Odds and Ends

I've been checking online to see if any results are available from my latest bone marrow biopsy, but nothing will be reported until next week.  Of course I'm hopeful that the multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) results will confirm that I have no minimum residual disease (MRD), which would mean that I am still in complete remission.  We'll see.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Gretchen continues to improve every day.  Her rehab has been very instrumental in helping her to recover both physically and mentally.  I can't say enough about the wonderful staff at the Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) in Salem, NH.  After her discharge, we chose to continue going back there for her outpatient therapy, even though there were other facilities closer to us that would have been more convenient.  However, NRH specializes in neurological injuries (brain trauma, concussion, stroke, etc.), and I can't imagine a better place for Gretchen to continue her recovery.  Besides, her inpatient neurologist, Dr. Whitlock, chose to keep her on as his patient after her discharge (which is unusual), and he is wonderful. As it turns out, he is also the Medical Director at NRH.  As with her neurosurgeon, Dr. Alterman, Gretchen has been extremely fortunate to have encountered the top medical professionals along the way to help her in her recent travails.

I don't mind driving Gretchen to these appointments (one hour round trip to NRH).  After all, she has been a rock for me during my MM travails over the past two years.  I guess what goes around, comes around.  Tomorrow we go back into Boston for her followup ENT appointment.  Next week, her friend, Karen, plans to pick her up and and take her for a facial appointment, because she thinks that by then, I'll be "tired of carting her sorry ass around".  Not so!  Nevertheless, Gretchen feels a bit caged in and is anxious to be able to begin driving herself around again. 

I took a break from gong to the gym during this recent time of crisis, but I have started going back again.  Gretchen isn't ready to do that yet, so I am doing this on my own.  I have almost gotten back to the weight levels I had reached earlier, so I hope I can keep this up and make it a regular routine.  It's really a good feeling to walk out of there tired and sweaty, knowing that I have done something good for myself.  It makes me feel young again. 

On my last visit to DFCI, there was an article in the internal newsletter announcing that Dr. Richardson has been appointed to a full professor and endowment chair at Harvard Medical School. The article went on to list his prodigious accomplishments, publications, and awards (too long to repeat here).   Good for him!  And again, lucky for me that he's my doc.