Getting ready....

Sorry for going so long without posting folks... I sorta have been enjoying regular life at home. I have gone back to school for the past 2 weeks (I am going to be taking 2 classes). Well regular is a bit of overstatement, because I still haven't fully regained all my strength and stamina from the very extended hospital stay. But everyday I get stronger and feel like I can tackle more and more. There have been definite times where I have gotten overenthusiastic and bitten off more than I could chew... aka trying to hang out at Toledo one night last week (sitting on a bar stool is a lot more work than one would expect...). But all in all I have been doing really really well, and have been feeling really great.

In the last few days though, I find myself getting more and more ready for my next round of treatment. On Friday, I am going in for a bone marrow biopsy and on Tuesday I am going back into the hospital to begin the second round of chemotherapy. When it comes to biopsy, I definitely am not looking forward to the procedure, but as the date gets closer I am starting to realize that I more anxious about the results that come out of it. What we expect is that the biopsy will show that I am in remission and that we can move on to the consolidation phase of my treatment. Rationally I know there really is no reason to believe that the test results show anything but that I am in remission, I mean all signs point to that. But deep down inside, there is just this lingering anxiety that will, and can only be relieved by receiving the results.

It really seems that during my stay at home, the fact that I have leukemia has really sunk in. Everything happened so fast in the beginning that there really was no opportunity for it to sink in.

The one really outstanding thing about starting round 2 is that this isn't my first rodeo anymore. I know what to expect, and I can kinda plan for it. I know that I will be feeling pretty good that first week. The weeks that come after that, not so much. I know that I can have friends bring in food. I've made a list of movies, TV shows I wanna watch (LOST) and book I want to read I better do it early on... because soon chemo brain will settle in and I most definitely wont be able to do those things.

I am really excited by the likely hood that this hospital is going to be much shorter. The doctors expect me to be admitted during while they administer the chemotherapy. Once that is done, and blood levels, and i am looking good, i should be sent home. I will be readmitted in all likelihood as my blood levels drop, but all in all it would mean a MUCH shorter hospital stay. I think everyone would agree that three and half weeks a bit long.

Well thats my story from here for now... :) and I promise I will try to be a more faithful blogger :)