Surrounded by a sea of soap

One of the morning routines is the "cleaning of the room".  Sunday morning I was brushing my teeth in the sink which happens to be in my room and the cleaner accidentally dropped a large bottle of soap which encircled me.  She did not seem to think much about it and went on to start cleaning the bathroom.  When I pointed out that the puddle was about to hit my suitcase she started to wipe it up, but then left mid-task and continued cleaning the bathroom.  I pointed out to her that I was surrounded by the soap and could not move. She then did manage to get it all up and I retreated to the safety of my "High and Dry" bed.  Needless to say all the extra soap on the floor contributed to a beautiful cleaning that day!


These past few days have resulted in sorting out my swelling - I can see my toes and ankles once again! I have been fortunate to be able to stay on a drug that helps suppress my rigors and fevers and so have been able to hydrate, eat, and even get some rest. This has helped my digestive tract move along in the right direction enabling me to gain a bit of nutrition.  My nurses have been excellent the last few nights at organizing all the meds and vitals, so that I have a 3hr block of time between 2AM and 5AM where I can get some sleep.  I then nap on and off until 7Am when the daily routine starts.

When I related the news about my AML to a dear friend and Arsenal fan, I told him I was going to be like Puyol, my favorite player on my favorite team FC Barcelona: the best offensive-defender that I know.  He ever so kindly sent me a Puyol jersey and it has become my hall-walking shirt. I made 5 laps around two days in a row (yes, Puyol's #5 did motivate me to get 5 laps in), 7 yesterday, and 6 today - amazing how wearing a jersey can be so motivating to move down the hall!

Here are photos of myself and my cousin Gary and his wife Diane visiting from NY; also notice the colorful cap that my dear friend Barbara Welz in Germany knitted in a jiffy and sent for me to wear:

Diane and the backside of my new Barca jersey and my new knitted hat!

Me and my cousin Gary

So my day 14 bone marrow result showed 10% blasts and I had another bone marrow last Friday.  The results should be known tomorrow.  If there are leukemia cells I will undergo a second induction Chemotherapy with different drugs than the first time, and be on a faster track to a bone marrow transplant. If not leukemic, they will let my counts recover and then start consolidation chemotherapy with a bone marrow transplant farther out.

Love, hugs and so many thanks to all of you for your support, it truly makes a difference for us and I can not thank you enough!