Day - 4: Garlic, Lemon and Laundry

Well I am about an hour away from finishing the Thiotepa infusion. My liver function test yesterday had jumped pretty high, so the doctors consulted with the trial doctor in NYC. While my ALT (Alanine Transaminase) was over 3 times the maximum normal, they decided to continue with the chemo as planned. Apparently the other trial patients experienced even higher ALTs while in the conditioning phase. My forecast for today's ALT based on a trend analysis I did (yes, I used a spreadsheet) ended up being higher than the actual increase today, so that's positive. Maybe it was all the roasted garlic and lemon water I was guzzling over the past 2 days. Or the Qi Gong meditations for the liver...whatever, I'm happy it came in below my expectation. Only 3 more days of chemo to go and then it can take a bit of a rest.

I'll be showering after the infusion and then every 6 hours for the next 24 hours even through the night (so no more overnight passes). They also change my sheets and I have to change my clothes each 6 hour interval and not wear any creams, jewellery or tapes on my central line, as the Thiotepa excretes through the pores and can cause skin blistering. Talk about laundry! Otherwise I am feeling pretty good - fatigue and minor aching is about all I can complain about. Way better than I expected again. Keep that positive energy coming - you're certainly helping me!

My Protector

It's Day - 5 and I expect to get Clofarabine in around an hour. Unfortunately my liver functions have started to climb more quickly than I hoped, so the doctors are going to have to decide what to do with the planned chemo. The bloodwork I just had drawn a few minutes ago will help determine that. In the meantime, I continued to feel just a bit more tired but managed yet another pass last night, which is fantastic.

Today is the first of four days my brother receives GCSF, the growth factor that causes his bone marrow to overproduce stem-cells, to enable collection on the 11th. So I dedicate this posting to him for his continued effort to protect me from harm.

My brother is intelligent, hard-working and handsome. He has a photographic memory that always made me envious in high-school and university.  He loves being a father to Jack and Davis and is a dedicated husband to Dana. We have always been good friends. He is a natural communicator and businessman. He loves animals, especially minature schnauzers, and is very compassionate. He takes on way more than he should but is successful. He tells stories and describes people in a way that always makes you bust a gut laughing. He loves Froot Loops and still holds three provincial swimming records set over 20 years ago. He has always protected me and would beat the crap out of anyone who tried to hurt me. Including leukemia. In a few days he'll donate his bone marrow again for me. I love him so much.