Update two days later, the hits keep coming

Good Evening all:

When last I wrote I was able to share the good news I received on Monday--the absence of cancer from the most recent biopsy.

Tuesday was also a banner day. While it might not sound like much, heck, it was even the subject of a post that featured uncertainty and trepidation the first time around, I got a Hickman catheter installed in my chest. Its a fairly short, uneventful surgical procedure but what it did was replace the central line that had originally been placed in my neck so that the chemo could start on time. So, not only did one line get installed the other got removed. All-in-all I like the trade. First, I lived with the line in my chest for some time and so it isn't as weird as it felt before. Second, the central line was, well, a pain in the neck. It was placed in such an inconvenient spot for keeping the line dry while showering (assuming I wanted to wash my hair). It made sleeping uncomfortable and really hurt when the tubing got caught on something and my leash grew unexpectedly shorter.

In addition to the change in chemo/blood product delivery systems, I have started to hear rumblings about going home. During rounds on Tuesday the doctor mentioned that they might consider sending someone home, even though their counts hadn't recovered, around day 18 or 20. For me that would be Friday or Sunday this coming weekend. Today, the same doctor seemed to focus on Monday as a possibility. Regardless of the day, the fact that it is even part of the conversation is very liberating--the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. This, of course, is the big news.

In an April Fool's worthy turn of events my hair started coming out today. There is a place here at Hopkins that will assist cancer patients in managing their appearance. Today they helped me manage to rid myself of a lot of hair with a very short shelf life. So, I'm back to my close-cropped look and can only guess how long before close-cropped gives way to bald.

I guess it can't all be good news but I feel very positive about how I'm doing. I haven't lost much weight, I've got plenty of strength and energy and an appetite that doesn't belong in a cancer ward. The chemo has worked and it hasn't taken much, if anything, away from me. Now to enjoy a little bit of time at home, with life a little more like normal, until I need to gear myself up for the running start toward the bone marrow transplant.

As always, thanks for reading.

--Russ.