In Asheville, Can you believe it?

Friday when I went to clinic, they gave me a big reprieve. I don't have to go back to clinic until tuesday since all of my abx and other meds are now home meds. They merely check my labs and my catheter when I am in the clinic now. Of course, I am still on numerous medicines including the 2 different abx and the one anti-fungal, all of which they are using to treat the pneumonia.
Holly and I decided to come to the mtns for two days. We could have left in the afternoon yesterday since I got out of clinic in the early afternoon but I wanted to make sure I was feeling okay before we made the 3 hr drive. The last time they gave me a day off I got sick with a fever and ended on abx and several new treatments. I just wanted to make sure I felt good enough to make the drive and not have to turn around and head back home.

We haven't been in Asheville since this whole leukemia bonanza started. I think it was the first w-e in june when we had many of our pals from the Triangle up for the w-e with us to hike Roan mtn and see the rhododendrons. So much had happened since then-chemo, several bone marrow biopsies, fevers, pneumonia and that's just the stuff in my world. It feels good to be here though you should see how overgrown the garden is. some of the weeds and native grape vines have made serious inroads into my garden. Not surprisingly I guess in 6 weeks. Holly has promised to take some time when it is a little cooler this w-e to tame a bit of that.

I did get a phone call from Tonya my PA at Duke with the preliminary read on my bone marrow biopsy from last week. On the gross eval they did not see any leukemia cells. By flow cytometry there are 1-2% blasts. The blasts can be leukemia cells or early maturing cells that the bone marrow makes. It was good news because it means that the leukemia is not rip roaring back. Of course, I know that I will need more chemo and/or a bone marrow transplant to be at all cured of this disease. One round of chemo, like I have had, will induce a remission (as it has for me), but it is not enough for a cure. More tough treatments lie ahead but today i am rejoicing in the mtns, feeling good, and being with Holly.

Thanks to everyone for their kind and helpful and supportive comments through the blog or via email. You cannot know how much they have helped.