Tuesday, 5th May

 

One word......

 

REMISSION

 



 

 

Three words....

 

100% complete remission

 

We had our appointment with Prof Novitzky at 5pm yesterday.  As usual we had to be there at 4pm for bloods so Jimmy left work early and came home to fetch me and then we went through together.

 

I cannot tell you how nervous I have been about this appointment.  I think I was worried that the positive pathology report we had got back with regards to the M-protein reading had been a mistake or a dream.  We walked into his office and Prof met us at the door like he always does.  We said hello and Jimmy said I hope you've got some good news for us.  To this Prof replied Yes, yes...good news.  He has a very thick accent and I will never forget the words that came out his mouth nor the smile and sparkle he had in his eyes.  100% Complete remission is what he told us.  No trace of any cancer in the bone marrow.  I nearly climbed onto his desk and did the hoola hoola.  Jimmy was smiling with tears running down his cheeks.

 

So for now this is the way forward; Prof is going to give Jimmy a month off with no treatment so that he can carry on recovering from the chemo and stem sell transplant.  He is a bit concerned about Jimmy's low platelets but explained that this is a result of the heavy chemo he had prior to stem cell transplant.  After having platelets on Saturday morning when the count was 21 they have only come up to 24.  So Jimmy will have bloods again on Wednesday (tomorrow) and if this count stays at 24 or comes up then he will not have more platelets.  In the meantime Jimmy has to be very careful about doing anything where he can bump himself or fall as this will lead to internal bleeding.  We also have to keep an eye on things and if we notice bruising then he will also have to have some platelets.  His haemoglobin is also marginally low which means he is anaemic so if Jimmy is feeling tired this would be the reason.  His white bloods are remaining constant on the low side but this will also be monitored.  Prof Novitzky is hoping that after another month of recovery these counts will be a bit more normal.  And he needs to carry on taking Vitamin B and Folic Acid.

 

We have made an appointment to see him in a month again for another check up, at which time they will also take bloods for another M-protein result to see if the results are constant.  If they are and his bloods have come up a bit then Jimmy will go on a one year maintenance course of Thalidomide which is an oral form of chemotherapy.  The side effect of this is that it could lower his white blood cell count so this is why Prof wants to wait a month.  Another side effect is blood clotting but this is more prevalent with patients who have cancer cells present so he doesn't think this will be a problem.  He will have on-going blood tests to monitor the M-protein and make sure they are not 're-generating' for lack of a better word.  And the good news is he does not have to have another bone marrow biopsy for another 6 months.  In the meantime he will also continue with his monthly Zobone infusion to strengthen his bones.

 

With regards to work; Jimmy has been back 2 weeks now and all is going well so Prof is happy with this.  Jimmy has a conference in Jnb (I think) at the end of the month and we discussed flying to which Prof advised that local is fine.  He does not recommend international flying at this stage yet.  He actually made a joke and said local flying to Jnb is fine because Jnb is dangerous enough without having cancer :)  For obvious reasons Prof did advise to stay away from anyone with a cough.

 

Jimmy has been complaining about backache so Prof checked him out.  Jimmy cannot bend forward to get anywhere near to touching his knees, never mind his toes and cannot go down on his haunches.  Prof got him to sit on the examination bed and lean forward and he used that hammer looking thing that they usually check your knee reflexes with and lightly tapped all the way down Jimmy's spine.  Jimmy was fine with this and Prof explained that if there was any backache Jimmy would have hit the roof.  Basically the pain he is experiencing is still muscular as the muscles are still protecting his spine.  Jimmy needs to cycle on a stationery bike (so he can't fall off and hurt himself) or walk to loosen up all the muscles.  Prof also went into some detail regarding Jimmy's compressed vertebra and said that this will never come right on its own.  He would need to have a back operation to rectify the compression but he advised that if Jimmy is not suffering from backache to not have it done as it is basically only cosmetic.

 

So....what more can I say.  I am feeling so much more positive today and feel like we have truly been given a second chance.  Some of those walls that I spoke about have also crumbled.  I understand that I now also have to let go and urge Jimmy to do a lot more of the day to day things on his own and he needs to stop taking advantage.

 

Strange how the body is but by 10pm last night I had a very sore throat and have woken up this morning feeling like I swallowed sandpaper and have a snotty nose.  I think it might be a sinus infection.  All this time I did not get sick once!  I think when Prof mentioned 100% complete remission my protection layers  just peeled right off with relief.

 

In the next while my blogs will become less frequent but I will still do updates, was thinking maybe once a month or so.  If you have not done so already a good idea would be to subscribe to receiving the any blogs to you email address, this way you will not miss any and have to think back to when last you read it.

 

Don't forget to send me an email (viviennesmith68@gmail.com) so that I can give you permission to read my blog once it goes private on 22/05/2015.

 

Thank you for all your love, support and prayer during this time.

It has been simply overwhelming.

I can't thank you enough,

All my love xxx