“There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.”- Anonymous
We had a very long day today. Starting very early in the morning. A bone marrow biopsy and then off to get a PET Scan. Neither thing allowed Dave to eat past midnight last night, so I came home and made him a sandwich and packed some yogurt and such so that when he was done, he would have something to eat.
We got stuck in the PET for hours. Which I have to tell you is unusual. I don’t know why it took so long, but our doctor’s office called and begged off on us stopping by for a check-in. I took it. We were exhausted. We headed up to Infusion B hoping to get a growth factor shot to help boost Dave’s WBC. While we were there, our APN had pulled up the PET Scan. We had the scan, minus the radiologist reading and assessment. But we could all see comparing it to his previous scan that significant improvements were presenting. It was exciting. And then a text came in from a nurse in the institute that Dr. van Rhee also felt the scan showed “significant” improvement.
Dave has been commenting daily on the anecdotal improvements he feels. So he felt very validated.
Yesterday, the PT tackled our last goal, the stairs. Dave was able to negotiate the stairs utilizing the railing and the cane successfully. He will need to be able to do this at home, and now he knows how to. Up with the good, and down with the bad, which means UP with his good leg and DOWN with his bad leg. He will probably do this 2-3 times a day at home. I have to spot him and make sure his walker is at the top or the bottom, depending on where he is headed. So we have pretty much resolved all the everyday issues, and now it’s just a matter of him doing the work to strengthen his leg.
UAMS media came to the apartment yesterday to do more of an in-depth interview and videotaped interviews with each of us for their story on the Car T being delivered at UAMS. It was a lovely afternoon with the writer and the videographer. I’ll look forward to the final presentation.
While we were in Infusion B the other day, we were told that someone had reached out and were we willing to accept their phone number? Sure. It turns out a myeloma patient who lives not far from Little Rock read our story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and wanted to extend a Thanksgiving invitation to us. It turns out our APN knows who he is and validated everything. So I gave him a call, and he was delighted to hear from me. We will drive to his house tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and I can’t wait to meet him. We had the most lovely call on the phone. We had another invitation I was desperate to accept in Memphis. My 90-year old Aunt’s Sister-in-Law. I haven’t seen her in over 35 years, I’m guessing. But Dave wasn’t feeling comfortable driving so far and staying over. Sigh. It is my job to accept his comfort levels. But he agreed that when we come back for a check-up, we will add a couple of days to the trip and pop up there. She and I reluctantly accepted the compromise. I do understand. I was disappointed, but we have a workable alternative that I’m sure we will enjoy. And how lucky that we had Thanksgiving invitations! As exhausted as I was when we got back to the apartment, I ran out to the store to get some flowers and a bottle of wine to take tomorrow.
We are still relishing the excellent news from the scan as we are settled in for Thanksgiving Eve and contemplating our adventure tomorrow. I learned a few things about the gentleman who invited us, but I’ll wait to get them confirmed tomorrow! What fun!
