I contacted my Stem Cell Coordinator, Lori Griffin, at MD Anderson yesterday to see if we had any word yet about the donor being available for the transplant. She had not but told me it takes several days to a few weeks because all communication transpires between her and the national transplant registry officials. They do all the communicating with the donor to keep them anonymous. She hoped she would get word before we go for my next chemo treatment on September 25th.
That appointment may get postponed since Dr. Jones and Dr. Kadia know how hard the first round of chemo was on me. They want me healthy as can be expected before either more chemo treatment and/or the transplant process begins. Sometimes it seems like a "catch 22" in that everything is dependent on my "Blast" percentage as well as my strength. That blast number dropped to 4% right after my last chemo treatment, indicating it worked. However, 3 weeks later, without more chemo, the blast went up to 8%. It's very likely that by the time of my next appointment the blast may be right back too high to do the stem cell transplant. Thus the "catch 22", more chemo weakens me so that I may not be able to do the transplant but the reduced blast from the chemo make the transplant more possible. Hopefully, we can overcome this dilemma soon.
As for my overall recovery at home, things are going very well. My appetite is almost back to normal and I've gained back about 10 lbs of the 20 lbs I lost during the 5 week ordeal of my treatments and the pneumonia occurrence. So my strength is better and I'm more stable in my standing and walking, too. I still get tired very easily when I do too much. Later in the day to early evening are still my worst times of fatigue. But I'm encouraged as each day brings more and more strength. I need that so I can do more exercise to get my muscles strengthened as well.
So we continue to wait for good news about the transplant.
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