We keep truckin’ on. Pretty much same routine. Today was cooler here so I extended my walking and also pushed the pace a bit. For those of you keeping score here are my stats for the day:

Steps = 7,729, distance walking (home from clinic and around South Lake Union) = 2.5 miles. Pace = 25 minutes/mile.

My main irritation is the Rhinovirus. I just can’t shake that and its symptoms, cough, congestion, plugged up ears. I guess there has to be something. otherwise I might think we are cruising through this process.

More of the same planned for the weekend. Daily visits to the infusion clinic and walking as best as I can. I am hoping that soon, I can conquer the hill up to the clinic. Not exactly heartbreak hill in Boston, although for me that is the next hill I need to climb.

Hope you are enjoying your summer days.

Larry and Sharon

A rally day so to speak after my reported step back day. No new activities, same routine, IV supplements, a walk home, snacks, lunch, an outdoor walk and a nap. It fills up my day.

A good scorecard today. Total steps = 6,959, Total miles walked = 2.05 at a 29 minute/mile pace.

Blood scorecard is also good. Total WBC: 3.89, HCT: 36%, Platelets: 97,000, ANC: 1,790.

Having said that the new addition to my scorecard is today we received the results from my day 28 blood testing and on that date 100% of the cells floating around my system are my brothers’s. Yes, you read it correctly 100% meaning at this point the transplant has taken hold. Now these cells refer primarily to the scoreboard of cells above. They do not include any antibodies to viruses which I one reason I am still suffering from the Rhinovirus that has infected me and caused me to lose my hearing as my eustation tubes are plugged. When the doctors tell me my system needs to reconstitute my immunity this is a part of it.

So far so good.

Larry and Sharon

Often times in life some events are two steps forward and one step backward. The last 24-hours for me has been the 1-step backward.

It began last night as I was in my pre bedtime ritual and one of the items to do is check my temperature. For some reason it was elevated, not critically. So Sharon and I watched the fireworks here from our balcony and it was a great 20-minute show.

I went to sleep and this morning at the infusion clinic although my temperature was not elevated I had a coughing fit that caused me to lose my breakfast, so to speak. I have had a chronic cough for years, but since the transplant it has gotten worse. The team jumped into action and helped me to calm down, gave me an antiemetic ordered a chest x-ray, cultured me for all kinds of mean and nasty upper respiratory viruses and then observed me for some time to make sure I was oxygenating properly. I had an impromptu visit in the bone marrow clinic with my doc and she assured me the chest x-ray was fine and this was not going to be a constant problem.

I have been fatigued all day, back to my usual napping. Tomorrow I will have blood testing so can update my scorecard for you. My step count also took a hit today.

Nobody said this was going to be easy. I am now 1/3rd of the way into my 100-day journey here. I am sure we will have better days and step back days along the way. Thanks for following along.

Larry and Sharon

Hope this is a happy July 4th for you. This evening we hope to view fireworks from our apartment balcony as they are fired off in Lake Union. The boats are out in full force. And as promised the heat index picked up today. That shortened my walk a bit as it was warm. And to be honest over the last 2-days and increasing my walking mileage my legs felt tight. When I was in marathon training we always built in a low mileage day and even a rest day. So seemed to make sense to do that today.

Otherwise a usual day with a visit to the clinic for my infusion. Nothing stops just because it is a holiday. My new bit of irritation is that my eustachian tubes are not working so my ears are plugged up. My hearing is impaired and it seems as if I am living under water. I will address this with my team tomorrow. I won’t have to worry about the fireworks being to loud.

Take care,

Larry and Sharon

Today we had our weekly meeting with our attending physician. I asked her how I was doing and she said as expected – meaning fully exhausted. AIn’t that the truth. She explained to us that the job of rebuilding an immune system via transplant has my body’s metabolic furnace running at a very level. As if I was was an ultra marathon runner putting in hundreds of training miles daily.

To that point, it was explained my calorie needs are high, and yes I have lost weight in the last month when chemo and then hospitalization began. Sharon is a great cook although I just don’t have the appetite. High protein drinks such as Ensure are suggested. My problem is that I have been through that route before and they are just so unappealing to me, Part of my weight loss is muscle deconditioning and I know that will come back over time.

Given I had lab tests today I can report on my scoreboard which continues to be good. As I am trying to walk more I will also include my walking mileage and steps. Yes, I did add a tenth of a mile today.

Scoreboard is as follows: HCT: 36, Platelets: 110,000, Total WBC: 4,830, Total ANC: 1,880, Miles walked: 2.12, Steps taken: 7,243

Big birthday for America tomorrow. Please enjoy safely.

Larry and Sharon