kedasso, homeagain and all– thank you so much for your concern and suggestions…

ok… the reason they let me come home was because my blood returned to “normal levels” in terms of red, white and platelets. i don’t know if that is because i did the neupogen week– initiates white blood cells to be produced, etc. but because my levels returned to normal, their response when we asked if we could return home for this time was, “you are no more likely to get sick than sophie at this point as your blood is now normal.” they said i was not neupogenic… meaning, i am not at risk for infection, at least not more than anyone else. so i hope that puts your mind at ease ken and frank 😮

and homeagain– you wondered about my silence in the last days. yes, it’s true. one reason is because i have had an unusually large amount of visitors due to my b’day. thanks again for the b’day wishes. but also because i have had an increase in my pain.

now, if you recall, i had a tremendous boost after the chemo. for the week following chemo, i had strength and stamina like never before in this illness. it was amazing and prompted me to write the post entitled, “cytoxan is amazing.” after that week though, i began 5 days of mega doses of neupogen shots. (everything about my protocol is “mega” 😉 ) and… of course i had the stem cell harvest day itself. it was during and after all of that, not the chemo, that knocked me on my butt. the neupogen caused me back pain and a general feeling of not being well. and the harvest, i later learned, is quite demanding on the body. so i feel i am still recovering from all of that…

in fact– my neuropathy feels it’s been messed with. hard to explain– but i have a significant increase in pain, mostly center back down. hence, it makes me more tired than usual– you know how pain is exhausting onto itself… however, something else strange is going on– i am now able to get up on my toes! not much, and not for very long– but i can! so what the heck is happening? i have no additional numbness– really i have just an increase in pain. additionally, do you remember when i spoke of secondary processes in a recent post– those things you feel with cidp that cannot be medically proven but that we know in our hearts and from within the intimacy of knowing our own bodies that– there are certainly “other” things at work to make us feel unwell… i also spoke of how after the chemo, all of those ailments disappeared– well, they are back along with a particularly acute onset of pain. in summation:cool: , somethings are better and some are not– at this juncture. i’m also getting a lot of sharp zingers in my feet and toes– now for me, zingers have always meant heeling, which would correspond with my new ability to get up onto my toes.

so, who the heck knows… i’m just thrilled to be home in our beautiful weather, on a warm sunny deck, and with my velcro doggies. we have about a quarter acre property and we typically spend an enormous amount of time outside on our deck or gardening, etc. we feel a little cooped up in the relatively small chicago apartment we rent. and, it’s not like i can take advantage of the wonderful city of chicago– just not well enough, you know…

so that’s the dealio:cool: i hope everyone is doing well and i will certainly post more as i begin to feel better, which i am, with each passing day…

warmly,
alice

I’m a Arkansan from and still in Arkansaw. Opps Arkansas. Got it right the last time;) . We call the Hogs here but they aren’t a source for sausage. Home of a president I personally think was a great one economically . I believe he coulda won another term. (his wife made all of the decisions) :rolleyes: most of ours do! lol My wife just said (wind beneath your wings dude) , shes a great one. Of course most of you know our landmarks , Wally World aka Wal-Mart’s birthplace and I guarantee Sam Walton would not run it on all Part Time Help without benefits but the greedy heirs and I’m not even sure if there is a Walton even in a desk chair anymore. Back to our (president) his Presidential Library does look like a house trailer aka (manufacturd;) home). We can’t buy booze on Sunday,no Lottery,if the Governor’s office can’t get some we can’t either. We just had a Preacher as Governor and OMG.hmmmmm what can I say about that. We have more churches and banks per capita than the rest of the planet. But when you get outside of the city limits and open your eyes there isn’t a more beautiful place on the planet either. I live 3 minuites from Downtown Little Rock 2 minuites from the Capitol Building that looks just like our nations Capitol Building. I live 2 minuites from a ramp to get on the Arkansas River and from my house I can see the otherside of it. I see deer walk through my neighborhood. There are fox.racoon……and WAY TOO MANY SQUIRRELS some of them are in the building I talked about earlier. I live 2 blocks from the “world champion” BBQ resturant, I think they have won it 5 or 6 times and OMG you should get some if your ever get the chance. We also have Hot Springs Arkansas that actually has hot spring bath houses(pretty cool) ooops but they are hot! There are 2 “legal” Gambling places in the state 1 is the Oaklawn Race Track and it’s one of the best places to people watch . The other is the Greyhound Dog Track and it’s dying because of the casinos on the Mississippi side of the BIG RIVER. We go to a Lake thats so awsome (we actually went to “our” spot and did not see anyone for the WHOLE DAY!! ). We live in a “neighborhood” we have a key to 6 other “neighbors” houses. How RARE is that? All in all it’s a great place to live ixnay the government. See ya’ll real soon! But ya gotta go back home! lol