about the possibility of me going home before next weekend! That seems unlikely, but whatever come around, I’ll grab the ring.
The loss of appetite progresses apace, in part because of the amount of antibiotics I’m getting. In any event, it isn’t simply a matter of finding yummy food. Fried chicken? Yesterday I ate a drumstick and half a Dolly Parton chicken breast (a reference to size, not breed or brand), plus two immense apple fritters, the size of bullfrogs. Today, I thought about heating up two drumsticks from the same source for lunch, and it was close to stomach turning. Not actually nausea inducing; just imparting the certainty that this would be a very bad idea. Today? Breakfast was an orange, a bran muffin, and two glasses of milk, which has a lot more calories than coffee. Lunch was two apple sauce cups and a couple of cups of hot tea. The days change, you see. They do change.
I certainly think I feel less “sick” today than yesterday. On a 1 to 10 scale of how sick do you feel, yesterday was maybe 4, today maybe 3. Or maybe it was 5 and 4. But my energy level is about 2, as well. Overall, I feel like something you might scrape off the bottom of your shoe. Did I say that already? I hope not. Accurate, though.
I try not to complain, however. Staff tells me I am doing wonderfully well, with my counts recovering in remarkable fashion. I have so far dodged the nausea, which I’m told is unheard of. I have come this far without once being admitted to the hospital, which astonishes everyone here. And there is a woman here—she was on the floor this morning when I went over for some IV antibiotics—who got her stem cell transplant 30 days ago. But she hasn’t begun engraphment, the growing of new bone marrow. When you think things are tough, look around. You’ll see somebody who has it tougher. I guarantee it.
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