First Dose Update

Good Afternoon all:

I was originally hoping to write a post proclaiming that the new protocol started yesterday but, man, it was busy. From about 9:00 to the time we left, 6:15, there was a never ending stream of people poking, prodding, giving me this medicine, hanging that bag of fluid (or medicine).In the end I had very little time to do anything (except sleep off what I think might have been 3 doses of Benadryl).

So, the medicine from the clinical trial has been infused. I now have super human strength, the ability to lift comically heavy things like freight trains, and can scatter molecules (yours or mine) to the four winds.

Oh, that might have been the dream I had last night. As I report on the progress of this new trial I will try to maintain an even mix of both reality and optimism.

Clearly, the first day after receiving my first weekly dose cannot yield much but I can report the following:
1. The side effect that the consent form showed as effecting 100% of patients did not waste any time finding its way to me. (Don't ask, you'd rather not know)
2. My white blood cell counts today rose pretty dramatically and were higher since March by my Dad's reckoning. Still no neutrophils, but the number of white blood cells is a promising sign.
3. Are my fevers under control,or closer to it? I went to bed last night with a borderline fever but not hot enough for Tylenol. I checked throughout the night and my temperature dropped instead of continuing its inevitable march upward.

I've entered this trial envisioning it like a baseball game where someone has handed me a new bat, far improved from the one I retained from High School. With a wink and a nod they've told me to "give this one a try". It feels nice in my hands and I get a satisfying whoosh when I swing it. I was never much of a homerun hitter growing up. Perhaps that changes now.

As always, thanks for reading.

--Russ.