I am usually not a superstitious person, but lately, I'll take whatever "signs" that come my way and are good and run with them.
Today I went to the hospital with dread and admittedly was upset in the garage before going in the building. I walked through the hall and near the pharmacy looked over and saw a friend of mine. She had a fall over a year ago and is now confined to a wheel chair. Her husband and she had just been to her surgeon and received very positive feedback. The reason she was my first good omen, though, was because throughout her entire ordeal, she maintained a positive attitude and was always so upbeat - and she was so with me today.
I kept walking down the next hallway and a couple rounds the corner. I looked at the woman and realized that I knew her too! When we got closer, I asked her if she went to McCluer North High School and she said, "Yes, I knew I recognized you!". I asked what she was doing there and she said her Mom has AML and is on the 6th floor. I told her my Dad has AML and is on the 5th floor. Her Mom was diagnosed two years ago and just had a bone marrow transplant recently. We exchanged emails. My spirits were lifting - two years ago! That is like water to a man in a dessert - a Godsend.
Thirdly, I was visiting with Dad (who, by the way, looks great!) and his doctor for this week came in, Dr. Aboud. I have to say, my first impression of him earlier last week was not so grand. Today, however, he made my day. He gave Dad a lot of positive feedback and said, your numbers are not the entire picture. He also explained that although his numbers have dipped, four days ago he was on a steroid. Steroids boost White cell longevity. The day his white cell counts jumped so dramatically was the day he was given this steroid. The cells don't die off as rapidly while they're being asked to fight a possible infection. The next day after the steroid, we started to see a decline. So it went like this.
Five days ago - Dad's ANC number was in the 200s
Four days ago - ANC jumped to 700 (steroid administered)
Three days ago- ANC started to decline in the 500-600s
Two days ago - ANC hits 300s
yesterday - ANC in the 200s again.
If you consider the steroid use, Dad hasn't really lost any ground. He's held steady from prior to the steroid five days ago.
The doctor told him depending on this biopsy, there is still a possibility that he'll be home by the weekend. He was my hero with all this news. Dad asked what he thought we would see from the biopsy and of course he said, "hopefully no leukemia". He also asked how Dad was feeling and if his sense of smell was coming back. Dad said that it was and the doctor said, you are obviously healing. Your body is recovering from the chemo as smell and taste are starting to return. That seems like a very positive sign to me. He also said that from when he met Dad a week ago, he is a completely different man today - healthy looking.
So, then the biopsy. I had to leave at 3:30 and they were just getting underway. They were done by 3:45 - record timing from his past two. It went very well with very little discomfort Mom said. Amen to that, sista.
We have to wait three days for the biopsy results. I feel like I'm living some kind of psuedo life of Jesus. Three visitors or signs today, Jesus met three people on the way to the cross. Three days wait for results, three days wait for the resurrection. Let's hope that is what we have happen later this week - resurrection, revival, rebirth. God bless us.
Thank you for hanging on with us.
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