March 31, 2004 DAY #155
Friends,
Hello again everybody! Another pretty busy week. I have been teaching Menchie to drive, and we have done lots of walking. I made it all the way up the hill from Highway 52 last week. It wasn't bad! I was able to maintain a good pace all the way up. I had to go slower on the way down, because of the neuropathy in my feet, but it was a thrill to make it all the way up. My legs were a little sore the next two days, and I was moving a little slow, but since then I have felt great! We hope to do it again soon, but we have been busy with other important things. Next time I will wear a back pack and weigh myself down a little bit. We have still been doing lots of walking, and I have been able to take a long easy stride, standing up straight and tall. Yesterday, Menchie and I were walking with a friend, and I almost turned to Menchie and said "Look at me!" She noticed anyway and commented on it later! You wouldn't believe how much of a thrill it is to walk easily and normally! Yesterday we got some dental work done, and then Menchie got hired for a part time job. We went to her new employer and filled out all the paperwork and got appointments to take care of other pre-employment requirements. Another thrill! Tomorrow, more dental work, then some more employment stuff for Menchie, then we are taking a Red Cross First Aid course together.
Only one doctor appointment this week. What a concept! Another milestone has been reached! My doctor is bored with me, so he wants me to come back in two weeks instead of one! My creatinine is still creeping up. It is up to 1.6 now. I talked to the doctors about that again, and they are still VERY unconcerned, but I think they are really anxious to start lowering my Cyclosporine as soon as possible. That will probably solve the creatinine problem. RBC and Hemoglobin are up again, approaching normal! My doctor is VERY happy with my condition for being 5 months post transplant. He said I could ride my bike too. Diving and going to the beach are still out. :-( That's OK, I don't think I could carry all the diving gear to the water right now anyway, let alone get out of the water with it afterward.
On the medical front, another cut to my prednisone, as expected. My dose is now down to 5mg per day. Next Wednesday, if I am not having any rashes, I have been instructed to cut it to 2.5mg per day. The rashes are pretty much gone. I have been able to eat tomatoes and drink milk, so I think my GI tract is pretty well recovered too. The food experiments continue! No serious problems! Hakuna Mutata! My next appointment will be on Tuesday, two weeks from yesterday. I don't know if I should send out an update weekly or continue doing it only when I have appointments or medical problems.
Lab Results |
|||||
Blood Cell Type |
|
|
|
|
|
| WBC | 4.5 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 4.9 |
| RBC | 4.20 | 3.77 | 3.73 | 4.00 | 4.01 |
| HGB | 13.0 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 13.2 | 13.4 |
| PLT | 130 | 244 | 228 | 196 | 213 |
Have a good two weeks!
Ted
tw@wilcoxent.com