Day 61

The subtitle to today could be Day 2 of Shark Week. Kristen loves shark week on the Discovery channel. So we will be watching shows about sharks all week long. Right now some fool is swimming with sharks and turning them over. I think you'd have to be all kinds of crazy to do that.

We woke up this morning to a dark apartment. The electricity was off for the entire complex. Luckily I had a flashlight so we could see to get our clothes and have a little light in the bathroom. I felt sorry for the people that had to get ready for work. Our apartment was already feeling muggy. Our clinic visit went well. We saw Dr. Popat and heard that next week we would be free of the ATC and just do clinical visits down on the 8th floor at Stem Cell Transplant. Kristen has also graduated from the home IV's. Dr. Popat is suggesting Kristen be part of a case study on some medication that may help her stay leukemia free. I have to say my heart stopped for a second. Sometimes I forget the stem cell transplant is the best chance of long term freedom from her AML. Best chance, not a guaranteed cure. As he mentioned again her AML has a high rate of relapse. Stops you in your tracks for a moment. We visited with the case study nurse and Kristen will review the risks. The nurse will also check with our insurance and Dr. Beck. She would have to have injections while she is home if she is chosen for the study. Her first concern was whether or not it would keep her hair from coming back. We let them know what she decides on Thursday. I was looking back at the blogs from last summer and we look to be about a week behind where we were then. I'm measuring in terms of when she stopped going to the ATC and when she started clinical only visits. So we remain cautiously optimistic for an early release.

Please continue to pray for healing. Pray that Kristen can remain cancer free. Praise the fact that she's progressing to the next stage. Particularly, give praise for those that have gone before her in trials and research. Those who have been there to help in the advancement of treatment for her disease.