Day 104

I wonder how long I'll keep counting my days.  The doctors don't count it daily any more so there's really know reason to keep track.  I just got so used to knowing what day I was, this was a common question at the clinic from both staff and other patients.  Anyway, I went up to Duke yesterday while Buster spent the day at doggy daycare.  We left the house at 7:15am and got home about 7:30pm, it was a long day.  Both of us were asleep by 9:00pm.

My doctor visit went well, I'm happy to report that my last biopsy shows I have clean donor marrow.  I should be set now but I'll still have to get a biopsy once a year for awhile.  I talked to the doctor about my mouth and stomach issues.  Good news, I do not have graph vs host disease (GVHD)! I was concerned because of my symptoms and my finger nail beds have become more ridged.   All of these could be signs of the disease.  I didn't say anything to anyone other than Eric but we didn't get overly concerned because I didn't have the skin rash which is the main symptom of GVHD.  I found out the difference in my finger nails is I'm growing new nail that hasn't been affected by chemo.  There's a clear line on all my finger nails so it's kind of cool to see the chemo affects grow out so to speak.

Dr. Horwitz also determined that my mouth problem is thrush, go figure Dr. Miller called it last week and I didn't believe him!  Now I am on medication, so I'm happy to know the issue is now being treated and will go away.  Dr. H also stopped two of my medicines in hopes of fixing my digestion problems.  Soon he'll be starting me on estrogen, since my uterus is not doing it's job.  That will protect my bones and skin.  It won't revive my uterus or make me be able to conceive but that's the way it is.  Is there a chance a miracle could happen?  Sure, but I can't place my hopes on that.  All I know is I'm alive and I view life in a totally different way now, so I'm happy.

Tomorrow, poor Buster is going to be neutered.  I hope he does well and isn't too mad at us after the procedure.  I'm glad it's finally happening, he has tried to hump me twice, I'll be glad that behavior will stop.  I've been reading Cesar's Way, so now I'm working on being 'calm assertive' and using my 'energy' to influence Buster.  In some ways it's working but I still have more learning to do, as does Buster.

Well that's it for today, I hope your day is treating you well.  Peace out and much love from 6119.