Ho Ho Ho

Well, there is more than one reason to be jolly this Christmas Season.  It has been a while since I have posted, because I have really not had much to report on the medical front.  I thought that I would wait until after my 14 month follow up with the doctor on December 16th.  All of my blood numbers continue to improve or remain stable.  My physical exam showed nothing remarkable. 

Sarah & Kevin

In my last report our daughter Sarah had just gotten engaged.  As of December 6th, she is now officially married.  In 3 short months Sarah basically planned an entire wedding.  It was really a magical affair, and she did an outstanding job. 

Lois Genevieve

We love her husband Kevin's family and are so fortunate to have him as a son-in-law. 

Also in my last report our son Jeff, and his wife Kristen had just had a baby girl.  Even though she was born 5 weeks early, she is now in the 75th percentile and has caught up nicely and is doing great.

I continue to respond well to my drug, Imbruvica.  Several months ago I had a slight blip where my blood numbers had started going the wrong way, but that has seemed to correct itself and my white blood count is now the lowest it has been since I began this treatment.  Most of the side effects have gone away and I am now experiencing only very minor irritations.  Based on my prognostic markers I am not supposed to do that well on this drug, but it appears that I am an exception to the rule.  A fairly high percentage of people that have been heavily pre-treated and have some of my markers relapse in less than a year. But as my blood numbers show, I continue to improve even after 14 months.  It is unclear how long I will continue to receive the drug as a part of the RESONATE trial, but it appears that they want to make sure they are capturing LONG TERM data, so it seems like I will continue on the trial for at least another year.

On a sadder note, Donna's Dad had a minor stroke 2 days before the wedding.  He has passed thru the rehab facility and is now home with a full time caregiver, who has been a great addition to the family. Donna's Dad is still weak on the left side, but we are lucky that it didn't affect  his speech or cognitive abilities.  Then last week, my Aunt Lois (my Dad's sister) fell and broke her shoulder and her wrist. So my sister Rebecca, and her partner Cherese have gone to Fresno to try to provide support.  Latest reports on Lois is that she is getting better day by day, but it will be a long recovery.  My Dad and his Lois were planning on going there for Christmas, so they are there now.  After a change in my Aunt Evelyn's medicine she seems to be getting back to her old self and is even planning on helping to take care of Lois.  Please pray for all of them that these issues can be quickly resolved.

Being on a treatment that has put me into remission has given us the ability to do some traveling.  We helped our son Matt and his wife Randi move from Seattle to Berkeley in August.  Randi is in a PhD program at Berkeley and Matt was able to transfer to Trader Joe's down there.  We then moved a load of stuff to Sarah's new home in Livingston, Montana (where she went directly from her honeymoon).  It was an exciting trip because we got to visit our friends Tall Tom and Holly, and their daughters Ashley and Megan in Marysvale, Utah.  5 days later we got to go to Oahu for 10 days with friends of ours who had access to a house on the North Shore.  We had never been to Oahu and it turned out to be a wonderful trip full of beautiful scenery, golf, and a trip to the Pearl Harbor Memorial.  If things settle down a bit, we plan on making a visit to Berkeley in January, maybe to Seattle and Fresno in February or March, and then to Montana in April.  But we have to be back home in May for the birth of our 4th Grandchild.  Yes, our daughter Aimee and husband Bryan are expecting a baby girl in May.

May the joy of Christmas bless you and yours this holiday season.

Terry