A New Year...Back at 'er

Well, you haven't heard from me for a while... Just to reassure you, I haven't died. No I am far from that! I have been enjoying my time out of the hospital. Christmas went really well, and I was able to spend it with family which was really good. It went by so fast again, as it always does, but that is the holidays for yah! New Years wasn't so exciting, but I saw it in with a good feeling. My headaches were gone for Christmas, but slowly came back into the picture, though not as strong. I received another Lumbar puncture the 28th, it went well, but it's not a great experience, no matter how well it goes. This past week was supposed to be my last Lumbar for a while, as well as the commencing of my radiation treatment. As the saying goes, not everything goes as planned... I guess there was a fax sent to my doctor here from Montreal, bad news, that had been sitting in the tray since the 22nd. My doctor was away for Christmas until just this past Tuesday, and only since then have I known. My Leukemia is in fact not in full remission, it is at 40% still. I had another bone marrow biopsy done and this proved the results from Montreal.

I am to be admitted to the Foothills Hospital where I will again undergo another session of chemotherapy. So I am, for now, scrapping the idea of radiation, because it is no longer needed. I will begin a whole new protocol of treatment, since my previous one did not hit the Leukemia hard enough to wipe it out. This new regimen is called FLAG, an acronym that stands for the different drugs and stimulants that I will be given. As well, instead of a PICC line in my arm, a central venous line will be inserted in to my chest to receive the chemo and other intravenous juices. The reason for the CV line is it is a little less irritating, although I don't know about that, and that I will need one if I proceed to Bone Marrow Transplant, which is possible sometime after this chemo, if I go into full remission this time. If not I may go through another bout, no matter what the outcome. But that is enough of if...I will!!

As for my moral, it is good, of course I am not looking forward to being in the hospital, but I will make the best of it. I am still scared, this uncertainty is unnerving. The next month will be another challenge I am faced with, but what is a month...A tiny grain in the sands of time...That is a really bad metaphor, never again! So we'll see you on the other side.