Sunday +52 (7:00 PM) It's a Small World After All

Today was a good day for Jackie. Although she started the day with her back hurting she improved a great deal during the day. Of course a couple of pain pills helps, but even without these things seem better!

Jackie's blood counts are improving. Her RBC (Hgl) count was 9.7 up from an earlier 9.5. Her WBC count was 2.8 up from an earlier 2.4. Her platelets have once again moved into the normal range. They are currently at 160. Her "record" high after the transplant was 166. I think she will exceed this in a few days!

We were speaking with the nurse this morning and we found that all CMV-positive patients recently saw an increase in their viral load counts on the same day. The doctors questioned the lab results but the lab stuck with their analysis and insisted nothing could be wrong with their equipment. In any case, I suspect that Jackie's last CMV test was an anomaly. Her CBC counts have continued to improve which would mean to me that the CMV is on the decline. It seems odd to everyone that 4 patients would have seen an increase in viral load counts when all four were under treatment and the counts should have been on the decline.

As I mentioned in the title of today's blog - It is a small world after all. Today we were boarding the apartment building elevator when a man got off. I just glanced at this hat and it said "ACK". For those that might not know this is the ICAO airport designator for the Nantucket airport; it is like LAX or DFW. For whatever reason, you see a lot of ACK bumper stickers, hats, jackets, etc on ACK. I stopped the gentleman and said, "Excuse me...are you from Nantucket?" He replied, "No, I'm from Tulsa. We just vacation on Nantucket." As you might guess this started a long conversation. His wife is here and will be undergoing an autologous (her own) stem cell transplant. She is in the preparatory stages.

We spent the afternoon driving around the Mississippi River again today. Today we spent most of the time on the Wisconsin side of the river. There are a lot of fun little towns. There are a number of them that seem to have a quaint little bar and grill. At each one you would find dozens of motorcycles lined up. These little towns never seemed to have more than 300-500 residents. It seemed the motorcycles outnumbered the residents.

I've include another video. For reference, the hair is attached to the hat! The idea was conceived by my mom. Mickey Martin is our OK sales rep. I think most of you will be seeing more of him in the days to come:) The photos were taken today along the river, etc.

Until Later...

Bruce and Jackie
From Rochester, MN