No Remission Just Yet
Today Dr. Cripe called with the news.  I still have Leukemia present in my bone marrow.  I am not in remission.  We will most likely move on to a drug that was recently approved by the FDA to treat relapsed ALL.  Dr. Cripe is investigating whether there are any clinical trials that are using this drug in new ways since its approval.  The drug is call blinatumomab and helps my immune system recognize and kill the Leukemia cells.  I will meet with Dr. Cripe at 9:30 on Monday to talk about the plan.  From what I’ve read about this drug, it is given IV over 4 weeks and then there is a 2 week break.  Multiple rounds can be given to achieve remission.  There are some promising results from the clinical trials, but not everyone achieves remission.

So How Am I?
Doing ok.  It’s obviously not the news I wanted.  I’ll need time to process how I feel.  At this point, I’m still thinking about remission and SCT.  It’s just that remission will need to come in a different way than I thought.  While I would prefer the easiest path to a cure, that doesn’t mean that’s the only path or the one I need to take.  There are still effective treatments available.  I’m willing to go through the treatments for however long it takes.  The goal is a cure.

Next Steps
As mentioned, we will meet with Dr. Cripe on Monday.  This will be our chance to ask more questions.  We will also discuss any clinical trials that may be available.  Barring any new information, I would expect to be admitted next week to begin treatment with Blinatumomab.  Once I achieve a 2nd remission, we’ll still move on to SCT.  I’ll obviously update when I know more.

Normal Things
Aside from finding out that I am not in remission, today was a good day.  Lindsey worked, but I felt well enough to get the kids to day care.  I got to wake them up and help get them ready.  Doing all the things that I haven’t done for so long.  It was good to take them to Miss Lindsay’s and pick them up.  Knowing I’ll be going back to the hospital, it was even more precious.

A Duck Dynasty Prayer
Maybe I didn’t cry out loud enough.  Maybe I didn’t cry out often enough.  Did you hear my pleas oh God.  Did you see my tears.  Did you know my desire for remission.  To be cured of this disease.  To be with my family?  Where are you?  But I know the answer.  You are with me.  You are right here beside me.  In this world I will have trouble, but I take heart because you have overcome the world.  Cover my family in your love Lord God.  Help us as we deal with the next few days.  Help Lindsey and I to be normal with the kids.  Let them bask in your love and our love.  Let us be prepared with the questions we need to ask.  Let Dr. Cripe make knowledgeable decisions and find a treatment that will work for me.  My timeline for recovery has increased, but you are with me each step of the way.  There are more treatment options and more days ahead.  Thank you for another day.

The BMA is all done.  Overall it went pretty well. My hemoglobin is up a bit.  My WBC and Platelets are down a bit.  Dr. Cripe said we really can’t tell anything by those counts. What will really tell us what is going on is the result of the BMA.  We won’t have those today.  We should receive results tomorrow.  So now we wait. 

Wednesday, July 8th at 1:00pm
My appointment with Dr. Cripe is at 1pm.  I’ll have my blood drawn and if there are no signs of leukemia in my peripheral blood, then we will move on to a bone marrow aspiration.  Knowing you are going to have a bone marrow aspiration is kinda like blowing by a cop at 100mph.  You know what’s going to happen.  You know it’s going to suck.  But you also know there isn’t anything you can do about it.  You just have to pull over, smile, and take your ticket.

Bone Marrow Aspiration/Biopsy
A little over 2 years ago, I wrote about what a Bone Marrow Aspiration (BMA) is like.  For those of you not inclined to hear about drilling into bone, I’ll just tell you it’s not fun and you can skip to the next section.

Continue reading Tomorrow is a Big Day