Update & Request for Prayer: July 9, 2009

A quick update for today.....

I am officially finished with half of my treatment cycle of 8 weeks of half-dose Rituxan.

Today was one of the most difficult treatment days - physically and emotionally. On the physical side, I ran a temperature all day, was very nauseated and just did not feel well. Six veins blew out, so vein access is becoming a real problem. One of my nurses asked if I could grow some new veins before next week's treatments on Wednesday and Thursday. :-)

My CBC results were comparable to Tuesday's. My uric acid level had improved, so that was good news.

Emotionally it was a challenging day as a fellow cancer warrior, whom had been at this cancer center longer than my decade of service, passed away. She was a Christian and her husband would always accompany her and come to see if I needed drinks, etc. We shared alot about the Lord over the years, so I know she is in His presence. It was still sad to learn of her passing.

Then after having a rocky day, I walked in the house and discovered a large envelope in the mail from the National Marrow Donor Registry. I could not even open it for awhile, as I was uncertain of what its contents might be. Once I generated the courage to open it, the letter stated, "your doctor has received your report". I am a bit confused because when my search was initiated in mid-May, I was told it could be 3-6 months before the results would be available. Naturally, it was after 6 when I returned home, so doctors and NDMP numbers were not answered. So we wait....

The packet included a great deal of information on transplant, so my assumption is that they found a matched unrelated donor (MUD). I will update with more information once I receive it. I had completely tabled any mental time or energy spent on the transplant decision. It has to be one of the most difficult decisions anyone is every asked to make. My logic was that until I knew I had a match, there was no need to ponder and research transplant. IF the results are available and IF there is a matched donor, I can no longer ignore transplant consideration. I will be forced to make that decision for myself.

Thanks for your prayers.