good bloodwork

Hi,
My counts were really good today- hemoglobin 9.2 (the highest it has been since I relapsed) and my platelets 242 which is the highest they have been in a year. This is part of what my dr is looking at and is feeling good about. I start the next cycle tomorrow. My counts will def go down -that's the nature of this thing. Here is a picture Bridget took of me, Thomas and Rowan on Easter. Yes, I am wearing an apron. Where the hell are my pearls?!
Take care,
Beryl

Nothing is clear and all is a mystery

Happy Easter!
We had the family over for lunch and it was great. After everyone left James and I took a nap. A perfect day!
So the tests results are unclear. My boy/girl ratio is almost 50/50 (half of my old cells half of my donor cells) which is a little better. My blast counts are a tiny bit better. My doctor (Dr. Douvas) says looking at my overall blood counts, the test results and my boy/girl counts, he thinks I am slowly making progress. He is sending the biopsy samples to MD Anderson in Texas to run the tests again. The two tests that analyze the blasts (bad blood cells) are still very far apart. One suggests 4.5% blasts which is close to remission and the other 14.5% which is close to Leukemia. There is no way I can go into transplant with those numbers. This past month I needed a blood transfusion one time. Last month it was 2 blood and two platelets. I am receiving a little less chemo now so that is probably why. I still go to the clinic 2x a week to have my blood checked to see if I need transfusions. Next week my doc will have a plan but it looks like chemo, biopsy, rinse and repeat. He heard from a doc at John Hopkins who has a patient using the same chemo regiment and she told him it is very slow. We had heard from the doc at MD Anderson that the treatment had very fast results (which was what I was going with.) I'm thinking it's the slow boat to health. The worst case would have been increased blasts and that didn't happen.
So, I am still teaching on-line and doing the best I can. I am generally low energy but I still do stuff, just rest in between. I see the Grandkids regularly and am gardening. I garden a little and rest a little. I must say though, my garden is looking amazing. I'm planting flowers with the hope that I will get the transplant and come home and recover while seeing the flowers go crazy.
One day at a time with no idea of anything.
I keep saying to myself, "this time next year I'll be completely healed".
Take care and happy Spring,
Beryl

This is the post I thought I lost!!! DOH!!!!!

Hi,
I'm hanging in- still waiting. I have a biopsy next monday April 15th. The results should be back by the end of the week or early the following week. My doc is sending the samples to the UVA lab and the lab at MC Anderson in Houston. The results from the last teats have been odd. They use two different tests to see where I am with the blasts. The blasts are abnormal cells that the body eliminates unless you have a problem. 1-3% is normal, anything else indicates a problem. 21% is considered Leukemia. My last two tests have show 3-5% and 15%. The tests are very inconclusive and have everyone scratching their heads. Hopefully, using the two labs, we may see something more conclusive. I am living in the now.
My energy is ok. I need transfusions of blood and or platelets after the chemo rounds. My blood gets better in between chemos. I'm still gardening - the spring is amazing here, but I take a lot of rests. My neighbor use to call me a beast. I am not a beast these days. Hopefully after the transplant.  I'm seeing a lot of the grandkids and James and I are focusing on doing fun things. We have both put on weight and we call it our "food baby". Thomas, James and I compare our food babies. Believe it or not, James wins!!
I'll post after the results. Keep me in your prayers. I'm going to finish taking my vitamins (so so many) and go work in the garden.
Take care,
Beryl

Argh! I lost a post

Hi,
I just wrote a long post and somehow lost it. Argh! Anyway- I'm hanging in- I have a biopsy next Monday and in a week, we'll have some results. There are several possibilities but we'll wait and see what the deal is. In the meantime I'm moving slow but I'm still moving. I'm doing school work, gardening and hanging with the Grandkids. Caffeine is my new best friend.  Yesterday was Thomas Tuesday and today is Rowan Wednesday! I'll try to include a pic of my dafs.
Keep me in your prayers,
Beryl