Day 121

Nick is now at Day 121.  He has lab "check-ups" every other week at Moffitt and meets with Dr. Perez monthly.  Nick has been a little frustrated that his white blood counts (WBC) have not been going up as quickly as all of the other counts, but Dr. Perez explains that this is nothing to worry about.  He's feeling fairly well although he does have soreness in his arms and legs.  Again, Dr. Perez told us that this is not uncommon and probably due to Nick's walking and hand weights, however he says it feels more like additional after-effects of the chemo.  Nick has been released to do more activities, including riding his bike, however I insist that he have someone with him whenever possible.  He has been going to work every day, but to the office only and he has not been "green-lighted" to travel just yet.  Nick has started visiting his Mother again, but still remains diligent in his routine to stay germ-free.  He spent Mother's Day with Lisa by picking her up and bringing her to our house.  They sat and watched a little TV and he fed her a piece of cake after helping her read her Mother's Day cards.

On Tuesday, Nick and I have been invited to join a meeting with the BMT Physician's at Moffitt.  Through Marc Silver at BeTheMatch, we were introduced to Jeff Haertling who is a BMT donor and advocate who is working on a mentoring program for future BMT patients and caregivers.  We will be there to share our experience and the affect that Nick's "coaches" had on him as he navigated through the process.  We hope to offer assistance if they say "yes" to Jeff's proposed pilot program.  We also hope to share our personal journey with our new book, "My Knight Notes, A Caregiver's Journey through BMT".  It is now available on Amazon.com, however we would like to make the books readily available to all BMT patients and caregivers that frequent Moffitt.  Basically, anything we can do to make the journey easier for future cancer patients, we're up absolutely for it!