We made it home just fine at about 4:30 p.m. The traffic was heavier than it is during the week and we ran into a traffic backup due to a wreck that delayed us for probably 45 minutes or so. When we got home we were surprised to find a welcome home greeting waiting for us. After a little investigation we decided it was our dear friends Steve and Kathy that had come and left it for us.
Again, let me thank you all so much for your support in so many ways. It would have been so much harder if you had not been there.
I will resume this blog when we go back to UAMS the week of September 11th.

We were not able to leave Little Rock until about 1 p.m. today. We made it to Lebanon Tennessee and we are both ready for a good night's rest. I wasn't sure when I left Little Rock that I would be able to drive that far given how I have felt the last few days but I made it just fine.
I want to thank each person that has followed this blog and especially the ones that have left comments or emails of support. We will have to return in three weeks and at that time I will resume this blog. Thank you all so much for following with us.

My white count went up to 7.21 today, my hemoglobin went up to 9.1 and my platelets went up to a whopping 90. When I saw dr. Van Rhee today he was surprised and pleased with these results. They have exceeded what he had forecast. I feel very blessed that things have gone as well as they have with the stem cell transplant.
We are now released to come home and we plan on starting out tomorrow. We do plan on making the drive in 2 days instead of 1.
Even though my hemoglobin was in good shape as far as lab results they wanted to give me another unit of blood just to make sure that everything was in good shape in that regard especially since I was going to be on the road for two days. We did not arrive back at the apartment until about 6 p.m. because I had to get the CVL removed and the unit of blood.
I am scheduled to come back in about 3 weeks. At that time they will do testing as they did when we first got here back in early June and then they will determine the best treatment for me. They discussed several options with me today. One of them would be to go on a treatment that I have already been on before which is Kyprolis along with a drug that I have not been on before. They assured me that it will only be for testing to determine a new treatment plan and then we can return home.
Please remember that the main objective of this whole process has been to get my myeloma down to where it can be kept down with treatment. I am fearful since it is gotten down to a good level now that it may take off growing again in an aggressive way. Please remember to include in your prayers that will not happen.
I don't think it has been by coincidence that I have recovered remarkably well according to the doctor. My stem cells performed much better than they had predicted. Even the well-known Dr Barlogie thought my stem cells would not be good stem cells and even unreliable to use. I truly believe that all the good news I've shared with you in this blog has been because of your prayers and God's help. Thank you.

My platelets were up to 68 today but my white count came down to 5.91 and my hemoglobin was down to 8.5. I don't know any additional information about being released tomorrow. I will be released unless something unforeseen shows up. I may have to get another unit of blood in the morning if my hemoglobin drops below 8.5. I will also have to get the CVL line removed. I will do all of that before my doctor's appointment at noon.
In the past week or so I've lost 24 pounds. That was from fluid I gained while being on the steroids. I have very little appetite now but I don't think that is contributing to the weight loss.
The only virus that showed up where the current status is not known is the CMV. The nurse retested that today. The Provo virus is not active now. Something continues to make me feel yucky. I hope that feeling goes away soon especially before we start the drive home. I do plan to break the drive up into 2 days. We normally do it in one day.

Today was a big day for news. First let me say that my white count was 6.82 which was lower than it was two days ago and it was lower yesterday than the day before. My hemoglobin is 8.8 but my platelet level was 59. I don't know why my white count has dropped. The doctor had predicted that my platelets would max out at 50 or 60. It looks like that it's going to be much higher than that unless it stops going.
The news I got just a few minutes ago was that I will be discharged on Thursday this week. We will probably head home on Friday spending the night somewhere in route. I don't think, at this point, I could make that drive in one day. We will have to return for testing in about three weeks after we leave here. It will be good to be back to good old home again.

My white count today was 7.90 and my platelet count was 47.
They are still trying to determine about the level of the viruses that did show up in blood tests. They did a couple of specimen draws today to get more information.
I don't know why but as the day progressed I got to feeling pretty bad as I do now. I really look forward to the time when I'm feeling good most of the time.

Wow! We were surprised at my lab results today. They were even better than what we had forecast in our optimistic minds. My white count was 8.33, my hemoglobin was 9.4, my platelet level jumped up to 40 (it was 27 yesterday). We are very thankful to see this much progress this fast.
Tomorrow I have a breathing treatment at 9 a.m. The treatment is to help prevent pneumonia. Then at 1 p.m., I have the lab tests and review just like today.
Thank you all for all your support in so many ways. It is helping us so much to get through this.