After an amazing trip to Colorado and a great work trip to Juneau, Jenny and I headed to the Doctor this morning, nerves a bit frayed by weeks of waiting for results.
The optimistic news: The levels of leukemia in my bone marrow dropped over the three weeks between tests. I'm never fully out of the woods, but my Alaska Doc views this as a good sign that this is not indicative of a relapse. This is a huge relief. It means continuing to live the life I love here in Alaska. The less good news: The nine month tests indicated some rather significant complications that can happen after a bone marrow transplant. This includes low immune system indicators and a high level of EBV (The same virus that causes mono) -- both of which make me highly susceptible to infection. The good news on that front is that they are both treatable, but it does mean a lot more Doc visits and risks of getting sick. The high EBV is also compounded by the drugs that treat Graph vs. Host disease (the last thing that landed me in the hospital and is just getting under control). As my Doc explained this morning, it is "going to be a tightrope walk" to figure out the best way to treat this moving forward. Thank God for the Docs who have dedicated their lives to trying to fix unbelievably complicated sick kids like me. I'm going to keep this post short and simple. In the spirit of living, Jenny and I are taking the day off tomorrow to fish, camp, decompress and celebrate. It's already nearly midnight and I still need to pack the fly fishing gear, clothes, and rolling pharmacy that comes on all our adventures. I'll leave you with a few pictures of living life over the last couple of weeks. Hope you're all enjoying the summer. Don't forget to carpe the f***in' diem.
Ryan
7/28/2016 11:58:45 pm
Excellent news buddy! Keep on trucking! those three letter acronyms got nothing on you! ALL, GVH, EBV...they can't touch S.A.M.
Bev Mangerson
7/29/2016 10:13:10 am
Good news Sam! I can see that you never lose your sense of humor! That salmon looks amazingly delicious! Hang in there and enjoy the rest of your summer. Much love Comments are closed.
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