It's been quite a week since I found out that the trial was approved - here's the health highlights:
Thursday I received a call from the clinic to find out my May 23rd date had to be changed in order to get all of the baseline testing done and results back in time for admission. So mark a new date down (the last change I hope) - June 12th, with collection from Brandon on June 11th and admission to hospital June 2nd. This date change is a bit of a mind-test for me, as that means feeling exposed with no chemo for three more weeks. Thursday evening before bed I felt a bit shivery, and my temperature showed I had a mild fever, which continued through the night.
Friday morning I called the clinic and went in for various tests...it seems every so many Fridays I feel I need a nose swab (worse than getting an IV put in, in my mind)! Anyway, I went home and slept, hoping that I would feel well enough to attend my Qi Gong 2-day workshop on the weekend.
Since the fever had not come up again, I was able to make it to Qi Gong Saturday and the rest of the weekend is difficult to explain. As I'd mentioned a few weeks ago, I had several strong messages from different people to see Dr. Aung, and I know why now. He is easily one of the kindest, most peaceful, intelligent, intuitive, healing people I have ever met. I felt happier and stronger just being near him.
Qi Gong (pronounced Chee Gong, not Shi Gong as I had until I attended) is one method used in Chinese Medicine, which involves breathing and concentration exercises to build up, and move your Qi, or energy, to direct it to parts of your body and keep yourself in a state of total harmony and wellness. While it sounds really intangible (and perhaps a bit crazy), there is actually a very standard, tangible and somewhat technical framework to follow in doing it, and I was able to truly FEEL it working. I realize now that the June timing for transplant is perfect - it gives me more time to practice and get stronger!
Dr. Aung took a few minutes after the first day to see me personally, a generous action, and after looking at a few things, inserted some acupuncture needles "with love and kindness" into my legs, arms and neck, for various reasons. After about 3 minutes, I had a strange feeling and it took me a while to figure out what it was. I realized it was my baby toe, against the vinyl chairback that my feet were resting on. I could feel my baby toe. I haven't been able to feel my feet for the past 18 months, as one of the chemo drugs I've been on has a neuropathy effect and over time, the entire front half of my foot has become numb. So when I suddenly felt all of my toes, it was quite an overwhelming experience.
Sunday night Brandon, Dana, Davis and Jack came over for dinner, and I had enough energy to easily last the night, dancing with the boys, playing the Wii with Brandon...my Qi was strong!
Tuesday I relayed the events of the weekend to my physiotherapist, and discovered he trained with Dr. Aung for a while! So this Friday he's going to do some acupuncture, after he contacts Dr. Aung to consult...just another reinforcement of Dr. Aung's role in my journey. Crazy.
Tomorrow I will have a bone marrow aspiration at the hospital, where they draw out bone marrow from the bone above my butt - this test is one of the most important on the list, as it will indicate the state of the marrow, and I must be in remission to remain as a candidate in the trial. I'll report the results as usual! For now, my mind is on what I'm going to have to eat, as I'm off to meet a friend for lunch. Life!
