Day Plus 317

So, it’s been a minute since I last updated you about my dad. As the saying goes, no news is good news. Welp? Today, I have news. It’s good news (she said with crossed fingers), but I’ll admit the past six weeks have been tough.

For those of you just joining us, let me do a quick recap. Two years ago, Dad was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) which progressed to Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML). We were informed that disease would, sooner or later, progress to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). No good. So, the brilliant doctors at The Center for Advanced Medicine interrupted that progression with a stem cell transplant on May 4, 2017.  In stem cell transplant land, the day you receive your transplant is called Day Zero. That makes today Day +317.

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Day Plus 33

So, in general, I’m trying not to eat junk*, but after Dad’s appointment with the oncologist today, I decided a celebration was in order and I picked up a dozen sugar bombs from the best donut shop on the planet: Donut Drive-In. (If you’re from St. Louis and you’re about to argue with me about World’s Fair, that means you probably haven’t actually tried Donut Drive-In, so shhhhhh.)

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Day Plus Six

Big news: Dad got his last dose of chemotherapy today. And Jessica, today’s nurse, declared it to be his last dose ever. I love the optimism. There’s just so much damn hope in that place. It’s contagious, and I adore them all so much.

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Day Plus Two

Since we’re basically in wait-and-see mode, I likely won’t post every day. Soooo, assume no news is good news. Or, at the very least, not overly concerning news. In fact, just now the nurse said, “Well? I guess I could get some vitals on you or somethin’.” The way I see it, if Amy has to think hard to come up with something to do for Dad, he’s doing jussssst fine.

Day Plus One (yesterday) brought just a couple of minor hiccups—low grade fever, nagging headache, and aggravation of a completely unrelated-to-CMML issue. But by the end of the night, everything got resolved, and when I texted Dad this morning to ask how he was doing, his response was, “Grreeeeat!”

To those of you who’ve been praying or meditating or sending good juju into the universe, thank you. And don’t quit, okay? It’s working.

Day Minus One

Quick update on today: Dad’s doing super-great. He ate three meals, walked 16 laps around the floor, rinsed with saline three times (to avoid getting mucositis, which causes nasty mouth sores), used his spirometer (to exercise his lungs and prevent pneumonia), and started working on a puzzle I brought.

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