Two years post transplant

Halloween marked the second anniversary of Peter's stem cell transplant and he is doing really well! We went to Duke on the 5th for his two year check-up and they are really pleased. He now weighs 158 pounds, even has his little pot belly back, and has grown a beard. The beard is gray, white and brown, but most of the hair on his head is coming back in a brownish color - still some gray there but very little white. His hair used to be very thick and very white but now is thinner; as he says it is better than none at all. Having seen him with no hair, I have to agree.

The Duke doc was pleased that he is having minimal side affects - mostly dry skin and very pleased with how he looks and feels. He will be decreasing his meds and should be off of most of them in a few months! Of course, they had to do a bone marrow biopsy and we should have the results from that next week. Best of all, we don't return for another year.

I asked if there was anything he could/should not be doing and they said not that they could think of. That's great because he is outside now building a brick wall under the deck so we can make a small patio out there. Next project is to paint the loft!!

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers over the past few years, sometimes it is hard to remember how things were even at this time last year. As long as things keep working, we'll be just fine.

Wendy

18 months post transplant

Yesterday was Peter's 18 month check-up at Duke. He has gained 3 lbs. in the last 6 months - yipee! He eats everything in sight and only gains 3 lbs. - I should be so lucky! He looks good and feels good too. His strength has improved and he is walking taller than before. Overall the drs. were very pleased with his progress. They changed some of his meds and we don't need to go back for another 6 months. We will however go back in June for the "Patient reunion" at Duke.

We did find out last week that Peter has cataracts in both eyes. It seems that the prednisone that he is on has caused them to grow much faster than they normally would, especially the one in his right eye, so he will have the right one removed in June and the left in July.

Peter continues to work full time at GE which is good. He likes his job and gets bored just talking to me.

We've had alot of work done on the house this year. We remodeled the master bath and just doubled the size of our deck. Since we don't have a fenced in yard, the deck addition is great for the dogs - they run and play out there and are also quite happy to just sit and watch the birds and turtles and the world go by. The best part of the master bath is the ceiling fan - not an exhaust fan, a ceiling fan with paddles. It makes a big difference in the comfort level of the bathroom.

Our granddaughter Hannah continues to grow. She is almost 5 months old and has just started to giggle. Be sure to check Kim's blog www.landoflyle.blogspot.com for updates.

We're going to CT this month for a family wedding. Hope to get to see most of my relatives while there.

Take care,

Wendy